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Here for your perusal is my 1988 Volvo 780 Bertone. After my last Volvo turbo went to the great scrapyard in the sky thanks to a municipal truck, I was looking for something a little classier and very 80's. It came down to a shiny but mechanically suspect BMW 635csi, or the Bertone. Since the new owner of said 635 (a friend of mine) is up to his neck in issues, and I've had minimal problems with my barge, it's worked out well I'd say. It is equipped with the 2.8 litre, even fire version of the PRV V6 motor, which showed up in everything from the DMC 12 to Alpines. It's nice, smooth, but a pain in the  to work on, thirsty, and not nearly powerful enough to justify being that annoying and inefficient. For now the project consists of undoing the myriad shiny bodges the car has endured throughout it's lifetime, and repairing them properly whilst I figure out what motor is going in the PRV's place. It's down to a Turbo PRV, a Volvo B230et turbo four cylinder, or a Chevy 350. Since I've owned it, I've done numerous long (600+ mile) journeys and the car does what it was designed to do very well! It just reinforces the need for a change of powerplant, since the rest of the car is so damn good. Now, on with the pics! These are when I first bought him. He's since totalled a Kia and is thusly missing the rear valence, but I have a new one that has been painted and is ready to go on the car when I stop being lazy (considering the damage that was done to the KIA, I'm pretty chuffed with just missing the rear valence). Otherwise, it looks more or less the same!    |
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namless
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 580
Club RR Member Number: 26
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oof that's a beautiful motor and well looked after one.
its a shame as I have never seen one in metal but its on a want list
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Love it, looking forward to seeing more! The only one I've ever seen personally was in Manhattan;  |
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you lucky swine! them things are absolutely sexual
i vote for the turbo PRV over any of the rest any day
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May 31, 2011 11:47:54 GMT
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That's great! It's a shame we never got these over in the UK, they're a good looking car. I had a Volvo 264 with the PRV motor in it, I was amazed how it could use so much fuel, produce reasonable power yet go places so slowly! ;D Still, a nice smooth engine none the less.
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May 31, 2011 12:22:51 GMT
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That is a beautiful looking block...! I really cannot see why we did not get them in the UK though...  You've got a lovely car there sir...  |
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***GARAGE CURRENTLY EMPTY***
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May 31, 2011 13:40:45 GMT
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That's stunning, nice rare bit of kit!
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Lex
South East
日本車 <3
Posts: 2,404
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May 31, 2011 14:02:47 GMT
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Wow I love it!
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Resto-UKal |
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Ratchet
Part of things
The user formerly known as Thomas
Posts: 734
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May 31, 2011 17:07:48 GMT
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That's great! It's a shame we never got these over in the UK, they're a good looking car. +1 possibly because its predecessor the 262 sold badly over here? it was no where near as good looking tho, would love to import one just for the uniqueness of it |
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Competition is the law of the jungle, but cooperation is the law of civilization.
1971 vw beetle 1200
1978 international loadstar 1700 4x4
1987 landrover 110
1994 Yamaha FZR600r
2010 honda CBF1000GT
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May 31, 2011 18:30:06 GMT
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Gorgeous. I love it.
At the risk of sounding dull, a redblock would in my mind be 'correct' for the car. Much more so than the PRV. That said, it's hard to argue with a 350, especially if it has the cavernous engine bay that normal 700/900 series Volvos have.
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...proper medallion man chest wig motoring. |
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May 31, 2011 18:36:27 GMT
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Very cool indeed  At the risk of sounding dull, a redblock would in my mind be 'correct' for the car. Much more so than the PRV. +1 redblock some kind of whopping Holset hanging off the side of it ;D |
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Sierra - here we go again! He has an illness, it's not his fault.
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May 31, 2011 19:20:05 GMT
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lovely...
head over to turbobricks.com and have a look around for turbo PRV info. there's a user with an awfully angry turbo'd PRV in a rally car.
b230ft is an obvious (and much cheaper) second choice... can get silly power of out 'em, as well.
i like the torque and low price of the chebby 350, but not so crazy about the weight. the 780 is a nicely balanced car, if even a bit nose heavy as is... a small block V8 would tip the scales that much more towards the front.
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May 31, 2011 19:36:16 GMT
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Love it - I lust for one of these - if only they'd sold 'em in the uk like the Bertone 'pimp' roof-chop look 240s.. Black with tan interior - nice! - do people mistake you for a Swedish diplomat? |
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May 31, 2011 19:37:46 GMT
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Love the little stockbroker sticking out of the sunroof on this shot! |
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May 31, 2011 19:49:20 GMT
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Some people are like Slinkies - they serve no useful purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them downstairs.
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Minor Progress has been made! I'm collecting parts for a B230ft swap, and it's a bit tedious. In the meantime I've got a new headliner that I just finished out of suede (pics didn't turn out, but I'll grab some more when it's light out). I've started to turn my attention towards the rear subframe because of a clunking noise that's been coming up every now and again. The bushings had gone bad, so they were replaced. But, as we all know, a small repair often turns into a big one when you want to do it properly! I give you exhibit A! My subframe-  There is a ton of surface rust on that side since I, being the idiot I am, decided that leaving an exhaust leak at the rear muffler unattended wouldn't be bad for the car. I had to get it put back together before I could do anything about it since it was closing time at my work and I was being ushered of the lift I was using. Luckily, it's still solid, but it needs to be cleaned up and repainted. That will be taken care of by the end of this week if all goes well. With the car mechanically decent again, I decided to repaint my trim black and give it a wash!  It's still shiny, and I've been slowing fixing the bodges as I find them. The seats will need replacing (more on that in a few days), and the engine swap needs doing of course, but overall it's been a great car. |
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You've got a lovely car there sir... 
