1989 Volvo 780
Candidate

14 September 2005, I went to look for a volvo 780 as supplement for my volvo collection, which already consist of a volvo 740, volvo 760, volvo 760, and volvo 760.

The car was advertised as a 780 with an engine that's bin replaced 60.000 km ago. There would be no problems, except for some '780 specific' problems with the body.

When we arrived to examine the car we were a bit early. The owner hadn't arrived yet. After a few minits the owner and the car arrived on the parkinglot, so we could take a look at the car. The overall impression was a good one, but after looking a bit closer we found a few spots that needed some attention, with the enginebay as the main concern. Below is a list of potential problems we found.

• Rust in enginebay
• Gravel sized pits in the paintwerk, of which some were already showing some rust
• Lock passengerdoor had bin picked. This is repaired, but there was still damage showing and the bodypanel started to rust again.
• Dents in the bootlid
• Small dent below right taillight
• Several scratchmarks on the bumpers
• Rust on the frame of the rear side windows
• Rust on the frame of the erar window (right, top)
• Rust on the electric root borders
• Steeringwheel worn badly
• Wooden finish dashboard
• Driverseat shows wear of use
• Back of front seats (both) not fitted correctly
• A GSM antenna mounted on the roof.
• Cover of upper mount seatbelt was kitted (could be more surprices left)
• Waterdamage on roof lining.

The car handled very good, but while driving we noticed the brakes were way to soft. Also the ABS check light was on the whole drive. There is problem with the brakes, as they 'clunked' reguarly. We suspect the unit od the sensors, together with a needed replacement of all disks. (front disks are warped)

During and after the testdrive we found these technical problems:

• Brakes bad.
• ABS system not function correctly (Check light always on).
• Climate control: we weren't able to get it working during the testdrive The errorcode stated 'to much voltage'.
• Alternator setup gives to much current.
  This concluded from the error given by the climate control.
• Missing electrical antenna.
• Original radio kit comes with the car, however it's defective.
• Entry assist of the electric chairs don't work.

The car was nice, but not perfect. The owners had invested geartly in the car to keep it technically good. Even the engine was completely replaced in 2000 (60.000 km ago). To bad they didn't take as much care of the body. As with the 1986 780 I've devided the ToDo list per desired goal.

Daily driver

To be able to use the car as a daily driver from the start there is not much to do except the following:

• Replace front diskbrakes.
  They are warped.
• Check brake system.
  The brakes feel too soft, needs checking.

Longterm daily driver

The car can be used as a longterm daily driver, but some extra repairs will be needed, of which most need to be done before the start of winter.

• Repair altenator or regulator.
  This seems to be cause of the non-working ECC.
• ABS system check + repair.
• anti-rust treathment of the exsisting spots of rust.

Complete Volvo 780 in working order

The car is almost complete. There are only 2 items missing to make it a complete Volvo 780.

• Electric antenna is missing.
• Oringinal radio is available, but defective.
  Needs replacing of repairs.

Complete Volvo 780 in perfect condition

To achieve a perfect state however, there is a lot to be done. Ok, it's just one extra task, but it'll take a lot of time and/or cash.

• Complete body rust proofing + repaint

The car has potential for complete restoration, but with these problems we need to take the costs for repairing it into account. This adds a bit to the doubts I have about the price of the car. With the price lowered a bit it would be a great buy, but now I'm not sure. We've consulted a 780 specialist on this and his advise was to try to aquire the car for an even lower bid then we had in mind, when we want to restore the car. The spots of rust aren't big, but they are all over the car, so a complete paintjob would be needed to get the car in perfect condition, which is our main goal for a Volvo 780.

When it would be possible to acuire the car for a reasenable price myself, one that would warrant restore in the future and use as a daily driver in the meantime, the car would be a nice addition to my collection. Someone else from the club was prepared to pay a bit more, so he's the proud owner of the car now, mostly because he just want to have a nice car. With this in mind the price is reasonable.

I'll keep looking for another car, and to me honest, I already have another 780 in the picture.

If you want to take a look at all the pictures I've got online, take a look here, just click on the image to view the fullsize image.

© 2005 Jan Huijsmans