Full list of UK spec colours?

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MisterH
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Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by MisterH » Sat Mar 14, 2020 11:41 am

'Morning all

I was wondering what colours were available in the UK that are not available in NL, and therefore not on the main site's list. I say this because I remember a little while back an 87 car was inter- I mean uncovered in daily use that was in a bronzy-gold colour. At the time it was said that the main site only covers colours from the Dutch market, and I know that the UK 480 colour line was different anyway from the Paris Blue situation.

So, does anyone have examples of UK specific/not listed on the main site colours for 480s*? Even better with pictures!

Many thanks

*Colours that were manufacturer spec, not custom ones
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dragonflyjewels
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by dragonflyjewels » Sat Mar 14, 2020 12:30 pm

I currently have dcwalker's archive of UK sales leaflets so I'll go through and compare them to the club list.
Interesting question !!
Sylvia

Snazzy - 1993 Paris Blue ES red dipstick 2.0i bought 2001
Lethal Lily - 1991 White Turbo
Paris the Unicorn - 1991 Paris Edition
hubby has
Sven - 1994 Racing Green GT
Evil Eva - 1992 Paris Blue Turbo

no previous 480s - can't bear to sell any

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dragonflyjewels
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by dragonflyjewels » Sat Mar 14, 2020 2:33 pm

Well of course, nothing is straight-forward on 480s.....

The easy bit:

year......UK colour.......code.....Dutch colour......code.........(all these colours are mettalic)
1987.....Ocean Blue.......?.........Petrol Blue.......219..........no colour codes quoted in the 80's brochures
1990.....Arctic Blue......218.......Light Blue........218..........ok, same colour, different name
1991.....Peacock Green 314.......Vase Green.......314.......................ditto
1995.....Storm Grey......323.......Dark Grey........323.......................ditto
...........Racing Green...321.......Dark Green......321.......................ditto

now the curved ball:

1990.....Oyster Grey.....311........Lavendar ........311.......hmmm, Oyster Grey definitely doesn't look lavender in the brochure but
.........................................................................I have seen a Lavendar car on the continent and it really is lavender (or mauve)

Anyone on here got an Oyster grey car ?

and for an extra bit of fun - I've seen bronze/grey cars as well (early ones with black bumpers) and the colour does not appear in any of the early brochures
Maybe Oyster grey goes bronze as it ages........... if anyone on here has this colour, put me out of my misery and tell me the colour code !
Sylvia

Snazzy - 1993 Paris Blue ES red dipstick 2.0i bought 2001
Lethal Lily - 1991 White Turbo
Paris the Unicorn - 1991 Paris Edition
hubby has
Sven - 1994 Racing Green GT
Evil Eva - 1992 Paris Blue Turbo

no previous 480s - can't bear to sell any

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MisterH
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by MisterH » Sat Mar 14, 2020 3:20 pm

Thanks that is really fascinating!

I always thought that Lavender was the most obscure colour on the 480, and the one that seems the rarest. What would one reckon the rarest/least popular colour was.

The Arctic blue on mine is frequently touted as 'the nicest' one they put on the car (I would say it's a close competition between that, 184 SG met and Petrol Blue) but I do not know if that translates into rarity.

Certainly the only picture of a Lavender car I have ever seen is the sole picture on the main site, so could it be the rarest?
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by edie_fox » Sat Mar 14, 2020 4:26 pm

Looking here, there is a list of codes/colours and corresponding models they were used on :D

I could write a list of the just 480 ones but I think it's easy enough to scroll through.

311 - Lavender metallic does show as used only on the 480....we should hunt one down!

Not a UK car but they are very pretty. https://www.catawiki.com/lots/23270705- ... turbo-1990

Codes and colours: https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/paint_colour_codes.shtml

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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by MisterH » Sat Mar 14, 2020 6:51 pm

edie_fox wrote:
Sat Mar 14, 2020 4:26 pm
Looking here, there is a list of codes/colours and corresponding models they were used on :D

I could write a list of the just 480 ones but I think it's easy enough to scroll through.

311 - Lavender metallic does show as used only on the 480....we should hunt one down!

Not a UK car but they are very pretty. https://www.catawiki.com/lots/23270705- ... turbo-1990

Codes and colours: https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/paint_colour_codes.shtml
That car is a beautiful example :eek: but it actually doesn't appeal to me, you could never use it as a daily. That colour really is gorgeous, the pic on the main site doesn't do it justice!
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dcwalker
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by dcwalker » Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:33 pm

Thanks for tackling Ben's question, Sylvia - that set of brochures is, indeed, the best source for the UK colours, especially since at times they had different names to the rest of Europe.

The 1992 ES that is referred to in my signature block was oyster-grey metallic; it was a very nice colour and not one you saw (or see) very often. It certainly wasn't pearlescent in the way that some modern finishes are, but even so it varied depending on the angle you looked at the car. From some angles she could look really quite a dark grey, and from other angles it would look quite purplish, enough to make it obvious why the colour was also called lavender.

She pre-dated having any digital photos of her, but I'll have a rummage, maybe scan a slide in, and share it here...

David
Last edited by dcwalker on Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Current: 1994 480 GT, 1996 460 CD & 1997 440 LE with lots of optional extras & 2007 V50 SE Sport
Previous: Celebration 331 (re-homed with Richard S), Celebration 467 (returned to Martin Mc); Celebration 346 (re-homed with Alan480); Celebration 269 (scrapped abandoned project), Celebration 73 (sold on after 6 years), 1992 ES, 1988 ES - and numerous other non-480 Volvos!

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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by dcwalker » Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:35 pm

Thanks for tackling Ben's question, Sylvia - that set of brochures is, indeed, the best source for the UK colours, especially since at times they had different names to the rest of Europe.

The 1992 ES that is referred to in my signature block was oyster-grey metallic; it was a very nice colour and not one you saw (or see) very often. It certainly wasn't pearlescent in the way that some modern finishes are, but even so it varied depending on the angle you looked at the car. From some angles she could look really quite a dark grey, and from other angles it would look quite purplish, enough to make it obvious why the colour was also called lavender.

She pre-dated having any digital photos of her, but I'll have a rummage, maybe scan a slide in, and share it here...

David
Current: 1994 480 GT, 1996 460 CD & 1997 440 LE with lots of optional extras & 2007 V50 SE Sport
Previous: Celebration 331 (re-homed with Richard S), Celebration 467 (returned to Martin Mc); Celebration 346 (re-homed with Alan480); Celebration 269 (scrapped abandoned project), Celebration 73 (sold on after 6 years), 1992 ES, 1988 ES - and numerous other non-480 Volvos!

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MisterH
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by MisterH » Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:51 pm

dcwalker wrote:
Thu Mar 19, 2020 2:35 pm
Thanks for tackling Ben's question, Sylvia - that set of brochures is, indeed, the best source for the UK colours, especially since at times they had different names to the rest of Europe.

The 1992 ES that is referred to in my signature block was oyster-grey metallic; it was a very nice colour and not one you saw (or see) very often. It certainly wasn't pearlescent in the way that some modern finishes are, but even so it varied depending on the angle you looked at the car. From some angles she could look really quite a dark grey, and from other angles it would look quite purplish, enough to make it obvious why the colour was also called lavender.

She pre-dated having any digital photos of her, but I'll have a rummage, maybe scan a slide in, and share it here...

David
Thanks David, that'd be great to see!
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dcwalker
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by dcwalker » Fri Mar 20, 2020 11:19 am

Seems I had some photos scanned in already...

These first two were taken in February 2005, and show the car as she was to specification:

Image

Image
Current: 1994 480 GT, 1996 460 CD & 1997 440 LE with lots of optional extras & 2007 V50 SE Sport
Previous: Celebration 331 (re-homed with Richard S), Celebration 467 (returned to Martin Mc); Celebration 346 (re-homed with Alan480); Celebration 269 (scrapped abandoned project), Celebration 73 (sold on after 6 years), 1992 ES, 1988 ES - and numerous other non-480 Volvos!

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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by dcwalker » Fri Mar 20, 2020 11:20 am

These next two were taken in July 2005, after I had given her a spoiler and a brand new set of front lights (still available from Volvo then, albeit they set me back about £200…). I thought they modernised her look considerably.

Image

Image

I traded her in after we moved north for a very nice S40 2.0T – wasn’t the same though and within 6 months the S40 had gone and I was back in a 480, Morwenna, my first Celebration that I then had for 6 years.
Good memories!!
David
Current: 1994 480 GT, 1996 460 CD & 1997 440 LE with lots of optional extras & 2007 V50 SE Sport
Previous: Celebration 331 (re-homed with Richard S), Celebration 467 (returned to Martin Mc); Celebration 346 (re-homed with Alan480); Celebration 269 (scrapped abandoned project), Celebration 73 (sold on after 6 years), 1992 ES, 1988 ES - and numerous other non-480 Volvos!

100
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by 100 » Fri Mar 20, 2020 1:56 pm

Does anyone know if there are any peacock green cars? I can only find pictures of vase green. Having a two-tone in peacock green (314) and silver (306) I'd be intrigued to see what the green would be like on a whole car.

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jamescarruthers
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by jamescarruthers » Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:09 pm

What green is Jeff's?
1987 Volvo 480 ES, 507274, 217 - Red (Ness)
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG
2008 Mini Cooper convertible (Mau)

Previous 480's:
J123 CFU -- ES
J449 MNL -- ES auto
D864 CPV -- ES
L691 JFC -- Turbo
F70 MNR -- ES
H858 FGV -- Turbo auto
E981 KHM -- ES (509849)

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MisterH
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by MisterH » Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:40 pm

dcwalker wrote:
Fri Mar 20, 2020 11:20 am
These next two were taken in July 2005, after I had given her a spoiler and a brand new set of front lights (still available from Volvo then, albeit they set me back about £200…). I thought they modernised her look considerably.

Image

Image

I traded her in after we moved north for a very nice S40 2.0T – wasn’t the same though and within 6 months the S40 had gone and I was back in a 480, Morwenna, my first Celebration that I then had for 6 years.
Good memories!!
David
That is a lovely one! I like the front spoiler but am not too keen on the clear lenses, I know everyone seems to love them along with the celeb alloys, but like said alloys, they turn me off a bit if you know what I mean? Either way I do think that you got a downgrade from that when you got an S40 to take its place! you you have any idea if K935 YRW is around still?
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dcwalker
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by dcwalker » Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:53 pm

Thanks Ben

The clear lenses question seems to divide people - I think it depends what colour car they are on. Your blue, for example, looks great with the orange lenses, but on something like my Celeb I think they clash with the burgundy red. Celeb alloys I can take or leave - its my GT alloys (Vesa) I like!

The photos do paint a rather rosy picture of that particular car - it was rusting badly underneath around the back end and it hadn't been particularly well looked after by its previous owners :( . It let me down twice, first electrical problem at the M62/M1 north junction just before the hard shoulder peters out, which is not a fun place to be stranded, and then bursting part of the cooling pipework on the M1 near Northampton when it was recovered to Bells, the main dealer.

Couldn't trust it, after that :(

Don't knock the S40! It was a lovely dark green, top of the range (CD model with all the bells and whistles) and had a 163BHP turbo engine which could put many boy racers to shame. Mind you, it had no character, hence back to the 480 I went. The next 40 series I had was alongside the 480 and was a top-spec V40 T4 in gold...now with its 200BHP turbo engine that really did have character!!

David
Current: 1994 480 GT, 1996 460 CD & 1997 440 LE with lots of optional extras & 2007 V50 SE Sport
Previous: Celebration 331 (re-homed with Richard S), Celebration 467 (returned to Martin Mc); Celebration 346 (re-homed with Alan480); Celebration 269 (scrapped abandoned project), Celebration 73 (sold on after 6 years), 1992 ES, 1988 ES - and numerous other non-480 Volvos!

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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by dcwalker » Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:55 pm

jamescarruthers wrote:
Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:09 pm
What green is Jeff's?
Jeff's is peacock-green, so was french-fries', although I have no idea who or where he sold his to...

David
Current: 1994 480 GT, 1996 460 CD & 1997 440 LE with lots of optional extras & 2007 V50 SE Sport
Previous: Celebration 331 (re-homed with Richard S), Celebration 467 (returned to Martin Mc); Celebration 346 (re-homed with Alan480); Celebration 269 (scrapped abandoned project), Celebration 73 (sold on after 6 years), 1992 ES, 1988 ES - and numerous other non-480 Volvos!

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MisterH
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by MisterH » Fri Mar 20, 2020 4:29 pm

dcwalker wrote:
Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:53 pm
Thanks Ben

The clear lenses question seems to divide people - I think it depends what colour car they are on. Your blue, for example, looks great with the orange lenses, but on something like my Celeb I think they clash with the burgundy red. Celeb alloys I can take or leave - its my GT alloys (Vesa) I like!

The photos do paint a rather rosy picture of that particular car - it was rusting badly underneath around the back end and it hadn't been particularly well looked after by its previous owners :( . It let me down twice, first electrical problem at the M62/M1 north junction just before the hard shoulder peters out, which is not a fun place to be stranded, and then bursting part of the cooling pipework on the M1 near Northampton when it was recovered to Bells, the main dealer.

Couldn't trust it, after that :(

Don't knock the S40! It was a lovely dark green, top of the range (CD model with all the bells and whistles) and had a 163BHP turbo engine which could put many boy racers to shame. Mind you, it had no character, hence back to the 480 I went. The next 40 series I had was alongside the 480 and was a top-spec V40 T4 in gold...now with its 200BHP turbo engine that really did have character!!

David
sounds it! I do love a good Q-Car! I can really see what you mean with the lenses with the colour being matched. I find the burgundy red another hit and miss, but usually because I have only seen it with celeb alloys. I really like the burgundy with a set of Taurus wheels however: https://a1.amlimg.com/M2ViMzhhYmRlNjhjY ... 5nfHx8.jpg
Last edited by MisterH on Fri Mar 20, 2020 6:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by jifflemon » Fri Mar 20, 2020 6:48 pm

dcwalker wrote:
Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:53 pm
The clear lenses question seems to divide people - I think it depends what colour car they are on. Your blue, for example, looks great with the orange lenses, but on something like my Celeb I think they clash with the burgundy red. Celeb alloys I can take or leave - its my GT alloys (Vesa) I like!
Good job we all like different things eh? I can't stand the Vesa alloys! :shock:
MisterH wrote:
Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:40 pm
you you have any idea if K935 YRW is around still?
Last MOT was 2008 :cryhard:

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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by MisterH » Fri Mar 20, 2020 6:50 pm

jifflemon wrote:
Fri Mar 20, 2020 6:48 pm
dcwalker wrote:
Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:53 pm
The clear lenses question seems to divide people - I think it depends what colour car they are on. Your blue, for example, looks great with the orange lenses, but on something like my Celeb I think they clash with the burgundy red. Celeb alloys I can take or leave - its my GT alloys (Vesa) I like!
Good job we all like different things eh? I can't stand the Vesa alloys! :shock:
MisterH wrote:
Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:40 pm
you you have any idea if K935 YRW is around still?
Last MOT was 2008 :cryhard:
well that is unfortunate, though my car was last MOT'd in '06 until it was pulled out of a garage and MOT'd by us over a decade later! though judging by David's description of its condition, it sounds like that one is long gone :cry:
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Re: Full list of UK spec colours?

Post by dragonflyjewels » Fri Mar 20, 2020 7:35 pm

100 wrote:
Fri Mar 20, 2020 1:56 pm
Does anyone know if there are any peacock green cars? I can only find pictures of vase green. Having a two-tone in peacock green (314) and silver (306) I'd be intrigued to see what the green would be like on a whole car.
Peacock Green was the name in the UK, Vase Green on the continent, it's the same colour code.
Sylvia

Snazzy - 1993 Paris Blue ES red dipstick 2.0i bought 2001
Lethal Lily - 1991 White Turbo
Paris the Unicorn - 1991 Paris Edition
hubby has
Sven - 1994 Racing Green GT
Evil Eva - 1992 Paris Blue Turbo

no previous 480s - can't bear to sell any

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