How the Volvo 760 was built to withstand rust and snow for millions of kilometers

Once upon a time, Swedish cars were famous for being indestructible and able to last a lifetime, for millions of kilometers. It was also valid for Volvo, from the 60s until the 90s, but also for Saab. And if we make a foray into contemporary Swedish literature, we often see described situations where it was absolutely normal to buy a car in your youth and grow old with it, and the car had to last a long time. If you exchanged a still good car for a new one, you were looked at strangely, as a wasteful owner, who didn't really understand the essence of Swedish cars and what they are supposed to be able to do, that is, last a lifetime.

And beyond all the fiction, real life proved that these perceptions were confirmed by truly indestructible cars, and the dilemma was to choose between Saab or Volvo, at least until Saab became part of General Motors. And Volvo, even if it had a couple of models that suffered the shame with bodies that did not withstand the snow and anti-skid material in Sweden, rusting too soon, Volvo quickly corrected its mistake and then began to almost obsessively treat the cars with all the protective solutions possible, so that they don't rust for decades in a row.

Well, probably the peak moment, when all these Volvo sustainability intentions met with modern technologies, came with the launch of the 700 Series, with those models called 740 and 760. The variations in their names are harder to explain, but essentially, the 760 was the first, more luxurious model launched in 1982, after which the 740 followed in parallel, a practically identical model, visually and technically, but a bit more accessible in terms of equipment and price. Various versions and features of the same model were visually distinguishable from each other, from the GLE to Turbo, and especially in the USA there were versions with double headlights in the front, framed in a common block on each side, which brought them closer as aspect of American cars.

Finally, going back to how this Volvo model was built to withstand skid material, snow and rust decades before, a Volvo advertisement in an American magazine from 1988 perfectly illustrates this engineering approach to a car made for a whole life. The car's steel was galvanized, first of all, but other manufacturers were already doing that. Volvo, however, applied a layer 30% thicker than other manufacturers.

The entire lower part of the car had 4, that is FOUR, layers of mechanical and anti-corrosion protection! All these layers were supposed to protect the metal underneath. And besides that, there was a 5th layer of rough paint, which protected the protective layers below from the mechanical action of any pebbles or anti-slip material. Simply, no lower area of ​​the car, no matter how small, was left unprotected unless it was made of stainless material. And the entire exhaust system, for example, was created from such a stainless alloy, along its entire length, to eliminate the risk of corrosion over time.

Photo: Volvo's message from a page in a US magazine, 1988

More than that, the encapsulated areas were also protected on the inside, even if pebbles or snow would never reach there. And this to eliminate the risk of the formation of rust areas inside, over time, due to some residue. As the Swedes wrote then "practically every component of a Volvo is designed to prolong the life of the entire car"! And for Volvo, at that time, this was essential, or, a car that lasts like new, structurally speaking, for decades, can offer the same protection to the people on board in 10 years, and in 25 years, not to mention the satisfaction of having a car that is practically indestructible and stays by your side, faithfully, for a lifetime. And Volvo was not shy to declare, even, that its cars will last longer than Mercedes and BMW and that no one does more than Volvo to ensure the long life of the cars it produces! Well, those there were times when the durability of a car mattered, and manufacturers made such cars and were proud of it!