Volvo appreciation thread! Lets see em...

[Leyland Lawrence]

I did eventually go on ebay, just for a quick look! Fortunatly no big bumper 200's on there at the moment! There is a very tidy, low mileage 240 in that light blue colour but as nice as it is its up for a grand!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1988-VOLVO-240-GL-BLUE-/271634724921?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3f3eb0f839

 

I WILL have one of these one day too. Great looking car and the colour is perfect!

1976 Volvo 242.

 

I dont think they were sold in the uk though unfortunatly. But for me these are the ultimate 200 series.

 

These are absolute class. I'd love one. There is one for sale on the volvo forum, albeit 142

[dugong]

I do like the looks of the 480, quite a big step for Volvo really, when you consider the rest of their model line-up was the 340, 240 and 740 ranges.  Are they actually any good in terms of performance and handling?

 

Loving the interior in that red one Panhard65 found, it does say 'offers' so he might just be an optimistic realist.

 

480s are a bit squidgy but handle well once you stabilise the bloat and run Troy Queef over - although they're not as fast as they look. The Turbos can be made to go quite nicely with a Richmod and \ or R237 chip which is a Bosch fuel ECU with modifications to its board. 

Most of the electrics have a fit at some point - often a 480 will fart its headlights up and down for no apparent reason and tell you the fuel consumption is Ghost In the Machine. At that point the wipers will fail to park and the light clusters will boil the rain water that seeped in through a crack and fill the cabin with smoke. 

 

The Phase 1s had terrible build quality, the Phase 2s were betterer. Most of 440\460\480 Turbos ended up as engine donors for Darryl and his Renault 5GTT.

[phil_lihp]

That all suggests that Renault had some considerable input to the 480's manufacture.  This is of course a total coincidence, non?

 

Shame, that's put me off them quite a lot, I'd assumed 740-levels of solidity and reliability in a small, nippy package.

[Negative Creep]

 

My old C70. Very comfy, great spec, looked awesome and being the T5 it was twatting quick. Downside was 20mpg in town and the turning circle of the Ark Royal

 

 

 

And from many years ago............

 

 

In my defence this was done when matt black was still somewhat unique. Managed about 15mpg with the performance of a knackered 2cv though.

[purplebargeken]

First one was a 144DL in 1987, second one was a white 440LXi bought for £21 on ebay, needed a rear caliper and that was it for an MOT. Third one was a 940 saloon, smelled like a mix of old person wee and digestive biscuits. I could never get rid of the smell. Fourth one was a freebie 940 Wentworth 2.0 LPT estate, fabulous thing. Fifth one was a Volvo 66 Combi, that was exported to USAland and restored. Sixth one was a Volvo 66 saloon, now living with Sigmund F. Potential seventh........ who knows. 

[purplebargeken]

Fuck. Forgot about the Amazon, whoops. 

[320touring]

Oh ,the delicious irony of your post count

image.jpg

 

 

But my post count has already been

 

316, 318,320,323,325,328,330,518,520,523,525,530,535,540,730,735,740 and 750 beforehand;)

[AldridgePrior]

I nearly bought a beige 940 (I think )that was completely modified for disability. Hand controls etc would have needed removed along with a replacement seat.

In hind sight it would have been a good buy. Turbo and petrol. Awesome combination

[cms206]

But my post count has already been

 

316, 318,320,323,325,328,330,518,520,523,525,530,535,540,730,735,740 and 750 beforehand;)

... and 120, 121, 122, 142, 144, 145, 164, 240, 242, 244, 245, 250, 260, 262, 264, 265, 340, 343, 345, 360, 440, 460, 480, 740, 760, 780 and 850...

[simmo]

[dugong]

That all suggests that Renault had some considerable input to the 480's manufacture.  This is of course a total coincidence, non?

 

Shame, that's put me off them quite a lot, I'd assumed 740-levels of solidity and reliability in a small, nippy package.

 

Don't be put off. They may not be 'pure Volvo' but they're great fun, and a damn sight more agile than the models that went before. 

Renault contributed several engines over the 400's life, but the 2.0-litre was Volvo's own. Porsche helped with the turbo models and Lotus signed off on the handling.

 

The Phase 2s were generally worthy of a Volvo badge but were nowhere near as quirky. 

[Partridge]

On paper they sound bloody great. I should sample one before I bite the bullet and buy something stupid next year.

[320touring]

... and 120, 121, 122, 142, 144, 145, 164, 240, 242, 244, 245, 250, 260, 262, 264, 265, 340, 343, 345, 360, 440, 460, 480, 740, 760, 780 and 850...

 and 114,116,118,120,123,125,130,135,**trails off as realises is getting close to lots of Rover numbers..**

[Junkman]

Whilst I agree most survivors seem to be maroon or tourquoise,when I was at school our deputy head- Billy Whizz, had a white H reg 164 Auto that he used to tow a posh Carlight caravan with. Having a Volvo was almost compulsory for teachers at my school ,because the only dealer in town (Aberaeron) was Lloyd Motors, a Volvo and Ford place.

 

And there you nailed it. When I hear "Ovlov", I immediately associate "teacher". Until I learned that there is a country called "Scotland" that is.

(I haven't heard anything about the latter in the news lately, does it still exist?)

 

All our teachers had Volvos, usually estates, with the exception of my English teacher, who had a beaten up old beetle.

Well, he was a bit of a hippie type, what with all those empty Rizla packs in his car and stuff...

He also was a drummer in a Dixieland band, so go figure.

 

On a more serious note, the Volvo density in .at was and is traditionally high, because of EFTA. One of the most accomplished and regarded

Volvo restorers is in Austria. His reputation is good enough that even Swedes bring their old Voley chod to him for restoration.

He did a P1800S for a friend of mine, which must be seen to be believed (the car, not the friend, who looks like a tree hugger).

Well, together with the €24,000 bill, now that I think of it.

[eddyramrod]

My first Volvo, 18 years ago now... 1978 244GL, 2.1 injection auto.  I loved it.  I bought a 245 as a parts car too, somewhere I should have a shot of them side by side.  There followed a gap of several years until...

...another blue one, coincidentally.  1987 740GLE, 2.3 injection auto.  I loved it (can you see a theme developing?).  Again I bought a stripper, a 940 estate.  Not the grey one in the pic, that was my mate Dave's, which he bought after driving mine and being impressed.  Dave being the chap who more recently fell in love with my MR2...

And as we all know, another gap ensued before I bought the Vanilla Breeze Block from Rawy.  1996 940SE, 2.3 turbo auto.  Served me well last winter and now recruited to the SVM.

 

And yes, I'm quite sure there will be more.  All RWD petrol autos.

[Lord Sterling]

FATHA_Sterling had a V40 up until a few months ago when he sold it:

 

 

It was sometimes my form of transport and I really liked it, but I this one suffered from worn shocks as it sat a little low. FATHA_Sterling has now replaced this with a Toyota Avensis D4D estate.

[TagoraSX]

I will be collecting my first Volvo shortly, an S60 D5.

 

[rml2345]

Volvos eh? I love a good Volvo, me. So far I've had four, which makes it the single most common brand in my short car history, even if you count the small Japanese Leyland three times. 
First one was this;

 

 

Wrong wheel drive 2 litre 20 valve in a fantastically miserable specification. Front leccy windows, N/S electric mirror, a manual sunroof, solid paint and cloth inside which was very comfortable. Unfortunately it also had a hot start problem which I managed to make worse. 
Sold in exchange for this;

 

 

740GLE 2.3 auto which was every bit as rough as it looked. I ran about in it until it became obvious I couldn't give it the time or money it really needed. After spending 45 minutes describing the many faults, cms206 bought it. It lasted 72 hours before developing a new and more catastrophic fault and was far more rotten than I thought it was. 
Skip a few years and a Rover 75, and we have this;

 

 

My well known (and much missed) 2 litre 740GL Saloon which did about 14,000 miles in the time I had it and taught me far more about maintaining and repairing an old motor than anything else ever did. Written off by a female Audist who wasn't paying attention.

Replacement in the form of;

 

 

A 2.3 LPT auto and my first estate, which made a GR11 tent at Shitefest Cymru and has been incredibly useful. 
There will probably be more Volvos as every time I get rid of one and go for a change, it always ends up back at some sort of Volvo so I might as well give up trying. It's pretty much all the car I'm ever going to need. 

[cms206]

My current workplace is next to a large metal reprocessors... followed an N-reg 940 estate on it's final journey this morning in the 740.

 

A moment please for a fallen comrade... Godspeed.

[dugong]

VOLVO'S

[KruJoe]

Yes, even I have one!

 

 

It's a strange Thai built spec, 2.3l 20v GLT auto, with moo, wind and tree, and LPG retro-fitted and occupying half of the boot space.

It resides at my winter residence in Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand). It cost me about £4000(!) to buy a few years back, and each year since, I've spent more than planned on keeping it running.

I bought a £400 breaker (here in the UK), and each year I head back there with suitcase heavy with bits of Volvo in attempt to save on buying parts there. This year I'll be carrying a PAS pump, door mirrors, brake bits, and alternator, if the one I have here still spins nicely.

[robinmasters]

I had this one:

 

 

Then this one:

 

 

Then an S40 which was dark grey and supremely boring and I didn't photograph, and now this one:

 

[Tayne]

I am both Scottish and the son of an antiques dealer yet have never owned a Volvo.

 

Apart from this JRG example on Gran Tourismo.

Tsukuba Circuit.jpg by Tayne, on Flickr

 

I'm also going to add these from my archives.

 

Volvo Amazon par Tayne, on ipernity

 

Volvo by Tayne, on Flickr

 

Tank by Tayne, on Flickr

 

"Get the Volvo, Val" par Tayne, on ipernity

[filthyjohn]

Oh god, a thread designed for me!

 

I've had somewhere around 14 volvos, of which I still own 6. I'll put a better post together involving my fascinating* observations, but for now have these UNIQUE COMBOS:

 

 

 

 

 

[danthecapriman]

Colour coded bumpers, on the red 300. Looks good.

Seeing yours towing another 300 on the trailer reminds me of when I used mine to tow my Capri on a trailer to get it sprayed. It managed ok but it really didn't like going up hills. The little 1.7 engine struggled a bit.

[filthyjohn]

Yeah, the red one was an immaculate red variomatic, which I wrote off on an icy road in the lakes in the early hours of new year's day!

Ended up looking like this:

 

 

 

 

[oman5]

^passenger compartment untouched though. Impressive

[KruJoe]

I guessed something had happened to it - I saw the red tailgate on the black one.

 

Talking of red Volvos breaking... I must get rid of this 850 saloon in the next few weeks.

Anyone want a free shell? Straight, rust free, dry stored, has good screens in, has V5 and on a Sorn.

 

 

Now 90% stripped. Some parts still available if you need owt. Click link in my sig. Ta!

[2MB]

My contribution, an '89 240 2.0 GL

 

 

Saw it for sale down the road, Paid £220 for it (50 odd k miles and FSH), planed to keep it for a long time as I adored it but was carjacked while sitting on its roof by 5 tooled-up herberts in balaclavas in a stolen Transit Connect. What a waste

 

[Formula Autos]

I've no pics to hand, sadly, but I'll throw in my Volvo credentials:

 

My first car was a H reg white 460GL, with the Renner 1.7 lump. No power steering, so it was a bugger to park, but it was otherwise GR8; as Volvos seem to be.

 

The most Autoshite spec of any Volvo?

 

Not your average choice of wheels for an 18 year old, but I just didn't care. You can stick your financed Saxos up yer arse, Arnold Clark!

 

H435 YCN I miss you; now sadly departed from our roads according to the DVLA. I still have a number plate from it on my garage wall, and well as the associated HBOL (on a shelf, not on the wall). Replaced by a Pug 106, that was cheaper to run, but nowhere near as good. Or as reliable.