Hello,
let me just say this is going to be quite a lengthy post, while this is just an old car i have quite a lot to say about it, and whenever I sell a car I always like to give 100% of what I know to any potential buyers. Also I try to add as many pictures as I can, so apologies if it's a bit much.
to begin with; i have owned this car for a few months and done quite a lot of work on it (all of which i will list in this post)
As a business owner and a Volvo enthusiast I was planning to use this car as a usable but also advertisement promotional car, unfortunately after putting in 99% of the work , I have decided a bigger estate might fit my needs better. I have literally this week been contacting graphics companies getting quotes for the advert, so it was really last second I decided not to use this.
When I got this it was in quite a state , I purchased this unseen from a guy in manchester, who was selling it on behalf of a family-friend, apparently it belonged to his father, and sadly he had passed away, he told me he loved the car, and wouldn't let it go for anything.
(things always look better online) but after seeing how rough it looked in person I almost didnt buy it (despite hiring a trailer and driving there from birmingham)
BUT, it drove spot on, and thatmade me just say , to hell with it, I'm here now, i'll take it.
to start with, the body seems very solid , there was only minor surface rust on the boot lid, but being honest, the worst part about this car DEFINITELY was the interior, it was the worst i've ever seen, clearly the last owner was a heavy smoker, and it showed, most of the interior was trashed, old plastics were broken all over, but again, since i cared mostly about the body, this didn't bother me too much.
i got the car home, and stripped out MOST of the interior; all the roof lining, most pillar plastics, and other minor pieces (it doesnt look too bad, it still has all the seats, center console, and dashboard) the door cars are pretty terrible, the driver's was so warped/damaged i ended up cutting a strip (see pictures) just so I have a functional door handle/window control mounting point/and it covered up most of the cables/mess. apart from this, the interior is pretty much as i got it, i have cleaned it a bit, but the front seats are still pretty crappy/worn (but still work , if you don't care about how they look)
the exterior was not too bad, as i said, it was VERY solid, despite being a bit scruffy, I COMPLETELY sanded the entire body back, and wanted something that stood out, and since i envisioned black with black windows, and white advert/text I thought that would be great, and stand out, so i decided to go real ghetto, this car has been roller brush painted with black hammerite, the finish is TERRIBLE, please expect the paint to look terrible up close (i was not going to go to the trouble of getting spray stuff/prepping for that, (although i had wished for a better result than what I got) but honestly, from a distance it looks presentable. IT certainly has a very unique rough rat-rod style look about it, and for some reason I do love this old thing. secondly; the window tints, again, i did them all , MYSELF, and I am far from a professional, they're quite bad, the tint film is stuck down quite well and the side windows are not too bad, but the rear window was difficult, and there's many imperfections; but as with the paint, it looks quite tidy and striking from a distance.
The rest of the body has had quite extensive restoration too, i painted the front bumper/spoiler, replaced both front plastic light clusters with brand new ones, re-painted both wiper arms, and replaced the wipers themselves,replaced both number plates, both mirrors have also been restored with anti-chip paint, and both mirror glass have been replaced. all chrome trim was removed and cleaned (i did use chrome restoration stuff, but it didnt seemt to do a whole lot) the front grille was re-blacked". all side door trim was removed when painting, cleaned, had all trim clips replaced. the aerial was replaced, interior rear view was replaced, a long with many trim pieces (the ones i could get) including door handle, and the nearside rear light cluster too (very difficult to source)
All the tyres are in great condition, as well as the original chrome trims, I have just put a fresh MOT on this; and to pass I replaced the inner+outer tie rod (offside) along with (offside) wheelbearing and tie rod gaitor. (tracking was also done at this point) I had the instrument cluster out and replaced all the dead bulbs in that, along with fixing/replacing all other bulbs on the car (the OE "hella" fog lights also work) replaced some interior trim clips, added an aftermarket head unit for aux input (wired to front door speakers only (there's 2 rear parcel shelf speakers I purchased but never got around to wiring in) the entire exhaust looks nearly brand new.
the engine; i'll be honest it's been great to me, the ONLY problem i've had is sort of my own fault (broken fuel guage) (combined with me using this car to store all my tools/equipment (probably 500kg) means i have run this car out of fuel without meaning to, obviously she was stuttering a little, but once more fuel added was driving absolutely perfect again.
this is the B230K, so a very simple engine, (the carburetor) I have installed a brand new battery and had a new ignition cable made/installed (professionally made by local auto-electrics shop) I have done a full service, including oil, oil filter, air filter (and I have a fuel filter (never got around to installing)) all filters purchased from volvo (or brookhouse volvo (if unable to source parts - lots of stuff is discountinued from volvo, now))
let's get into what works and doesn't, amazingly it seems like most things on this car DO work, all windows work, sunroof (manual) , mirrors, radio, etc. the only things that don't work are the fuel guage (oil pressure guage) and there's a minor problem that I have not yet got around to looking into yet (fuel does not run into the tank fast (when refueling at the fuel station) i THINK this is possibly just a dirty air valve (I'm not even sure how it works on this car - literally not had time to research this at all yet) plus I'm thinking my lockable (aftermarket fuel cap ) might not be venting air correctly? again its just a guess, as i have not looked into this, I do still have the original fuel cap. the mile counter came to me stuck at around 135k
but I think that's about it, for some strange reason I am really reluctant to let this car go, i love driving it, even if it's pretty slow, there's something enjoyable about it, and it certainly turns heads wherever you go (which was the intention)
calls/texts welcome; 07954522146
viewing by appointment only.
Regards, Matthew
before:
during:
After as he sits now:
let me just say this is going to be quite a lengthy post, while this is just an old car i have quite a lot to say about it, and whenever I sell a car I always like to give 100% of what I know to any potential buyers. Also I try to add as many pictures as I can, so apologies if it's a bit much.
to begin with; i have owned this car for a few months and done quite a lot of work on it (all of which i will list in this post)
As a business owner and a Volvo enthusiast I was planning to use this car as a usable but also advertisement promotional car, unfortunately after putting in 99% of the work , I have decided a bigger estate might fit my needs better. I have literally this week been contacting graphics companies getting quotes for the advert, so it was really last second I decided not to use this.
When I got this it was in quite a state , I purchased this unseen from a guy in manchester, who was selling it on behalf of a family-friend, apparently it belonged to his father, and sadly he had passed away, he told me he loved the car, and wouldn't let it go for anything.
(things always look better online) but after seeing how rough it looked in person I almost didnt buy it (despite hiring a trailer and driving there from birmingham)
BUT, it drove spot on, and thatmade me just say , to hell with it, I'm here now, i'll take it.
to start with, the body seems very solid , there was only minor surface rust on the boot lid, but being honest, the worst part about this car DEFINITELY was the interior, it was the worst i've ever seen, clearly the last owner was a heavy smoker, and it showed, most of the interior was trashed, old plastics were broken all over, but again, since i cared mostly about the body, this didn't bother me too much.
i got the car home, and stripped out MOST of the interior; all the roof lining, most pillar plastics, and other minor pieces (it doesnt look too bad, it still has all the seats, center console, and dashboard) the door cars are pretty terrible, the driver's was so warped/damaged i ended up cutting a strip (see pictures) just so I have a functional door handle/window control mounting point/and it covered up most of the cables/mess. apart from this, the interior is pretty much as i got it, i have cleaned it a bit, but the front seats are still pretty crappy/worn (but still work , if you don't care about how they look)
the exterior was not too bad, as i said, it was VERY solid, despite being a bit scruffy, I COMPLETELY sanded the entire body back, and wanted something that stood out, and since i envisioned black with black windows, and white advert/text I thought that would be great, and stand out, so i decided to go real ghetto, this car has been roller brush painted with black hammerite, the finish is TERRIBLE, please expect the paint to look terrible up close (i was not going to go to the trouble of getting spray stuff/prepping for that, (although i had wished for a better result than what I got) but honestly, from a distance it looks presentable. IT certainly has a very unique rough rat-rod style look about it, and for some reason I do love this old thing. secondly; the window tints, again, i did them all , MYSELF, and I am far from a professional, they're quite bad, the tint film is stuck down quite well and the side windows are not too bad, but the rear window was difficult, and there's many imperfections; but as with the paint, it looks quite tidy and striking from a distance.
The rest of the body has had quite extensive restoration too, i painted the front bumper/spoiler, replaced both front plastic light clusters with brand new ones, re-painted both wiper arms, and replaced the wipers themselves,replaced both number plates, both mirrors have also been restored with anti-chip paint, and both mirror glass have been replaced. all chrome trim was removed and cleaned (i did use chrome restoration stuff, but it didnt seemt to do a whole lot) the front grille was re-blacked". all side door trim was removed when painting, cleaned, had all trim clips replaced. the aerial was replaced, interior rear view was replaced, a long with many trim pieces (the ones i could get) including door handle, and the nearside rear light cluster too (very difficult to source)
All the tyres are in great condition, as well as the original chrome trims, I have just put a fresh MOT on this; and to pass I replaced the inner+outer tie rod (offside) along with (offside) wheelbearing and tie rod gaitor. (tracking was also done at this point) I had the instrument cluster out and replaced all the dead bulbs in that, along with fixing/replacing all other bulbs on the car (the OE "hella" fog lights also work) replaced some interior trim clips, added an aftermarket head unit for aux input (wired to front door speakers only (there's 2 rear parcel shelf speakers I purchased but never got around to wiring in) the entire exhaust looks nearly brand new.
the engine; i'll be honest it's been great to me, the ONLY problem i've had is sort of my own fault (broken fuel guage) (combined with me using this car to store all my tools/equipment (probably 500kg) means i have run this car out of fuel without meaning to, obviously she was stuttering a little, but once more fuel added was driving absolutely perfect again.
this is the B230K, so a very simple engine, (the carburetor) I have installed a brand new battery and had a new ignition cable made/installed (professionally made by local auto-electrics shop) I have done a full service, including oil, oil filter, air filter (and I have a fuel filter (never got around to installing)) all filters purchased from volvo (or brookhouse volvo (if unable to source parts - lots of stuff is discountinued from volvo, now))
let's get into what works and doesn't, amazingly it seems like most things on this car DO work, all windows work, sunroof (manual) , mirrors, radio, etc. the only things that don't work are the fuel guage (oil pressure guage) and there's a minor problem that I have not yet got around to looking into yet (fuel does not run into the tank fast (when refueling at the fuel station) i THINK this is possibly just a dirty air valve (I'm not even sure how it works on this car - literally not had time to research this at all yet) plus I'm thinking my lockable (aftermarket fuel cap ) might not be venting air correctly? again its just a guess, as i have not looked into this, I do still have the original fuel cap. the mile counter came to me stuck at around 135k
but I think that's about it, for some strange reason I am really reluctant to let this car go, i love driving it, even if it's pretty slow, there's something enjoyable about it, and it certainly turns heads wherever you go (which was the intention)
calls/texts welcome; 07954522146
viewing by appointment only.
Regards, Matthew
before:
during:
After as he sits now:
