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 Car of the Month
Car of the Month March 2004 belongs to Pär (Pelle) Renström, member 0042.
What is the Volvo 480 for me?
Hi everyone!
My name is Per "Pelle" Renstrom and I come from a small town in northern Sweden.
I've grown up in a village outside of town, spending most of my spare time in my fathers mechanical workshop.
Always been interested in cars, engines and all sorts of mechanical things so I have tinkered with a lot of stuff during my 24 years.
My first car was a Buick from -74, mostly as a hobby-car.
When I started working after my military service I had to get a more normal car with a more "normal" fuelconsumption.
I saw an ad in the local paper about a Volvo 480 ES -87 at a dealer in town.
-Hmm, that's the sporty Volvo with the popup-lights. Looks kind of cool...
So I went to have a look at it and it was love at first sight.
I bought the car and was amazed every day for a couple of months with all the little gadgets and electronical things in it.
Fixed the "usual" problems with it, bad idle, handbrake cables and some other things.
Had it for a year but then I started thinking about a Turbo.
A metallic black Turbo with leather and aircondition, that would be something...
Surfing the web one day and came across the car of my dreams! A low mileage car with the right specifications, previously owned by a 58-year old lady.
Called the bank and got the money and bought that car too.
This is the car I have today and the car this story is all about.
My 480 Turbo.
It was a beauty. Excellent condition, only 58.000 kilometers in 8 years, always stored in garage, cleaned and waxed.
I felt right away that this was the car for me and this is what I'm going to put my money into.
Started with removing the red stripes on the lists.
I fitted a Pipercross cone-filter with a homemade shield from the rest of the engine bay. I had a custom exhaust system made at the company Ferrita, 2,5" from cat and back with dual exhausts where the rear foglights used to be.
White direction indicators in the front of course.
A stereo was built by MDS in Stockholm. Re-built doors with 6,5" speakers and 30mm tweeters built into the a-pillars.
A 10" subwoofer was installed in the sparewheel-well which now serves as a box for the subwoofer. Everything powered by a 4-channel amplifier.
Optima Yellowtop battery to provide electric power.
Both an electrical- and a petrol-powered engineheater was installed.
A rear wing from DBS Motorsports was fitted and that is the only outer "styling-part" apart from my homemade grill in the front. And of course the siderepeaters I fitted from a Volvo XC70.
The suspension was uprated to yellow Koni shocks and "Lesjofors" springs.
I changed the rear brakes, new discs and pads and then I cleaned all the calipers and painted them in silver.
Rear windows was tinted with film by professionals.
The latest addition to the car is a Momo Millennium Evo steering wheel and a Momo Sphere S shiftknob. Looks and feels very nice.
Wasted money?
So far I think I've spent almost 6.000 Euros on the 480. I'm sick, I know.
My mother says: -How are you planning to get all the money you spent on the car back when you sell it..?
Well...I will never sell it. Simple as that.
I have come to love this car so much that I don't think I could ever sell it.
The car has worked perfectly from the start and never given me even the slightest problem. Electronics is 100% along with almost everything else on the car.
It is working just too good to let anyone else drive my car, hehe...
This car has given me so much joy. It's much more than just a tool of transportation. It comes alive when I get behind the steeringwheel and responds to every command I give it by the wheel, the shiftlever and the pedals.
As long as I keep filling the gastank and keep maintaining the car with the respect it deserves it will give me many fine moments and driving-hours in the future.
Reading this I realize I seem to have gone mental. I need medical attention. After all, it's just a car.
But then again, it's my car...my 480.
What comes next..?
New wheels is planned for this summer and maybe a new paintjob. It's all about the money as you all know. Not cheap to be a 480-owner.
Then I don't know. Perhaps I can just drive my car and enjoy everything it brings me. Enjoy the engine, the sporty suspension, the driveability and not to forget the look of this beautiful piece of engineering.
Enjoy the looks from people on the street and enjoy to be a part of a community of people around the world that shares my passion for this little car.
This extraordinary little car. :-)
See you all 480-maniacs out there!
//Pelle
Pelle Renström, member 0042
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