Sorry guys. Here is another looking to to buy an 850 post.

The 10th position of VIN is model year
W - 1998
V - 1997
U - not used
T - 1996
S - 1995

The 6-7th position of VIN is engine designation
58 - 850 R with High Pressure Turbo at 240 HP
57 - 850 T5 with High Pressure Turbo 222 HP
56 - 850 GLT with Low Pressure Turbo 190 HP
55 - 850 basic or GLT with No Turbo

Here in the middle of back-woods Indiana, I doubt that any 850 R(s) exist. That leaves my options at 850 GLT or 850 T5. I am familiar with turbocharged engines. I will probably upgrade turbo and intercooler no matter which car I buy.

What are turbo differences between 850 GLT and 850 T5?

What are ECM (or ECU) differences between 850 GLT and 850 T5?

What are drivetrain/brake/suspension differences between 850 GLT and 850 T5?

What are the obstacles that prevent me from buying a 850 GLT and installing an electronic boost controller, larger turbo, and more efficient intercooler?

 

I'm sure you could find an R somewhere near there. If you like performance, and don't mind spending the extra money, it would be worth the loot to pay for shipping or travel. I have a 94 850 t5 with the R wheels, and several upgrades. It hauls *** and drives great. The interior of the R is much nicer with suede and normal leather seats. I wish I had a true R. But, if you are going to add performance parts all the way around, and don't care that much about the interior. I would say get the 220 hp turbo car and add a larger turbo like the TD04-19T from a V70R. And a computer, manifold, etc. Check out this car from a previous post I made http://www.turbobricks.com/feature.p...tent=spring_05. If you've got money and you want the best of the best, go to www.volvomotorsports.com.

BTW, you can't get a turbo 5spd unless you get an R!!! (99% sure), unless you get a European car.

 

I would love to find a 850R. I just don't remember seeing one where I live. A Volvo with factory 17/18 inch rims -- I would think that I would remember seeing something like that.

"TD04-19T" Those are numbers that I am familiar with -- A Mitsubishi turbo. And I thought that all Volvo's came with a Garrett turbo. I still have a lot of homework to do!!

 

You can find a turbo car in a 5 speed without it being an R car.
I have seen them many times already.

But once you buy something start buying in the aftermarket and installing.

Check out my post on the I think general section about links to sites.You should be able to find tons of stuff there.

 

WOW!!!!! I have never ever seen a US turbo 5 spd 850

 

They are hard to find but they do exist.
I have driven a couple of then they are fun to drive.

 

From what I've read so far, in the US, 5-speed is only available for 850 base model and 850 R. I am not saying that they don't exist -- just not in literature that I've read. Anyway, I am learning as I go... The low-pressure turbo was offered just for MY97.

On another post, someone claims that his MY97 GLT turbo has 5-speed -- maybe the MY97 850 GLT with 5-speed is the car for me!!!

MY95
850 T5R with high pressure turbo at 240 hp
850 Turbo with high pressure turbo at 222 hp
850 GLT with no turbo
850 base with no turbo

MY96
850 R with high pressure turbo at 240 hp
850 Platinum Limited Edition with high pressure turbo at 222 hp
850 Turbo with high pressure turbo at 222 hp
850 GLT with no turbo
850 base with no turbo

MY97
850 R with high pressure turbo at 240 hp
850 T5 with high pressure turbo at 222 hp
850 GLT with low pressure turbo at 190 hp
850 base with no turbo

240 hp engine same as 220 hp engine. There is a elapsed time clock that runs at higher boost for something like 9 or 10 seconds.

222 hp engine has 8.5:1 compression with Mitsu' TD04-15G turbo -- at what psi?

190 hp engine has 9.0:1 compression with Mitsu' TD04-13G turbo at what psi?

168 hp engine has 10.5:1 compression.

Did the Mitsu' turbo have TD04H exhaust wheel?
Did the Mitsu' turbo have 7cm2 turbo housing?

 

I just bought a 97 850 R. It took some looking, and I had to fly to Va. Beach for $117 and drive it back. I figured for another $117 I could have flown back home had I not liked it. Another way to get one is to find one on the internet and get as much information as you can. Then find a Volvo mechanic in the area where the car is located and have it taken to them for an pre-purcahse inspection. I paid $57 to have one inspected in the Chicago area to find out I did not want to buy it. It was cheaper than flying up there to look at it, and having a mechanic look at it is way better than me looking at it. You can find R's. You need to be patient. I set my mileage limit at 500 miles when searching. Autotrader told me Va. Beach was 434 miles and it turned out to be 605, but I got my R, and it was a nice drive home. But I do like being in a car by myself on a fairly long drive. I turn the frigging cell phone off too.

 

Here is one that I was going to look at in Evanston, IL. If it's still available I bet you could get it for under $7K.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...en&cardist=281

Here's the one I did not buy because I paid for an inspection on it and it did not look too good:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...93&cardist=288


You can find several more on Autotrader and cars.com. Knight Rider also posted a link in the Classifieds here that had several of them. I have bought three cars now that were not within 200 miles of where I live. I bet there are even people on this board that would be willing to look at one for you if was near where they live. I have to admit too, that I have driven more than 125 miles just to look at a car that was misrepresented. Pull a Carfax or AutoCheck report on anything you look at before doing anything else. I bought the unlimited AutoCheck's for $25, and that's the first thing I do is pull the report on cars. Unless it pretty close to where you live, I try to stay away from places that look like cheap used car lots. The V70 I bought in the DC area last year was from used car lot, but they had pretty high end cars and my broter in-law happened to live about 10 miles away, so he went and looked at it for me before I bought it. He was shocked when I actually bought it over the internet based on what he told me, but I am really happy with the car.

 

JimKW, congrats on finding your white 850R in VA. I remember reading about it while browsing older posts. I hope that your son enjoys it.

The red 850R in Evanston (Chicago North) has sold. I read about it in the classifieds. Also, I found the IPD link that lists 850R's. I might be interested in the yellow one in Elmhurst (Chicago West).

I lived near Chicago between 1979 and 1988. It seemed that they would put down 2 inches of road salt whenever they expected any kind of snow fall. You saw both cars. How did they look from a rust stand point? If you would like, what did you like and dis-like about the yellow one in Elmhurst. You can e-mail me at rbrown23NOSPAM_at_earthlink.net. Remove NOSPAM.

Thanks for reminding me that 850R's can be found under $7K. The Volvo dealer here in Indianapolis is asking $5,000 for a nice clean white MY98 S70 non-turbo with 170K miles. This afternoon I followed a couple driving a nice clean white MY97 850 T5 on their way home. The car had 110K miles. I offered them $8K on the spot. Unfortunately, they declined.

I found a faded black MY97 850 GLT low-pressure turbo Auto with busted odometer. Using CarFAX, I estimate that it has 150K miles. If they will take $2K, I will put another $3K into it (including paint, if it is mechanically sound) and drive it until I can find an 850R or S70R w/ 5-speed.

 

Don't waste your time on the yellow T5R in Elmhurst. That's the one I had inpsected for $60. It's been repainted and the colors don't match and there is overspray everywhere. There was also trouble with the sunroof that he said would be $1,000 to fix. Tha's all I remember, but there was more.

I see there is a Red R Wagon with the black interior here in Columbus with only 94K on it, but he is asking $9,950. I would go look at it if you were interested. I pulled an Autocheck report on it. It was in Chicago for the first four years and then in Ohio and finally in Ma. There is something in the Autocheck report that says it has a correected title. If you are intereested call him and see if he knows what that is about. It looks like it was before he bought it though.

There is also a yellow T5R in Pittsburgh area from a Private Seller. He does not give the mileage or the VIN number, but it is a yellow T5R for $7695. Autotrader says it's only 144 miles from me. I might be going to Pittsburgh this coming weekend, and if it's any where near where I'm going I will look at it. I'm going to call about it today. If it looks real good, there may be a really nice white one for sale here in Columbus.

One other thing: You made some comment about you hope my son enjoys the R. That's my car, not his. He just talked me into buying the wheels and tires. Both of us want a yellow T5R though, and so does his girlfriend.