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I tend to agree with Sdewolfe that, in terms of Volvos, upgrades are made by going further back in time. First stop, a 940. Just like the car you now have, but with a much better engine---the simple rugged Red Block. Look for a Turbo if you want similar performance to the 960, a regular if you can get by with less. In either case you will get better mileage, and no longer have to worry about the timing belt---if it should break, the engine stops but no damage occurs. Tow it in, put a new belt on, and you're back on the road again. The later 740s (88 and up) are almost as good as the 940, but tend to have more minor trim and cosmetic problems. If you want air bag and ABS, some of them have both, some one or the other, some neither. Look closely if these features are important to you. The next step is a 240---88 was the best year for these, with 93 (the final year) a close second. Anything in between is also good. On all models 80-87, (240 and 740) beware of crumbling electrical wiring under the hood. If this has already been replaced (a major job) these cars are otherwise excellent, but watch out for rust on older 240s. Avoid all V6 engines. The 140 is probably my choice for best Volvo of all time--particularly the fuel injected 71-72 models. The 122 is even better looking, and simpler, with its SU carbs, but good ones are getting hard to come by. Though they are mostly over 40 years old, they are still perfectly capable of being used as a daily driver, if they are in good shape. The same is true of the 544, though you might want to upgrade the front drums to discs.
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