1988 Volvo 480 ES - A New Era Dawns: One year on

[MisterH]

Finally had some decent snow today and I just had to brave the conditions in the hunt of some great photos. I couldn't find a frozen waterfall so couldn't recreate one of my favourite press photos, but I think the backdrop complemented this Not-Quite-Nordic Wedge:










Something about snow and Arctic Blue just works so well, I wonder why?

[jamescarruthers]

Looks great in the snow there. How did it feel to drive?

About 12 years ago I barrelled my old F-reg 250 miles in heavy snow at night in the dark— sidelights plus fogs gave great visibility! It felt very sure footed and was the fastest thing on the A1 by a considerable margin that night! The Swedes must have helped with this part of the handling.

The only time I’ve actually needed snow tyres and had them.

[MisterH]

Looks great in the snow there. How did it feel to drive?

About 12 years ago I barrelled my old F-reg 250 miles in heavy snow at night in the dark— sidelights plus fogs gave great visibility! It felt very sure footed and was the fastest thing on the A1 by a considerable margin that night! The Swedes must have helped with this part of the handling.

The only time I’ve actually needed snow tyres and had them.

It did behave erratically at junctions, however with suitable forward planning this wasn't a problem. It is no quattro, but I definitely felt safe driving it, I knew that it would have been developed with continental winters in mind.

I felt very reassured to have black underseal on the arches and cavity wax on the interior that is for sure!

One of my headlights is out of adjustment which is annoying, but at night it feels great to have such a powerful beam. Until a modern me-me-me-mobile comes the other way with two captured white dwarfs for headlights

[Jay-Kay-Em]

Hope you had fun in the snow! No matter how old I get, a little handbrake now and again can't be helped

Until a modern me-me-me-mobile comes the other way with two captured white dwarfs for headlights

Don't get me started on these things. The latest BMWs have laser headlights now, they can actually fully automate where they cast their beams. All very well when working.... give it ten years...

[100]

That colour really suits the snow, there is something appropriate about a 480 in the snow. I can't help but picture it in the mountains with skis on the roof!

[MisterH]

That colour really suits the snow, there is something appropriate about a 480 in the snow. I can't help but picture it in the mountains with skis on the roof!

Funny that, I feel the 480 has the 'living daylights' factor that means it has that feel that would look so good in a dark winter 1980s setting with synth-rock in the background. A few cars have this, but haven't had the quattro in the snow yet, my father is rightly anxious about salt. Would love to do an Alps run though, get some real Living Daylights vibes in Austria...

[brinkie]

I've given away my set of Pollux alloys with snow tyres for the 480 last week to a friend who has his 480 as only car. Snow has become rare here due to global warming (at best we've got a mild frost at night and lots of cold rain during daytime) so I'm not bothering to put them on. When it snows, I'm letting the car in hibernation. My V70 has snow tyres though, so I'm still prepared.

[MisterH]

I've given away my set of Pollux alloys with snow tyres for the 480 last week to a friend who has his 480 as only car. Snow has become rare here due to global warming (at best we've got a mild frost at night and lots of cold rain during daytime) so I'm not bothering to put them on. When it snows, I'm letting the car in hibernation. My V70 has snow tyres though, so I'm still prepared.

That's interesting, at some point I would love to explore the Nordic Nations, either in the 480 or another modern classic. How do these things perform in extreme conditions? I know it must have been tested in the arctic circle as part of Volvo's due diligence, but do we know of any really northern 480 owners?

[100]

That colour really suits the snow, there is something appropriate about a 480 in the snow. I can't help but picture it in the mountains with skis on the roof!

Funny that, I feel the 480 has the 'living daylights' factor that means it has that feel that would look so good in a dark winter 1980s setting with synth-rock in the background. A few cars have this, but haven't had the quattro in the snow yet, my father is rightly anxious about salt. Would love to do an Alps run though, get some real Living Daylights vibes in Austria...

I was hoping to replicate this in the 480 at some point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIdNcbs ... 6BeFzPJkPy

You've probably seen these but perhaps this one applies more to you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsMUx26BeF0

[MisterH]

That colour really suits the snow, there is something appropriate about a 480 in the snow. I can't help but picture it in the mountains with skis on the roof!

Funny that, I feel the 480 has the 'living daylights' factor that means it has that feel that would look so good in a dark winter 1980s setting with synth-rock in the background. A few cars have this, but haven't had the quattro in the snow yet, my father is rightly anxious about salt. Would love to do an Alps run though, get some real Living Daylights vibes in Austria...

I was hoping to replicate this in the 480 at some point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIdNcbs ... 6BeFzPJkPy

You've probably seen these but perhaps this one applies more to you! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsMUx26BeF0

As a matter of fact I hadn't, I remember the Top Gear coupe challenge which ended with the Ice Race in the Alps, a nice low key but memorable adventure

[brinkie]

I started to dislike Top Gear because of their childish, bullying kind of humour, Harry's Garage on the other hand is one of my favourites. Especially because Harry Metcalfe has a very balanced view on motoring, a kind of wisdom perhaps.

Seeing the videos of going to the Arctic Circle in an old Rolls-Royce and driving along mountain passes with a Lotus Esprit makes me wonder why I never took that adventure in the Matra Murena (which is kind of a poor man's Lotus Esprit - less power but equal in things that break) while I had the car. I should go on such an adventure with the 480 when my big Volvo friend is 18, that will be in 2023. I can't do that sooner as you can get a driving license at 17 but that isn't valid abroad until you're 18.

Driving in snow with a good set of winter tyres will be easy in a 480, it has front wheel drive with the engine in front, so that should give enough grip. I haven't driven it in snow though, because of the lack thereof. There has been only 1 day of winter this year with a little bit of snow, it's a much better investment to have tyres that perform well in the wet.

[MisterH]

I started to dislike Top Gear because of their childish, bullying kind of humour, Harry's Garage on the other hand is one of my favourites. Especially because Harry Metcalfe has a very balanced view on motoring, a kind of wisdom perhaps.

Seeing the videos of going to the Arctic Circle in an old Rolls-Royce and driving along mountain passes with a Lotus Esprit makes me wonder why I never took that adventure in the Matra Murena (which is kind of a poor man's Lotus Esprit - less power but equal in things that break) while I had the car. I should go on such an adventure with the 480 when my big Volvo friend is 18, that will be in 2023. I can't do that sooner as you can get a driving license at 17 but that isn't valid abroad until you're 18.

Driving in snow with a good set of winter tyres will be easy in a 480, it has front wheel drive with the engine in front, so that should give enough grip. I haven't driven it in snow though, because of the lack thereof. There has been only 1 day of winter this year with a little bit of snow, it's a much better investment to have tyres that perform well in the wet.

Fair enough, TG made up an iconic part of my childhood, and now I just lust over the times when one could get a Porsche 944 for 2.5K

Yeah I haven't got winter tyres fitted, I think it is just normal ones, as our budget isn't endless, but it performed well with what it had. I had planned a European adventure for this year, however that is on hold and looks like it will be the UK instead

[MisterH]

Yesterday I had the honour of meeting Sylvia and Al for a run down to the Haynes Museum, was great to meet some faces to the characters I have met on the forum

We met at the Winchester Autobarn on the roman road near my village, and had a coffee and chat about many things, I was extremely pleased that my car passed the expert inspection, being said to be in superb condition and one of the best sets of arches ever known unrestored. If only I was to know what was to befall my stoic and reliable little wedge that day...



We started out as a convoy from the Winchester Autobarn and made our way across the south via B-road, following my father's local knowledge through some lovely roads over Salisbury Plain, my speedo was somewhat intermittent but stabilised after I aimed for some potholes.

We arrived at the Museum after keeping a good convoy speed up the A303 and avoiding stone'enge (nobody knows who causes a bottleneck there or what they were thinkin') only to find the breakfast club for the Sunday, not the Saturday. Nevertheless we had a drink and had a tour of the museum, learning the story of the Man Behind the Lies, they even had a miniature model of a 480 cabrio

Over the course of the Afternoon we saw their exceedingly nice collection of cars, I think the consensus was that the best car of the day had to be the 1994 Tatra 613, a beautiful piece that everyone liked.

After that we had a late lunch, I was trying to convince Al that a twin cam Rover 220 GSi 3 door was very much not a pensioners car, and discussed how suddenly loads of 480s were coming out of the woodwork, just as we as a club started rescuing them en masse.

The time came to go our separate ways, and I navigated my way back east, going through my ancestral home of Mere, and back through Salisbury, the westernmost point of my locale of normality.

I was almost home, then it happened.

I was pulling up to a set of lights after a brisk dual carriageway section, when all of a sudden all my wipers started moving and the light washers fired, even tho the lights were down, it was a good thing I had put RainX on. I had never seen anything like this occur on a car, even when our Audi quattro was in a bad period. I couldn't help but be reminded of the public information films on how to detect a stroke.

We pulled over and found that when the ignition was turned off the wipers stopped, but the main beams stayed on, even after the key was taken out. I wish the courtesy lights had worked when the system wasn't TFFM



We found that opening the passenger door cured the wipers, but gave me no indicators, but by the time I had figured that out I was home

What followed was a very worried texting stream with Jeff and later Brinkie, the consensus being that the CEM was completely and utterly fried, or if it was repairable, it was need an expert looking at it, not the expert* that I am.

After trying the Self Test today Brinkie very kindly agreed to send me a replacement unit, which as I type is navigating its way through the Dutch postal system. Hopefully this will just be a plug in job and I will get my car back, I really don't know what else to try at this stage.

However the trip was fantastic, had a fully functioning wedge for all the best bits, and now I can wrestle with the Rover for a few days on my errands

[edie_fox]

Haha, glad it's a fixable problem. It's not a real 480 event if someone doesn't have a story to tell when they get back!

[brinkie]

I have received a large donation of CEMs (-00, -01 and -III so covers every model year) and instrument clusters last week, never knew I was going to need them this quick! I should build a test fixture for the -01 (roughly the cars built in 1988, 1989 and 1990) which appear to be the most troublesome and have a self-test feature.

The estimate of arrival is between June 12 (next Saturday) and June 14. But the last time I've sent something, it was arriving by Wednesday already, so I'll keep fingers crossed it will arrive quickly and will solve the electrical gremlins!

[MisterH]

Today, thanks to the efforts and advice of Brinkie and Jeff, my car can now be declared exorcised of game breaking electrical gremlins. I plugged the new CEM in, kindly sent by Hero of the Wedge Brinkie, rather fittingly refit was not the reverse of removal, as this time I had to deconstruct the bonnet release to get it to go in properly, Ironic given the destination I was driving home from when it happened...

With that all done I took the car out for a spin and while the speedo is flickering on bumpy roads, there are no crazy wiper moments, and everything works as it should. As an aside I am sure the engine is now feeling smoother and a little quieter, though if that is just me being a better driver, or an unidentified symptom of my bad CEM, remains to be seen...

I cannot thank you enough, all those who helped get this car turned around within a week, I have an end of year school gala next week and I was banking on it being a Volvo trip, and not in the (admittedly more luxurious) Rover

[MisterH]

The 480 is now famous* having now appeared in a piece of automotive journalism!



This is part of a superb new magazine called Classic.Retro.Modern, which is well worth picking up as they have some well written features on lesser loved cars. And they have allowed me to give the club a good mention

[dragonflyjewels]

Well done Ben !! Looking forward to laying hands on a copy.

[MisterH]

Need to start thinking about changing the Topic Title, anyway...

Yesterday I displayed the Volvo at the Forgotten Favourites line-up at the Beaulieu Autojumble. It was a great event, first time I had been, and I managed to bring some more automotive literature into my life too.



The Forgotten Favourites feature, while never intended to be the main event, I personally felt was a bit of a flop. There was a lot of nice cars and I had some great conversations (more on that in a bit) I felt the exhibit was just a little bit out of place, quite a few people seemed more interested in the older stuff, modern classics, while certainly having their fans, didn't quite feel like they were in the right place (backed up by the fact that I couldn't find much in the way of post 1979 parts in the actual autojumble - granted I couldn't get to see it all).



In spite of this, it was a very productive day in terms of spreading the word about the club. I was approached by a young lady in her early 20s who said she had one exactly like mine (same colour, F-Reg) which she sold a couple years ago but was trying to buy back (classic ) so I pointed her in the direction of here. Bigger news was to come though.



After a mooch around the grounds I came back to find a card on the wiper blade, with a number requesting a call. A lot of people mistook the display for sales, so I was prepared to call up but not expecting much. However the chap returned while I was with the car and it turned out he lived locally and had a "Green, low mileage" 480 in his garage that he had bought for his grandson who had never used it. He said it ran and drove, but needed work for its MOT (DRL lense and pop up motor he said). Obviously I was very interested in this, so intend to try and get to see it this week. I have no idea if is is S/ES/Turbo/GT or what, but certainly worth a look. I know the Rescue group is getting overloaded but this could be a good one (I know that's what we said about all the others, but if it really is as bad as a lens and pop up motor it must be worth a look. Even I could mend those; probably)

On the way back the engine was running a little lumpy and continued being a bit funny today (I knew my father shouldn't have cleaned the engine with the garden hose) and the worlds most annoying squeak has continued its mischief from somewhere in the dash binnacle. And I have decided that now is the right time to replace the rear shocks which have been on there since before 2006 when it went into storage (probably not on axle stands either )

If anyone can recommend what shocks to get that would be really good. I am taking the car for the IoW Festival in a couple of weeks time and I would prefer not to have an adventure become a (Dutch) Scandi-drama

Watch this space though, shall be an interesting week

[Spainal]

I've given away my set of Pollux alloys with snow tyres for the 480 last week to a friend who has his 480 as only car. Snow has become rare here due to global warming (at best we've got a mild frost at night and lots of cold rain during daytime) so I'm not bothering to put them on. When it snows, I'm letting the car in hibernation. My V70 has snow tyres though, so I'm still prepared.

That's interesting, at some point I would love to explore the Nordic Nations, either in the 480 or another modern classic. How do these things perform in extreme conditions? I know it must have been tested in the arctic circle as part of Volvo's due diligence, but do we know of any really northern 480 owners?

As I put the car on wheels, I will definitely make a video of how it drives across our Siberian expanses!