That 850 I bought...

[ChrisMClark]

I'm been here a few months now, and I don't think I've actually posted much about my 850, apart from the problems I've had. So here we go!

It's a 1993 850 GLT, 1984cc 20 valve. Had just shy of 120K on the clock when I bought it, now just north of 121K. The car had no service history whatsoever, apart from a sticker from Volvo saying the cambelt had been done at 65K. Car runs smoothly for the most part, but needs a service...which I will get round to doing eventually... Interior is pretty tidy, no damage to upholstery or carpets or trim. Only annoying thing is the knackered glovebox. The broken glovebox I could deal with, but the previous owner put two screws in the trim. One in the dash and the other in the glovebox lid, and then use a sandwhich bag tie to wrap round them to hold the glovebox shut.

Outside it's no so pleasant. There has been a very poor attempt at repairing some paint damage on the driver's side doors. The car came with a tin of 'Volvo Red' Hycote paint, not even the right colour :lol: I plan to deal with this myself over the summer when I can garage the car and take the doors off and have another go. There's a few chips here and there than need addressing, and last week the glass fell off the LH indicator cluster, to be replaced with a new cluster next week. The electric antenna has also broken, and will be ordering a new mast soon. Basically the plastic strip that wraps around the cog inside the mech has snapped.

Mechanically it's pretty sound, apart from the common cold start problem if you don't let the engine warm up before killing the ignition. The rear right ABS sensor also needs replaciong, as well as the whole car needing a good service. Front tyres and spare wheel tyre need replacing as they're very nearly bald, but not using the car at the minute anyway.

So far I've not had to do much. It broke down in December and needed a new thermostat. Sadly I wasn't at home, so I got to pay a garage for the pleasure. I've also repaired the 3rd brake light (burnt out contact) but still need to figure out why the lamp malfunction indicator is showing, even though all the brake lights work lol. Also replaced the exhaust hanger with the repair style one. I removed the tape player that came with the car and replaced it with my Caliber CD headunit taken from my last car.

All the problems above I intend to fix as I love this car, and would be fantastic with a little TLC. I should also point out that I only paid £420 for it!

Now for some pictures:
The car:
http://clarkphotography.terapad.com/resources/18779/imageGallery/exterior_1_aaj.jpg

And the rear:
http://clarkphotography.terapad.com/resources/18779/imageGallery/exterior_2_emw.jpg

Inside the front:
http://clarkphotography.terapad.com/resources/18779/imageGallery/interior_1_fat.jpg

And the rear:
http://clarkphotography.terapad.com/resources/18779/imageGallery/interior_2_fdy.jpg

The p*ss poor attempt at repairing the paint work:
http://clarkphotography.terapad.com/resources/18779/imageGallery/crap_paint_repair_uuy.jpg

The wonderful indicator!
http://clarkphotography.terapad.com/resources/18779/imageGallery/knackered_indicator_syy.jpg

The engine bay:
http://clarkphotography.terapad.com/resources/18779/imageGallery/engine_bay_fni.jpg

Where the glovebox lid should be...
http://clarkphotography.terapad.com/resources/18779/imageGallery/where_the_glovebox_lid_should_be_lau.jpg

And where it actually is!
http://clarkphotography.terapad.com/resources/18779/imageGallery/where_the_glovebox_lid_actually_is_rnz.jpg

Sunroof is also knackered. It goes up to vent, but no longer retracts back :lol: It used to though!

[ChrisMClark]

After some opinions too. I have to make a decision within the next 12 months whether to keep it or PX it for something else. If I keep it I'll be making modifications to it, but I 'm not sure if it's worth it. I won't be going mad, it'll be the same as I did with my old car, plus some other little bits. So that's alloys, suspension, exhaust, induction and brake upgrades, plus a decent ICE install too.

[Rnash2002]

To be fair mate i would say you could get alot better and cleaner 850 for around £500.
I wouldnt bother with her mods wise,just stick with it until you look to sell on and get a better one.

[ChrisMClark]

Thought as much :lol: Still going to do the repairs that need doing though, it's going to have to last me a while, plus it's MOT is due in August. May not bother trying to better the paint repair though.

I've given serious thought to buying an older C70 next year...

[850 2.5 10v]

You can buy Torch's S70R for £1250.00 IIRC.

Don't even think of modding a 2.0 with anything other than a wash.

Same goes for my 855 2.5 10v!

Cheers

[smithy]

i had a mk1 850 with 17s fitted and that was a 2.0 20v and i loved that car i had it 5 yrs but after 2 yrs i blew the engine so i fitted a 2.5 20v and then the car started to realy shift ,it was a very quick car.