Learn me 1992 volvo 940 turbo wagon

My beater 323 blew up and left me stranded this week. Searching Kijiji, I found this awesome black Volvo. 300,000 km, but looks well cared for. Good winter beater? How expensive to maintain?

honestly not very expensive to maintain if you get one thats been well maintained/documented... by the late 80's they'd fixed the biggest problem (wire harness rot)... they are dead easy mechanically to work on for most things

that year will have the better electronics (lh2.4) which has some great chippable capabilities and has been known to reach 300hp...

also has the hybrid locker/lsd out back so should help in the winter.

Thanks! I rather like the looks of 'em, safe as tanks compared to what I usually drive in the winter. But the last thing I need is something whose parts are worth gold. Gonna go test drive it, fingers crossed it doesn't need much to safety.

parts aren't high but not in stock lots of times... thats the biggest issue sometimes you'll have to wait a day or 2 for parts.

Old Volvos are like Miatas and Lays potato chips-you can't only have just one!

Meaning whatever you can't get from the junk yard, turbobricks, FCP Groton or IPD, you can usually buy a beater parts car for anything you might need.

Still miss mine.

:) my current volvo was JY dogs a few years back lol... it's my 3rd 700/900 and i've got a volvo powered s10 (well it won't power anything till I get a driveshaft in it but whatever)

donalson wrote: :) my current volvo was JY dogs a few years back lol... it's my 3rd 700/900 and i've got a volvo powered s10 (well it won't power anything till I get a driveshaft in it but whatever)

Glad to see its till in the family

If I ever get another, it WILL have a V8 swap!

Lesley, there might be a specialist closer to you, but I believe there's a huge Old Volvo Place in Guelph. I used to drive by it when I took stuff to my nephew at university there.

I have a black 91 turbo wagon, I had it lowered at a suspension shop and it looks pretty cool. I have not modified the engine in any way, of course I have a million excuses but all in all its a great car, pretty reliable.

Lesley wrote: Thanks! I rather like the looks of 'em, safe as tanks compared to what I usually drive in the winter. But the last thing I need is something whose parts are worth gold. Gonna go test drive it, fingers crossed it doesn't need much to safety.

I have dealt with this place and they are quick and cheap. The Canadian location is in Hamilton.

http://www.bestpricecarparts.ca/

They have worked out well for anything imported that I have had. Volvo, VW and Subaru.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/volvo-turbos/

I was crazy for my all black 91 745T. It did everything well from hauling lots of stuff to being really comfortable.Didn't get as good MPG as I thought.18-20..Like a lot of older cars it always needed something and like my Saab 900 parts are harder to get and more money.The chain stores seem to always get the parts wrong. May as well get new taillamps and turn signals the first day. A buddy has one with the Supra 2jz-GTE engine. My dream 745 has this or an LS.

Biggest issue is parts availability locally. I DDed one (the one JD owned and donalson now owns) and it was a ton of fun, but when something broke it was down for a couple of days while I waiting for parts. Working on it wasn't bad. Head gasket took maybe 3 hours, exhaust took about that long, the turbo swap took a while, and I ended up needing my neighbors Bridgeport, but it's all fairly easy. They have great 'poke'. The way mine was set up, it was not blazing fast at the strip because of the stock cam, so maybe a mid 14 (I only ran 1/8th) and the relatively tight converter meant that it didn't launch super authoritatively, but if you wanted to stop someone from merging, or accelerate from 40-70, this was the car to do it in. Comfy too, and easy on the eyes.

Tim Baxter wrote: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/volvo-turbos/

great article... but when it comes to the EFI tunning A LOT has changed in the last few years... people making 300+ hp with chipped OEM stuff... but beyond that I still dig the article :)... and did back when it came out :)

a tune up and a little boost (ball spring ideally) does A LOT for em.

Hmm...a manual transmission turbo wagon just popped up on CL....

How do these handle?

Big IPD anti-roll bars, camber plates, lowered on on DIY coilovers with AFCO springs... I liked the way mine drove alot.

I missed this the first time around and am curious what ultimately happened to the 323 (can always use another BG shell)

Bah, it was an automatic. Stupid cl sellers. Is the turbo/manual combo available from the factory?

In reply to bgkast:

Not in a 940. In a 740 yes, but not in a 9 series iirc.

In reply to bgkast: I've seen, and even driven 700 series turbo MT sedans, I'm pretty sure that MT turbo 700 wagons are out there, not so sure about 940 series though.

That being said, Volvo RWD ATs are pretty robust, and full throttle/ full boost up shifts are a thing of joy. Those transmissions can live behind moderately tuned turbo engines, but please consult with a real Volvo expert about just where the AT's limits are.

I would not turn away a well cared for 940 turbo wagon just because it has an AT. They're getting tough to find these days too, the last time that I was shopping for one, all that could find locally were trashed. YMMV.

The autos are much stronger than the manual trans but you know which is more fun.. An automatic non turbo has a weak trans, turbo auto (aw71) is good for 300ish after the "accumulator mod". Also 93+ had the best motors and a trans with lockup torque converter and roller bearing in the tail shaft for better mpg. Also not all 940s have the locker, I'm sure up north most all will though. And another note the locker doesn't engage over 25mph unless you modify it

I love both my non-turbo automatic 940 and turbo manual 740, I wouldn't pass on a turbo automatic but the manual is sure more fun.

They handle better when you drill out and rotate the strut to get more caster and camber.