Last week (on June 9 2012) I bought a nice Volvo 740 GL of 1984 (but it’s already Modelyear 1985 since it’s produced in October or November 1984). Unlike the newer GL’s this 740 is a very basic version: it doesn’t have central locking, heated seats or even a blue/green beam in top of the windshield! All options were pretty much standard one year later, but in 1984 it seemed the car had to be pretty cheap, so all those options weren’t a standard equipment yet. The car has an AW70 or AW71 (I didn’t check it yet) automatic gearbox, gray cloth upholstery and that’s it. Originally the car had blue upholstery (according to the previous owner, who works at a Volvo dealer) but it’s changed to a newer upholstery because the old interior was worn out. But it seems the new interior is exactly the same as the original interior, according to the upholstery color code which can be found on the VIN-plate. What a coincidence!
I also bought a set of Volvo Adhara wheels (which came from the 940 of the previous owner), which are now installed on the car.
My Volvo 740, I’ll still use my Volvo V70 as daily driver
Some specifications of my Volvo 740 GL:
- B230K engine with Pierburg carburator and automatic choke
- power steering
- dark red paint (color code 211)
- a nice Turbo grille
- white indicator lights (instead of the orange/white which are used in Europe)
- gray upholstery (cloth code 4510)
- 15-inch Volvo Adhara wheels with Dunlop Sport tires at the front and some unknown brand of Austria or Germany
- that’s it! Not even a tow bar!
The car only has a mileage of 210.000 kilometers, which is extremely low for it’s age. But according to the institute which registers the mileages (NAP) it seems 100% correct!
The car drives pretty well, except sometimes it’s pretty unstable on the road (feels like bad shock absorbers), but I drove the 740 back when it was very stormy. Other things I need to fix: indicator of the overdrive will light up sometimes (and the overdrive of the AW70/71 is working fine), resistor of the heater fan is broken (the fan only works at full speed) and two times when I wanted to start the car the starter motor immediately stopped after just one stroke. But after that the car started immediately and that problem hasn’t been seen again (yet?). On the front doors and front wing (just below the side direction indicator) at the driver’s side there’s a bit rust, but it seems it’s caused by chippings. So it isn’t very bad. The floorpanels of the Volvo 740 are in excellent condition.
In case the shock absorbers are in bad condition (I tested it by pushing down the car and release it, but it seems okay): I will also replace the springs. In that case I will lower the car with 40mm by installing a progressive coil spring lowering set.
’84 Volvo 740 GL sedan image gallery
Here are some images of my Volvo 740 GL (MY85), click on the image for a larger version.
 The rear view of the Volvo 740 sedan, the Adhara wheels are pretty nice on it! |  The Volvo B230K engine with Pierburg carburator. This engine is equipped with an automatic choke |
 Another view of the Volvo B230K in its engine compartment |  The front with 740 Turbo grille and white indicator lights. I really like this front! |
 Here you can see a little rust on this Volvo 740: at the side indicator and the lower part of the front door. A very common problem on the early types Volvo 740 and 760. Fortunately the rust isn’t very bad: only the top of the metal has some rust |  Another nice detail is the chrome trim just below the side windows |
 The paint on my Volvo 740 is a bit dull, but after waxing and polishing it should be much better |  The interior with gray cloth. As you can see the headlining is removed because it was falling down, a very common problem on all Volvo 740 and 760-series. I will reline the headliner soon, but it’s a hell of a job (I’ve done it before: it isn’t difficult but getting the headliner cardboard out of the car isn’t easy) |
 The Volvo 700-series is designed with a ruler |  Drivers’ view of the Volvo 740 |
 Unfortunately the top of the dashboard is cracked. Another very common Volvo 700-series problem |  At this view you can see the paint of the car is a bit dull on some places. It needs to be waxed |
 The Adhara wheels (which were designed for the Volvo 940) looks very good on a 740 |  The only thing I miss on this car is a sunroof |
 It’s the original mileage (actually: kilometres) of this car |  The VIN-plate of my Volvo 740. I removed the chassisnumber on the picture, in case somebody copies it. As you can see on the right: this 740 is produced in Belgium (Gent) and the paint code is 211 (the 2 indicates the supplier of the paint) and the upholstery color code is 4510. More info about the paint color codes can be found here. |
© Volvotips 2012