Return of the abandoned Volvo

I have no idea about US car prices but it's got to be worth risking even if you decide to break it.

Go for it. Sitting for a year and a half isn't all that long and shouldn't take much to get it going again. Since you have a mechanical background it shouldn't cost much to fix. I bought my 89 turbo wagon after it was sitting for that long and once the battery was charged it fired up and ran fine with 178K on it. It'll need work but there's plenty of resources online and the labor is free. You should be able to properly document it and become the new legal owner but it will probably be a bit of a hassle dealing with the beuracracy. Even if you end up selling it for parts you'll still easily get your money back.

Dave

"James Goforth" wrote

I'd look into what it's going to take to re-title it before I put any money down. A prior lien, for example, could be a major problem.

He's talking about a 760. The last year Volvo made them was 1990. You think there's an outstanding 15 year lien, and the bastards at the bank haven't repossessed it yet.

AC

"Aawara Chowdhury" wrote

Used cars often have liens.

It can't hurt (much) to check and might save major headaches later.

Check with your local Motor Vehicles Division on the procedure. Around here towing companies have paperwork that allow you to get a salvage title for a vehicle. The title is branded but for $300, who cares? The car is worth more than $300 in parts even if it never runs again.

Well I'd pay $300 for it, but it's not anywhere near me.

Running I'd say the value would probably be $1400-$2500 depending on how good the condition of everything is and how nicely you polish it up.

Once you start working on an old Volvo you'll never want to go back. Almost everything is so easy and logical, I never find myself getting stuck like I did with other cars I worked on.

In general, if it's a European car, just take the UK value and multiply it by 3-5X and you'll have more or less the value in the US, which of course varies by location too.

I've also noticed that people's definition of condition varies quite a lot, to some "no rust" seems to mean no visible holes rotted through the body, and "no dents" means it hasn't been broadsided by a truck. Others like myself are much more nitpicky.

No, the only thing about the body is I'm not wild about the color (gold, somewhat fading). If I am to get this car it may entail removing the driveshaft where it sits, as it is in park and there's no key. Question #1: What tool(s) would I need for this? Is it a two-piece shaft, etc? I'm not going to buy a manual for it until I have it in my posession. The car is about 60 miles away from my home but I have just procured a trailer. Oh the weather outside is frightening... well below zero and lots of snow here, somewhat difficult to remove a drive shaft in a (non-paved) impound lot. I know that many times tow trucks will winch a vehicle onto a flatbed with it in park--obviously not the best thing for a transmission but I've never heard of it wrecking one either. They MAY have done that with this one. Any comments on that? I guess the first step is to check out the legalities of the title transfer, and when I have the green light on that I"ll just give the towing service the $300 and get it when the gettin's good. Question #2: Perhaps when it get it titled to my name I can show the title and the VIN to a dealer and get a key?? Since I'm going to need one anyway I may as well have it before I even move it.

if you can't rotate the propshaft, you won't be able to remove the bolts. But if you're going to jack the car up why not take out the clevispin in the linkage to the transmission, and shift the thing in neutral from below

I one of my older volvos, I was able to "manually" depress the pin that holds the shifter in Park. You could reach into the shift handle slot.

James Goforth wrote:

It's a two piece shaft, to remove it you'll need a few 14mm and 13mm wrenches as I recall, might want to bring a set because the bolts may be

15mm at one end, I forget. You need to have the transmission in neutral, rear wheels off the ground, and it *really* helps to have an assistant to work the parking brake while you're underneath.

I just went back and looked at the car yesterday in the impound lot, to make sure it was still intact, as I hadn't seen it in awhile. It has 203K miles on it, BTW. What is generally regarded as the life expectancy of those 4 cyl intercooled engines? (I know it's impossible to say for sure without knowing what kind of care it's had).

Like you said, it's impossible to say. Plenty of them running around with 300K+ on them though. Realistically, 350K-400K is the most you're likely to get before it's getting a bit tired and in need of a rebuild but the interior will usually be shot long before the engine is worn out.