In the 1980s, seemingly every European car could be upfitted or customized in some way. Porsche with the slant nose conversions and wide body kits; VWs slammed on BBS wheels; Mercedes-Benz sedans with the full assortment of AMG parts; the list goes on. However, Volvo was not typically included in those advertisements in magazines loaded with aftermarket content, for obvious reasons: a Volvo was a safe, stodgy car. You didn’t buy one of these to modify. Well, apparently some folks did, because this 1987 Volvo 740 Turbo listed here on eBay was customized when nearly new in Germany with a Hausser V7 body kit.
The seller posted this car a few days ago on Reddit thread where he was clearly looking for more information. If you check out those pictures, you can see the 740 was either traded in to a dealer or ended up at a local Manheim lot where dealers dump trade-ins they don’t want to sell. He has done a respectable job of filling in the blanks, as he learned that the Volvo was purchased new from a dealership in Germany by a service member stationed there at the time. Obviously, the proximity to a German aftermarket company like Hausser makes the conversion more logical, as these body kits are rare pretty much anywhere but especially in the U.S. After all, your typical 740 shopper in the late 80s was not likely to ship an entire body kit over from Germany simply to have the baddest Volvo on the block.
On the outside of the car, the original owner also ordered almost every available OEM accessory, like the “heckblende” panel that sits between the tail lights, the sunroof wind deflector, and the rear spoiler. Inside, this 740 remains completely standard minus the head unit, and that’s not a bad thing. The seller opted for an automatic transmission, which was fairly typical at the time. If this car had a manual transmission, it would likely go into the Volvo hall of fame as the coolest 740 Turbo ever made. Seeing how clean this car is inside effectively confirms that the longtime original owner – it sounds like the service member who bought it new owned it until recently – clearly loved this 740.
While I’d love to tell you the folks at Hausser ran a run on this turbo to increase output to match the awesomeness of the exterior, they likely didn’t. There’s no evidence to support that Hausser did much else than add the awesome body kit. The 2.3L turbocharged engine produced 160 horsepower and 178 lb-ft of torque, which was acceptable at the time, especially for a car with such a conservative image. I do hope this 740 finds its way to a Volvo enthusiast who loves it as much as the long-time owner did, as there are likely very few of these Hausser-equipped cars in existence.
You’re right, Jeff-this is something very rarely seen in the US. It’s another interesting car that came home with a serviceman and in this case one that was very much appreciated during their lifetime. A change to Euro bumpers would be a nice addition but any Volvo enthusiast would probably like to have it even as is.
Won’t pass a smog inspection?
Have never seen one of these Haussner 740s. Looks to be an add on package of fiberglass spoilers and a badge package. I’ve had a few of the 7 series turbo cars and they don’t get the love they should. Pair them with manuals, and an open IPD catalog along with judicious use of boost pressure once you’ve increased it. Easy to do with help from Turbo Bricks website. Fast, Safe, Affordable, fun.
Beautiful car. I remember when this car was first intro’d back in the 1980s. I had a nickname for this Volvo: The Cinder Block, because of its block like shape. I know some might find it offensive, but I can assure them that it wasn’t intended as such. Although I won’t name names, I’ve known people who have owned and driven Volvos and loved driving it. At the time, I found the Volvo 740 way more attractive at the time than the Volvo 240.
TurboBricks is a popular Volvo enthusiasts’ forum, so they’re clearly good-humored about the blocky styling and nicknames referencing it.
I was in England as a postgraduate student for 3 years from Jan 1981 to Dec 1983. Not much love from them for the Volvos in general because they thought that their drivers feeling safe inside they didn’t care much about traffic or pedestrians.
Having been able ex Volvo service manager. I have seen one of these before. They look better in person than in pictures. I had a 740 Turbo with normally aspirated pistons (,all “red ” engine Volvos came with forged pistons) AND a,shaved cylinder head. Since I live at 4,500 ft elevation, I was able to get by running premium fuel. However when going over the hill to California and “real” (but dirty) air. Octane boost was the normal. But holy cats the thing really scooted down on the flat! The ex slid off the hill in a snow storm and the insurance company totaled it. I bought it back fixed it, upgraded the shocks and paint and still had money leftover. Put another 100k miles on it and then bought a station wagon as the kids were showing dogs in 4H. Even though it was an automatic transmission, it was still fun to drive and never let me down. Ex also got rear ended by a new S10 pickup. His vehicle was totaled and we had to readjust and repair the paint on the rear bumper . Very strong cars! I believe that Volvo did an advertisement many years ago that it had 4 vehicles stacked on top of each other to show the strength of the body. (It may have been a European ad.) This was when Volvos were good cars. In my opinion that hasn’t happened since the introduction of the 850. (1995?)
agreed (from ownership ‘both sides’). 740 tops (had 240’n 850 waggys). Shame, that~
Part of Y they went to China I imagine.
My ex loved the wagon versions of these. She bought one with this turbo engine. It made it to 200,000 miles but was smoking pretty good from a partially blocked oil return line from the turbo. I wanted to rebuild the turbo at that point (it needed it) while servicing/ cleaning the return line. I couldn’t find a source for parts to rebuild the turbo and then discovered a new one cost more than the car was worth by then. With all of the internals removed from the turbo I just put a large diameter piece of all thread with nuts and copper washers through the middle of the unit to seal exhaust and intake sides from each other and put it back on. No more smoke and it ran surprisingly well unboosted.
Picked-up a low-miles, 86 Volvo 740 N/A for my wife to drive this past spring. Had to de-bug many items over the summer to get it up to speed. Fortunately, my 10-year-old daughter was gracious enough to teach me how to find all the gremlins and repair them. My wife’s been driving it daily, and it hasn’t so much as hiccuped once.
I tried to copy a picture of it, and paste it here, but that doesn’t seem to work.
It doesn’t look like the owner loved it enough to properly repair the bolster on the passenger seat. Still, a fun car I wouldn’t mind in my driveway.
Ended at $5,600.
Reserve Not Met.
39 bids.
If anyone really likes this series of Volvo. Check out a,Volvo 780! Just a beautiful car with a 740 pedigree. It came with the 740 tubo engine or the junk V6. If I ran across one at the right price I would jump on it in a heartbeat! Most have never seen one, but again, like I said before, if you like 740s, you will love a 780!