Volvo STORIES Forum

I found a 1990 740GL on ebay that met the specifications I required after not finding anything locally I wanted. I live in Colorado Springs, the car was in San Antonio. 108,000 miles (just broken in!), one non-smoking owner, never wrecked (verified), interior looked almost new in the pictures. The deal was made, I sent him $500, and he sent me an address.

I flew down to San Antonio on Friday, December 7th, going from freezing conditions to 83 degrees, and took a taxi to his place ($20). The car was straight, everything worked, new tires, no leaks, but I did find out that the guy was a better photographer (or maybe salesman) than he was a maintenance technician.
The glistening paint, brightly reflecting the sunlight in the pictures, was oxidized on the hood and sunroof, and a little on the trunk. Gee – I thought those were clouds being reflected on the shiny hood! It was the clear-coat that was oxidized - the base dark gray paint was fine. Next, the picture of the interior was taken from the open driver’s door and looked very good and in fact was very good. But, the grab handle on the driver’s side (about where the cameraman’s head would have been) was missing and the panel was cracked. OK, I can live with that, the car is about $1,500 below book, although that margin was disappearing at a frightening rate! The trunk was pristine (no tool kit), engine bay had been cleaned, so we took a test drive. The suspension was nice and tight, and a very smooth ride. The guy had the oil changed and had put in a new air filter. A check underneath, and money changed hands.

My plan was to drive from San Antonio to Ft. Worth that afternoon / evening, and the next day drive north to Oklahoma City on the superslab, and pick up old Route 66 heading west. And away we go! The tank was on empty and I was desperately looking for a station. The car started sputtering, and died once when I came to a stop. I figured ‘OK - my fault’, finally found a station and filled-up. The car was still acting up and died twice more, but always started up again. I had thought earlier that this car may have sat a while, now I was suspecting I had a lot of floaties in my tank. I had cleared the big city, so I just proceeded up through the Texas Hill Country on highway US 281 at a steady pace (I’m not very big on Interstates), and it seemed to clear itself up. (Note to myself: change the gasoline filter).

An evening in Ft. Worth with good friends and Texas BBQ, a check of fluids and tire pressures, and off at 5AM Saturday morning. When I started the car, I said “Don’t fail me now…” and this (other?) voice in my head said “…Lucille”. OK – got a name now - lets go. About 50 miles south of Oklahoma City I ran into a wall of fog and dire warnings of bad weather from here into Colorado. Press on regardless! I picked up R66 at El Reno, avoiding Oklahoma City completely. The Mother road was empty and eerie in the fog. I’m stopping often to take pictures and not making a lot of time. The weather is getting colder, and I’m wondering what frozen fog looks like. Came to a spot on R66 where the road was closed for repairs, so I headed for the Interstate.


The Volvo is purring like a kitten, just glad to be on the road. I haven’t had a Volvo in several years and had forgotten just how comfortable they are. The newest Volvo I have ever had before this was a 1981 244DL, and that was my only new-from-the-dealer Volvo. My last Volvo was a 1971 142E.

The weather has really turned to crap, so I make a last R66 stop in Clinton, Ok. at the Route 66 museum there. It is a very nice way to spend about two hours (including the films). There is a Texas travel center somewhere between the state line and Amarillo, one on each side of the I-40. The one on the east-bound side has a route 66 theme, so I stop there for a break and take a snap or two, deciding then that was the last of my R66 stops.

I wish I could say more about the car, but it is running smooth and no problems. Damn Volvos! When I bought a 1972 Dodge Dart in St. Louis and drove it back to Colorado, I got to write five pages on car adventures, Neanderthal auto store employees, roadside fixes and bailing wire / duct tape ingenuity!

My cell phone doesn’t seem to be working, so I stop in Vega, Texas, where I will be turning north, and call home. It’s about 25 degrees and the wind is howling from the Northwest. Hey – no more fog! I reach the New Mexico line at dark, and the road is black ice. Years of driving in Colorado and the relatively skinny new tires on the Volvo keeps me on the road with no problems, albeit at 40-45 MPH. I was driving head-on into blowing ice (frozen fog?) and discovered that my windshield squirters aren’t working. I reached Clayton, NM. and decided enough was enough, especially since from Clayton to Raton pass was 90 miles of empty road, and the thought of slowly freezing to death in a ditch in northern New Mexico wasn’t particularly attractive. My headlights had one inch of ice on them, which I scraped-off along with the 20 pounds of ice on the windshield, grabbed a burger (actually pretty good) from the mom and pop next to the Motel 8, and headed for my room. Sufficient on the day.

The next morning, scrapped all the ice again, topped-off the tank and started the 50 MPH trip home. I never had a problem with the Volvo slipping or sliding. The weather was actually better in Colorado Springs, since the main storm had already passed through. So, Lucille has a new home – it’s been too darn cold to do much work on her. Oh yeah, the title got lost in the mail over Christmas. We have two post offices looking for it. Oh well, that’s another story.

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1990 740 GL and lots of Volvo memories