Volvo Wagon Expedition Vehicle

[dieselcruiserhead]

Awesome, here is my old 83 245 below. This was the car that I learned everything I know about cars on. IPD overloads as well, otherwise pretty stock. And bullet proof, here it is after completely getting stuck in a gnarly driveway in upstate New York. With decent tires it could remarkably go almost anywhere. I remember driving on the pass between Mad River Glen and Middlebury with snow coming over the hood and it never stopped or got stuck, particularly for a real wheel drive.

I know your old 745 wagon well and that is an impressive list of mods! (particularly the Eaton locker). As you did the overloads you know about the rear suspension bushings. I think with these two mods you're right up there with the most durable cars in history so congrats and nice to see it.

Right now I'm re-living my Volvo wagon love affair as my daily driver/commuter is a 250 hp '98 V70R AWD rocket ship. Even though its front wheel drive in origin (technically all wheel drive) it has its roots firmly planted in "Volvo" and has remarkable similarities to my old 245. Besides that, it's just a snowmobile. Literally the best car I've ever driven in the snow.

Congrats and this is nice to see...

 

[Silverado]

+1 for flex shots in a turbo wagon :victory:

 

[IdaSHO]

Some good person in our Forum have that

Oh my.............. :bowdown:

 

[flywgn]

Oh my.............. :bowdown:

Same here. I like this one and the OP's changes.

Last evening I was looking at this thread on my laptop at our dining table and Diana stepped behind me, saw the XC70 above and said, "Don't even THINK about it." (We consider our XC to be 'hers' in the His/Hers thingy.)

Allen R

 

[Martinjmpr]

I'm building an expedition vehicle based around a 1987 Volvo 740 Turbo wagon because I want it to (1) handle and drive more like a sports car than a truck (2) get 30+mpg.

Nice, very nice! I love the idea of "doing more with less!"

Two quick questions:

1. You mentioned a G80 locker. So I'm assuming this is an AWD Volvo? I didn't think Volvo made AWD wagons until the mid 90's?

2. Are you really getting 30 mpg with the RTT and all that weight? And with an automatic transmission? :Wow1:

 

[Mtouring_Tuff*typing]

Ekk you really thing your going to get 30+mpg from that fully loaded?

 

[life_w_vagabonds]

I had a brick with a diesel. Fabulous car, great ride, huge trunk and great mileage. What happened to volvo? Well i guess its not just volvo...

 

[Rbertalotto]

Geez! I go off road to get as far away from Volvos as I can..............And now this! UGH!

Motorcyclist have a saying when there is a traffic "incident".............


"It's always a Volvo!"

 

[casioqv]

1. You mentioned a G80 locker. So I'm assuming this is an AWD Volvo? I didn't think Volvo made AWD wagons until the mid 90's?

This is 2wd (rear wheel drive) with a locker.

2. Are you really getting 30 mpg with the RTT and all that weight? And with an automatic transmission? :Wow1:

Ekk you really thing your going to get 30+mpg from that fully loaded?

The 30mpg fully loaded will be with a stickshift transmission and diesel engine. My other Volvo (1984 760GLE Turbo Diesel with manual transmission) easily gets 30mpg+ fully loaded and driving 85mph.

This car as is with the current engine (turbocharged and intercooled) running 10-12psi of boost and the automatic barely gets 16mpg loaded, but it's got plenty of power!

I'm actually swapping the "expedition parts" from this car onto the diesel rather than moving the engine to this one for now. Both cars are essentially the same except the diesel is a sedan.

 

[casioqv]

"It's always a Volvo!"

I think you'll find most people with old turbocharged rear wheel drive Volvos are serious driving enthusiasts and pay attention when they're driving :sombrero:

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Awesome car man... I have often thought of selling my Jumping Jack to buy one like it.

 

[casioqv]

Awesome car man... I have often thought of selling my Jumping Jack to buy one like it.

I looked up the Jumping Jack and it looks really cool!

 

[Deleted member 9101]

I looked up the Jumping Jack and it looks really cool!

Oh, I love it... they might not work for most people.. but its beyond perfect for me.

 

[Martinjmpr]

This is 2wd (rear wheel drive) with a locker.

Ah, forgive my Volvo ignorance. For some reason I thought all the "new generation" (i.e. 700-series) Volvos were FWD.

Which makes me feel stupid because my Dad had a ~1998 Volvo 700 series Wagon that he bought new in 1998 and only sold in 2009, I guess I could have looked underneath his car but I just always "assumed" it was a FWD.

So here's a dumb question: Are any Volvos FWD? I know the old 200 - series Volvos (like the 240 Wagon, one of the best looking vehicles ever made, IMO!) were RWD, but for some reason I thought that when Volvo redesigned all their vehicles in the 80's they switched to a transverse design and FWD.

 

[Patman]

The 700/900 series (last of the bricks) were the last of the true rwd Volvos

After that they went fwd with the 800 series and so on.

Its all about the orange brick!