75' Volvo C303 TGB 1314 6x6 Army Truck

Really just some green laning, pay and play days and a few local shows a meets I expect. Nothing crazy just always fancied one. I will either have to down plate it or do my C1 licence as I am only 33 so no grand father rights. But it has been MOT'd here as a Class 4 Van and not a C1. Either way the rear cab will come off and will just put spare wheels and recovery kit on the back.

Well the old girl arrived yesterday thanks to Burty's Recovery. It looked absolutely massive on the back of the Merc Lorry so was unsure if it would actually fit on the drive ok. I have decided to call it Droopy due to how much the middle axle drops when its hanging.






I spent the day having a good look around it to see out its condition and figure out what everything does. It is as described and in very good order throughout. The seller thought there was no history with the truck but it does have its original logbook, service schedule and owners manual which is handy, despite being in Swedish. I was pleased to find it does have seat belt and a really good cabin heater.

























It has come with some really cool bits such as full locking diffs, high/low range, 2x spare wheels & tyres, some sort of thermal cover for the engine and Snow chains whcih are really heavy but may come in useful from time to time.













The underside is very clean and has obviously regularly been treated. I will be removing the rear cab as it is already sold. Its just 4 bolts and two U-clamps to remove it and then off to my mates farm to lift it off. I had to remove the spare wheel carrier to get the wheel out as the key is not with the truck sadly.



















The first job has been to fit the new batteries properly. These run a 24V system so two 12V in sequence that are mounted externally under a battery box.










Technically it is the first mid-engine vehicle I have ever owned with the B30 3.0 Petrol engine tucked underneath/behind the crew cab. The engine runs super smooth on its twin carbs.













I am currently trying to get a letter from Volvo Trucks UK that states the truck cannot carry more than 3500KG so I can have it classed as historic. If that does not work we will start the process of downplating it to fit in said class. this means I will not have to gain a C1 licence or pay for an annual C1 MOT as the truck will be exempt.

It weighs according to the vin plate 3260kg on its own. So minus the rear cab and the internals it would have had I would have said an easy 400kg off that.

It was MOT'd in preparation for UK registration by the previous owner, but my aim is to have it classified as such that it sits under 3500kg (MAM) and therefore classified as historic, tax and MOT exempt. I am in the middle of this now after exploring various areas. I am about to receive an email from Volvo Trucks Uk stating that the max load weight for my chassis code in particular is 3500kg. It has to be taken into account that in the 70's it is likely that all 6x6 C303 of this shape would have had a blanket weight plate no matter what back end they were carrying. A number of owners with the same model as mine have successfully UK registered using the same letter but from Volvo Trucks Sweden. So it is a process that has worked before.

You may need to chop the roof of the cab down also as it could be too tall to fit along many lanes as they tend to end up with overhanging branches and trees the height of land rovers, it will struggle looking at it the way it is. Great project.

With the truck being stored down at my mates farm who works on Toyota trucks, it was interesting to find a 90 series Landcruiser parked next to the Volvo when I went down yesterday and to find that the LC with a roof rack fitted is the same height as the Volvo front cab.



The rear cab has sold and was collected yesterday. Used a JCB and chains and simply removed 4 bolts and two U clamps and it lifted straight off. Only just squeezed onto the guys trailer.





It was nice to lift the rear cab to find the chassis and mechanicals all in very good order. It has regularly been treated with old oil which has made it last. At some point I will clean it all of and use some sort of chassis paint. I have a panel for the gap in the rear which is at the fabricators being repaired at the minute. The same guy is also going to make a vented metal cover for the engine. He will eventually build me a cage and some way of carrying spare wheels and recovery gear but that will be for early next year.

Thanks for the info. My thoughts on military trucks was that they would just weight them at whatever the maximum is they would carry with the heaviest back end they would fit, in this case a mortar carrier. Will await UK reg docs to see if DVLA were OK with my letter from Volvo Trucks UK.

Looks like something straight out of snowrunner!

What a great thing.

Where in Wiltshire was that snow? Down here near Stonehenge we got 10 mins of powder, just enough to turn the ground white, but no where near enough to go and have some fun 🙄