Leonidae's Brick Special 2.0i ( AKA Volvo 740GL '90)

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Leonidae@MFT

Leonidae@MFT

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So, I finally took my chance and drove my dads Volvo sedan from Helsinki to Varkaus. This particular specimen has covered 355000km and it's still in pretty good condition.
Worst issue it has is through-rotten exhaust system, which made it sound a lot like a smallblock V8, with similar fuel economy too. Smaller issue is a light system checklight that turns on when I turn the headlights on, but all the light bulbs are working. o.O Probably an electrical gremlin or worn wiring loom somewhere.

Currently it's running on studded wintertyres wrapped around steelies, but for summer it has mint 15" Draco's with equally mint summertyres. I don't have big plans for this car yet, just going to order new exhaust system from midpipe backwards and go through the necessary paperwar in order to get it registered. And seeing that this car has a cat, I can't do much performance wise. Besides, it's a Volvo, fastest road-going farming equipment, not a sportscar. I probably will change the steering wheel though, the stock one doesn't let me rest my thumbs properly when I have the "quarter past nine" -position. I might also consider finding a factory spoiler for it, as well as rear window louver and perhaps a cheap LSD for improved winter driving experience :D. I will see if I can snatch some photos tomorrow when I get back from work, if it ain't too dark that is.
 
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Okay, I just had to. Get them soooooon....
 
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I shall, assuming that the sun hasn't gone down by the time I get home from work.. It goes down around three in the afternoon now..:grumpy: I HATE winter.
 
Dude, loads of snow and rear wheel drive, there's no reason to hate winter then :)
 
Oh yes there is, if you have to spend 6 hours each day pushing the snow off from peoples roofs and yards. :irked: Anyway, a photo of the car in the dark, snowy night of Finland..

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Good enough proof for ya? :lol:
 
Couldn't fit "Leonidae" in there somewhere? :lol:
 
XD

My friend over in Falun, Sweden says he's got about two inches on the ground there...

Which is strange. Usually he and I have the same weather...and right now in Central Illinois, it's like...60-70 out during the day.
 
We got the tail end of a snowstorm that messed up our capital, so basically it's like 4-6" of snow out there now.. Oh well, off to work.
 
did ya check to make sure the plate light(s) are on? damn near any blown bulbs can make a check light hiccough

Eiriksmil: mabey for you, it's fun. people forget how to drive in the winter, for the most part, over here. you wouldn't believe the mess people get into, anymore. I think they expect the car nannies to save them :P
 
Yes, I checked everything.
 
Hrmph.. It really is an electrical gremlin, since all lights work as they should. I double-checked them.. Yet the light still goes on when I switch from parking/attention lights to full driving lights.. :irked:
 
Yeah I don't accept that proof. Could be any person's car on the road. Need a sign under the hood and inside the car....
 
Um.. what? just FYI, Volvo 740 has an old system that keeps an eye on the light bulbs.. so, when one goes out or the system thinks that it's about to happen, a warning light appears on the dash.. well, all the lights work so it's probably a broken wiring loom or something, or a bad contact..
 
Eric.
Yeah I don't accept that proof. Could be any person's car on the road. Need a sign under the hood and inside the car....
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Yeah, I'm sure he's just pretending to own a Volvo 740...:dopey:

But seriously, good for you Leonidae! On a related note, my close friend also owns a '90 740 - Turbo model, to be exact. :) Maybe I'll coax him into joining GTP one day so you can swap tips! :lol:
 
Leonidae@MFT
Um.. what? just FYI, Volvo 740 has an old system that keeps an eye on the light bulbs.. so, when one goes out or the system thinks that it's about to happen, a warning light appears on the dash.. well, all the lights work so it's probably a broken wiring loom or something, or a bad contact..
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I just got rid of my '90 740 :D Hell of a car, man!

You have 2 tail lamp bulbs on each side, separate from your brake lamps. If you have one tail bulb out per side, it'll look like all your lights work, but your dash bulb will still be on. Also, it could be your rear fog lamp(s), there's a switch on the dash for it (to the left of the wheel, I believe.) If that's on and your bulb's dead, it could also cause issue.

I had constant problems with the circuit boards in the tail lights, and most of it was from bad contacts. Pull all the bulbs and take a wire brush to all the contacts on the light assembly and the bulbs. A little dielectric grease might be good, too. And sometimes, the bulbs just need to be wiggled around a little bit. 👍

Congrats on your brick!
 
Antti-san
Yeah, I'm sure he's just pretending to own a Volvo 740...:dopey:

But seriously, good for you Leonidae! On a related note, my close friend also owns a '90 740 - Turbo model, to be exact. :) Maybe I'll coax him into joining GTP one day so you can swap tips! :lol:
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Sweet!

Teh_Loserer
I just got rid of my '90 740 :D Hell of a car, man!

You have 2 tail lamp bulbs on each side, separate from your brake lamps. If you have one tail bulb out per side, it'll look like all your lights work, but your dash bulb will still be on. Also, it could be your rear fog lamp(s), there's a switch on the dash for it (to the left of the wheel, I believe.) If that's on and your bulb's dead, it could also cause issue.

I had constant problems with the circuit boards in the tail lights, and most of it was from bad contacts. Pull all the bulbs and take a wire brush to all the contacts on the light assembly and the bulbs. A little dielectric grease might be good, too. And sometimes, the bulbs just need to be wiggled around a little bit. 👍

Congrats on your brick!
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I did check the foglights too, they work brilliantly, as well as the reverse light etc etc.. So, probably just some bad contact or such.. I hate hunting those down. I did also check the brake light bulbs just as you said because they didn't work properly at first. I noticed that the lights were okay, but the circuit boards where they latch onto weren't tightened properly. 💡 So, I tightened them and lo and behold, they work again properly, same thing for the register plate lights.
 
Antti-san
Yeah, I'm sure he's just pretending to own a Volvo 740...:dopey:
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Too true - not much point in lying about owning something that costs around 1000€. I can confirm that being his car until he gets the photos up, he dropped by when taking the car home. And that description about the exhaust note doesn't tell half the truth... it felt like the rumble was reverberating from every wall in the block. When idling. :p

That bulb warning is a system that works perfectly in theory and not at all in practice. My own '92 240 lights it up pretty randomly when turning on the rear window heater, opening the trunk, using the rear window wiper, sometimes just starting the car. In all cases it goes out after a few seconds. And when I blew both my headlight bulbs once it didn't notice a thing.
 
Picture time.. :lol:

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Leonidae@MFT
I did check the foglights too, they work brilliantly, as well as the reverse light etc etc.. So, probably just some bad contact or such.. I hate hunting those down. I did also check the brake light bulbs just as you said because they didn't work properly at first. I noticed that the lights were okay, but the circuit boards where they latch onto weren't tightened properly. 💡 So, I tightened them and lo and behold, they work again properly, same thing for the register plate lights.
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Good deal! Glad you got that sorted. My the odometer on my 740 quit at something like 268xxx miles and I just never got around to swapping it out. I drove it for a good 5 years after that, and passed it on to a buddy of mine who has it now. Those cars are every bit the tank they're made out to be, I even named mine Sherman :D
 
Leo, you maaaaaay want to edit those proof pics XD
 
Done. I guess that settles the proof department.
 
Winter doridori abilities of the Lolvo have been charted. I'd give it 70-75% out of 100%, since I'm not used to the car yet. Despite low power rating, the rear breaks away easily when throttle is applies, but does so in a controllable manner. Countersteer and zero countersteer drifts were easy to achieve and maintain despite of the stock suspension and lack of LSD. Oooh boy, this car is going to get me into trouble alright.. :lol: :D Cushy and comfy, yet agile and fun when needed. :dopey:
 
Leonidae@MFT
Winter doridori abilities of the Lolvo have been charted. I'd give it 70-75% out of 100%, since I'm not used to the car yet. Despite low power rating, the rear breaks away easily when throttle is applies, but does so in a controllable manner. Countersteer and zero countersteer drifts were easy to achieve and maintain despite of the stock suspension and lack of LSD. Oooh boy, this car is going to get me into trouble alright.. :lol: :D Cushy and comfy, yet agile and fun when needed. :dopey:
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I had a great deal of fun on rainy nights in empty parking lots, doing the same kind of thing. Funny that you call it the Lolvo, I almost named my new wagon that. :lol:
 
Progress report: Replacing headlight bulbs solved the "burnt/malfunction light bulb"- warning light issue in the dash, so obviously that system works too. :odd: Tightened the alternator belt which was squealing, but now it seems that I might have a dead or dying battery in my hands. :irked: Also, the midsection of the exhaust was halfway rusted off, will add a picture later. it's also corroded tightly on the next part of the exhaust in the front.. Already removed the useless rear silencer. Sounds didn't change much, I'm still the target of chavs envy. :lol:
 
oy, you can come chop the resonater offa the van. I hate critters :P

as for the battery, i've had a LOT of problems with vehicles that have set more than a couple of months tend to eat their batteries :P and usually, it takes the bat cables and the alt with it :P
 
Replaced my battery today, and lo and behold... the car that was buried under nearly 2ft of snow yesterday roared to life like it was summer. :D Gotta love gutsy old Volvos.
 
And this is why you do not box in an old Volvo.. Especially not with a Jag and Cadillac. And yes, I would do the same in a heartbeat.

 
Just don't take video of yourself doing it, or you could get some nasty hit-and-run tickets if you cause any damage.
 
I don't do pocket parking. I don't trust other road users that much.
 
Would had replaced the register plate light if the battery hadn't flatlined on me. Since I don't have the secondary key that would open the trunk etc... gotta get one carved at some point. I'll give the light replacement another shot later today if the weather allows.. I have to start waking that 1.3 ton lump of Swedish iron ore up and start planning about changing the summer tyres on.. They're on nearly immaculate 15" Dracos.
 
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