I think I'll go and check out this Volvo

"Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan'" (otto-the-croatian)
02/25/2020 at 03:37 • Filed to: newcar, mercitwingo

Half a million kilometers (310.685 miles) on the odometer brings the price right down. The Twingo is still here, just window shopping for now.

Volvo V70, 2.5 20Valve, priced at 1000 EUR. It has LNG fitted as well. In spite of it’s faded paint and obvious wear and tear, it’s supposed to be in good condition mechanically. I’m told these engines last forever.
This is almost the exact opposite of a Twingo - long, low, wide, lots of seats, big engine. Leather, heated everything, etc.

We’ll see. Anyone have any experiences with these? Or the 850 even?

DISCUSSION (14)

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan'
02/25/2020 at 05:21

Virtually zilch experience but I suspect it’ll be the electrical systems that make or break it. I think these are Ford era Volvo so some driveline components may be shared with more run of the mill Ford models ...maybe?

duurtlang > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
02/25/2020 at 06:50

This is very much a Volvo drive train, the V70 was introduced before Ford bought Volvo. Given his location (Croatia) it will be the Volvo that is run of the mill. These don’t share anything with a 90s Ford Mondeo or Scorpio (lol). Later Fords did use an altered version of this Volvo engine though.

Anyway, I have seen absurd high numbers on the odometers of these cars.

Does it really have an LNG conversion, not an LPG conversion? I know these Volvos run well on LPG and you cut the running costs in half.

Sovande > Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan'
02/25/2020 at 06:55

This one is one of the last “real” Volvo’s. It is has nothing to do with Ford. I have owned a couple. I would not spend more than about $500 for one with 300,000 miles on it. If it’s the turbo model look for play in the turbo or for smoke under acceleration. If it’s not a turbo then watch for cyclists passing you. If it’s a 98, the throttle is still a cable. If it’s a 99-00 the the throttle is electronic (Xemodex) and will fail. The replacement part is not cheap. Overall, in good running condition, these are awesome cars with a ton of room and are generally a nice place to be.

I have no idea what cars cost in your part of the world, but 1000 EUR sounds like a lot of money for that particular example.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan'
02/25/2020 at 07:05

“Big engine”

I’m sorry, is this some sort of European thing I’m too American to understand?

Snuze: Needs another Swede > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
02/25/2020 at 09:17

Yes, in some markets they offered a 2.0L engine as well as the 2.5L engine. So it’s big relative to the other option.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan'
02/25/2020 at 09:31

I have a 1996 850 GLT that I bought last fall for $400 (369 EUR ) with 165,000 miles (265,000 km ) . The body was clean and fairly straight, but the interior was trash it and it had virtually no maintenance done to it besides oil changes. The x70 series cars are still built on the P80 platform of the 850 and are basically just a refresh. The big changes were face lifted body panels, new interior, and 5 speed automatic transmission instead of the 4 speed .

The number one biggest thing is make sure it has a good timing belt. It should be done ever 6 years or 75k miles. My car was about 15k miles and 13 years over due !!! But I replaced it along with the tensioner and water pump and all is well (it’s only a few extra dollars to get those parts and easy to replace them while you’re in there).

If the car has an automatic transmission, find out if it has been serviced regularly . The transmissions are made by Aisin and were billed as “lifetime transmissions” meaning they never needed service. This is a lie. They are very robust but do need periodic fluid changes. When I serviced mine the fluid looked like Guinness and smelled like a burning tire. The trick, if it’s never been serviced, is to do a little at a time - drain 2-3 quarts of fluid and add 2-3 of new, drive it for a few hundred miles, then repeat. Do not try to drain and flush all of it out all at once.

Finally, my experience is that the interiors in these cars don’t hold up very well. Mine had trashed seats, a falling down headliner, the dash was bubbling up, door cards were peeling apart, etc. I think the x70 cars are a bit better than the 850s in that regard, or maybe they are just newer. I got lucky and found a clean 850 in a junkyard and got the dash and door panels, and I put a set of clean v70 front seats in my car.

duurtlang > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
02/25/2020 at 10:36

In Europe a 2.5L engine is a large(ish) displacement engine. Especially in 2020, but even in the late 90s. Few cars have displacement over 2.0L.

Additionally, he owns a Twingo. This Volvo has literally over twice the displacement his Twingo has.

Of the 12 cars I’ve owned or still own, only one had a displacement over 2.0L. It was a BMW 325i Tour ing (1988). Yet, I have been told I own ‘big’ and ‘fast’ cars.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > duurtlang
02/25/2020 at 11:29

Yeah, I know. I was just making a joke.

Now that I think about it, I’ve never owned a car displacing more than 2 liters.

All three Mk3s I’ve owned displace 1984ccs. My Rabbit is 1.6L, the Cabriolet 1.8L, my Saturn is 1.9L, the Ford Focus I sold was another two liter, and the Scoupe I briefly owned was the least, at 1.5L.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > duurtlang
02/25/2020 at 16:41

“ Later Fords did use an altered version of this Volvo engine though.”

Aha... that’s what triggered my wrong thinking .

Another dim memory/mis- memory is that the same Volvo engine served as a basis for some VW engines. Also that could be a coincidence based on the engine size and cylinder number (especially since my own VW engine is a 2.5 litre 5 cyl TDi).

Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan' > duurtlang
02/28/2020 at 15:41

Yep, shit, the Volvo is converted to LPG! I thought it was the same thing, just a different acronym for Croatian-English. Looked it up and I know the difference now... oops.

Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan' > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
02/28/2020 at 15:42

I was told it was the other way around - that the 5cyl VW uses was used in the Volvo with slight mods.

Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan' > Sovande
03/07/2020 at 09:56

Hey, my comment didnt stick last time because kinja.
Thank you for the tips, its not a turbo so watching the cyclists. I will keep an eye for the throttle as well.

The nice place to be part is the clincher, because if I sell the Twingo I want it to be a noticeable step up, and I think that this will be a lovely place to be in.

Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan' > Snuze: Needs another Swede
03/07/2020 at 10:01

Hey, sorry for no reply, I got kinja’d for most of them.
The timing belt and water pump were done recently, which is a good sign.
It is a manual, forgot to even mention because as a Euro I just take that for granted.

I will keep an eye out for the interior, and I noticed that a lot of these cars are sold for parts, so interior pieces hopefully won’t be a problem. The value of 850s and s70s is the lowest it’s been, and possibly will go up soon in my market,and at the moment this is the most accessible volvo I can get my hands on. I’ve spent a good 2-3 weeks googling them and researching, and they are growing on me even more. I actually prefer the 850s looks, but heythe car in question seems to be a good deal... Thanks!

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Otto-the-Croatian-'Whoops my Volvo is a sedan'
03/07/2020 at 21:58

No worries. And Im glad I could help.

I was actually working on a 960 today, trying to wrestle out the transmission for its bellhousing. The older x40 cars used “Redblock” engines and were RWD . The 850s and newer use “Whiteblocks” but are FWD (or FWD based AWD). The 960, however, uses a 6 cylinder Whiteblock in a RWD configuration. A popular upgrade for the old 240 and 740 cars is to put a Whiteblock T5 turbo engine in, but you need to figure out a transmission. In the US the 960s were only sold with automatics, so if you want a Whiteblock with a stick in your 240 or 740 you either need to import an M90 manual from a European 960 OR you get the 960 auto bellhousing and a billet adapter kit and run a Camaro or Mustang manual (these are fairly common in the US). Totally unrelated to the cars youre looking at, but I think its cool.

That car sounds like a good one if all that work has been done. Just keep an eye on the interior. I was f ind tons of them in ju nkyards here, but the interiors were just as ratty as mine. It took a while to find one in decent shape that was worth replacing my parts with.

I’m finishing up some 850 work, then Im going to drive it full time while I do some work on my Cruze. This summer, once the Cruze is back to good, I want to sell it and buy a 240 wagon and do an engine swap (not why I was pulling the bellhousing, that was for a friends project).