Saying G'day.

[bricklurv]

Hi all,

Im Tony and Im a long time Volvo Tragic.

I started out with a 244 and then a 265GLE which caused me to spend a lot of time on the tools including the dreaded heater fan replacement (The HARD way).

Eventually I replaced the Bosch CIS system with a single SU I sourced from a Hong Kong car that had found its way to Australia which was an awful replacement and I eventually scrapped the car as a nightmare when the B27 got "Cammy".

At that time I found myself Divorced and bought a 142 which I enjoyed the hell out of and this car rekindled my Brickluuuurv until I lost this car to a speeding truck and I walked away from the Marque for something more mundane.

Seven years pass and I saw a mid 80's 240 4 speed manual Wagon, bright Red in colour with a B230F for a few hundred dollars and made it mine until a friend in need borrowed it to move house and ended up buying it from me which leads me to my current crop of Volvo's.

A 1989 740 Wagon (B230, 470'000 km) which is my daily driver and the new purchase being my Wife's 1999 V40T (265'000 km) which is essentially why I'm here on the Volvo forums again after a long absence.

My Wife says to me that she wants something black and sexy, I'm thinking Halle Berry and for this I get a smack.

As punishment I am then forced to view half a dozen or so online adverts for V40's whilst trying to sway her to a V70-T5 or similar but she wont budge.

My other car is an 09 TDic Mondeo recently purchased for work duty and so I can do some major works to the 740 and apparently the 740 isn't good enough so I wisely chose to shut up and wait her out.

A few weeks later it is painfully clear that I lost the standoff and I buy her a dark dark blue metallic (Or Black as she insists it is) high mile V40T with a fairly impressive service history.

The car has had timing belts, airbags etc etc all checked at reasonable intervals, everything works and isn't in bad shape for the age and miles.

As far as I can tell it needs a trans service and a tune/plugs/whatever.

And as I know nothing about FWD Volvo's, Here I am.

I have to add that without IPD, their fantastic prices and awesome International freight keeping these girls on the road would be far more difficult.

Tony

[jblackburn]

Welcome to the site, sir. Good to see you embracing the newer Volvos.

I haveta say...after seeing the RWD bricks with the tailpipe on the left my whole life, that one looks a little odd to me

[bricklurv]

Ahhhhh well the tailpipe on my 740 is on the right side to conform with the ADR (Australian Design rules) at the time so the exhaust exits away from potential pedestrians.

And yep its about time I went to a later model but Volvo's last years and years Downunder and even 70's 100 series still get about as daily drivers.

I honestly wanted a V70T5 instead of a V40 and I may replace the 740 with one down the track.

IPD have made my life much easier but im having a hard time finding manuals and although its not a real drama with the older cars the V40 has me stumped.

Picked the V40 up yesterday morning from the mechanics and he gave me a list of stuff to fix for roadworthy, mostly minor except for the rear end bushes and trailing arm bushes which I'm ordering from IPD at this stage.

The 740 has had a heap of work done to it by myself, mainly re-doing jobs properly but the usual 740 woes like dud in tank pump and sender module, timing belt/tensioners et al as well as the usual plugs, leads, dizzy cap/button renewal and I also did the front struts.

I then did the trans pan gasket and filter and for some reason the AW71 filter I got wasn't the right shape but the old one being a nice stainless mesh I cleaned it up and reused it and as id ordered the trans mount that too was fitted along with a host of minor bits like washer jets, window switches and a set of wipers front and back.

She still needs some cosmetic work and I have to do the VDO Dash and instrument cluster as the odometer doesn't work and the fuel gauge cant be trusted either (Dry caps?) but that's a job for a change over cluster if I can find one.

[bricklurv]

Why I keep buying Volvo's.

Design, Sturdiness, Engineering, Practicality.

One of my first Volvo's was a 1979 265 GLE (B27) and I bought it cheap because everyone shuddered and ran away screaming when the subject of good versus bad Volvo's came up.

My Mechanic who was a really nice bloke as well as a very competent spanner slinger banned the car from his shop before id even paid for it.

So I learned about K jet CIS systems and other related oddities all by my self and persevered in keeping this car on the road as my daily driver.

The reality was that it was a pile of junk from the firewall forward and that V6 gave me nightmares but it kept on running and never once left me stranded in the 200'000 km I drove before doing a V8 conversion.

Why I stuck to my guns was a mystery to all but me and few ever asked why, but those who came with me on the many trips up country on the highways and secondary roads around Victoria quietly figured it out for themselves.

In fog, mist and rain the lights never failed to give me an excellent view of the roads and on snow trips with chains the 1031 rear axle was sure footed with and without chains while the passengers were toasty warm inside both front and rear.

In bad conditions the car was still sure footed and on dirt not many could match my pace in a straight line or sideways.

When it came to moving house I was first on the list to help because with a 6 x 4 foot trailer and the rear seats folded flat I carried far more than any other car helping out.

In Summer the Aircon blew cold and constant in outside temps into the 40 degree range Celsius (104f) and the car never overheated even driving at 110 plus over the Nullarbor plains.

The 200 and 700 series also had an incredible ability to sustain wildlife hits and emerge unscathed and although I don't make a habit of it running over Wombats, Rabbits, Hares, Foxes, Possums, Wallabies and even Kangaroo's is unavoidable where I live.

Wombats are one of the worst because its like running over a bag of bricks and the male of the species will charge a car at a fair speed in rutting season often taking out the front end in the process.

Imagine if you will a furry breeze block (Besser brick) diving under your car and you just about have the right idea.

The trans pan gasket and service on my 740 was brought about because on the way home from picking the car up I ran over a grey Kangaroo that suddenly appeared in front of me at 100 kph (62 Mph) and disappeared under the front of the car to be spat out the back right in front of the friend who drove me to pick the car up.

A stop and check revealing that all id damaged was my underpants and the cover for the towing point in the front airdam which was a relief as I was still 140 km from home. (And still laughing like a maniac at the sight I saw in my rear view mirror as my car seemingly launched a Roo carcass 3 feet in the air at the car behind me).

3 days later a Fox the size of a Border collie fell victim to the 740's front bumper and once again no damage and the sheer amount of Kangaroo's and Wallabies I have dodged grows every month.

And yet the only damage seemed to be the seal popped on the trans pan and some minor scuffing to the air dam, Oh and the engine bay plastic pan I ended up removing as it was fragmenting every time I hit something.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not driving around with a Hockey mask on mowing down wildlife... its just a fact of living in the country.

The 265 was the same, scything down errant wildlife and feral animals surviving undamaged where lesser cars were disabled and its ability to swerve at speed was uncanny (Elk test?).

I recall hitting a large male Wombat at speed and surviving undamaged while the friend following behind wasn't so lucky with the remains spat out the back of my car.

When the V6 finally gave up in the 265 I pulled it out and replaced it with a small block chev and Th350 trans but not before stripping and cleaning the underside of the car of bits of roadkill and fur.....

Once cleaned and stripped it became fairly obvious that the car was made for a V8 with a huge engine bay and more than adequate trans tunnel plus the engine just dropped in with the help of some home made mounts, slight notching of the trans cross member and a custom tailshaft back to the 1031 Volvo rear end.

Spring rate and damping were perfect, all accessories just bolted up with some help from the Summit catalogue and even the power steering pump bolted on fine with the whole exercise taking less than a few days.

I do miss that wagon.

[shanegtr]

Nice looking V40 you got there. Im only new to volvos, and the V40 is my first. So far Im impressed with them. Good to see a few more aussies here too Oh, and Im another one to thank iPd (still waiting for my first order to arrive, but the prices are great)