1993 Volvo 940 Turbo

1993 Volvo 940 Turbo
This old 940 Turbo is Mint!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Welcome to Volvo Stuff

Hello and welcome to my new blog!
This is my first blog so please be pateint as I learn and build this into something that will hopefully be of value to many of us Volvo lovers and also introduce these great cars to new followers. Let me tell you a bit about my history and how I came to be a true believer in the older Volvo cars that I now love and enjoy so much.
As a teenager in the 1970's, I had always admired the "boxy" look of the Volvos. While many people thought that  they looked "boring" or like an "old man's car", I thought that they had style and a look that expressed solid, safety, and built for all of the elements. I grew up in Canada and I'll never forget the time when I saw a 242 blow by us as we were stuck in the snow, and I thought, "...wow, what a cool car".

I finally bought my first Volvo in 2004; it was a 2004 XC70 Cross Country that had 10,000 miles on it. I never buy brand new cars, but prefer slightly used. Although the XC70 was fun to drive and great in the snow, it turned out to be quite problematic in the long run. It was disappointing to have to to replace headlight bulbs twice a year, like one would change transmission fluid on a North American car. Other problems included a bad fuel pump, at a cost of $980 installed (recalled on many models, not mine), leaking  main seal, transmission failure (twice), and radiator replacement, driver's side window falling off the track, both transaxles needing replacement, mass air flow sensor, etc.
At the advice of our Volvo mechanic, Steve at Vovlo Saab Drive for Life, we decided not to spend another dime on the car...that's right, a 2004 CX70 that I didn't want to fix. We followed Steve's advice and looked for an older rear wheel drive model that was reliable and built to last. This why I now own a couple of 940 Turbos, a 1993 and a 1994, and a 1992 240 wagon. I am once again a true believer in the "Workhorse" and "Swedish Brick".

I bought the 1994 Volvo 940 Turbo from its original owner in Redondo Beach, Ca. It had 139,000 miles on it and had been very well maintained. I had the timing belt replaced after it failed (no serious matter on these cars), and replaced the shifter linkage bushings, nothing else needed. After having spent so much time working on the XC70, I now know how to do much of my own work like replacing brake pads, struts, strut mounts, engine mounts, transmission mount bushings, tie rods, catalytic converter, and more.

On September 25, 2010, my 24 year-old son was driving the 1994 Volvo 940 Turbo and was stopped at a light as the rain came down somewhat heavily. When it rains here in Las Vegas, the roads become very slick, which is why the guy behind him couldn't stop and slammed into the rear end of the Volvo. Luckily, my son heard him trying to stop and braced himself as the Honda Accord slammed into him. My son said that when he got out to look at the damage, he thought for sure that the trunk was going to be "in the back seat". Much to his surprise, it really didn't look that bad...but the Honda was history and of course had to be towed.

The 1994 Volvo 940 Turbo was driven away, without even a broken light, nothing rubbing on the rear tire, no leaks, no broken tail lights, no noise, and nobody hurt (there were two passengers in the car). The trunk has to be tied down and one of the rear doors doesn't close, but it still drives perfectly! None of us can believe how this 940 took such a hit and is driveable...wow. The insurance company gave me more for the car than what I had paid for it, my son still drives it, and I went and bought an even nicer 1993 Volvo 940 Turbo with the money.
So I had to go find another 940 Turbo in the same excellent condition as this 1994. I was looking for a 940, 960, 760, 850, 240; whatever was in excellent condition and well-maintained. Did I ever get lucky! I found a white, 1993 Volvo 940 Turbo that had only one previous owner and only 139,200 miles on it! It came with 2 keys, all of the manuals, and the maintenance records.  I am absolutely blown away at how  perfectly clean this 940 is. The only thing that I can do to this car is keep it clean!

Well, that's all folks. Thanks for reading and please share your ideas, comments, and anything that you'd like to share about your Volvo experiences. I'll be adding as much as possible over the next several days.

Leo

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