Bought a SD1 at last! Collection page 6!

[trigger]

I'm having no luck in finding a new toy which is affordable and that i like at the moment, Most stuff seems to be so expensive compared to last year, tatty Mk2 Granada 2.8's with no mot going for over £5000, Rover SD1 Vitesses needing resprays for the same money and anything in my budget all seem tatty or unappealing.

 

I've been hankering for a old Volvo, especially a Amazon for years now but even those are over £5000 now for one's needing money spent on them, a few days ago a later 144 has come up for sale locally which has caught my eye, it seems sensibility priced, looks smart and has a certain appeal about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see it's left hand drive and on a later X plate, two things which put me off a bit, It came into the UK from Denmark in 1982 hence the age related plate, it's currently not registered as tax exempt either has it's been of the road since 2003 but recently recommissioned and moted, how hard would it be to change to tax exempt and could it be changed back to an age related 1969 number plate rather than the odd X plate?.

 

Having never owned a LHD drive car before, I'm wondering if having to chnage gear on the right would annoy me and if it's really worth the hassle?. What do they drive like?, this has the 2.0 single carb fitted, no overdrive I'm guessing?.

 

Anyway yay or nay?.

[MikeR]

i think they were the for runner to the 240 . similar running gear B23 engine . i had a B230 engine with twin choke carb on a 240 . it went well . check front struts . crossmember under engine for cracks.gasket creep on manifolds . rads can rot . vac pipe to servo can collapse .. no brakes!

[Cheggers]

I can't comment on the Volvo (other than to say I like them), but don't let changing gear with your right hand put you off, it takes no time at all to get used to it.

 

Passing stationary buses etc is another matter

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[eddyramrod]

Having had LHD manual rentals on various holidays, I vowed after my 2005 Spain trip that I would always book an automatic in future in LHD countries.  I'm perfectly happy to drive LHD and auto here, as you can tell!  Co-ordinating the "wrong" hand to change gear does require raised levels of concentration.  My advice regarding Volvos would be the same: buy auto, but that's because I've always found them significantly easier and more pleasant to drive than the same car with manual.

Npot sure how you'd go about the re-registration but there doesn't seem any logical reason why it shouldn't be a doddle.  Except of course DVLA!

[bigstraight6]

Great cars, after the Amazon the 140 and 240 series cars deservedly gave Volvo the ever lasting tank reputation. I would!

[worldofceri]

I found driving an obscure, UK reg'd left hooker made me feel enigmatic and cosmopolitan.

 

Probably everyone else just thinks it's odd.

[DSdriver]

They're "boxy but good" according to folklore*.

 

*some film with Dudley Moore I think

[wuvvum]

I'd imagine they drive a bit like my 164, only with less weight and heavier steering (cos no PAS).  My 164 is nice to drive.

[loserone]

RE: Wheel on the wrong side.  Can you not just leave a bigger gap behind the bus and hang the car over the white line?

[hairnet]

JFDI

 

lhd you get used to very quickly

 

bet you could get the reg changed if you get volvo club to comfirm build date off vin etc - even volvo might help

 

if it runs well and isnt rusty then GO and far cooler than a granny

[chaseracer]

Definitely YAY, Trig.  I wish I still had my 240GLT.

[D Spares & Tyres]

I've had a LHD Mustang and a mk1 MR2

 

Mustang was auto so no bother

 

MR2 was a great little car and used to get driven flat out everywhere. Overtaking took slightly more care than usual but changing gear with the right hand seemed natural

 

That Volvo is gorgeous

 

I believe the DVLA are now doing tax except based on date of registration not date of manufacture now. But £240 a years has got to be well worth paying that!

[Cavcraft]

Get on the eBay tat thread, Triggleswade. There's an absolute belter just gone on there, get your passport out young man!

[danthecapriman]

I like!!

 

These are superb cars, very well made and deserve their reputation as reliable and strong safe cars.

 

If this ones a 2.0 it's the old OHV B20 engine, which is the same as the the Amazon used. It's a very capable strong engine and can do high mileages with ease. The 240 that followed the 140 used the all new B200 or B230 OHC 'red block' engines except for a very small number of early 200's that used the B20, presumably left over engines that needed using up.

The 140 and 240 are basically the same car, just progressively updated and uprated. The 144 started the same as the one your looking at buying, then later in the 70's gained a facelift with the new big impact absorbing bumpers. Later (1975 I think) the 244/245 replaced the 144/145 models.

 

If you look at it check the rear panel below the number plate and rear valance area from underneath as these rot out. Aside from that they are pretty hardy cars for their age so just check the usual 'old car' rust prone places.

 

They are good cars to drive, though they ain't exactly fast! My old 244 was a tank though and they feel heavy and solid to drive around. This is good imho! But don't expect a sporty drive at all. It'll keep up with traffic ok and as long as you expect it to drive like an old saloon car you'll be ok with it.

I'd always go for an auto in cars like this but the 4 speed manual in my old 244 was a nice smooth box and they don't really give trouble.

 

Getting tax exempt is dead easy. It's a simple matter of filling in the V5 with historic vehicle in the relevant place and getting post office to make the change. I did it for my Capri a few years ago and it's easy.

Getting an age related plate should be straight forward too.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

In my miss-spent youth I had a 144 GL injection, not badged as GLE I seem to remember. Before it I'd had a couple of mk4 Zodiacs and S1 XJ6s and after it a mk1 Granada then an SD1 so comparable things to what you're considering. It felt cramped, so much so I went to a scrappy and got a 240 wheel which was about 6inches smaller and transformed it to drive. Also felt a bit spartan and cold and the GL had leather.

To drive it was as quick as a big Ford V6 , rolled a bit but handled much better than I was expecting, the agility was helped by an amazing turning circle, can't remember the steering being heavy, so may have had PAS or probably I was less of a wuss then. Sold it because it had fuel vapourisation issues.

I've had 240s since and they're much more like 740s in character even if they look like face lifted 140s.

 

It would have to be pretty special to make me suffer lhd in anything other than a Yank though.

[mk2_craig]

If you've got another vehicle to transfer the X suffix mark onto then they should* issue a correct age related one in replacement.

[danthecapriman]

Forgot to add my 2p for LHD!

 

Don't worry. You very quickly get used to it, just take more time and better observations in mirrors and over shoulder when joining on slip roads etc and if passing parked vehicles. It's honestly no bother at all. I can drive my yank around now as easily as any RHD vehicle.

[trigger]

Get on the eBay tat thread, Triggleswade. There's an absolute belter just gone on there, get your passport out young man!

 

If you mean the blue 142 then that's a nice colour but this one's in better condition and it's not much more money at £2500 ono.

[hairnet]

lend me the money and ill pay you back eventually

 

200 a week??

[panhard65]

The first car I can remember my dad having was a  1967 144S he had that car for 16 years with very little trouble. The engine was getting a bit ropey at 180k but it still made it to over 200k. They do rust though, the rear arches and the spare wheel well went on his together with the rear trailing arms and mountings which eventually killed it. Driving left hand drive is ok but can be a pain when having to overtake due to the poor visability. Back in the day I used to have P6 Rovers and too be honest they drive a lot better but not as reliable. The registration would be straight forward but I would probably leave it as it will never be a really desirable car with a very limited market when you come to sell it on.

[holbeck]

That looks ace.

 

LHD is just a small detail in a hobby car no?

[Asimo]

They can be very rusty! The pushrod engines get very thrashy when worn. There are lots of joints to wear out in the front suspension/steering. Definitely a '60s car to drive. 240s are much more modern in feel.

 

I wouldn't want another 140 but that 262 saloon in the ebay thread ticks a lot of boxes........

[wuvvum]

You can buy replacement rear arch and spare wheel well panels easily enough if it needs them.  You can get most bits for these, although they're not always quite as cheap as the "domestic" makes.

[captain_70s]

They are cool and you should buy one. Especially that one, for the beige/brown combo.

 

That's my expert opinion.

[Timewaster]

It's a no from me.

 

Tell me to mind my own business, but it seems the money is burning a hole in your pocket and you are looking for something to buy rather than buying something you want.

 

Save the money until you see a car that makes you go Wow - I got to have it!

 

If you buy that I think you will be bored of it in a week.

Not because it is a bad car, I just don't think from what you have written that you actually want it.

[trigger]

That makes a lot of sense, my budget has been up a down a bit, realistically I'm lucky enough to have around £4-5k to invest in a car but i don't really want to spend that much, i could sell the Dolomite and add another £3-3500 to the budget but the thought of spending that much on one car bothers me even though I'd be able to afford something I'd actually really like plus I'm saving some of the money for Ford Orion that I've been after 20 year which I'm having later in the year.

 

I was looking for something a bit usable which i could use for event further afield or even a family holiday (hence me looking at Volvo Estates) but this came up on my door step, it's pretty much a Amazon but not as pretty and it's well within budget. The only things putting me of really is the fact it's LHD and i don't know how I'd get on with it and if I'd get my money back when i fancy a change again 6 months later.

[gordonbennet]

In my miss-spent youth I had a 144 GL injection, not badged as GLE I seem to remember. Before it I'd had a couple of mk4 Zodiacs and S1 XJ6s and after it a mk1 Granada then an SD1 so comparable things to what you're considering. It felt cramped, so much so I went to a scrappy and got a 240 wheel which was about 6inches smaller and transformed it to drive. Also felt a bit spartan and cold and the GL had leather.

To drive it was as quick as a big Ford V6 , rolled a bit but handled much better than I was expecting, the agility was helped by an amazing turning circle, can't remember the steering being heavy, so may have had PAS or probably I was less of a wuss then. Sold it because it had fuel vapourisation issues.

I've had 240s since and they're much more like 740s in character even if they look like face lifted 140s.

 

It would have to be pretty special to make me suffer lhd in anything other than a Yank though.

 

Same here.

Had a lovely 144GLE big bumper model which looked glorious in ice blue metallic, manual with overdrive, and yes it went well and handled really rather well too.

Fuel vapourisation was a sod though, sometimes it could take 2 minutes churning over when warm to make it fire, i fitted a manual switch into the cold start injector circuit (well think it was cold start injector) that helped.

 

One side was solid, the other side the sill rusted through completely, this being not an old car either, probably 10 years at the most, i hadn't realised how bad it was till the bloke and his girlfiend over the road had a tiff and she reversed off the drive in huff demolishing the sill of said Volvo, no surprise it was matey himself embarrassed to buggery ended up paying though eh?

 

Was probably my favourite Volvo.

 

 

On the subject of LHD, for years i used to work with probably the most professional lorry driver i've known, he used to do the odd trip abroad before the traffic started coming the other way almost exclusively, he fitted a small (say 6x4") convex miirror to the N/S A pillar angled to give a forward vision, this made seeing round vehicles a lot safer, no reason why you couldn't do the same to a LHD car, not enough vision for overtaking at speed, but you hang right back for that hence powerful car needed for LHD in my opinion, but for seeing round buses etc it gives you a lot better chance.

[Joey spud]

You could get an excellent 80's Saab 900 with much cash to spare.

 

Saloon,hatch or rag top flavour,nice an easy to drive and will do long trips safely and without complaint.

 

They are chock full of quirkiness and very under valued.

They say everyone should own an Alfa at least once i think the same goes for 80's Saabs.

[MikeR]

https://www.brickboard.com/

 

I used to haunt this site when I had a 240 ...very useful

[alcyonecorporation]

Mechanical parts are easy to find. Body panels vary. VOC Forum isn't worth the effort but the membership is to get cheaper insurance. 

 

Volvo clubs have been going a bit 'People's Front of Judea' for the past 18 months.