Volvo 740 Trivia.

[Prufrock]

Some trivia.

Cleaning the glass on my 1986 744 over the weekend, got me thinking (again) about this whole issue of supply chains (very pertinent with Brexit looming). I've written many times over the years, here and in the VOC magazine about Volvo's sourcing: and the glass in my car is interesting.

Firstly all the glass in my car is original, i.e as old as the car and all Volvo branded. And,

windscreen - made in Italy
door drop glasses - Belgium
rear door fixed light - Belgium
small fixed light aft of C post - Sweden.

Car was assembled in Belgium - interesting ain't it Brexiters ?

Jon.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Prufrock

Some trivia.

Cleaning the glass on my 1986 744 over the weekend, got me thinking (again) about this whole issue of supply chains (very pertinent with Brexit looming). I've written many times over the years, here and in the VOC magazine about Volvo's sourcing: and the glass in my car is interesting.

Firstly all the glass in my car is original, i.e as old as the car and all Volvo branded. And,

windscreen - made in Italy
door drop glasses - Belgium
rear door fixed light - Belgium
small fixed light aft of C post - Sweden.

Car was assembled in Belgium - interesting ain't it Brexiters ?

Jon.

What do you think the problem will be Jon? All the above countries will still want to sell their wares, not just automotive glass and even if there isn't some kind of "grand Pan-European trade deal", they will still want to be competitive with the likes of Pilkington, Britax, Triplex who are - oh yeah, UK based.

I'm sure my old 144 auto had a Pilkington screen, fairly sure my 1994 827 Sterling also has a Pilkington screen, i'm not going out to check them all now but regardless of country of origin of the glass, Pilkington allegedly have bucks for every piece of automotive glass ever made, except perhaps the TVR Tina but that was a one-off car anyway.

We always made the components we needed in this country before we foolishly joined the EEC in 1973 (when they started ripping us off - i realised that the tender age of 3 in 1971 when we went decimal then they further compounded it by making us have VAT - yes, i know the arguments about sales tax etc) and i'm sure when the time comes, we'll make our own components again.

Panick ye not, goode Sir!

[Prufrock]

My comment about glass was simply illustrating Volvo's sourcing strategy in the 1980s, automotive supply chains are far more complex in the 21st century, and since the referendum the UK has become far less benign as a country for investment.

That's a fact and the automotive sector, like many global corporates, doesn't like risk. Below is an example of a simple supply chain, there are many far more complex. Appreciate that we don't want to take an off topic turn on this thread.

Jon.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Prufrock

My comment about glass was simply illustrating Volvo's sourcing strategy in the 1980s, automotive supply chains are far more complex in the 21st century, and since the referendum the UK has become far less benign as a country for investment.

That's a fact and the automotive sector, like many global corporates, doesn't like risk. Below is an example of a simple supply chain, there are many far more complex. Appreciate that we don't want to take an off topic turn on this thread.

Jon.

There are many reasons for the things you cite there Jon, all positive towards Brexit.
As for supply chains, in the 70s, there was an MG dealer that could sell MGBs below RRP and get them faster and cheaper by ordering them from Japan.
The irony was "his" cars went past his garage on their way to the docks for export to Japan and came past again to the local import centre when reimported back on his order.

That's one of the big "go figure" mysteries of life in the 70s and BL as well but is another illustration of the complexity of supply chains even then.

It's all trivia and all related to Volvos, even if only somewhat loosely, they still had supply chains. Also many of them had accountants running things and often saving 10p per 1000 units was enough to make them change supplier from a native source to one on foreign shores.

[rwdkev]

Originally Posted by Prufrock

However 740s were not inexpensive when new....

Big Volvos have never been cheap but I always believe you get what you pay for, esecially with cars and the 700/900 is a perfect example of this. As you know, even the most basic models still had tinted glass, heated front seats and headlamp wash/wipe unlike the competition back then. And if you factor in the great reliability and the ability to go on for over 30 years then these great (even by Volvo's standards) cars become good value motoring.

Originally Posted by Prufrock

my own 745 was nearly £13k (that's £36k in today's money) when it was purchased at 6 months old in 1986 by my Wife's Dad.

Similar story: my father bought an immaculate, low mileage, 1 year old 745 in 1989 and paid around £12k (the one mentioned above that I eventually inherited). The rest is history......

[baggy798]

Originally Posted by Prufrock

Car was assembled in Belgium...

Commiserations.

All the glass on my car is original and all made in Sweden, because it's a proper built in Sweden Volvo. What do I win?!

Don't really care where the glass is made, don't even care about paying a bit more when we leave. Still glad I voted out.

[john.wigley]

Although I do not recall the origins of my earlier cars, my last 745 was also built in Belgium. Irrespective of the country of assembly, I feel that it is the over-engineered nature of these cars that also made them such good value second-hand.

I could neither afford nor justify spending £12 - £15K on a new one. All of mine were bought at around 10 years old with low mileage and ownership and a full service history at around a tenth of the new cost. As a result, the depreciation on my last one amounted to less than £100 per year.

These cars have always epitomised safe, comfortable, reliable and economical motoring for me.

Regards. John.

[Prufrock]

Originally Posted by Prufrock

The seller sometimes appears on this forum when he wants help, but under a different name. Jon.

Being slightly intrigued by the advertisement, I referred to the notes I had written while preparing an article on 760s for the club magazine.

189 White was not a special order on the 760, the dealer may not have had one available, but 189 White was a standard 760 GLE paint finish (with black leather). I was also surprised to see the lack of roof bars on this car.

I've tried to ascertain how many 765 GLEs were built, but Volvo's own data doesn't separate V6s from turbos. What I can say with certainty, is that numerically Volvo built considerably more 764s than 765s.

Jon.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Prufrock

I was also surprised to see the lack of roof bars on this car.

I've tried to ascertain how many 765 GLEs were built, but Volvo's own data doesn't separate V6s from turbos. What I can say with certainty, is that numerically Volvo built considerably more 764s than 765s.

Jon.

Why surprised to see the lack of roof bars Jon?





No roof bars on either of those, don't think i had roof bars on any other 740GLE estates either.

I was looking on howmanyleft.co.uk the other day and that said there were something like only 13 764GLEs left but about 387 765GLEs (talking purely about the V6 models) so despite making many more saloons, they don't appear to have survived as well as the estates.

[Prufrock]

When ordered new with numerous options I'm surprised the roof bar option wasn't checked - roof bars on 740s are very rare.

How many left is full of anomalies (I don't believe the figures) and is a UK site, my numbers are total production numbers not units sold in the UK. For example, in 1989-90 Volvo produced 12943 764s, and in the same year produced 6787 765s.

The highest production year for 765s was 1986-87 with 7698 units, 764s (same year) 20342 units.

Volvo's figures.

Jon.