'86 740 Saloon for sale

[raoulduke]

Due to some major financial woes, I'm VERY reluctantly putting my beloved 740 GLE up for sale. I'm based in North Wales but may possibly be able to meet someone part way. As I'm quite lazy, I've copied the complete ad from another car forum, so excuse my stating the obvious a few times!
I'm looking for £300, but I'm open to offers - I'd really like it to go to a good home rather than being broken for spares, as it really is well-preserved.








Bought this on a whim 6 months ago, not expecting much, but I've inexplicably fallen madly in love with it ;D Unfortunately some major, sudden, financial woes mean that I just can't afford to run more than one car, so I'm very bitterly parting with it. Seriously, it's easily the nicest car all-round that I've ever owned, and I'm very reluctant to let it go, but I've no storage space to lay it away in.

B230K engine (2.3 carbed, non-turbo, 5-speed manual) which actually hustles it along quite nicely, not that it's the car for throwing around corners Incredibly smooth and plush for its age, perfect long-distance cruiser, although like all old Volvos it has a slight drinking problem, so it might not be the best urban commuter choice.

Bodywork is very straight indeed, only a couple of tiny dings that you'd have to look closely to find. Some rust at the front of the rear arches (see pics for worst side), plus a small patch on the front passenger door, all rock solid though. The bonnet could probably do with fresh paint, as there's a couple of deep gouges, plus a badly touched-up area that's far from smooth; there's also a couple of bits of paint damage on the wings (I'll stick pics up later). There's some bubbles on the sunroof, and on the roof just in front of it - I can throw in a spare sunroof if wanted.

Interior is all black, heated leather seats, electric front windows and mirrors, everything still works Suffering from the infamous 700 series' headlining issue - it's far beyond salvage and needs properly replacing. I've never tried, as there's a tricky recess above the rear seats, although plastic head linings from 900s will fit straight in with no alignment issues (apparently). The seats could do with some leather-treatment, although there's no actual tears or punctures in them. Carpets and dash are mint. There's water coming into the side recesses of the boot, probably from the light cluster seals, it's not a huge leak though.

Engine is totally smooth and reliable, I've never had any problems whatsoever. The idle was slightly low & lumpy when I first got it; it turned out the carb was full of gunk, after a good clean it was fine. The emissions results from the last MOT are quite impressive There's a very slooow leak of clutch fluid, which despite my best efforts I've never been able to find the source of, although I've been told it's probably from the top of the master cylinder - I just top it up once a month & it's fine. The front pads will probably be due for replacement soon.

And that's it. Any more info wanted, let me know.