Project Annual Migration - The Ongoing Adventures of a 740

[320touring]

It's a dependable old fucker!

[rml2345]

It's never actually left me stranded anywhere, which is handy. Best £150 I ever spent!

[Tickman]

Certainly the right owner

[rml2345]

This thing is still here and doing daily stuff. Except this weekend where its off to @GingerNuttz for a bit of magic sparkly stick action prior to MOT.

Yesterday it was in Cumbria on an errand.

Might paint the bonnet one day. 

[Mrs6C]

Great to see Biff is still about and being a Very Useful Volvo...

[rml2345]

Very useful Volvo indeed. Came in handy when I moved house recently and in subsequent numerous trips to the tip and B&Q. We're now playing that game of how long can you daily a 740 before you go bankrupt or it expires. 

3/1 Bankruptcy.

19/2 Expiry.

[Jim Bell]

Don't paint the bonnet for even more savings. It's almost paying for itself. 

[rml2345]

So this went for MOT at the start of March and... Failed. Only on a ball joint, TRE and some redundant wiring needing tidied but it's the first time it's no passed for me. Since it was there I had the garage do it as the last time I did a ball joint on this thing it was an absolute pig. 

[rml2345]

So as many of you may have noticed, I dragged this auld tub to Festival of the Unexceptional last weekend where it wasn't even the shonkiest car in attendance. 

Thanks to a tipoff from @juular, four brand new Bosch injectors had been bought and I spent a jolly Scottish summer afternoon fitting then and generally tidying the old bus up.

In other words I got fucking soaked. 

That used to be an alternator mount.

Old and New injectors.

Unfortunately despite the extensive* preparations the trip was not without incident. Somewhere on the A1 north of Grantham it decided to jettison the entire nearside indicator/sidelight unit. Bulb holders, the lot. Of course I had no idea of this until stopping at Grantham North services for a pee and to find out which indicator bulb had blown.

Arse.

So it was a desperate double back and search along 10 miles or so of A1 that I'd just traversed but quickly gave up hope of ever seeing it again.

Then spotted it in a lay-by, miraculously mostly intact. Even the bulbs had survived it's 60mph sojourn into the scenery. Duly reunited it was a quick blat to Peterborough and rendezvous with the other Scottish contingent.

And thus to the show.

More bad news though. @Skizzer, who was following in convoy noticed a worrying lack of brake lights. Sure enough it turned out the brake light switch had died and there was no prospect of getting a replacement in a field full of 80s cars. Not without being noticed anyway...

However thanks to the combined knowledge and assistance of Autoshite, and some wires kindly supplied by @blackboilersuit I was able to wire the brake lights up to the foglight switch instead of just living in Lincolnshire for the rest of eternity.

New switch and we're back in business.

On the plus side, it averaged about 35mpg over 680 odd miles. Handy as I'm going on holiday in it next week.

Wish me luck. 

[Mrs6C]

Great to see it out and about still.

If the recent warm* weather is going to become a thing, did you know this car had dealer-fit A/C? Probably ran out of gas ages ago, but could be worth recommissioning... 

[rml2345]

I do indeed Mrs6C, its been on the "To do" list for a while. Until recently I was under the impression that the system would need stripped and all the seals replaced to take the new type gas but that's no longer the case. Would need to get it pressure tested next to see if it's actually still gas tight right enough. 

[rml2345]

Why are there never any updates in this thread?

Oh right, I haven't written them.

Anyway, I'll have owned this for six years in December which is longer than I've owned any other car.

It's even longer than I've owned my pants. Probably.

Something about marriage etc.

In all that time, and presumably all the time the car has been on the forum its had a big fuck off dent in the bonnet and another in the nearside wing as some sort of accompaniment. Meanwhile the other side is now beginning to get a bit brown and flaky so Bluetooth panelwork is probably not very far away there either. 

However thanks to a tip off from @cms206 about a grey 740 being broken, I'm going to drive to Manchester on Saturday for a new* bonnet and wings. After six years and 30,000 miles together I think it's only fair really.

[Six-cylinder]

It is good to see it getting some love.

I bought it on eBay 1st April 2016 and it served us well.

I bought it ready dented to save me from having to do it! The photo was the petrol station shot before I dove it home.

[320touring]

2 hours ago, rml2345 said:

Why are there never any updates in this thread?

Oh right, I haven't written them.

Anyway, I'll have owned this for six years in December which is longer than I've owned any other car.

It's even longer than I've owned my pants. Probably.

Something about marriage etc.

In all that time, and presumably all the time the car has been on the forum its had a big fuck off dent in the bonnet and another in the nearside wing as some sort of accompaniment. Meanwhile the other side is now beginning to get a bit brown and flaky so Bluetooth panelwork is probably not very far away there either. 

However thanks to a tip off from @cms206 about a grey 740 being broken, I'm going to drive to Manchester on Saturday for a new* bonnet and wings. After six years and 30,000 miles together I think it's only fair really.

Good to hear it's getting some attention. It's a game old tub, and somewhat legendary in it's continuation of just being functional. Huzzah!

[DSdriver]

Originally from Kent judging by the reg no, Hildenborough Motor Co. perchance?

[rml2345]

I've actually no idea where it was new. The plates weren't original when I got it (it currently wears an SVM Air Cargo set) and there's very little history other than it having been written off at some point and what you can find on here. 

[Six-cylinder]

3 hours ago, DSdriver said:

Originally from Kent judging by the reg no, Hildenborough Motor Co. perchance?

I bought it in Kent in 2016.

This was the street on the advert. The seller bought it to the railway station for me.

[rml2345]

Quite possibly then. I've still got the old rear plate somewhere which may be a wee bit more help but I can't place it for the moment.

Anyway, since it'll actually be seven years in December I thought you'd all like to see some pikshurz of the new bits and be distracted from the fact that a 37 year old man cannie count. 

Yes there's a dent in the new* bonnet. It's tradition or old charter or something. 

[Tickman]

Those wings look very tidy 

[rml2345]

From the pictures at least, the car that's being broken looks much tidier than mine...

[N Dentressangle]

That sodding dent in the bonnet 🤣

Any chance it might at least tap out a bit?