Having missed out on taking the car to the RetroRides Gathering show last year I’m keen to take it this year – but then, or I suppose from now with the caveat that I’ll be taking the car to RetroRides and back, the car is up for sale. I’ve spent a silly amount of time, effort and money getting the car to this point since I bought it in autumn 2015, mostly since I retrieved it from storage in June 2017 and it does feel a bit like giving up just before the finish, but it makes sense to sell it whilst there’s a little bit of summer left.
That said, I bought the car to avoid it getting scrapped and having fixed all the major rust, along with the overhaul of engine/gearbox/brakes/interior and adding power-steering I’m certain I’ve managed that. If I didn’t have the 1988 240 that I learnt to drive in and then turbo swapped (i really should make another thread about that one on here - I have one on a Volvo forum) then I’d be keeping this one… but I can’t quite justify both, despite the now very low cost of keeping this car since it’s now tax and MOT free and a fully comprehensive classic insurance policy is £120 a year
If I had a garage or workshop that was closer to where I live, then I’d keep the car and slowly tinker with it but the cost of workshops in London is frankly bonkers and keeping it on the drive at my parent’s house for another winter seems a bit silly – it’d be better to pass it on to someone who can finish the work that needs doing – bodywork preparation then paint, essentially – and then drive it more than I’ve had a chance to.
The car looks shabby in places as a result of the previous poor quality respray and patches of primer, but is now solid. The doors need a little work, alternatively they could be swapped. The tailgate has a hole in it below the handle which could easily be fixed, I also have a rust free one that will be included in the sale. Driving wise, the car performs brilliantly and I wouldn’t hesitate to take it anywhere.
Plus points – new parts have all been replaced since June 2017, since then the car covered less than 2,500 miles, I’ll check the exact mileage but it’s something like 320K.
Solid if shabby. No major welding required.
Full leather interior from very slightly later car in great condition, along with a rev counter in the dash – not standard equipment for a DL.
5-speed M47 gearbox from 90K car with new oil (very hard to find an M47 with a speedo drive)
New Sachs clutch including friction plate, pressure plate and release bearing
Period correct power steering
Refurbished petrol tank with NOS sender
Fully serviced engine including cambelt and tensioner
New engine mounts
Stripped and cleaned carburettor
New ball joints and trackrod ends, tracking professionally set.
Valve clearances checked and adjusted
Clutch slave cylinder rebuilt with new seals
New Clutch hydraulic hose
New vented brake discs, pads, calipers, hydraulic hoses, spider distribution block, master cylinder, new copper hoses where required
Replacement rear shocks – front shocks were replaced just before I bought it, along with the front struts – the front struts are the later type with thicker stub axles, which were brought in when Volvo swapped to vented discs.
All exterior trim is present and in good condition, along with the bumpers, mirrors, lights etc. there isn’t anything missing. Everything except the headlight wiper motor works, which I haven’t spent much time investigating (the linkage is free and moves easily). Genuine Volvo towbar fitted.
Inside the car everything works.
As is inevitable with a project that hasn’t quite got finished, I have a pile of bits which I haven’t managed to fit yet, along with some spares:
Interior mirror with no damage – oddly the one I the car has a blemish in it where some of the silver backing is lifting from the back of the glass
Matching set of locks – currently the front doors and the ignition are operated by different keys
Wiring and switches for the heated front seats – the car didn’t have heated seats when new, but the seats in it are from a very slightly later car and have heating elements in them. I have the wiring loom and early style switches that match the others in the dash to suit.
Tailgate – rust free. I *might* have time to weld up the hole in the current tailgate, but I’m not sure
Repair panel section for under the rear window on the nearside for when that area is repaired pre-respray
4-Channel Stereo Radio/Cassette headunit – this has a balance function but no fader function – Volvo produced a separate fader unit that fits into a dash blank but they’re rare and expensive, so I bought a period fader to install into a dash blank.
NOS Rear speakers in beige to match the interior- these are really rare.
Matching front speakers and grills to match the above – there are speakers in the front currently, but they don’t match the NOS set of rear ones.
Replacement B-pillar trims, the ones on the car are cracked.
Inevitably the obvious question is how much is it worth? Which may loosely align with how much I’d sell it for, but it might not. I’m fully aware that I won’t get back what I’ve spent on it, so I’ll say £3.5k for now as a guide – if you’re more keen to buy it than I am to sell it, please do get in touch. If you think it’s worth less then go ahead and send me an offer.
Bear in mind despite the blemishes in the paintwork, it’s a rare early estate with all of the major rust issues sorted, a recent mechanical recommission including a complete new braking system, a nice interior, a 5-speed gearbox and power steering - cars like this don’t come up for sale often.
If the car doesn’t sell, I guess I’ll put it back where I got it from – on Ebay – and let the market set the price. If I end up putting it on eBay and it doesn’t reach the reserve… not sure.
Cheers
Are you going to retro rides gathering? Come over for chat if you see me/the car...
and two it means I can keep a cutting disc on one grinder and a wire wheel on the other, which massively speeds up fabrication as I’m not constantly swapping discs.
