Tag Archives: Tørslanda

Tax Break Special – Volvo 940 SE Turbo Estate

The Volvo 940 Turbo SE Estate / Station Wagon was introduced in May 1991 and in the UK was aimed solidly at the company car market with a 2 litre / 122 cui turbocharged 4 cylinder engine that qualified for a lower rate of taxation than the 2.3 litre 900 series variants.

Volvo 945 SE Turbo, Siverstone Classic

The SE was also loaded with goodies like colour coded mirrors, a more comprehensive set of front lights and a smaller black grill.

Volvo 945 SE Turbo, Siverstone Classic

The B200ET and later B200FT engines which produced 150 hp were gems because they were fitted with a small diameter Garret T4 turbocharger which all but eliminated the throttle lag which was a common feature of the earlier turbocharged B230 motors that had been fitted with hefty Garret T3 units.

Volvo 945 SE Turbo, Siverstone Classic

From the A pillar back the 940 Estate / Station Wagon is indistinguishable from it’s predecessor the counterpart 740 apart from the more judicious use of black trim in place of earlier chrome items.

While not as rugged as the 200 series Volvo’s, as this example shows, these vehicles are just as capable of surviving in presentable condition for nearly 20 years, a strong selling feature in the UK mired in the depths of a property market recession at the time of the vehicles launch.

Production of all 900 series models ceased in 1998 when the saloon / sedan variant’s were known as S90’s and Estate / Station Wagon’s as V90’s.

Thanks for joining me on this Tax Break edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Multi Purpose Vehicle – Volvo 240 Tørslanda

The Volvo 200 series launched in 1974 was a significant update of the 140 series which is outwardly easily identifiable by federal spec railway sleeper like low impact bumpers that gave the vehicle all the style, despite the best efforts of Jan Wilsgard, of a house brick.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

From 1974 – 1993 the 200 series came with a variety of straight 4 engines, some with turbo chargers, Peugeot Renault Volvo, PRV, aluminium V6’s and straight 5 cylinder or 6 cylinder diesels sourced from the Volkswagen.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

Over the 19 year production run there were numerous stylistic updates which softened the more extreme features of the early 200 series, it was never considered a particularly good looking car but it’s robustness and average 19 year longevity did lend the 200 series a certain status cache somewhere between a Range Rover and a multi purpose vehicle, MPV, Mini Van, the latter which first appeared as the 200 series production was being wound up.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

The 1993 Tørslanda special edition, named after the Swedish factory that built them, was a back to basics estate station wagon model, allegedly designed to cope with harsh Scandinavian winters.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

It featured, by then already retro, manual mirrors, door locks and windows front & rear, plastic trim in place of chrome which fairs badly in snow, heated seats, power steering, full length body stripes and BBS style alloy wheels.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

The 200 series estates / station wagons, which accounted for a third of the 2.8 million units produced in Sweden, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy and Malasia, were particularly popular with those needing a large cargo area, the 41 cubic feet cargo area could carry large pieces of furniture, cookers, fridges, washing machines or hay bales and was often supplied with dealer fitted rear facing seats that could accommodate two small children. These cars are still popular with trades people in Europe today.

Volvo 240 Tørslanda

Whilst outright performance was rarely top of the list of a typical 200 series customers desires, Volvo did support the development of a turbocharged two door model that allowed Gianfranco Brancatelli and Thomas Lindström driving for the Eggenberger Motorsport team to share the 1985 European Touring Car Championship.

Thanks for joining me on this Tørslanda special edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Halfway House – Volvo 144

Volvo 144

The Volvo 140 launched in 1966, which superseded the Volvo 120 Amazon series, was the seed design that stayed in production across two distinct series of models for thirty years until 1996. The 140 design was significantly updated in 1973 as a precursor to the 240 series launched in 1974.

Volvo 144

This 1973 140 model, a halfway house between the original 140 series and forthcoming 240 series, has many interior features familiar to early 240 owners including much of the entirely padded plastic faced dashboard, round, replacing the previous strip, instrumentation and rocker switch gear.

Volvo 144

For 1973 power for the 140 series came from a 1986 cc / 121 cc straight 4 cylinder Over Head Valve B20 motor itself the last iteration of a design born out of the Volvo V8 B36 motor used in Volvo commercial vehicles.

Volvo 144

The tail of the 1973 and ’74 140’s is also identical to that on the early 240 series the only thing missing is the much larger energy absorbing bumpers of the latter model.

The 140 series was dropped in 1975 with final production of all 140 variants since 1966 totalling over one million units which were built at plants in Torslanda Sweden, Ghent Belgium, Halifax Nova Scotia Canada, Melbourne Victoria Australia and Shah Alam Malaysia.

Thanks for joining me on this Halfway House edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil psycho on tyres’, I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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