difference between the 740 and 940?

Post by **CIK7** » 14 Dec 2023, 10:14

Is there much difference at all? I dont want another whiteblock, although a white v90 is tempting. Something that takes regular gas, is known to be reliable, but has the options-up-the-wazoo compatibility like the whiteblocks, the 7/9 series with the redblock is my best option. It seems the 940 might have slightly better mpg.

On another note, Big Car on Youtube said in beginning of 740/760 story that the 200 series was unreliable. That seems contrary to what I have heard here and everywhere else. Was there a time that the 200 series was unreliable?

As a wildcard for this post, are the 740/760 front seats compatible with the 780? Any 780 owners on here to answer that?

Post by **BlackBart** » 14 Dec 2023, 12:52

CIK7 wrote: ↑14 Dec 2023, 10:14
on Youtube

the 200 series was unreliable.

That seems contrary

It is not unreliable. It is bone simple in most of it's forms. You had to keep them tuned, yes, this is normal for any car of the era.

In the 740-940 era, there are NA redblock fours, there are turbo fours, there are straight sixes (960?). Need to read up on all your models and drivetrains.

Post by **matthew1** » 14 Dec 2023, 12:53

The 900-series were a little longer at 7cm and about 1cm wider, making exterior trim/bumpers/grille/etc. non-compatible between the two.

viewtopic.php?t=5246
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/volvo ... 00-series/

940 base engine was more powerful than the base 740. If you're considering both, I'd go for a 960 or '97/'98 S90/V90 and get a I6.

Post by **BlackBart** » 14 Dec 2023, 13:12

That's a great history, Matt! And good old Jan Wilsgaard designed the 122 and the 850, I'm always amazed by that.

I would steer away from anything with that PRV V6. The 740 turbo wagon was a nice car. The 16V twincam four was a sweet engine.

: image.jpg (143.98 KiB) Viewed 2044 times

Post by **CIK7** » 14 Dec 2023, 14:02

BlackBart wrote: ↑14 Dec 2023, 12:52
CIK7 wrote: ↑14 Dec 2023, 10:14
on Youtube

the 200 series was unreliable.

That seems contrary
It is not unreliable. It is bone simple in most of it's forms. You had to keep them tuned, yes, this is normal for any car of the era.

In the 740-940 era, there are NA redblock fours, there are turbo fours, there are straight sixes (960?). Need to read up on all your models and drivetrains.

Yes I understand the drivetrains but I wasnt sure if there were crazy differences that would make me lean toward one or the other. However as a bonus to the thread, I did find out that the RWD m90 5sp offered on the whiteblock was not the only m90 made. There was also one for the redblock.

Post by **CIK7** » 14 Dec 2023, 14:05

BlackBart wrote: ↑14 Dec 2023, 13:12 That's a great history, Matt! And good old Jan Wilsgaard designed the 122 and the 850, I'm always amazed by that.

I would steer away from anything with that PRV V6. The 740 turbo wagon was a nice car. The 16V twincam four was a sweet engine.

Do you know why the Renault engine sucks? The rest of Reault sucks. They influenced the Nissan lineup after the acquisition. That turned out bad with the weak trans, low quality, and I heard the engines had issues too. So Im not surprised. I would steer away from them too.

Post by **CIK7** » 14 Dec 2023, 14:09

matthew1 wrote: ↑14 Dec 2023, 12:53 The 900-series were a little longer at 7cm and about 1cm wider, making exterior trim/bumpers/grille/etc. non-compatible between the two.

viewtopic.php?t=5246
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/volvo ... 00-series/

940 base engine was more powerful than the base 740. If you're considering both, I'd go for a 960 or '97/'98 S90/V90 and get a I6.

I do want to get something that I can use regular gas in. My understanding is that the N/A whiteblocks need premium more than the turbos, is that right? I am considering buying the turbo engine out of a 940.

Post by **CIK7** » 14 Dec 2023, 14:17

Instead of buying an expensive perfect car, Im going to buy a cheap good one and customize it. So spend less on the initial car so I can buy all the goodies: a 5sp (if original isnt), a turbo four (maybe even a 16v), a nicer matching pair of front seats, third row seats, the phone, and a set of wheels pictured below or the Regulus pictured below.

Off topic: Can someone please tell me how to disable the invisible mouse cursor while typing on MVS? I already changed it in Windows so thats solved, but MVS is the only place I have this issue.

Post by **BlackBart** » 14 Dec 2023, 14:39

I may be wrong and smarter people will correct me, but I don't think the white block came out until the 850, which would be 1992 in Europe and later here.

Post by **BlackBart** » 14 Dec 2023, 14:52

Oh sure enuf, I AM wrong. Look at these two wiki panels of engines -
The 940 engines are all red block based, B200s, B230s. The B234F is the 16V twincam.

: 940 engines.jpeg (51.35 KiB) Viewed 2026 times

Then the 960 engines....
B200s, the twincam 16V, B230, the PRV V6, then the B6244/6254 is an I-6 and when you click on that link, you get a photo of a white block. So these overlapped and went well into the 90s, after the 850 arrived. Sorry to be misleading.

: 960 engines.jpeg (38.23 KiB) Viewed 2026 times