Danish embassy 940

[volvo always]

Looks great.

Like the progress report.

James

[RollingThunder]

Thanks everyone.

Re the colour, it was the colour of Dad's old 960. He died of covid at the height of the pandemic, so it is particularly poignant to me. I haven't seen another 900 in that colour since, so when this one popped up I was immediately intrigued.

Dad's 960 was the start of my Volvo obsession Dad had bought a brand new black Mitsubishi Sigma 3.0 V6 but after a few weeks, he admitted to hating it. The few times I had driven it, I could see why - it was soulless. Fast yes - it had a punchy 3 litre V6 engine which was really revvy, and for some strange reason I remember the salesman saying it had 32 computers... which was eye boggling in 1990! But it was like driving a computer game - the steering was stupidly light and had zero feedback, the engine was muted to an extraordinary degree, and it was just all so clinical - no enjoyment at all.



That isn't Dad's car, but an identical one.

So he took it back to the dealership and asked what he could swap/part-ex it with. The dealer was a combined Mitsubishi & Volvo dealer, and they had a 960 3.0 24v saloon demonstrator available. A test drive later and the deal was done.

Dad loved the 960 and kept the car for a few years, but then reverted to being a Ford man. However, when I replaced my XR3i shortly after Dad got his 960, it was with a 940 2.0 SE Turbo saloon. Everyone thought it was very strange for a 25 year old to be driving an old man's Volvo, but I loved it, and it was the start of a 30 year love affair with Volvos.

Dad's 960 was in VerdiGris with a grey leather interior, and obviously had the 960 spec Nova wheels. The 940 I've just bought is almost identical apart from the engine and the Aries wheels. Its uncanny really!

As an aside, if it hadn't been that colour, it possibly wouldn't have caught my eye as much, as I was looking for a 960 ideally... and if I hadn't had bought this car, I would probably have bought Belal960's car - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-det...02206217023501

I had a 960 estate in exactly that colour combo, and while I was unsure of the interior colour originally, I think its the best interior I've ever had - that colour makes the interior glow in the morning and its so welcoming.





If the Danish 940 didn't have the history it has, I'd probably swap an interior like that into the 940, but don't worry, I won't be doing that It'd destroy the whole provenance and thus its value, and the grey interior is almost perfect. But I do have plans for it...

[volvo always]

Sorry to hear of your Dad's passing.

I got into Volvo's through driving my Nan's Volvo 340 from 1985 in 1999.

Then in 2002 bought my first Volvo a 1986 740 estate with B230K carb engine for £425. Owned around 5 years then PX it for a Toyota Corolla D4D 1.4.

Then bought a 1989 Volvo 240 GLT auto estate in late 2009 for £350. Owned for 10 years and sold in late 2018 for £500.

2 years prior to selling the 240 bought a 1996 Volvo 940 SE LPT auto estate for £250.
On the test drive couldn't believe how quiet it was compared to a 240 and wanted ABS and AC. Owned it for 5 years now, bought at 183,000 and now only 207,000miles.
Both the 240 and 940 used as my work van, as self employed. AC still isn't fixed!

Liked them all. For best have a 2015 Toyota Auris Hybrid estate. An A to B car that's cheap to run. The 940 has character and puts a smile on my face.

James.

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Originally Posted by volvo always

Sorry to hear of your Dad's passing.

I got into Volvo's through driving my Nan's Volvo 340 from 1985 in 1999.

Then in 2002 bought my first Volvo a 1986 740 estate with B230K carb engine for £425. Owned around 5 years then PX it for a Toyota Corolla D4D 1.4.

Then bought a 1989 Volvo 240 GLT auto estate in late 2009 for £350. Owned for 10 years and sold in late 2018 for £500.

2 years prior to selling the 240 bought a 1996 Volvo 940 SE LPT auto estate for £250.
On the test drive couldn't believe how quiet it was compared to a 240 and wanted ABS and AC. Owned it for 5 years now, bought at 183,000 and now only 207,000miles.
Both the 240 and 940 used as my work van, as self employed. AC still isn't fixed!

Liked them all. For best have a 2015 Toyota Auris Hybrid estate. An A to B car that's cheap to run. The 940 has character and puts a smile on my face.

James.

The difference in refinement between the 240 and the 940 is massive, but rarely mentioned. A few years ago I bought a 93 240 Torslanda which was beautiful, it had spent its life as a courtesy car for a Leeds based Volvo specialist and then became the private car of the proprietor after he retired. Prior to the Torslanda I’d owned a variety of 940s and 740s, and I was startled by how old fashioned and relatively unrefined the 240 was in comparison.

I really enjoyed owning it and kept it for a couple of years, but I found myself often choosing to drive the 740 saloon I had rather than the Torslanda. Eventually I sold the 240 for twice the money that I paid for the vastly more refined 940 turbo estate that replaced it, and I have enjoyed my 940 three times as much. I still have it, three years later, and don’t plan to ever part with it.

[RollingThunder]

I'd compiled a long list of parts that are needed to effectively recommission the 940, and sent it off to a few main dealers to ask them to send me a quote.

Two dealers came back with a number of parts being NLA, but FRF Volvo quoted against them all - so they've got the order, which includes the accelerator cable that I'd been told was absolutely definitely unavailable nowadays, hence my other post about having it repaired. Its on a 2-3 week delivery order, but the rest of the parts should be delivered in 2 days!

I was hoping to be able to do the timing belt and cooling system overhaul this weekend, but my Mum was taken into hospital last night, so that work will probably be put back for a few weeks... But at least I'll have the parts!

I've also managed to source a new alternator, so that'll be fitted in due course. The new battery arrived a few days ago, as the one fitted to the car was comically undersized. It now has a Varta E44 (780A, 77Ah rated) which is much more like it!

[Forrest]

Sorry to hear about your mum. Wishing her a speedy recovery.

The pictures from the advertisement in post #12 do not appear to show a particularly undersized battery. In fact, I'd guess it was a type 096 (which is the largest a 940 can sensibly take) judging by the twin handles and the angle of the terminal connectors. Did the seller swap that out before the car was delivered to you?

For authenticity, a good fit and a long service life you can go for a Volvo battery. They currently supply 30659797 which is a sealed 520A (EN) unit.

Non OEM, I find type 027 or 075 are the best fit as they are a bit smaller than 096 which can be a struggle to get in and out. I'm currently mostly using type 075 in my fleet.

Any modern battery you buy will be calcium technology and might experience issues with a 14V alternator. There is much written about this online. IMHO the best solution is to keep a smart charger attached when the car is not in use. This works especially well if the car is a rarely used classic. You can use a programme on the charger that starts off at a voltage of between 14.4 and 14.8 volts in order to ensure a calcium battery starts charging.

[RollingThunder]

Hi Forrest, thanks for that. The replacement is indeed a type 096, which I recall is a tight and fiddly fit into the battery tray on a 940, but the Varta E44 is a battery which I regard highly having used them on many cars in the past. I always fit as powerful a battery as I can physically fit in the tray

The battery supplied with the car is different to the one in that pic - I hadn't noticed that tbh! Its a much smaller 'Bannerman' battery albeit looking like new. I'm going to give it to a neighbour who has a Fiesta lol.

[Laird Scooby]

I'd get rid of the Varta E44 and refit the 096 as the E44 is unlikely to charge sufficiently. That said, if the 096 is also a calcium battery, that likely won't charge either.

As for the 027, they were the standard fit batteries on many of the 7/9xx range, the 096 was standard fit on diseasel models but is also an upgrade to the rest of the range. Don't use calcium/silver-calcium though as they are unlikely to charge, no matter what the spotty oik in Hellfrauds tries to tell you about extra reserve capcity etc - the alternator will only output 14.4V maximum and the calcium batteries need 14.7V minimum to start charging.

[GingerMagic]

To be honest I've always replaced a tired battery with an 096 version, but most previous care have been diesel which need the extra oomph.

My philosophy is to fit the biggest battery you can get in the space provided - and agreed a trickle charger is a worthy investment for those that don't use their Volvo that often

[baggy798]

Wow, that E44 is massive and heavy. 18kg!

I run the smallest Varta silver dynamic, the C6 one. 6kg lighter.