Volvo 300 series

[Captain Mainwaring]

I'm seriously considering buying one of these DRIFTIN WEAPONZ.

 

Luckily, I'm not the sort of guy who'll eventually scrap it and buy an old 300ZX, having improved my DRIFTING SKILLZ. I hate the fact that so many 300s have fallen at the hands of these idiots.

 

I'm going for the good ol' Renault B14 1397, a) because these engines seem to be pretty bloody indestructible and because the sound they make remind me of the sound my first car made, an '88 340 DL.

 

Anything I need to be aware of in particular?

[warren t claim]

I've had a couple of these beauties.

 

They do handle ok but mine suffered from carb problems and when the prop went it was a pain to replace due to the rear mounted 240 gearbox mounted on its side at the rear and torque tube set up.

[whiskeyonesix]

What Warren said.

 

A 340 1.4 is a good buy - if you can find one that hasn't had the ZOMGRWDNOTAE86GR84DRIFTN treatment - the V3M forum is your best bet to look. The 1.4 are only just a little slower than the red-block 360's but seem a little less stodgier to handle - if you know what I mean!

[r.welfare]

I had one as my first car back in '96 - I wasn't into OMGDRIFTSKILLZ but it was cheap to insure. The 1.4 can apparently go to strong mileages (150k+) without major work, so I wouldn't worry too much about the engine although evidence of care in the form of regular oil and coolant changes would be sensible.

 

The only real issue I had with mine was rusting of the spring cups on the front struts due to the car having sat for a long period prior to me buying it (elderly original owner giving up driving due to going blind); manifested itself through a rubbing sound during cornering. Solved with a pair of secondhand struts and new shocks. Otherwise, no problems in the 18 months and 18,000 miles I owned it.

 

Rust will no doubt be an issue now with the youngest being 20 years old, but I recall the pre '83 cars being worse than later ones. I suspect that facelift (85-on) ones make up the majority of survivors. The 1.7 isn't meant to be too bad if you can't find a 1.4, although you've got a cambelt to worry about on the former.

[Captain Mainwaring]

Cheers, lads. You've pretty much hit on what I was thinking. I think I'm going to get it serviced as soon as I get it, a sensible thing if Bangernomics is to be believed.

[Angrydicky]

These have got really rare recently. I remember when there were loads of them around and you couldn't give them away, before the whole OMGRWDDRFTETC thing obviously. I fail to understand the whole 'drift' thing, especially with things like 340's!

 

Anyway, there's one sitting on a drive near me that's been there at least 5 years. It needs a screen as it's covered with bin liners but looks ok from what I can see of it. There's also an OMG DRIFT one sitting on another driveway but I think the idiot has wrecked it. I haven't seen a proper giffer one for at least four years, they seem to have vanished along with Montegos and MK2 Cavaliers.

[boobydoo]

I actually sold one of these brand new! I joined a Volvo dealership in 1992 and there was one left in white, a 1.7 on a J plate.

 

You always knew when a variomatic one was near the dealership....you could hear them whirring away a mile off!!

 

Trying to prise all the old biddys out of these into a spanking new 440 was hard work I can tell you!

 

The 360GLT wasn't too bad....at least it had PAS!!

[garethj]

Wouldn't the 1.4 be a bit slow? I'd have thought (in complete ignorance, never having driven either version) that a 1.7 would give more power for barely worse fuel economy?

[wuvvum]

I've only ever been a passenger in a 1.4, but it did seem to struggle a bit - I've had a Renault 9 and an 11 with that engine and neither was particularly rapid, and the Volvo weighs a fair bit more. The only 340 I've owned was a 1.7 - went OK although not particularly exciting, steering was very low geared and the only time I managed to get it sideways was in the snow - in which sideways was the only way it would go. I'd like to try a 360GLT at some stage. In fact one of the many "daft project ideas" I've had festering away in the dark recesses of my mind for some years now is a 360 with a 2.3 turbo from a 740/760 fitted - could be quite an amusing device I would imagine.

[Captain Mainwaring]

Wouldn't the 1.4 be a bit slow? I'd have thought (in complete ignorance, never having driven either version) that a 1.7 would give more power for barely worse fuel economy?

 

Actually, I found my old 1.4 to be surprisingly nippy. Definately not what you could call fast, but off the mark relatively quick if you gave it the beans, although anything past 80mph (on my car at least) was a bit ambitious. The violent shaking of the steering wheel above 70 also put paid to that...