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My 780 twins (matching black/beige exteriors and interiors) have the following chassis numbers:
#04663 is my 1988 Volvo 780 B280F (PRV-6)
#08847 is my 1989 Volvo 780 B230FT (Turbo-4)
I did get the opportunity to see the vehicle info on my '88 from the Volvocars database during a trip to my local dealership. I inquired if the car still had any outstanding recalls, and they were nice enough to hit the "Print-Screen" button on the keyboard while it was displayed. I'll transcript it as best as I can:
Model Year: 1988
Model: 782
Chassis: 004663
Variant 7, 8, 2, 69, 66, 4, 7, 1
Retail Date/Dlr: 071988__7510
Demo Date: 000000
(the following text was listed in large capital black text standing alone on the page)
B280F, AW71, With Sunroof USA, 780, LH Driven (end stand alone text)
Market Code: 31
Colour Code: 01900 Solid Black Limited
Upholstery: 291000 Grey/Black-Leather
Key Code: (I'd rather not disclose this)
Boot Code: (I'd rather not share the trunk key numbers either)
Radio Code: (blank field, since radio lockout codes weren't used until '90 or '91 when the TD-6141 radios were replaced by the CR-814 which offered both theft lockout and remote CD changer controls. -which are compatible with the Alpine M-bus system)
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Claim type:
Recall Campaign 51 - Complete, ROdate 092199, Main op 88092, Failed Part 0271930-0.
Claim type:
Recall Campaign 82 - Complete, ROdate 092199, Main op 85293, Failed Part 0699856-1.
That's it for the information available via the Volvo database, and I believe that the two mentioned recalls were actually a single event (the 780 power seat wiring harness issue). I actually have the original letter sent by Volvo to a previous owner of the '89 Turbo and if I remember correctly is was mailed sometime in September of 1999.
As for the mystery of how many 780s were actually produced, I think I can help clarify some questions. While I don't know the actual production numbers themselves, I can tell you that it is not unusual for production serial numbers to jump by several hundred units to the next significant character (typically 100, 1,000) during the turnover from one model year to the next. For example, the last vehicle to roll off an assembly line during a model year might be #25462, but for simplicity sake and easier paperwork filing, they may round it up to 25500 or 26000 for the start of the next model year.
Regarding post-production 780 imports to the US, I have heard from 2 sources that many additional 780s came to the US after remaining unsold in other markets. While the official close of the 780 production was 1991, there were vehicles that entered and were sold in the US after the 1991 model year, but they should have retained their original production year 1989, 1990, etc. As far as I know, 1991 production vehicles were only sent to the North American market (between 500 and 600 vehicles), and 1990 is the last model year available to non-NA markets.
God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
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'87 Blue 245, NA 231K
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