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Let me just say right now... if you aren't making a positive reply, don't post. I don't want to hear it. You know who you are.

First car I've bought in 2 years (What a surprise!). I'm glad I bought it..mainly because I can't STAND the Catera. I'm picking it up tomorrow. I know it's not a GM or a 3800, but it's time for a fresh change, and a reliable Volvo is a good one.

1990 Volvo 740 GLE, 2.3 16 Valve, 160k miles. Runs and drives, just needs a shifter linkage adjustment. The body is SPOTLESS, and I mean spotless. No dents, no rust. Car was very well maintained and I even have all the service records... looking through them is shocking.... not very many parts were replaced. Most was simple service stops like oil changes, tuneups, etc.

Looks like a nice car. I have heard those older volvos are extremely reliable.

Purchase price: $750?

Yeah, the 90-93 700s in general are regarded as the most reliable Volvo ever made aside from the 240.

And Very close... I paid $700 for it.

Very interesting! I was surprised at how cramped the engine bay looks, but if you never have to spend time in there, I guess it really doesn't matter. How is it on power?

Not too bad... I think it's 140hp, can't remember.

EDIT - It's 153hp.

I enjoyed mine when I had one in Guam. Mine was a turbo though, and parts were hard to come by.

Feature I loved the most though? The hood hinges...one flick of a lock on both sides, and the hood stands vertically.

I guess is take one if it was free

I guess what makes me happy about this car is my Dad looked over at me and said "This is a *dang* good car... good job finding this one."

I was thinking motor swap on this one originally, but cramped engine bay + dead reliable = why mess with a good thing?

sandrock wrote:Feature I loved the most though? The hood hinges...one flick of a lock on both sides, and the hood stands vertically.

My dad's '94 850 has this. It's fantastic

Volvo sure makes a well thought out car.

Congrats and good luck with it!

Probably one of your more sensible buys... Hope it lasts you well

Soo... What happened to:
The Catera
The Olds Ciera (I think?)
The Ford Country Squire

petraman wrote:Probably one of your more sensible buys... Hope it lasts you well

Soo... What happened to:
The Catera
The Olds Ciera (I think?)
The Ford Country Squire

I sure hope so... Volvos are supposed to keep going and going. If I can get a couple years use out of it, I'll be happy.

I ...hate the Catera. That car has broken down more than John Boehner at a house meeting. It's actually sitting right now with an electrical problem and an oil leak. I'll never buy one again. I let the car's good looks and sportiness lure me in. Now I know why they only sold them for 5 years.

The Ciera is my sister's car now....We bought it on a joint venture...I put in $175 and my sister put in $75, but since she's 18 and needs a car, I just gave it to her.

Oh, and an exciting sidenote... I found out looking in the service records that this car was actually bought in Denmark or Sweden at the Volvo Tourist and Diplomat Sales Center, and brought over to Arizona a few years after. No joke. The guy that bought it was originally from Denmark? His last name is Jernberg.

Could also be a military member who bought it and had it shipped back. Either way, it's nice to know that car came from its motherland

Not sure. If it's the Jernberg I found on google, he still lives in Arizona and is 91 years old.

All I know is I can't wait to get it home so I can get some pics.

Looks good. The reason the engine bay is so cramped is it's a 16 valve, the 8's much more spacious. Owned 3 volvos, 87 740 wagon that went well over 500k on original engine and trans, 2nd was a 91 740, also wagon, that i watched 300k turn on it. Very reliable cars, and quite simple to work on. Enjoy!!

Got the car home today... Had a few hours to spend on it until it rained. Found out that the shifter linkage is the problem and is a simple fix. I already ordered the $7.95 Shifter bushing kit to replace the missing bushings, and have to readjust the linkage. After that all should be fine and dandy.

Other than that, the car is excellent. There is literally ZERO rust on the car. None on the door seams, none on the rockers, nothing on the underside. The car was obviously well cared for. I actually feel guilty for paying only $700 for it. Especially since it had the timing belt and such replaced not long ago. The service records surprised me.... most of them are oil changes, tune ups, and the occasional part here and there. Since it should be good to me, I'm shooting for the 500k mark. I can actually see having no reason to get rid of it, and that's good.

Nice work finding that 16 valve engine; you rarely see those. And that price you cant beat! The hot setup to run is a 16 valve with a turbo; its a simple step to bolt on a turbo setup and make big power. That's what I would do...

Engine compartments are actually pretty large on these cars. Small block chevrolet swaps are commonly done, and I bet an LT1 in a Volvo would have more room to work on than the LT1 parked under the hood of my Camaro.

Yeah I was already told to turbo it, but I'm not ready for something like that. If I was to find a complete manual tranny and such, I'd probably turbo it.

Nice Brick!

Now, spend $100 on a case of Fluid Film and spray the daylights out of the underside to keep your Brick spotless on the underside for the next few years. Repeat right before winter. Whatever rust-proofing stuff it has definitely needs the help.