1991 Volvo 940SE - Sedan 940 Turbo

Description

Up for bid is a 1991 Volvo 940SE w/132,000 original miles I originally bought for my mother. About 4 yrs ago she was in a bad car accident, breaking her right hip and ankle. She hasn't driven since. Lately she decided she wanted to drive again and asked me to find her another Volvo. She's always been fond of the 960 but they've had past issues with the aluminum blocks and are far more to maintain than the old reliable 4cyl cast iron redblocks. The 940SE was billed in Europe as a "960 turbo", being its a 960 chassis with a 4cyl turbo drive train. As I normally live a few states away, I wanted to make sure everything was done to the car to bring it to stage 0+, so that she would have years to drive it with minimal and inexpensive maintenance. Unfortunately, she has been experiencing bad back and right leg pains after driving, so she's hanging up her driving gloves and here it is.
I purchased the car from the original owner. It was a garage kept Florida car that was stored at a summer home in Ohio and was never a winter driven car. I have done nothing as far as detailing the car - cosmetically it is how I bought it. There is zero rust or corrosion anywhere on the car. The paint does have dings and chips but still retains its original luster. The interior also shows some wear, particularly on the driver's bolster (where you'd expect it) but no structural or breakdown in the foam. Seats are as comfortable as they were new. Heater blows hot, the AC blows cold and all the amenities work as they should. It also sports a newer Alpine CD player.
I have personally owned over 4 dozen Volvos (restored and worked on dozens more) and have found that regardless of mileage, after about 15 yrs or so, thermal cycles alone will create stress fractures in an OE head gasket, particularly with a turbo. This one was no exception. The (original) head gasket was found to have several fractures and so was changed along with all the rotating seals, gaskets, water pump, hoses, timing belt, tensioner, drive belts, vacuum lines, coolant tank (so she could actually see the level), O2 sensor, and flywheel/crank sensor. The voltage regulator was preventatively replaced due to worn brushes. The throttle body and oil separator was cleaned, a new air filter swapped in and Mobil One oil change done as well. The radiator was replaced about 7 months ago by the previous owner.
A 40 yr Volvo tech I work with prepped a new cylinder head to replace this one (for downtime purposes) with a valve job, seals, hushers, coolant / temp sensors and thermostat. The plugs, wires, cap and rotor were also replaced, using a block mounted distributor - this avoids the o-ring leaks in the original horizontal head mount setups as well as makes future service about 1/3 the cost. I also updated the intake and fuel rail, eliminating the cold start injector to avoid future potential issues such as leaks, etc. (Volvo itself eliminated this the following year).
But there's more.......
The suspension was in need of refreshing, so the front end got new upper strut mounts, new front struts, new sway bar end links, new stay arm bushings and new inner and outer tie rods. The rear axle had the problematic Nivomat setup, with self leveling hydraulic shocks that were short lived - known to leak and sag - and extremely expensive to replace. This was converted to a standard coil spring and gas shock system, so the ride is maintained but the future replacement cost is about 80% cheaper and average longevity almost doubled. After a full alignment, the car runs straight and rides on 4 new Bridgestone tires. New pads and rotors bring it to a smooth and quiet stop.
This is still a used car but ALOT of car for <$4k. Safe, reliable and ready to go with all the long term maintenance covered. I'm only trying to get back what she has in the car - and most of the labor involved was free. It would be difficult to duplicate the car as it sits for the asking price.
Car is currently stored in NW Ohio. I have a clean title in hand and will assist in anyway to arrange shipping, pickup or delivery.