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dollywobbler

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  1. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to Six-cylinder in Six Cylinders Motoring Notes - Well that didn’t go well!   
    I got a message last night from a fellow shiter, it was simply a link to a Volvo 480 for sale on FB. I knew this member loved 480s so it was not a surprise and offered a lift to view/collect it. The reply was not good timing for me. Well I like them too so said if I buy it for now, would you buy it from me when you are ready.
    Today we went to Loughborough together and agreed it is a good car so now I own a 1989 Volvo 480 ES Auto. MOT 19 Sep 2024, 67,000 miles with original hand book pack including service book showing it was originally a Volvo Concessionaires car and the last service in 2016 was 4,000 miles ago including a cambelt. It came with a heap of spares that filled the slave car including refurbished front sub-frame, steering rack, Lower arms, door glass tailgate with wiper, wiper stalk, gearbox mount, spare driver’s front wing, seat and some other stuff. I have just read the folder with later services Dec 2021 and Sep 2022. Also an Auto gearbox service including seals replaced in Feb 2022. There are other repair in the last 2 years including Wishbone ball joint, rocker cover gasket, brake light switch, window regulator and rear wiper blade, central control Module.
    Yes there are negatives, there is a battery drain, the info centre requires soldering to make it work, there some minor rust spots around the car and the driver’s seat is poor but it came with a replacement. Volvo 480s were always poor quality so I am sure we will find other issues. It also needs a good clean.
    Interestingly I did not think that 480 Autos became available until late 1989 on G reg so this one being Concessionaires car maybe an advanced Automatic model before the general sale cars arrived.
    Also this goes against the rumour that FB sellers were not good to deal with as this one held the car because I had agreed to see it, the description was spot on and the interaction was very pleasant.
    Unfortunately the car is not taxed or insured so I held back from driving it away and when it is legal we will collect it.






  2. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to MorrisItalSLX in Six Cylinders Motoring Notes - Well that didn’t go well!   
    Very happy to see the parts have made it to you!
    They have had quite the journey from multiple suppliers around Melbourne, to my home near Sydney and across the world to the UK.

    Not to mention being chauffeured around in the the back of my Corolla.

    Bring on the MOT and long live the Sigma!
  3. Like
  4. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to brownnova in Bus Shite   
    Spotted at a yard just down the hill from me… 
  5. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to The Old Bloke Next Door in Bus Shite   
    Its an early November morning  last year, I have parked on the works car park to begin the last shift of my almost forty six  year long bus driving career.
    First picture a view of the bus parking area plus a selection of bus pictures, which include some of the different types I have driven in service over the years.






  6. Like
    dollywobbler got a reaction from JimH in It is just so Super (Sentinel).   
    Incredible. The sign writing is absolutely gorgeous. The weather might be meh, but at least you can just sit there and look at it.
  7. Like
    dollywobbler got a reaction from chaseracer in The slightly sad story of Helena   
    Hope you get to enjoy some travels together. Such a rare, almost utterly unloved car these days. Which makes it prime for this place.
    Did see one advertised in Belgium with a BMW flat twin crammed into it... Fast and rare!
  8. Like
    dollywobbler got a reaction from chodweaver in The slightly sad story of Helena   
    Hope you get to enjoy some travels together. Such a rare, almost utterly unloved car these days. Which makes it prime for this place.
    Did see one advertised in Belgium with a BMW flat twin crammed into it... Fast and rare!
  9. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to GR8 PL8 M8 in Mort's Australasian Excursion   
    I'll admit that I am biased (although my ute has an L98 V8 rather than an LS). I'd honestly love a Barra Turbo, it would certainly stand out at the Ace Café Australia Day meets among all the Vauxhalls and Holdens! Your AU Fairmont and an AU ute are the most modern Aussie Fords I've ever seen there...
  10. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to Faker in Mad Talbot Samba nutter at it again!   
    haven’t really done anything more with this one. Had to change the Weber side draught as it was messing around something chronic. Running much better now. Cage is being painted then it’s getting installed. Slow progress at this time.
  11. Like
    dollywobbler got a reaction from MiniMort in Mort's Australasian Excursion   
    LS V8 Vs Barra turbo - surprisingly little in it and both can take a lot of tuning...
  12. Like
    dollywobbler got a reaction from catsinthewelder in Six Cylinders Motoring Notes - Well that didn’t go well!   
    Ah. Vehicles stuck in the Field of Dreams. Brings back memories.
  13. Like
    dollywobbler got a reaction from MiniMort in Mort's Australasian Excursion   
    Nice pics. Four years since I went down that way. Which is frankly terrifying.
  14. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to quicksilver in Mort's Australasian Excursion   
    Whoa, Black Betty, Bam-ba-lam!
  15. Like
    dollywobbler got a reaction from Coprolalia in Lancia Gamma Coupe - lie to me   
    The Lancia Gamma coupe was based on the running gear of the Volvo 262, but with the engine turning the other way and mounted in the glovebox. The bodywork was designed by Fidel Castro and smuggled out of Cuba by a group of spying ninja nuns from Italy. These same nuns also tried to sabotage the Japanese car industry by suggesting to Nissan that it should work with Alfa Romeo.
    Naturally, you should buy one.
  16. Haha
    dollywobbler got a reaction from Bradders59 in Lancia Gamma Coupe - lie to me   
    The Lancia Gamma coupe was based on the running gear of the Volvo 262, but with the engine turning the other way and mounted in the glovebox. The bodywork was designed by Fidel Castro and smuggled out of Cuba by a group of spying ninja nuns from Italy. These same nuns also tried to sabotage the Japanese car industry by suggesting to Nissan that it should work with Alfa Romeo.
    Naturally, you should buy one.
  17. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to Remspoor in Dollywobbler's Consolidated Tat Thread   
    The HA road test.
     
    I had a HA which was the first car I could legally drive on the public highway. I had a Anglia 1200 Super first, but I was not old enough for a drivers licence.
    My HA was also a Deluxe with the optional servo brakes. They wee very sharp way too much servo.
    I have red that Opel and VX never admitted any links between the 2cars. maybe they thought it would be bad publicity.
    The clutch cable use to wear easily on these cars. The ball at the end of the cable used to be cut off because of the way it was held on at the pedal. Mum got stuck on a very busy cross roads with no clutch because the cable snapped. The local VX dealer knew of a modification which got over this. A pedal and cable from Opel (Kadett)The new pedal was more off set then the old one. It was nearer the brake.
    The boot is huge and it was not much smaller than the Cortina Mk1.
    Agree the gearbox is a delight.I think changes were made to the gearbox from the HC onwards. The shift was not so slick. It had syncro on first which a lot of rivals did not have.
    There was a pocket for the service book located in the passenger well I did not see that in either vehicle.  I  think had a water temp gauge. But I am not 100% certain. I also have never recalled seeing the gear paten on the cluster. maybe it was from a standard trim level car.
    The welds were covered by the separate trim pieces. They used to rust quicker that the rest of the car. I knew them as hock sticks because the main one at the rear looked like them. In the foot wells there were panels which also rusted out. I never did find what they were used for. I made repairs using printers aluminium with gasket made out of an old inner tube.
    The light switches are clever. Put on the headlamp and the side lamps came on too. Switch off the lights using the side lamp switch turned them all off.
    The coke switch on that car does not look to be in the correct position.
    My Grandad had two HA SLs. Neither of them was a 90 version.
    Trim wise the changes were significant. First was the the obvious two chrome strips with contrasting paint to the rest of the body. Different grill. The rear lights were 3 round lenses (for me that was a minus point I think they looked cheap almost parts bin style). The interior had a centre glovebox and door pockets.
    Lastly a small correction this was not Vx's first small car. The one previously to this was the VX H10. The cars were also sold in the USA and Canada.
    After I had the car  my mother took it over then it was sold to be "preserved" So EYL370C where have you gone? Taxed expired in 1983
  18. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to MT606 in Dollywobbler's Consolidated Tat Thread   
    The things you find at the side of the road...... (someone near Lanark seems to have lost something.......)
  19. Like
    dollywobbler got a reaction from Six-cylinder in Six Cylinders Motoring Notes - Well that didn’t go well!   
    Regarding clutch, are any gears synchronised? If no synchro, I always snick into a synchro gear first before selecting. Tends to stop stuff moving, though naturally won't stop a clutch that isn't quite separating.
  20. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to RayMK in The new news 24 thread   
    To follow up my post of earlier today,  here are the photos from the first extraction from my garage since February this year and a you-tube clip which my son made this evening after returning from work at 6pm.  
     
     



  21. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to dozeydustman in The new news 24 thread   
    Spent most of the day trying to sort a few odd jobs on my car while stepdaughter's boyfriend gave the new Saab a mini valet. The upholstery was cleaned with our Bissell spot cleaner and the water which came out was surprisingly light coloured compared to when I did the Mini last summer (the water which came out of that was black). He's very proud of his wheels and can't wait for his insurance to start next weekend (it saved him £300 on the annual premium).
    My car has its niggles. The headlamps were last polished with what appears to be granite. Autosol didn't do much so I will need to get some wet & dry starting at 400 grit and all the way up to 5000. The improvement it made when I did the Kia was night and day, and as the Citroen also needs its cataracts removing buying wet & dry is cheaper than 2 kits.
    I wanted also to reposition the wiper arms, 1 the driver's one bashes the top of the scuttle, and 2 there is the tiniest TRIANGLE OF DOOM which excels in the dribble of disappointment. Both wiper arms seized on so I need to get a little puller for them. Hoovered my car out and gave it a thorough* wash.
    I also need to find a broken wire somewhere in the loom to make the air con work again.
  22. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to Inspector Morose in Bus Shite   
    Meh, much preferred this.

     
    Just check out the wiper set up for starters. Sunderland of that period fascinates me , one of a relatively few cases of an operator flying in the face of convention to try new ideas out. 
  23. Like
    dollywobbler got a reaction from wesacosa in Bus Shite   
    Apologies for there being a me in the shot, but not only was this one-of-six Daimler CVG6 with centre-door a joy to drive, the video on it did amazingly well too.
    Keep-fit steering, three brake servos (one for each front wheel, one for the rear effectively acting on the handbrake mechanism), pre-select gearbox and a lovely Gardner six cylinder diesel.
    My favourite fact, not mentioned in the video, is that the brake lights are operated by a mercury switch, so only come on with sufficient G force!
    Only one conclusion to draw. I must feature more buses.
  24. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to trigger in The new news 24 thread   
    I've been helping a mate prep this hunk-a-love for auction.

    What a magnificent beast, 1974 Opel Commodore 2.8 GS that was registered new in Bury St Edmunds and spent all its life in the area, straight six with two twin choke carbs and a stainless exhaust it sounds amazing and goes like the clappers!

    We've been through it fixing a few small faults and mostly cleaning and polishing it and it now looks stunning. I've got the option of buying it but it's a bit big and juicy for me realistically.




    His Horizon is probably of interest also, that's going to auction too so I gave it a quick wash and hoover, it's a 1500 automatic with power steering and only 33000 miles, it's not my bag if I'm honest but it's a nice enough old thing.



  25. Like
    dollywobbler reacted to cms206 in FSO Polonez at Anglia Car Auctions   
    We got petrol Caros in the UK; ISTR they were 1.6s? The 1.4 16v K-series was available but not here. There were a few 1.9GLDs in Paisley but they all seemed to disappear at once, replaced by Hyundai Lantras before the Paisley TOA clubbed together and bought a massive batch of white 406 saloons, low numbered S-LGDs from memory.
     
    Shitefest 2012 in Wilts was a veritable FSO fest.


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