Reluctantly up for sale and with a very genuine reason is my beautiful (as far as Volvo’s go) Pearl Black Volvo 940 Sports Edition.
I have owned the car a few months after placing a wanted ad on a Volvo forum for a 940 Turbo Estate, ideally with LPG and someone came back to me with something far beyond my expectations.
This is a rare Sports Edition 940 and widely considered the most desirable 940 spec available. The Sports Edition specification brought the following improvements into the mix:
- Lowered suspension from the factory
- Deep dish “Galaxy” alloys
- Turbo + option. Essentially providing 30 seconds of overboost to 195 bhp on full throttle
- Extremely sought after G80 self locking differential. This acts like an open diff, but once a wheel is spinning, the speed will engage the locker mechanism. The diff and rear axle make over £1000 in Scandinavia for motorsport purposes! It can also be converted to act as full LSD, see guide here: http://www.turbobricks.com/mods.php?content=art0027
- Heated black leather seats
This Sports Edition has the sought after 5 speed M90 Manual gearbox and has had a reputable short shift conversion fitted to it. In substitute for these performance extras, the Sports Edition spec lost options for an outside temp gauge and cruise control, but these were handily retrofitted by one of the previous owners (both work perfectly). Clear indicators and Moose badges are some other tasteful mods.
The previous owner seemed to know his Volvo’s well and had the car thoroughly checked out for any leaks or overheating issues, many new parts added and others included as spares. It seems the real money was spent by the owner prior to him…
The car has 181,000 as it is still in daily use, but the engine was replaced somewhere down the line by him and the replacement “red block” runs beautifully.
He also added a fully sequential multi point LPG system has been added to this 940. It’s a Kingfisher LPG conversion that itself costs over £1000, so it was a massive bonus to have one already fitted in the reasonable asking price asked when I bought it and sees the car average 45 mpg easily.
This owner also had it in his mind to make it the ultimate 940. At one stage it was built to the 531 ME7, V cam spec, adding a whopping turbo which achieved 250 bhp easily according to (see a scan dyno print out in the images). It was running a T3 which was rebuilt at a cost of £500 to Cosworth spec with a massive actuator and capable of running 24 psi. This was unfortunately done quite badly and it shook itself to bits basically.
The car is now running a stock 530 head and original turbo but it does have fitted, ME7 blue t5 injectors, Forge manual boost controller, Chipped ignition and fuel ECU's. A perfect base for most mods with most of the kit in place to run big bhp again.
It has also recently had a complete overhaul of the ignition system, magna core leads, T5R plugs, new coil, new crank sensor and a new O2 sensor. It also has a cat back Jetex stainless exhaust fitted. The Galaxies had been refurbished with a slight curb mark on one, but with excellent centre caps. Two virtually new good year tyres on the front and two reasonable Pirellis on the back. The car has had the rear Nivos replaced with Bilstein HD's and cargo springs.
There is a solid fly wheel and TDS clutch conversion fitted and drilled and grooved disc's.
I've added to the good work of the previous owners by replacing the perished backbox rubbers to bring it back to its normal position, an oil change and replaced the osf cracked headlight.
Other Information
- The MOT is until September 22nd
- It has almost a complete service history, invoices and notes to suggest a lot of loving attention and money has been spent on this car, as well as a running diary of other mods, to which I have added to.
Areas for Improvement
- The bodywork is nice and straight, With that said, there are some scratches, parking dings and some dents on the car. Someone has sadly keyed one side across two doors. There is also a dent in the roof, it’s fixable and not that noticeable. The ones that do catch the eye are on the bonnet, which although could be repaired, would most likely benefit from being replaced. I managed to source a good replacement bonnet for £30 (yes parts are plentiful and cheap for this model of Volvo) from a breakers and it even fitted easily into the boot, but on closer inspection it was dark grey and not black. If I was to keep the car, I would definitely keep an eye out for a good replacement, but while the bodywork isn’t mint, it does pass as smart overall and certainly not shabby considering its age. Up on a ramp, no corrosion was found – you’re welcome to come check this out yourself prior to the auction end. If the next owner was to spend a little on the bodywork and styling, I have added an image of a tasteful variant I came across on the net that could be very much possible.
- It has Air Con fitted, but doesn’t work. It needs a new compressor. Being a bit of a hotcake, I do appreciate ice cold AC in a car. For some reason though, maybe it’s the size of the car, but with the windows and sunroof open, it seems to keep things reasonably cool inside.
- I’m not sure this part is a negative, I've tried searching for solutions to various creaks and noises from the car that I haven’t really heard in the German and Japanese cars that I've owned. Inside there is a very slight knocking noise from the rear end for example and there is a slight ”fluttering” noise from the turbo. Having never owned a Volvo before I don’t really know if this is normal, but everyone from the forums tells me that it’s nothing serious and my mechanic told me there’s nothing of concern when he took it for a drive and inspected it on his ramp. I've since accepted these as characteristics of the car and it really doesn't unnerve or bother me when I'm driving it. It’s taken me London and back 3 times up to now with zero issues.
- With heavy rain some water enters the cabin from the sunroof after being sat still. It’s not a lot and there is no smell coming from the car. It is most likely a faulty seal or a blocked sunroof hose. If I get time to investigate and get it fixed I will update this ad.
Feel free to skip the next two sections, but just in case you wanted to know the story behind why I’m selling it
Why I bought it:
I woke up one day, inspired by epic drift videos to learn to do it myself. I liked the idea of something a little more quirky than the usual 200SX and BMW 3 series type cars and go for something with a bit more hipster and practical appeal.
Videos such as this: [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTzxh9u ... A&index=21[/youtube]
It really got me excited about the idea of a Volvo. Initially I liked the idea of a more brick shaped 240, but the 940 is dynamically a better car, almost as interesting to look at and the red block Volvo engine is easier to modify cheaply for more power.
Before attempting some dorifto ackshun, I thought I would book myself onto a “Learn 2 Drift” course and get to grips with some basics in someone else’s car.
My potential world beating drifting career came to an abrupt and pathetic end though. Things started OK on the course. I managed to do a doughnut in the instructors 240SX, but then couldn't stomach (literally) attempting a figure of 8. A big sweaty helmet and the smell of burning clutch and rubber didn't exactly help my rapidly developing nausea and I ended up puking shortly afterwards (not in my helmet luckily). I sounded like the little fella from the Goonies [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5UG7ISJfP0[/youtube] – except not quite as cute. The nausea lasted a day later, a message from someone NOT to pursue this as a way of earning my crust. I sat there gutted, staring at my potential drift beast and thinking in hindsight that I should have booked that drift experience earlier. Everything happens for a reason as they say and I then realised that I've never had a car this relatively cheap that turns so many heads. I’m not sure if it’s the all black bodywork or the Ferrari style moose badges, but it genuinely gets a lot of admiring glances and second takes. In the end it made perfect sense as a luxurious, fast, practical, economical and hip daily driver to smoke about it. I even managed to get it insured on a classic car policy with Footman James for £245.
Why I’m selling it:
I’m going to be working abroad for a year. Apart from cancelling my gym membership and mobile phone contract, I also have to relieve myself of one of the best cars I’ve owned. It’s honestly been great. I’ve moved shedloads of stuff. Friends have borrowed it and they’ve done the same, all while being a really fun car to drive and be seen in. I’ll genuinely be sad to see it go.
Included in the sale:
Should the car make it’s starting bid (there is no reserve), I will include the following parts given to me by the previous owner.
- Set of ME7 Injectors
- 3” Airmass Meter
- Chips for both ECU’s (Fuel and Engine)
- 2 camshafts (different specs to have a play with to improve performance)
- “Forge” manual boost controller (£90 new, not some cheap poor quality stuff)
- Tasteful roof spoiler with brake light, sprayed in body colour (worth around £100)
- Bigger turbo charger, that will need a new shaft and balancing at around £115 I’ve been told.
- Mudflaps, headlight guards and a tow bar for the practical ones
With all these fitted correctly you’re looking at a very realistic, economical, practical and cool 250 bhp daily wagon.
Finally…
There you have it, I've been as candid as I can about the car, my ownership and why I’m selling it. As far as 940’s go it is in the more expensive band, but I've again been reliably told that even standard 940 Sports Edition go for much more.
The fact that this is a good example of one in the best colour, has had an expensive and value-adding LPG conversion, as well as the added performance mods actually make this a veritable bargain.
I hope someone will truly appreciate this car and take it to the next level. While I wouldn't have been averse to trading this for something interesting, I really don’t need another car for now for the reasons explained.
Usual auction rules apply. I'm happy to allow any inspection prior to bidding. Payment within 3 days and Pickup within 7 days of the auction end. Respectfully though, a bid is legally binding, so please remember this. I am happy to pick anyone up locally from Manchester Airport. The closest train station is Gatley. A small journey from Manchester Piccadilly. Or I can deliver the car at the sellers cost for my travel and time costs at a fair fee.
Apart from that, please no lowball offers. I’d rather sell this, but if I don’t get the price I want, I will just park it up and drive it on my return. I’m not keen on keeping a decent car like this open to the elements, gathering moss, but I know it’s a good un and it will never drop in value in my eyes.
Any other questions, please let me know and thanks for reading!
