Call us now on 01252 370701

Restoration Project on the Volvo 850R – Part 1

Volvo Restoration

Our blog this week is about our restoration project on the Volvo 850R. A very rare beast that we are very lucky to have been able to purchase recently. Simon Cook – Owner of ACC UK Ltd – has been doing restoration projects for the last couple of years for Volvo owners from all over the UK and even as far as France. Simon was very lucky last week to come across a low mileage 2 owner Volvo 850R which is in need of some love and attention, as it had been driven through a very deep puddle and has suffered internal water damage due to the water being hoovered up through the inlet pipe. Over the coming months Simon hopes to resurrect this rare beast and give it the love and attention it deserves – watch this space……..

A little about the iconic Volvo 850R…..

In the spring of 1996, Volvo introduced a new high-performance Volvo 850 as a replacement for the hugely successful limited edition T-5R. Volvo had originally decided there should be no direct successor to the T-5R, but due to its success, Volvo decided to develop a new high-performance model. The new car, based on the T-5R, was called the 850 R, which came in either saloon or sport wagon editions.

The only colours available were Bright Red, Black Stone, Dark Grey Pearl, Dark Olive Pearl, Turquoise Pearl and Polar White. Cream yellow was discontinued for the 850 R. The saloon featured a newly designed rear spoiler; spoiler was now standard on the estate. The interior upgrades included bucket style heavily bolstered 'sport' front seats (Alcantara centre with leather bolsters), Alcantara door cards, 2-tone leather steering wheel, stainless steel '850' kick plates and R branded over mats. A 200w amplifier was also added to the 8-speaker audio system as was the option to have an SC-805/815 in-dash CD player.

For a limited time in 1996 only, Volvo offered a new heavy duty manual transmission designed specifically for the 850 R called the M59, which featured a viscous coupling limited slip differential. Furthermore, the M59 equipped cars were fitted with the B5234T4 2.3-litre 5-cylinder engine featuring a larger TD04HL-16T turbo, re-designed turbo manifold & intercooler, unique ecu with Motronic 4.3, uprated fuel pressure sensor and a heavy duty clutch. These modifications enabled the manual transmission cars to produce 250 hp (186 kW) and 350 N⋅m (258 lb⋅ft)[44] versus 240 hp (179 kW) and 330 N⋅m (243 lb⋅ft) for the automatic transmission.

Here at ACC UK Ltd, Winners of The Motor Trader Independent Garage of The Year 2015, 2019 & 2020,  The Inspire Customer Service Excellence 2016 Award, The Eagle Radio Customer Focus 2017 Business Award, The Workshop Magazine Workshop Manager of the Year 2017 Award, The LiveWire Excellence In Vehicle Servicing 2019 Award and The Aftermarket Excellence Award for Best Website 2019, The Eagle Radio Biz Award – Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 & the SME News Magazine Most Trusted Car Servicing Provider 2020, we pride ourselves on offering an outstanding customer experience for a fraction of the cost of a dealership. Give us a call and let us quote you for your next service or repair on your Volvo or Toyota. We service all areas around Farnborough, Fleet, Aldershot, Farnham, Guildford, Frimley, Camberley, Hook, Sandhurst, Crowthorne, Yateley, Hampshire and Surrey. We offer free collection and drop off services. We also have a fleet of courtesy cars to allow you to get on with your schedule whilst your Volvo or Toyota is with us. Happy Motoring from all at ACC UK Ltd – Independent Volvo & Toyota servicing, repair and MOT specialists based in the heart of Farnborough, Hampshire.