Ovlov 440 talk to me

[Steve79]

Clearly i do not have enough cars in my possession! I'm ignoring the fact that the poor old Accord (roffle possibly pending) has been sat unused for the last five weeks. I've been offered a 1992 ovlov 440 gli with a shade under 70k on the clock and 5mths mot. Body wise its a bit tired but mechanically its supposed to be on the button. Plus its super cheap!

 

Having never even considered one of these before let alone driven one, i know very little about what they're like apart from the fact there's no scene tax!

 

Any advice about common faults and what to look for would be greatly appreciated.

[Fabergé Greggs]

Buy it, rag it about and then fill us in!

[Lacquer Peel]

My old neighbour had one and took the mileage up to nearly 300k before she gave up driving. Hers might have been a 2.0, I'm not sure if that's Volvo or Regie powered

[Bren]

Are there any left?

[bub2006]

I had a j plate 1.7 gle injection last year. Wasn't a bad car overall. Seats were very comfy and towed my trailer fine. Drank like George Best though (auto box on mine) and the dash paint was peeling around the clocks. I found parts were tricky to find too.

[Junkman]

Dodge Dart 440 much betterer.

[Bear]

My old neighbour had one and took the mileage up to nearly 300k before she gave up driving. Hers might have been a 2.0, I'm not sure if that's Volvo or Regie powered

 

 

Both are fundamentally Renault, aren't they? My 480ES was a 2.0 Auto and I'm sure that was a Renault engine, F20 or somesuch.

[BorniteIdentity]

They will never be cheaper.  A couple have come up in the Tat thread for £200 over the last month.

 

A chum of mine in the media smokes about in one like he's The Secret Millionaire and loves it.  At cheap money, give it a go then raffle it off on here when you're bored.

[Junkman]

The true shiter's choice would of course be the Å koda 440.

[alcyonecorporation]

Both are fundamentally Renault, aren't they? My 480ES was a 2.0 Auto and I'm sure that was a Renault engine, F20 or somesuch.

1.7s and 1.8s were Renner, as was the 1.9 lard burner. 2.0-litre was Volvo's own AFAIK but I'm probably wrong.

 

Watch out for utterly grim build quality inside and out, wanked clutch cables (now NLA) and very approximate electrics if a Central Electronic Module (CEM) was installed with digital gauges. 1992 was the first rehash after everyone went a bit mental with the complaints, so you'll be on a catalyst (Lambda Sond) and door mirrors which don't shit themselves at the onset of a stiff breeze.

 

You can't get rear bump stops easily now, either.

[The Moog]

Didnt Station have a mega cheap one - it hung around like a stinky dog fart and he couldnt shift it. 

[Bear]

1.7s and 1.8s were Renner, as was the 1.9 lard burner. 2.0-litre was Volvo's own AFAIK but I'm probably wrong.

 

You can't get rear bump stops easily now, either.

 

 

Wiki says the 2.0 was a Renault F3x derivative. I only remembered this because I always wanted to build a 480 with Clio Williams bits.

 

(Also I was about 85% sure the Renault/AMC GTA/Alliance used a 2.0 Renault engine that would have been suitable for a federal 480, and the 480 was always designed with USA sales in mind - it's a shame it didn't make it over there as it would have been a serious export success for them had the reliability been up to scratch).

 

Did Volvo do a white-block 4-pot? I thought they red block RWD OHC/16V, white-block FWD/RWD five and six pot, and then Renault engines in the 400, for the '90s models.

[sierraman]

I'd say go for it, so long as it's a real good one. It's one of those cars people aren't going to hanker after, but if it's got plenty of test and it's all good it might do you a good turn. Pointless saying what generally goes wrong with them if it's mega cheap - at that age anything could be up with it.

[Rod/b]

I used to have a G reg 440 1.7 GLE, £70 it cost. It was ace!

 

Get a pre-cat injection model if you can. A friend had a slightly newer one with cat and he said his was much more sluggish compared to mine.

 

Quite excellently, the full model designation on the log book was 440 GLE i SR. I later found out that SR stood for Sun Roof.

[rantingYoof]

I had a P-reg 1.8 440 and it was comfy and quite refined for a car of its age and size. Engine was a 89hp lump which was quite gutless but seemed utterly indestructible. Mine cost around £700.

 

Definitely worth a punt.

[Guest Hooli]

Utterly shite to drive & amazingly uncomfy for a volvo.

[AnthonyG]

If the body's 'tired' it may well be irretrievably rotten underneath and behind the plastic sill covers. Generally these didn't last anything like as well as the 300 series, let alone the bigger cars.

 

If it's cheap enough to use for 5 months and then scrap if need be at MoT time, go for it.

[pilninggas]

The boot can flood, so check it isnt wet and if it is have a good look for tinworm.

[riek]

I had a 1.8. It was crap on fuel and it chewed through brake light switches like a fat kid in a biscuit tin. Otherwise it was pretty much indestructible, even after running it out of water twice.