I found a 1994 850 Sedan for sale very close to me, the ad is nice, the pictures show it as Green in color, Tan leather interior. Fine mesh wheels.

Extrior looks like 9/10, interior is not so nice, I can see a few rips in the passenger seat, dirvers seat is kinda beat down, but no rips. The dash pad is curling in spots, the steering wheel and ABS part is kinda faded looking, but clean.

Anyways, the man says he is a dealer, bought it to sell, only to find it had a blown head gasket, and he doesnt want to put alot in it and have it sit on the lot for 6 months...

Im pretty good mechanically, and I work at a small engine shop that also does cars as well...Anyone know how difficult it is to pull the head, put in a new gasket set, and also do the timing belt?

He said he only wants 400 dollars, and he's taking a loss on it at that price, just wants it off the lot....

I didnt find out if it was a Turbo or anything, I dont think it is though, Seems like only the wagons and rare models were turbocharged.

How good of a car is this, as far as fuel economy, power, etc..compared to a 1990 740 Turbo?

 

The head gasket kit will run around $110.00, you also need new bolts for around $3.00 a pop (12x). The situation leading up the the blown head gasket is the most critical element. If it overheated you will need to get the head reworked which will be several hundred dollars unless you have the means to do it at your shop. Add in another $20.00 for a Haynes manual. You will also need the liquid gasket material and a couple of other gaskets that aren't included in the kit that tack on another $25.00 or so.

The timing belt is easy and cheap but depending on the mileage you may need to also replace the tensioner and the rollers whichadd another $200.00 or so to the project.

Cheap cars can get expensive fast but at least it is close to you. If the interior was in better shape I would be more excited about it. I drug one home to Kansas City from Chicago and it cost me more in trailer rental and gasoline than the car cost in the first place. It was advertised as a non runner with nice interior and exterior trim.All I had to do was tighten the "b" battery cable and it has been a runner ever since. Getting it through stage 0 has cost several hundred dollars but it is now a nice reliable car for my son.

...Lee

 

I work at a NAPA, so all parts would be at Cost, except for the T-belt, which Id painfully opt for OE volvo belt...

Miles, I have no clue what's on it, I mean it looks good from what I can see.

Here is the car itself.

 

The charcoal leather is a nice plus but it also makes it tougher to source in the used market. Erievovo likely has the seat bottom cushion but I've always found them to be expensive. There is a guy parting a wagon with the charcoal interior over on Matthew's site and the interior looked very good from what I have seen. The front seats are the same sedan to wagon except that his may have SIPS. From what I understand SIPS is a pyrotechnic trigger and there is no electricaltrigger for it so itis plug and play from old to new. Check the parts section - it is fairly near the top.

Chances are the odometer is broken anyway so whatever it shows is likely not correct. On a 1994 you can read the true mileage from port A-7 under the hood.

If it were close to me and I didn't need it to get to work tomorrow I would likely be a buyer but I am an incurableVolvoholic. My 1994 is the same color.

...Lee

 

My father and I completely redid the interior of my 740 Turbo, with the Dark Burgundy Leather...Let me tell you about hard to find parts..haha

3 Door panels, 1 console lid, 1 console shell, recover rear bench, and both front seats, re-dye the steering wheel/horn/SRS...along with a ton of other nickle and dime SOB's..

The only thing left is to replace the non-working radio, and put speakers in the doors. In lieu of finding some nearly unheard of color matched speaker covers, Im going to use aftemarket facias.

I am looking to put an Alpine headunit in, and some Cervin Vega Coaxials in the doors.


But onto the 850. The interior looks mint compared to what I had to work with on the 740...not one peice of the original interior wasnt ripped, broken, or ruined in some way except the shifter ****..

Could it be considered sporty, being an N/A 5 cylinder? My 740 feels kinda sporty..I like that feel. Now, I dont expect it to hang with the vette, but...just sporty works for me on a cruiser.

 

A blown headgasket will run...so Make sure you listen to it run, If it does not run I would suspect busted timing belt, take a 10mm socket and pull the cover. If it is a broken timing belt you need to replace the head or get the head rebuilt...$$$ I recently priced 16 valves, new valve seals, head blots, and a machining of the head surface to make sure it is flat at just over $600...so the parts for this would run over $800, headgasket, seals, and sealants...plus the money for the car...and your time...hmmm. Just a headgasket...go for it...anything else, you can part the car out and make your money back...but you need to be patient

 

I was worried about the possibility of running it...Ive seen a Chevy 350 hydro a cylinder due to a blown head gasket, and it put a kink in the rod if you catch my drift..made a real mess of the engine. All it did was turn over hard for a second..then caught and ran rough and had a clacking noise.

The clacking was the piston skirt hitting the crank counterweights.

If you all say it should run, Ill see about having them start it. If it runs and just smokes...I guess im okay?>

 

just take the 10mm and maybe a 12mm for the center cover bolt, and pull the cover...if the belt is broke, plan on replacing the head...if not...

 

alright, he says a Mechanic looked at it, it does run, but smokes and makes a "knocky noise". now, that noise could be rod knock, or a bent rod, or it could be water and oil getting into one of the cylidners making it knock.

He said it has 180K on the clock, and the ODO works.

Price is down to 300 dollars.

 

The noise cjust could be some piston slap, or it could be that noise that DOHC Inline 5 cylidner engines make when they get some miles on them...Hard to describe, kinda like the B230FT at idle.

He says he closes at 5 today....

I really like the look of this car, but it could turn into a repair nightmare if it had a bad rod or spun bearing.

 

Could be a timing belt tensioner too...they make a knocking noise...dude go check it out. That is how I got my 3rd Volvo, that I used for parts, the car has already paid for itself and I am not done parting out...although I will be soon...Make a video and post it...there are a lot of guys here that would be familiar with whatever knock that engine has...

GL

 

just made an offer sight unseen for 250 out the door....

He is going to run it past his boss and get back with me...probably counter 275.00

 

If you decide to buy I would put a motor in it and go.