Personally, it's a pretty much peak wagon, my father also had a green 850 T5, as a company car. After the obligatory 245 GLT, and a 740 GLT I vividly remember him querying 'what the hell' the R meant when he got 'blasted' by one on the Motorway, I had to explain what it was 😁😁
Only a true petrol head especially around in the 90s will know straight away what car it is just from the title. You could've just said 5 cylinder from the 90s and we would've known. An absolute icon which every copper wanted to drive
Loved hearing how the guy and his dad bonded over them and how it still sticks with him to today. People who aren't true gear heads will never understand how much a car can mean and be to someone. Mine is part of my soul,I truly have a love and appreciation for her. It's a lifetime of love and what u enjoy. Cars it's what I read,watch docs and movies on, spend so much time thinking,dreaming , building, driving. It's a life
As a dad with young boys, I'm hoping I rekindle my car hobby at some point in the not too distant future and get them into it. They're already well interested in cars ... I just don't have the money to buy something fun to completely sucker them in with but I intend to work on it.
Back in the 90s I was the proud owner of 1 of 200 Olive Green T5-R homologation estates. I had been working in London making my way back to the M4 and I was stuck at traffic lights opposite the Volvo garage in Twickenham. It was in the showroom, I rang the salesman the next day and he drove it out to Chippenham on a Saturday. I bought it after a short test drive. Nxx OAM. I then bought an orange V70R then an orange C70R. #goodolddays
Seems they were universally loved by coppers - certainly a comfy seat for the long days on the road and some power to chase people that thing they can get away! I had a white ex police T5 at one point... but it got nicked ironically! it was surprisingly good for its mileage though - I think it was well over 300,000 by the time I got hold of it!
My dad still uses his green 850 T5R estate every day. About 380.000 km. He bought it brand new and never wants another car. These engines are so good. A true Volvo man, owned a 240, 740 and 960 before this. Mum drives a V50 R estate bought second hand.
OMG! Just the sort of barn find I was waiting for. I absolutely love these wagons. I own a 95' GLT non turbo with 580K miles. Runs great and everything works. Seats are the most comfortable of any car I've ever owned.
I own a C70 Coupé MK1 in Saffron Orange that's also in desperate need of attention and watching this video has properly spurred me on to get the rest of the parts it needs so I can enjoy it again!!!
That brings back wonderful memories,in the late nineties I worked for a Volvo dealership and was always captivated by the sound of the five cylinder, and I loved the fact that the police station was opposite, super convenient for them when maintenance etc was needed. Than you and John for a wonderful video.
I used to work in a Volvo Dealership in Glasgow in the 90's and the Police brought their Volvo 850 T5's in for service and repairs. I used to also deliver them to the parts of the UK as well while legally 😉 driving these very very fast machines 🔥
@MattTester It's a common dodge to use toothpaste for polishing plastics, and smokers toothpaste is more abrasive than most. The smokers powder is even more so.
I was rear-ended by a minivan while waiting at a stop light years ago and my '04 V70R gave its life so that I could walk away unscathed. Great car and only 3 years old at the time...an infant! Fast forward 16 years and my son's XC60 did similar duty. Car was destroyed so that he wasn't. Volvo do have their fair share of niggles, but, overall, I'm still a fan. Thanks for this one. Hope he gives the old girl the restoration she's due.
Agree with the sound of the 5 cylinder engines being awesome. I had a 2007 Focus ST (XR5T here in Oz), it was a great car and the sound of that engine was fantastic.
Great episode! I commented on your 106 Rallye episode that it isn't great getting these barnfinds very wet when they can't drive and they're perfectly dry-stored but in this case you did this car a huge favor with the dry-ice blasting and a proper wash. Very enjoyable watch, thanks!
Incredible find, great to see it start up easily and clean up so well. My first car was an 850, and I've continuously had 850s in my life ever since - until this summer, as I let my 2.0 Turbo manual wagon go to favour focus on my 740 Turbo Intercooler. I know I'm going to miss it though, the atmosphere of the cockpit and the sound of that 5 cylinder is second to none in the world of non-sportscars to my eye. I've kept my wood-rim wheel at least, should the lust and opportunity arise in the future. 😆 And great fun to see you lads froth over these things - being Scandinavian I always felt the FWD-era and onward Volvos always had an underrated, boring rep outside of its home region (to people out of the know, anyway), so it's heartwarming to see and hear the appreciation that's actually out there.
850 T5R, 944, old land rover? Lovely lineup of cars! I really love these volvos (I daily a '98 V70) so this video was a proper treat. Thanks to all involved! Edit: and some more nice cars later!
In couple of hours I will be taking my daughter and her friends to soccer practice in this exact car. It was a German allocation then ended up in Japan a finally imported to Canada 5 years ago. I also fell in love with this car because of BTCC. Can't believe I own it. I converted it to manual. Totally different animal.
I remember seeing that car in Dover quite a bit when I was younger my jaw would drop every time I sore it. I did used to hate the colour but it definitely has won me over after awhile.
I currently have a Manual Gull yellow T5R factory manual one of only 3 left in the country, I also own The V70 RAWD and S60 R AWD Manual, my everyday runaround is a V70 T5, they are my babies and all in mint condition. As you say most were Autos, our company was Carpenters Autos Limited in Hampton Court, established in 1934, we started specialising in Volvo in 1981, so I have grown up with the brand, from 121’s right up to the latest XC’s.
Now thats a selection of Swedish Steel right there! The V70R AWD my dad had after the 850 and a few V70 T5s was an absolute monster! My dad let me borrow it a few times and wow it was fun :)
Cars like these really bring families together and this Gul T5-R is no exception. A dream car for me, hopefully this will be restored to it's absolute best. It's made my Sunday noght watching this 🙂
Always regretted never buying a T5-R or certainly an 850R estate when 20 years ago a good 1 could be found for £3000 or £1500 for something reasonable. It was heartbreaking the abuse James Mays 850R got in the 2nd Top gear Africa special looked fantastic at £1500 at the start it was absolutely knackered by the roads at the end.
Such an iconic car for me, so many varied reasons, my Dad brought a T5 saloon back home in 1994 when he was on Traffic, i stood at Silverstone watching, and wanted one! Mates all wanted Golfs and Fiestas etc when we were 17/18, i wanted an 850R, owned ours for over 16 years now, and still gives me goosebumps every-time i drive it or just look at it! We are lucky enough to be showing it this year at at the NEC at at Classic Motorshow on the Volvo Owners Club stand, what a great video as usual.
I had an 850R sedan for a while, manual, red. Unfortuantely we sold it before people started wanting silly money for them. Totally agree on the seats, by far the most comfortable car I've ever sat in. If it were a wagon I'd've tried harder to keep it (and probably still should have) but life does what it does.
I've always been a perv for sporty estates. I had an Alfa 33 Sportwagons, an Cooper S clubman and have just bought an x-type Sovereign estate. We used to machine the cranks for the Btcc Volvos where I used to work. We used to get free tickets and my first sight of the Volvo estate was it powering out of the pit lane at Donington. I had a 155 Alfa at the time.
What an interesting bloke, the 850R was certainly one of my childhood hero's I remember 2 cool teachers when I was in primary school, the headmaster had a Sierra Sapphire Cosworth and the other was an 850R
Just put dinner on the table and what do I find 😊 a cheeky late brake show …. Well laaaa di dar I do believe I will be fine dining in front of the tv tonight 😎
It could even be this car. It was 1995, clear as day. A new M reg yellow T5R turned up at our car meet on Portishead seafront. We had a Sapphire Cosworth, ‘88 RS Turbo, Mk1 Escort with XR4i motor, XR2, Cavalier GSi 2000, various Astras GTEs and even a fast Belmont. A bit of banter with the 40+ owner who had the cheek to roll up next to our fleet of weapons. But no one wanted to race the T5R, it was stunning and very bright.
Got driven in a couple of them but never drove myself. Always lusted after one. Coolest estate car ever in my opinion. Thanks Jonathan top work as always.
I was fortunate enough to own a yellow manual saloon T5-R back in the day. It absolutely chewed through front tyres - maybe 8k miles per set Utter hooligan of a thing though. My wife described it 'the rocket-propelled banana', and reckoned it was terrifying to see in the rear-view mirror !
Proper cult following for these. I've had a couple 850R and the Owners clubs are always super helpful. I agree, the sound is like nothing else. Need to make some mods to make it corner and brake properly but really unbeatable for reliability and smiles per gallon. So cool that you found one Johnny and never any doubt it was going to fire up on first turn !!
Brought back so many memories watching this, my dad had several of these as I was growing up, along with v70/s70/s60 t5’s & R’s such a beautiful car & hopefully it’ll be back on the road soon, will defo be following Jon’s page to follow the journey 👌🏽
Oh,Dear. Geoff from Geoff Buys Cars will be rather excited. And these WERE sold here in the States. And I've driven them and enjoyed driving them. I've also crushed them 👀🤪. We have lots of these Volvo Wagons in all sorts of specific options and trim levels. We also have lots of Panels and Subframes,ect.
A white 850 estate was always a scary thing to see on the motorway early 00's, was it unmarked plod or just someone with great taste. This one is the exact colour and spec I've always wanted.
Thank you for another great video, this is now my favourite as I own a manual 850R estate. She was in the same condition when I found her sitting in a garden by a hedge, she too started on 6yr old petrol first kick😊
A wealthy friend\business associate of my dad's had a 850 T5R. We borrowed it one winter for a family trip to Blackpool to see the illuminations. We did that trip rather quickly and as it was such a smooth ride, my old dear never quite realised how quick my dad was going. Always loved them after that and their touring car stint. :)
Thoroughly pleased the owner recognized the error of his ways and made space in the garage for this iconic Volvo. Thanks for highlighting this one, Jonny !!!
Loved the dry ice clean. I'd love it on my old MG. One for the new year, the way things are going but just bought some Nielsen products for our newer cars. Now we just need the weather to get out and clean them without being blown into next week LOL.
Really enjoyed that. Doing up quality older cars and giving them an extended life has to be the way forward (car finance industry won’t like it however!). Iain Tyrrell had another example this evening.
I can remember watching these race in BTCC in the day. When they first appeared, the general murmuring of the crowd was one of ridicule. Everyone soon changed their tune when they were wheel to wheel with Cavaliers, Mondeo's and Alfa's. Great times.
American here. Love the channel seeing cool cars we never lucky to get. These super cool. Anyone who take a wagon racing I respect. Volvos are cool never had one but always liked them
Brings back great menories of my 850 which someone reversed into last year and wrote off 😥 Despite it being a bog standard 2.5, I absolutely loved that car - it was spotlessly reliable for 28 years old and unbelievably comfy!
The taping is a hydraulic tap-it when the oil gets there it’s sorted, the walnut steering wheel is not a T5R option, they were leather and suede as standard. To match the seats.
As I recall, when Volvo declared they were going to start in touring cars, many motoring journalists (Jeremy Clarkson I believe) commented "Did volvo read the rules, it's touring car championship not towing car championship" Given the success of the car at that time they sort of had to appologise
Excellent barn find Jonny. I've got a '98 V70 T5 that I daily. It's flawed in many ways as a daily driver, it drinks fuel, eats suspension components, and has the usual old car niggles. But for me it's the definitive estate car, and it's still buckets of fun.
850R estate, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, absolutely toptastic machine! The attention to detail is incredible! Built to last a life time! Always wanted one of these gems!
My brother had one of these in that exact colour.. soooo underrated and often forgotten about… He blew it up playing with an RB5 Impreza down the M49 wales to bristol motorway 😂😂 great times
They always tend to tick for a while after not running for a long time. My daughter has a Turbo 850 estate and I have a black T5r estate in my shop waiting next to its donor car for a new engine. This video gives me some motivation .. can't wait to drive it again. T5rs are rarely seen in the US.
I've been told that the ticking, while often mistaken for tappets, is more often just noisy injectors. Can't speak to the truth on that, but it's come from Volvo whiteblock experts.
These are the kind of stories that make this a great channel! I had one of these in Dark Olive Pearl. Later style 16t turbo and white injectors retrofitted plus a remap and an 850R clutch plate. That thing was absolutely on fire. Still miss it. Incidentally, I also had a 944 at the same time.
My GP had one of these (R) in a burnt orange back int day! Remember he hadn’t been long on his own and he treated himself to one - left a waiting room full of patients whilst we blasted it down the M65 hoping we didn’t attract the attention of the other users of them in yellow and blue. For an estate it was never lost on me the insane performance of these. What an iconic motor that does more than you ever expect.
He's done it again. Brick gable ends with just the right amount of clay peeking through the traditional lime paint. A ruddy checked beam topping lumber cladding, marked with weeping iron nails. A rugged cut of potato sack hanging on the wall for ambiance. Another great barn find from the best in the game.
It's really nice to see that Volvo resurrected, it's a truly special car! Jon looks like a true enthusiast, so it's quite weird that he would store the 850 like that and not even cover it up for some protection.
Jon's wife here 😊 there was a car cover on it when we parked it at his Dad's but it blew off at some point (exposed hillside in Yorkshire!) and we didn't realise until we were allowed to visit again after the covid restrictions lifted.
Spoiler: I laughed out loud when it turned over and started instantly! Absolutely love these cars. When I was 18 a friend of mine’s dad had a T5 as a company car and my friend was allowed to drive it. Unfortunately my friend was way too sensible and we never got to see what it could really do. Great barn find!
I went to that race at Donnington Park as a youngster with my Dad happy memories! Also saw them race a few times at Snetterton was there the day senna died I remember the announcement on the tannoy sad day
