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Hi all,
I have two 940s: a wagon, and a sedan. Both are non-turbos. The sedan is the most base model Volvo I've ever seen.
Here's a side-by-side comparison:
Wagon:
-Heated cloth seats
-Power driver seat w/ memory
-Heated mirrors and timed rear defrost
-Outside temperature gauge
-Cruise
-No sunroof
-Metallic burgundy paint
-3rd seat
-Lit window switches
-Alloy wheels
-95-only puckered door cards
Sedan:
-Cloth seats (no seat heaters)
-Manual seats
-No heated mirrors, and most shocking to me: no timed rear defrost. You have to manually shut it off - I haven't seen this on a Volvo since the early 80s
-No outside temp gauge - just a blanking plate
-Cruise
-No sunroof
-Flat black paint
-Lit window switches
-Steel wheels with hubcaps
-95-only puckered door cards
I know the final years of the 940 had some odd combinations. I wonder if the sedan didn't have a winter package (no outside temp gauge, heated seats)? I need to check if it has the locking diff.
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What about factory options?
So far I've found the following:
Coin tray
Snow cover
Rear spoiler (wagon)
Mudflaps (ft+r)
Plastic floor trays (w/clips)
VX+3 camshaft (Genuine Volvo with slot for rear dizzy)
Roofrack
Know of but don't have:
Dog gate
Rear cargo cover
700/900 specific fog lights?
Cup holder armrest
E-code headlights and turns
Eggcrate grile
Sidemarker lights
Various camshafts
Various gauges
I've never looked at a factory option brochure, so I'm not sure what all was available.
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Here's a 1997 V90 web page on the Volvo Cars international web site that provides access to what appears to be a fairly complete list of the Genuine Volvo accessories and optional equipment available for various markets for all the 700s, 900s and S/V90s.
Volvo Cars Accessories 700/900/S90/V90
The full 325 page catalog is available here as a PDF file
Volvo Cars Legacy Catalog
Some items were of course standard equipment in certain models and markets. Some items were market specific, such as radios for the North American market. Some items, like power windows/sunroofs and roof rails, were intended for factory or assembly plant installation only. Some items, like Volvo travel bags, were intended for dealer supply only.
Volvo Cars of North America would have had its own catalog that would have included a selection of these items intended for North American assembly plant installation or local dealer supply/installation.
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now
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Now that we've had a chance to look at that miriad collection of Genuine Volvo available options and accessories, I'm now entertaining votes here for some of the more noteworthy ones, such as:
o The most useful accessory you wish you could still get for your car?
o The most interesting Genuine Volvo accessory you might hope to trip over at a swap meet?
o The stupidist or most useless option or accessory that Volvo offered, as in the option or accessory that Volvo likely never, ever sold?
I'll start the ball rolling with the Genuine Volvo Toilet Bag (large) on page 2.51 as probably one of the least likely accessories I'd have purchased, but one that I might be interested in having now -as I get older, there seems to be an increasing need to use the toilet when I'm on long highway trips and it would seemingly save a lot of time not having to find a spot to pull over.
I'm actually mildly surprised with how many Genuine Volvo options and accessories I actually do have courtesy of various POs and my own finds, including wagon cargo (dog) gate, wagon cargo blind, floor carpet pads, floor/cargo trays, sunroof wind deflector, locking gas caps, locking wheel nuts, armrest coffee cup holder, mud flaps and likely a few others I've forgotten about at the moment. Although interesting, I'm not sure how much use of a coin holder I'd make what with automated road/bridge tolls and that I mostly pay for parking with debit/credit cards -I'm sure it would just end up with assorted small junk items and dog biscuits like in the back of the storage shelf and glove box.
As an aside, one of the more interesting accessories a brother of mine scored is a Genuine Volvo gas can molded to fit into the curved rear storage wells of the 140s and 240s. It was apparently semi-popular in Australia where there are often greater distances between petrol stations, such as in the Outback. That led to all the Australian market 740 sedans later getting an integral 22 litre (5.8 US Gal) auxiliary gas tank under the rear shelf in addition to the standard 60 litre (16 US Gal) tank. The later 940s everywhere got a larger 75 litre tank, while the IRS 760s/960s could fit an 80 litre tank above the rear axles.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now
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Back when I used to drive 240s, I would always hunt for tachometers, small clocks, and other accessory gauges. Used to have volt meters, fuel economy meters, etc. Then I'd hunt down the plastic floor trays and 245 trunk liner. I'd also always find a cloth interior and swap out the vinyl seats. A trunk cover was always a good score.
I once had a 245 that I tried to option out to the fullest. It came to me as a base '92 in dark blue with gross vinyl. I found a nice grey cloth interior for it. Then I added factory fog lights, a flat matte tach w/ small clock, Bertone wheels, lit window switches from a later 940, fuel economy gauge, cargo cover, floor and trunk mats, center arm rest, Billy HDs, VX cam, turbo exhaust, heated power mirrors from a '93 240. I even converted it to a manual. I ended up trading it for a '69 145, but I miss it.
With my 940s, it's mostly just the floor trays, dashboard pen holder (like on the later 240s - really good for holding my phone for GPS), and maybe different rims (my 944 had steel wheels on it, but it came with Hydras with bad rubber so I got new tires for them and am excited to have them on).
I would like to find a cupholder armrest.
Most useless... well I did find a CD changer in a 780 Bertone at the junkyard last weekend, and had no desire to take that home.
That CD-based voice nav feature they offer in that catalog seems a bit scary.
The best thing I ever came across at a parts swap was at Carlisle a few years ago: a full manual swap kit that I purchased for my '96 855T. It is now one of the few manual turbos in this country (having never offered that combo).
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Yes, thanks for posting that.
I forgot about the kid's seat.
And I never saw the "load liner" before. Or a "load securing net".
Would love to find a load liner.
I'd take a "Le Mans" steering wheel and "neck cushion" too.
Very interesting that they sold the 21mm/19mm swaybars as a "road holding kit".
I too love the coin tray. Holds sunglasses and stuff.
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This awesome. Thanks for sharing this! Some of these descriptions are pretty hilarious.For example the 945 window-integrated antenna (which my car has):
"Reception quality is just as good as with a conventional aerial"
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Mine has the coin tray (which is really useful for holding my phone while using Waze), and the floor mats. But I added both of those things.
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Mine has the coin tray (which is really useful for holding my phone while using Waze), and the floor mats. But I added both of those things.
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Interesting comments. As an owner and observer of multiple late 940s, if there's one constant in what was standard equipment it's that there is simply no good rule.
The 1995s, and to a lesser extent the 1994s, were of course the final years of 940 production in the North American market (to 1998 elsewhere). I've come to believe that Volvo was simply using up every variant in body design and optional accessories when shipping to the dealerships in order to clear out the production floor inventory. I assumed it had a lot to do with which assembly plant it was, how far along in the production run, and perhaps the alignment of the stars.
First thing I came to believe was that they ran out of turbo boost gauges and chrome turbo badges for the rear as it appears most of the later 940Ts didn't get them. I've seen standard (as in apparently unoptioned at the time of delivery) 1995 940s with and without allow wheels, with and without wagon roof rails, with and without sunroofs, with and without mud guards, with and without powered driver seat, even with and without leather upholstery, to the point I'm no longer surprised by almost any configuration. Of course the turbos normally got more goodies, mostly leather and sunroof, but even that's not a constant. Puckering door panels seems to be a given with all the 1995s, maybe most of the 1994s as well.
Way back when, heated mirrors, heated seats and the ambient temp sensor were once part of what was called the "winter package" as a standard offering in places like Sweden and Canada and an option in places like California, but soon became more the "norm" in most markets. For wagons, I always assumed things like a cargo blind, cargo gate and a 3rd row of seats were always specially ordered options, but I wouldn't be willing to bet money on it. As for the lack of a rear defrost timer in your one car, well I rather suspect that's a faulty unit or replacement unit rather than the lack of an option as Volvo's have had timered rear defrosts since the 140 days.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now
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I have seen two 700/900 series which had just the on/off switch for rear window defrost. Quite unusual. I have no idea why Volvo used this switch instead of the switch with timer.
700/900 series cars have become scarce in our self serve wrecking yards. Good interior door panels (some call them cards) are no longer easy to get for replacement in the 1995 940s.
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john
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I know what you mean about the door cards. I found a mint set in a Rhode Island junkyard yesterday in a '91 740 wagon. I pulled them only to find that they're a slightly darker grey than in my '95. Not sure what I'll do with them. Maybe paint them if I find the right color.
Both the '91 745 and '95 944 in the yard had 303k miles. There was also a later b230ft Bertone, but it only had 129k.
The '91 was a Regina car, but with a cam-mounted distributor. I thought only the Bosch cars had that...
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And every time I admire all my unpuckered 940 door panels, I always think of you, John, and how generous you were for not just finding them, but going the extra many hundreds of miles to bring them across the border (I promise never to tell what you smuggled across with them, laugh). Many, many thanks yet again. Hope you and your family are continuing to do well.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now
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We are well. There are three turbo 940s in the family. All three have 960 seats, which have become near impossible to find in nice shape.
Again, you are welcome. Thanks for lunch in White Rock. That evening I stopped in Lynnwood and had dinner with my daughter and son-in-law. Traffic was light that evening, so I drove home. It was an easy drive.
--
john
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A fellow late 940 fan!
My wagon was made 9/94 in Halifax. It does not have a roof rack. It was sold new in Nashua, NH. I think New England would almost automatically get winter package stuff.
My sedan was made in 4/95, so likely one of the last US-bound ones. I'm not sure where it was made. I can see the remnants of a sticker on the driver's door where the wagon has it's "made in Halifax" sticker. I suppose I could tell by the vin. I'm not entirely sure where it hails from.
I'm fairly certain the non-timed rear defrost switch is factory - at least it looks factory. And it clicks on and off. If I remember correctly, my '82 242DL also did not have a timed defrost. It's been a while since I've driven my '73 1800ES, so I can't remember. Same goes for my '69 145, which I no longer own.
I always assumed the lack of turbo gauge and badging was due to a shying away from announcing the turbo. Perhaps the intrigue had worn off in the late 80s and they were perceived as unreliable? That doesn't really hold too much water though because my '96 850 has both a gauge and a badge. That car was bought new in SoCal by my grandmother, and does not have the winter package (heated seats, light wipers, etc). She did have a dealer install the cargo cover and rear cargo mat. I think the 850s were the last to feature a turbo gauge and badge. Later cars had no gauges and just a T for turbo.
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A fellow late 940 fan!
Very much so. As you can tell from my sig line I'm a bit of a Volvo nut and always have been, never owned anything else, call it stupidity, loyalty, whatever. For my personal needs and tastes, the later 940T wagons are the ultimate compromise in terms of practicality, safety, affordability and creature comforts at the moment, which is why I own two of them (okay, my wife's twin '95 940 wagon is merely a B230FD NA, but it's admittedly a lot cheaper on gas than my turbo around town).
Show me another passenger-sized vehicle with as many creature comforts and as much storage capacity, hauling abilty and DIY maintainability then I'll be interested, but no one has yet succeeded in swaying me to something more modern. While our Art Benstein would admittedly be hard pressed to leave the 240 world, so too would I leaving the 940 world -mind you I wouldn't sneeze at a cherry 740T or 16-valve wagon, heck even a 240 GT/GLT can be fun to drive at times, while I still wax nostalgic for my very first car, a fun '66 122S Canadian (one step below the sporty 123GT), much like you probably miss having your 1800ES on the road, oh heck this must be some kind of incurable disease for us. When I bought my '74 144GL there was an orange 1800ES next to it on the showroom floor that really caught my attention, as later did a sport-luxury 780 when I bought my '89 744GLE 16-valve at the same dealership.
Keep me fed with good used 1994-1995 940T wagons that I can maintain and I'll likely live happily ever after until I no longer need to haul crap to the dump or can hold a driver's license and a wrench. I just had a bizarre thought of changing my will to specify a funeral procession of Volvos (packed like clown cars) with my casket being hauled to the local dump in my black 940 wagon -how fitting would that be? LOL, I do amuse myself at times.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now
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I totally agree. I'm sort of at a crossroads as I own a few Volvos from different eras, but I'd like to thin down the herd. I recently acquired the 944 with the intention of fixing it up and giving it to my mom, but I may give her my '11 XC70 instead (which now has 80k miles, and has been a tremendous car - bought it with 55k). Then I'd have the pair of 940s, my '96 855T (converted to manual), and my 1800.
The 945 has the perfect mix of creature comforts: working AC, heated seats, cruise, power seat, working tape player (I still have plenty of tapes), etc.
In New England though, you don't see many clean, low mileage 940s. Fortunately both of mine have 129k on them. The wagon is not rusty, but the sedan has a few odd spots (like above the windshield).
I do wish the 940s were turbos though. On a recent trip to Montreal with my girlfriend, the 945 struggled in the mountains of VT with 600lbs of music equipment and the AC on.
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"Show me another passenger-sized vehicle with as many creature comforts and as much storage capacity, hauling abilty and DIY maintainability then I'll be interested, but no one has yet succeeded in swaying me to something more modern."
I hear ya Dave, but have you ever tried a 3rd generation or newer Honda Odyssey? :-)
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"... have you ever tried a 3rd generation or newer Honda Odyssey?"
Definitely an Odyssey has long been at the top of my non-Volvo list. For our needs and tastes, I've often thought that an Odyssey and something with a smaller footprint like a Prius hybrid might make a good set of family cars for us. It would require a major shift in my DIY mindset. I shudder at the thought of dealer maintenance and all the expensive, complex and inaccessible components that might get accidentally damaged, wear out or start failing by the time they get into old age as I do tend to keep my cars for well over 15 years. In the meantime, having two wagons means I've always got a spare hauling machine in case one is off the road or on restricted duty. Our wagon is often packed to the gunnels on our weekly travels to the cottage or wherever and on more than one occasion we've been able to limp home and quickly press the other into action in the event of a breakdown, even doing roadside transfers like two back-to-back Fedex trucks.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now
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Dear rehsper,
Hope you're well. Accepting as true your statement as to the Honda Odyssey, I note that newer vehicles's electronic-intensivity forces most to rely on dealers for maintenance. Newer vehicles' heavy reliance on electronics means diagnostic software is needed, some of which is "dealer-only", i.e., not available for purchase.
Further, as most newer vehicles are front-wheel drive, there's little "work room" in the engine bay. Swapping-out an alternator on a 940 is a 20-minute task. I doubt anyone can match that time on a Honda Odyssey. That said, it should rarely be necessary to change an alternator.
Thus, it might still be worthwhile to acquire a newer vehicle, because the infrequency of maintenance offsets the greater complexity and so cost of maintenance.
Hope this helps.
Yours faithfully,
Spook
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Hiya Spook!
You hit the nail on the head. A good modern car is certainly more complicated, and often relies upon specialized diagnostic tools. For me, these are more than offset by reliability and frequency of maintenance benefits plus all the advancements in safety, performance and creature comforts.
Funny you should mention the alternator. That's one road I have been down on with my '06 Odyssey. 20 miles into a cross country trip, right outside San Diego, the battery light came on. We felt lucky that it got us to an Autozone that had an alternator in stock. Took us two hours to swap in that parking lot; sounds bad, but not a terrible job.
Having owned various modern cars I'm inclined to say that dealer-only or expensive diagnostic tools are almost never required. Only once did I need a mechanic to diagnose and reset a sensor. I was disappointed to find that cleaning the throttle body on the Honda (which included manually moving the butterfly) rendered it confused and unable to reset itself. That required an expensive electronic tool to resolve.
Best regards,
Will
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