So I`m new to the volvo scene - and having some troubles with my girlfriend's engine (`91 940 turbo - there's a whole other thread about those issues).. but when I`m reading up on these problems I`m not sure if it's appropriate to look at 960's or 740's.

Can anyone explain the differences between the numbers?
I mean, are a 240, 740, and 940 the same mechanically, but one is a sedan, one is a station wagon, and one is a coupe?
Or the same questions for 940's and 960's - Is one a sedan but the other a wagon?

Thanks in advance!

 

Here's what I know:

You have these basic car series:
100 Old
200 Rear wheel drive
700 Rear wheel drive
900 Rear wheel drive
300 (euro front wheel drive)
400 (euro front wheel drive)
800 (newest and totally different)

The next digit is the number for the number of cylinders in the base model:
40 4 cyl
50 5 cyl (800 series)
60 6 cly
notes:
There is a 120 car but I think it had a four cylinder engine
The 780 had a 6 cyl standard or a turbo 4, but no eight
The 760 could be purchased with a turbo 4 cyl
The 760 featured a V-6 (some engine in the DeLorean)
The 960 featured a 6-inline

The last digit is for the number of doors and most of the time does not appear:
2 2dr (coupe)
4 4dr (sedan)
5 5dr (wagon)
Cars like the 242 coupe displayed all the digits

Okay, now basic notes concerning the 200 700 and 900 series.

The 200 series came with the same 4 cyl engine family:
B20, B23, B200, B230

The engine blocks are pretty much the same but they had different intake systems:
Carburetors
Mechanical Fuel Injection (Bosch D jet and K jet)
Electronic Fuel Injection (Bosch LH* and Regina maybe more)
*LH came in 2.0, 2.2 and 2.4
All listed from earliest to latest

The 700 series was introduced in 1982 to feature Volvo's new V-6 engine in the 760. This V-6 was made available in the 200 series in the 262 coupe too. In 1984 the 740 model was introduced to feature the four cylinder and the 760 was available with a turbocharged four cyl, then in a few years it was available in the 740 too.

To recap, the 700 series introduced a new body and a new engine, but the four cylinder was shared and upgraded between the 200 and the 700 series.

The 900 series was introduced to introduce the inline 6 cyl engine (to replace the V-6, it featured over 200 hp whereas the old V-6 only had 140 hp). The four cylinder engines were still available too. The 900 series uses the same body (except a few parts) as the 700 series until it's last year (when it's name changed to S80 and V90), body panels are significantly different.

Many things are most interchangeable between the 900 and 700 series, but lots of mechanical components are interchangeable between them all if they have the same engine.

So if you know your engine type, fuel system type and ignition type, you can find parts from all these cars.

Note:
There are many configurations of the four cyl engine, see the attached pictures for information on identifying B200 and B230 engines. There are others like B23 and B280.


So I hope this answers your questions and doesn't just confuse it all up. Go ahead and ask about any that made no sense and post if you'd like to add or correct anything.

 

Thanks for the info. What is the easiest way to tell what systems you have? I have a 1990 Volvo 740 turbo. It is the B230FT motor. I have been trying to research this question but can't figure it out. I know that my ignition system is probably a EZ-K. I was thinking 117 from what I was reading. My fuel system I was thinking Jetronic but not sure which number. Can I tell what systems I have by researching the VIN?

 

I resent the fabulous 100-series being summed up as "old." :I

I want a car with a bench seat and a three-foot-long shifter again.

EDIT: also the 300-series was RWD.

 

Haha. Yeah, old meaning I don't know crap about them.

I think the Amazon (120?), the 164 and the 140 are all 100 series, but they look very different and I can't say much about them. I would like a yellow 140. Someone had one in my home town and I think it's sweet. It's got those 14" five-spoke alloy wheels. So sweet.

Good to know about the 300. I only saw some in Ukraine, but didn't get the chance to look at them up close. Here are some pics I took and really have no other purpose for having other than putting them here.

 

The Amazon was from before they started the new model numbering system when they released the 140s in 1966. The 164, 142, 144, and 145 comprise the 100-series (aside from a couple one-offs there were never any 162s or 165s) The 164 looks very different from the 144 from the front, but the rest of the car is exactly the same. I've always liked how little they changed things over the years, a door from a 1966 140 will fit a 1992 240. In fact if I found some front doors from a 140 I'd replace mine, I miss having wing vents, and the mirrors and door handles look cooler.

The 300s unfortunately were never really considered good cars, Volvo's tendency to overbuild things is excellent in a family sedan but made for a rather heavy hatchback that didn't handle any better than a family sedan. The car was originally meant to be a partnership between DAF and Volvo and thus was built in the Netherlands, but Volvo acquired DAF in the process of designing it. The engine came from neither of them, they used a 1.4 liter from Renault. It did have one cool feature though, the transmission was in the back. Unfortunately for the first four years the only transmission available was a DAF-designed CVT. After that they started offering Volvo engines and Volvo manual transmissions and they became a little more popular.

 

I find it funny that most folks consider the 140 and 240 different cars. They are the same.

The 140, 160, 240, and 260 are all the same family.

The 740, 760, 780, 940, 960, S90, and V90 are all the same family.

Which, strangely, is not the way this bbs has them divided up. They divide it up by middle number, which didn't always mean number of cylinders, sometimes it was trim level, and the 780 came with 4 and 6 cylinder engines, never an 8.

 

Well, they do have different engines, different front-ends, and different interiors.

 

Not really, the 240 got the strut front suspension, but that's it. The B20 was standard for the first year of 240, and lingered on for a couple more years. The interior of a 240 came about in the last couple of years of 164 (I'm not sure the 140 got it or not, but my '74 164 was the same as early 240s).

So, yeah, different front suspension and slightly different nose sheetmetal. Not really enough to say it's a different car. If it is, then I'd say the '86 240 was a new car too...

 

The B20 was only available in the 240 in 1975, the updated interior that the 140s got in 1973 was still pretty different than the interior that the 240 got, but honestly what does it matter. Volvo updated the model and changed the name. That means they're different cars. If they aren't different cars to you, then maybe say something like "I've never really considered the 140 and the 240 different cars," instead of saying it like you're having a private laugh at everyone else's expense. That's what annoyed me.

 

Nah, what irritates me about saying the 140/240 are different cars is that it short-changes it's production run. I think the 240 could be considered the longest production run car, from 1967 to 1993. Normally this title is given to the VW bug, but that really wasn't the same car the whole run. Nothing off a '67 will fit a '77.

 

i have a 87 240 dl station wagon that i love dearly but i want a wing window,drivers side will do. what will fit her?
im also trying to get her fixed up because i want to keep her for as long as i can.

 

Well I've never actually done it before but I think a door from a 1965-1974 144 would fit your car. However I don't know for sure, the hinges might mount to a slightly different point or something like that, and it won't have a place for your speaker being as the 144s had either one large speaker in the center of the dashboard or frequently no radio at all.

Also the door handle won't match and the trim around the window will be chrome instead of flat black. I wouldn't have minded all these things because my car was a straight jalopy, but most Volvo owners are a little more concerned with how their ride looks.

 

sofar
thank you but maybe i better not get the wing window, she would have a fit. personally i think that getting rid of wing windows was one of the worse things auto makers did.
got her hatch fixed now i can use her as a station wagon,she's happy thanks again.

 

Hi Titan Joe,
Thanks for the post in regards to the models being alike. I have a '95 960 and was wondering if a '98 S90 drivers door will fit on my '95 960?

Thanks in advance.
Tom

 

the 960-II series, aka S90/V90, had major sheet metal changes, so I suspect thats a big -no-

a 740-940 door, however, likely WOULD fit, but the 740 would have slightly different sheet metal around the beltline. the later 960s had different interior panels than the earlier 940/960s, both of which are somewhat different than the interior door panel on a 740

a 960 almost certainly has a power driver's door lock, while at least some 940's only had power locks on the other doors (you only got a driver's power lock if the car came with a factory alarm system and remote entry).

good luck.