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Hi all
As an 850T5 owner, I am mighty pleased to have bought a 740T sedan (1989) in well, reasonable shape for AU$1000 I suppose. There's about 194K KMs on the odometer.
I just drove it home in the rain and the engine seems to run pretty well. It's bloody remarkable how smoothly the car picks up speed. Very impressive indeed. I do now feel I am driving an authentic Volvo 'Brick'! With the high seating position, I feel like I am driving an armoured car of sorts.
Here's the bad:
1. Log books show that the car hasn't been serviced at a proper workshop since 1997! (But given that the car was in continuous use till June this year, it's unthinkable that no maintenance at all has been done on the car for ten years. I could be wrong of course!)
2. Door pocket on the passenger side (it's a right-hand drive) completely smashed to bits, the one on the driver's side is in bad shape but all the pieces are there.
3. Remote central locking doesn't quite work (a motor in the driver's side door makes a corresponding sound when you press the remote clicker though so I am hopeful it's an easy fix)
4. Tyres are mismatched - front two are the same; rears are different - though all the wheels including the spare are original (2 with missing hub caps). Mind you, there should be a reasonable amount of thread left since the car on the whole passed a must-do inspection 2 weeks ago, for local re-registration requirements (of course I am assuming a dodgy workshop didn't do the inspection - the pass is from an approved workshop for such tests).
5. Seat heaters don't work
6. Overhead light sits loosely - one bulb blown.
7. One bulb in a rear brake light is blown
8. Both fog lights removed but I have them both though the brackets for both are broken.
9. Gearshift (it's an automatic) fairly loose. I get a slight jerk when I shift from D to N to R, when I get to "R". The whole gearshift assembly moves around.
10. Handbrake is a little loose.
11. Some weather seals have come loose (and it's been raining like crazy too)
12. Chip in windscreen.
13. Missing speaker grille on driver's side. Only rear speakers work.
14. Fuse box cover completely loose
15. Glove box needs to be repaired - very loose
16. Fuel cover door doesn't lock when car doors are locked!
The good:
1. Engine sounds good and runs pretty smooth! Boost comes on strongly, most surprisingly.
2. Just some minor scratches on the body. No dents.
3. Brakes are good.
4. The Volvo emergency triangle is there, as is a spare wheel with original rims. Emergency jack is some horrendously large non-original one that weights a tonne!!!
5. Leather seats are in excellent condition with no tears nor sags.
6. Airconditioning and heater appears to work ok.
7. Power windows and power mirrors all work ok(!)
8. Radio antenna works!
Haven't yet checked under the hood - it's pouring cats and dogs here in Sydney.
Now the car is NOT going to be my daily driver. I bought it because it's cheap. Maybe a once-a-week car (I am getting a solar recharger to trickle charge the car battery). I am thinking that the following is my immediate to dos:
I am thinking "TYRES" right away but hell, these are costly relative to the price of the car. In the rain, I'll drive my 850 T-5 with Goodyear F-1s......
So, here's my list in order of priority:
1. Replace engine coolant
2. Change engine oil and filter (and maybe AutoRX the engine)
3. Remove passenger door pocket, maybe even the driver's side one!
4. Tighten up gear shift lever (if at all possible)
Questions:
What else would you guys suggest I do as immediate maintenance tasks? I will be speaking with the previous owner again since I didn't have much of a chat when I picked up the car.
I am thinking that this car will be a low-key hobby project of sorts that I will leisurely fix up.......
BTW, I can't seem to locate a cruise control. Would there be one on a 1989 740T?
Also, the manuals and books that came with the car has a Volvo "Turbo + supplement to owner's manual" that somehow suggests that there's a special turbo controller kit installed in the car that helps the engine deliver 180HP (134kW) instead of the 158HP spec from the manual for an 1989 740T. I have not read of a 740T with such a kit before!
Thanks in advance
Lucast
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