1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Diary - Update September 2024

[jifflemon]

Oh for some new wedge clips!

Oooooo my ears are tingling...... Is there a need? Are they just plastic?

[Jay-Kay-Em]

Is there a need? Are they just plastic?

Probably not enough demand to warrant the 3D printing route.

The clips are fine until you require door handle removal. You have to defeat the wedge by deflecting it - and snapping the wedge in the process.

Without disturbance they are totally reliable.

Door handle removal is quite rare - apart from painting, not many reasons to go there.

New coat hooks (that look OE) and rear washer jets would be my top pleads to the amazing 3D printing community.

We are in a new world with the 3D printing revolution and I doff my hat to the creators of parts we have thus far.

[jifflemon]

the rear nozzle is conundrum, as the nozzle itself is metal, meaning its got be pressed in somehow....

[WillC9303]

New coat hooks (that look OE) and rear washer jets would be my top pleads to the amazing 3D printing community.

Coat hooks are now available! (At least the delicate rubber covers for them are, assuming that’s what you’re after?)

Ria Gerritse sells them on Facebook.

[Jay-Kay-Em]

New coat hooks (that look OE) and rear washer jets would be my top pleads to the amazing 3D printing community.

Coat hooks are now available! (At least the delicate rubber covers for them are, assuming that’s what you’re after?)

Ria Gerritse sells them on Facebook.

[cranna21]

fantastic! i also greatly enjoy your wee isometric and use of levels of detail / line types for the handle.... as a draughty... bravo

a question for you sir! can you share some more photo's of the M4 fix on your handles? ta!

Hi Fraser,

Its simply drilling the handle, removing the wedge clips and using nut, nylocs & washers...



If it slips again, other than tightening further, is a Mk2 version which will be an infill piece where the wedge clip used to be... "A" in the attached below...



Like everything in this diary, nothing is tested for daily use, so I can't promise any permanent fixes.

Oh for some new wedge clips!

Regards,

J.

[Jay-Kay-Em]

July 2024 - Interior

With troublesome paintwork behind us (he says), let's turn this back into a car again...

Now; where did I hide all this stuff six years ago?



The relief finally getting these parts out the house !

Once all located, remove six years of dust and grime...





Carpet

Four years ago I went to "Hull & Back" for a hole-free carpet.

Here it is. Pressure washer and VAX'd to within an inch of its life...





Obligatory bucket shot...



I blasted and blasted until the water ran clear. I'm not totally convinced it's fully clean. Either its permanently stained, or Celebration is just a funny colour Champagne grey?

Anyway, this is the best I can get...





Foot Pedals

The car has never had a clutch pedal rubber. Time to sort that.

Two unworn pedal rubbers hunted down and cleaned...



Heating in boiling water just prior to fitment...





Centre Console

Graphic Equaliser

Finally, I can slot in the EQ-6117...



"Slot-in" is optimistic as it is really poorly designed. You can't fit the EQ with the cubby in the way. And you can't fit the cubby with the EQ in the way. Much swearing.

All with plastic that breaks even if you look at it funny.

Just for show i'm afraid, but man it's cool



Many thanks to the 480 3D print community who remade my sliders >here<



Ash Tray

Ash tray receiving some attention. I hate a cigarette lighter with fag debris, so a new item found with a new translucent green housing...



All fitted and illumination tested...





Arm Rest Stowage

Arm rest stowage next and the installation of some more 12v accessory sockets...



These take 12v from a new fused source. I'll detail that in the "ICE" chapter.



Basically, I don't want an open ashtray with unsightly USB leads everywhere. This gives me the option to covertly charge stuff in the armrest without being seen.



Park Brake

This concerns the small semi-arc trim mounted to the handbrake. It hides all the centre console internals.



Mine was missing and it appears most are. Centre console / handbrake grip removal often breaks it.

What to do for something so vulnerable?

I bought some draft excluder...



Cut notches so it could be curved...



To provide a wall of bristles just like 740...





Headlining

Headlining came out a long time ago, but this is what it looked like prior to removal...



Bit of background; I think it's fair to say paintwork is my nemesis for sure. That's well documented. However, headlinings are another.

I have never repaired one with 100% success. Contact adhesive takes no prisoners with either a) creasing b) staining or c) longevity.

I stripped back, cleaned and prepared the headlining for contact adhesive...



And how did it go....?



Yep, I totally and utterly screwed it up!

In the bin the original material went...

I point blank refuse to gamble new material, I also refuse to involve a tradesperson (trimmer).

I have been here before. You are a very brave person to buy £100 in fabric only to get creases. With this in mind, I resorted to a painted headliner for the Mk2.

Well, history repeats itself...

I had a leftover bottle of tintable Raptor from another job that fell through...



Hmmm, I wonder...?

The benefits of painting:

• No tradespersons involved like trimmers...
• No transporting a bulky and fragile headlining to said trimmer...
• No gamble of destroying new fabric (££)
• Totally crease free guaranteed.
• Will never sag again. This is probably the most important point.

Yes it's not original, I get that, but needs must.

Soak the backing in PVA...



This seals it off and makes the backing board less absorbent.

This includes some paper-maché repairs at high stress areas. This headlining has kicked around in various garages for 6 years. Repairs were needed.



First coat...



I mixed it to RAL7012... not a bad match to the original fabric...



Dug out the side support trims and for some reason they had all turned dog poo brown. Because 480...



Sanded 800 wet & dry, plastic primer and painted battleship grey...



These have to be fitted in exactly the right places before it goes in the car. I pulled these off years ago and of course had forgot. Luckily the reverse of the headlining has fret marks where they were once positioned...



All installed...



Guaranteed sag-free for life and on the whole, quite pleased with that.



Interior Light

Surprise surprise, this was broken.

The two raised towers for the screws are extremely fragile !



Replacement obtained from a breaker as my two towers were snapped off.

WORD OF WARNING

See these interior light screw holes...



Make sure you use the correct screws because if they are too long they go straight through the moonroof sun-blind

Ask me how I know.





Front Seatbelts

400 series seatbelt buckles are a unique design. Yet again, zero parts sharing with 200/700. They have a secondary loop which in 90% of cases is broken off. I don't know why they are so often missing, perhaps they get slammed in doors now and again...



Anyway, the blue 440 at "The Lakes" continues to provide...





I also had missing buckle stops...



These are little plugs that pierce through the belt and stop the buckle going to the floor. They are generic off eBay...



Heat a parallel punch and melt the spike...



Sorted...



All fitted with freshly powder coated bottom rails...



I secured a set of "new old stock" seatbelt arms and associated components many many years ago...



All fitted ready for a rear seat passenger to snap them off...



They'll be struck off my Christmas Card list when they do...



Rear Seatbelts

Yeah... more of the same...



Why is everything on a 480 so fragile

Unfortunately, this time, the buckles are "captive" and can't be swapped out.

Second hand replacements obtained...



"Billy's Turbo" provided here.

The bizarre "socks" given a bath at 30'c...





Interior Panelling

Great mistake... careful where you store 480 parts for 6 years...



All the panelling vinyl had shrunk and became ultimately destroyed.

Replacements obtained from Edwin. Thanks Ed.

Now I know that Jeff has a pet hatred of seeing Celeb leather in anything other than a Celeb, but this is how it's gonna be. Sorry Jeff

Many many years ago, I relieved this Celebration of a soaking wet interior...



Well, 8 years later, these are the old Celebration door inserts...





Not great.

Sure, they have had 8 years to dry out, but in some cases they have a 3" run-out of distortion...



Without doubt they would overstress the inadequate factory clips.

I wanted to fit these securely, using >THIS< extra long "fir-tree" method. Yet another great post from Jeff.

Even so, you're off to a bad start when the panels are shaped like a banana.

Nothing else for it; a combined hardboard replacement and an extended fir-tree method trademark Jeff.



Longer than standard fir-tree clips...



Especially important for the fragile leading tips...



The originals are actually foam lined, so I similarly lined mine with 4mm foam for that luxury padded touch...



The finest Dutch cow* transferred over and re-stapled...

(* don't think any cows were harmed in the making of the factory material)



These are straight as a die now and shouldn't put unnecessary stress on the clips.

Doors and body marked front & rear...



I did some testing with the fir tree clips to select a drill bit...



It's a fine line between making the clip secure, yet easily removable for serviceability. If you look at a fir tree clip the "branches" provide a ratchet system. With the fir part 7.5mm in diameter, a 7.0mm hole is just fine to acehive that balance of secruty and removability.

Oh, and when you drill, make sure you have a depth bar to bring it all to a halt when you break through!

Doors and rear quarters drilled...



All fitted...



Another modification to declare. The door handle recesses are under a lot of stress holding it all secure. They have the tiniest of tongue-and-groove clip next to the handle hinge. This simply isn't sufficient.

I put in a sneaky black screw to keep it all tight...



You engineer on the fly when rebuilding a 480. I lost count the amount of times I've said "that can't be factory, can it?"



Trim

A-pillar trims... broken. Replacements obtained.

Every item of plastic trim requiring some kind of attention...



No such thing as putting a 480 back together quickly. Every piece of plastic requiring surgery.

There's now an embedded washer in there...



Even the tailgate / fuel filler knob was broken...



Back on the eBays / FaceAche emailing strangers who are custodians of this months breaking-for-spares. So bl00dy time consuming.



Seats

Finally get these bloomin' seats out of the dining room!



With a splash of Gliptone.

These came out the same windowless Celebration N480FLC, all cleaned...



...and the driver's bolster was retrimmed...



That was back in 2016 (!) and they then sat at work for four years. They then sat in my dining room for a further 3 years more.

That said, sure felt like a corner turned bolting these in...



You can get down in the dumps with a project, then things inspire you to carry on. I love these seats.



Coat Hooks

How does something so insignificant get special mention?



Well it took me six years to sort this...



Totally unique to 480. You'd think Volvo had enough coat hooks in it's empire, but no, unique it is.

Over six years I really struggled. I think I salvaged two sets myself, and I ordered two sets from overseas. That's probably £70 odd quid in all.

They just crumble and disintegrate.

My last set was sold to me from Poland as new-old-stock. No chance, another set crumbled.

There's rumours of a 3D print version. I tried emailing the guy on FaceAche who allegedly has some. No reply.

Then, as always, Jeff came to the rescue with an intact pair...





Soaked in plastic gel for recuperation...

Scared to fit them, so plenty of Fairy and hot water...



Behold...



No, I can't believe it either

Thanks again to Jeff.



Dashboard

Part of the "Leather Package" with the above seats are the dash inserts. Sadly the Celebration I robbed didn't have them. They were missing along with the Celebration plaque.

Mine are 1994 fabric and need converting.

They're a metal strip and the fabric is glued...



I purchased some leatherette and set to it.

Yet another contact adhesive disaster. I totally and utterly screwed it up.

It was such an embarrassing attempt that I didn't take any photos. Contact adhesive is messy, clumsy and creases on contact, with mistakes non-rectifiable.

I slept on it and thought... why don't I just construct them like the door inserts?

So that's what I did...





With the same 4mm foam inlay and the same fir-tree clip method...







Similar to the Celebration having a plaque, I have always felt the Turbo should of had some interior recognition. So, in roughly the same place, I placed a spare Turbo B-pillar badge...



Then, on the opposite end, a little tribute...



Swedish company, UK restored and Dutch built.



Dash Switches

Just some extra switches that scavenging has found.

Firstly, a headlamp switch with marginally better icons that seem to fade away...



Plus a "one-in-a-million find" from www.volvo340onderdelen.nl... "new-old-stock" RHD fog lamp switch bank...



What a brand new RHD part was doing over in NL I have no idea. Must of been something to do with the factory. No dealer out there would of held it. It's amazing to behold being totally unfaded and unworn.



Silver Pens

Found out Sharpie do a silver...



Godsend!





Nearly There?

Nearly. He always says nearly.

Next chapter is complete overkill for a decent stereo. Some may enjoy that one.

All the best;

JKM.

[jifflemon]

I blasted and blasted until the water ran clear. I'm not totally convinced it's fully clean. Either its permanently stained, or Celebration is just a funny colour Champagne grey?

Sun damage will change the colour too compare how it looks under the seat bases - thats the "true" colour, but it's also just a funny colour!

I bought some draft excluder...



Cut notches so it could be curved...



To provide a wall of bristles just like 740...

Totally stealing that idea!

WORD OF WARNING

See these interior light screw holes...



Make sure you use the correct screws because if they are too long they go straight through the moonroof sun-blind

Ask me how I know.

Be thankful it was only the moonroof - Remember R6? Longer screws can put the roof in danger zone!

Now I know that Jeff has a pet hatred of seeing Celeb leather in anything other than a Celeb, but this is how it's gonna be. Sorry Jeff

Hey! Its not a hatred! I just think full leather needs AC to stop it being unbearable in summer - I also prefer the flat leather side trims to the ruched ones.

Overall, another bloody surperb update! I really do need to start playing catchup!

[Jay-Kay-Em]

September 2024 - In Car Entertainment

I have been looking forward to this part for a long time.

This isn't everyone's thing, but the early Max Power years were pivotal to my car culture 1995-1998.... before it turned into a trashy lads mag that is.

No car was complete without an ICE build and I had great fun in the late 90's building a few.

As my 480 is a bit of an exercise in nostalgia, it seems fitting to do something similar ICE wise.



Headunit

I'm not a fan of modern headunits. They are too jazzy and look incongruous to an older dashboard design.

I have the 2021 remake of the Blaupunkt Bremen in the GTi and that's gorgeous. It has all the mod cons, Bluetooth & DAB, yet in the old "original" 1988 SQR46 style...



Sadly with my 480 being 1994, it's the wrong decade.

Time to revisit the past...



Kenwood KRC-557L

In 1996 - a year before my driving test - two things mattered about your first car. What alloy wheels you were getting and what headunit you'd have.

At Tech College there were many divides and you claimed your side; Blur v Oasis, Ford v Vauxhall and Kenwood v Alpine. For some reason I was die-hard Kenwood in the 90's. Think it was something to do with McLaren and Senna's helmet, circa 1993, but not sure. The power of advertising...

Whilst at college in Bury St. Edmunds, there was a shop called "ICE Station". I regularly visited at 16 looking at all the latest releases. I grabbed a brochure and did my research...



It seems easy to forget now, but the world revolved around the single DIN headunit market. It was naturally assumed every car needed upgrading. Not so nowadays.

I had a Saturday job at the local village garage back in 1996 and every penny I earnt went towards this headunit.

I couldn't afford the 657L, as that had this new thing called "RDS". I went for the non-RDS 557 instead, as it was the first in the line-up to have a "full logic" cassette deck meaning no clunky eject button. The deck was fully automated and even had a track skip facility (looking for the tape blanks). It was "future-proof" having CD changer compatibility (i'd have to wait until 1998 until I finally got a changer for it).

I went to Colchester Motor Spares a few months before my driving test (October 1996) and emptied the savings pot.

Fast forward nearly 30 years and I eventually found another...



It is absolutely gorgeous (in my eyes). Perfect 90's period design. Switchable to green illumination for the green 480 dash. Remote control compatible. The buttons feel amazing to this day, a real nice spring loaded action. Just makes me feel 17 again. Good times.

Sadly it didn't come with a cage - and new pre-1998 Kenwood cages are getting rare but I eventually found one. Step one, paint the cage black. A pet hate of mine is seeing a bright galvanised cage peeking through.



Another 480 anomaly, the ISO connector doesn't comply with ISO!

You should have two 12v feeds - one perm live and one ignition switched. With my 480 they are both permanent live, even the same wire colour to the two positions.



I like an ignition switched headunit so when you leave the car, it powers down automatically. No accidentally leaving the radio on to a flat battery.



Hunting a Switched Live

I looked at a few things in the dash like the fan switch, but then I had an idea. Now being a de-ABS car I now have a spare factory fuse location. This, as it happens, is ignition switched. Happy days!

It's a yellow wire at the bulkhead/NSF lower A-pillar which I had previously cut when removing ABS...



Fuse 32 re-labelled...



It's only a tiny 5 amp though, so I shall use this to energise a relay. Coincidentally, it used to power the ABS relay, so it knows no different.



Entering the Modern Age

So I have my ideal 90's nostalgic headunit, but all my music is on my iPhone now. How do you make a 30 year old headunit, with not even an "aux-in" socket, iPhone compatible?

First step, it has to be Bluetooth these days.

I purchased the JL Audio MBT-RX. It's a 12v Bluetooth adapter that outputs to a L & R phono.



Next step, work out how to use it!

I did a bit of research and purchased the cheapest eBay Kenwood CD Changer I found to explore the 13-pin CD Changer socket. I was prepared to cannibalise the CD-Changer if necessary!

It came with the standard Kenwood CDC 13-pin cable...



Turns out, 2 of these 13 pins are a traditional phono left & right. The CD-Changer produces a pre-amp left & right channel just like any other audio device. Only problem is, those channels are not always active. The CD-Changer is on a very primitive network (the other 9 pins) and the L & R channels do not become active until the headunit performs a hand-shake with the CD-Changer first.

Testing...



Sure enough, with no hand-shake between the two, the audio channels are dead.

Here's the cable cut. The nine network cables are joined...



With the 9 cables joined, the handshake completes, and it opens up the L & R audio..... which now goes to the JBL MBT-RX... and the head unit now plays music from my iPhone!

The only problem is, it only does this when it thinks there's a CD playing. No harm; press the "CD-Repeat" button and it plays a CD for infinity. I'll live with that.

I wired a "CD Changer Cable Intercept Box"...



This keeps the 9 network wires joined and "injects" the L & R audio...



For control, I used an RCA switching box. At the push of the button in the centre console I can flip between CD-Changer audio or iPhone Bluetooth audio...



I mounted the Bluetooth adapter on a power distribution board I made for the boot...



This board gives me a common earth, multiple permanent live outputs and multiple relay switched outputs (relay energised from the old ABS wire mentioned previously). All outputs are individually fused. This gives lots of connection points for future amps and other gizmos. It also enables me to ignition switch the Bluetooth adapter so that doesn't drain the battery.

I cut the back out of the nearside cubby and it can all live behind the rear trim...





CD Changer

Now that I know the CD changer side of things all works, I purchased an immaculate KDC-C662...



I remember this CD Changer vividly back in the day. It had "CD-Text" which meant the CD name was displayed on the head-unit. Ground breaking stuff in 1998!



Front Speakers

Again, faithful to the brand, Kenwood components with integral crossovers...



Originals worthy of replacement I feel...



You can remove the Volvo tweeters from the door handles...



...and with a bit of careful trimming, fit your replacements...



Front "mids" fitted into the doors...





Rear Speakers

Safe to say fit for an upgrade...



Drilling the speaker housings for tweeters...



Making securing clamps for the tweeters...



Looking good...





Speaker Grilles

All the grilles in a bad way. Chipped, dented and rusty even. All painted...



... all rebuilt with painted housings...



I love the look of the pearl cones behind the satin black grilles front...



...and rear...





ICE Build

Kenwood sub and amp purchased...



Time to turn this boot into a build. Several objectives...

• It must feature a "stealth shelf" for many reasons...

• > The saggy 480 canvas boot cover is not ideal and the optional roller blind is hens teeth to find. Overrated in my view too.

• > It provides security to belongings

• > It can accommodate speakers

• I want the amp and CD changer featured.
• It has to accommodate a 10" sub in an enclosure with the correct volumetric specification.
• This sub needs to be visible between the two rear seats like the TVR Cerbera mod.
• It still has to allow easy spare wheel & cubby access.
• It must be entirely "quick release" allowing easy removal to restore boot capacity.

Here is my original sketch...



Time to get building then!*

*(I fully understand this is seriously going to impact boot space even with careful consideration... but c'est la vie)

First of all make the (sealed) enclosure to meet the sub specifications, but to minimise boot space loss...



This has a volume of 0.75cu ft...



....which is within the subwoofer specifications (for a sealed enclosure)...



The box rake is angled to allow the rear seats to recline in positions 1, 2 & 3...



Amp and CD changer mounted...



Main structure complete...



Note the +12v, ground and blue remote wire on wing-nut posts for easy disconnection...





Parcel Shelf

Because of the tailgate aperture shape, a parcel shelf can't be 100% width or it'll hit the body. I had to make some removable side panels...



Trial fitting in the car and cutting the parcel shelf to match...



Again Kenwood themed; I have 5-way 6x9's...



25 years later and i'm still cutting holes for 6x9's...



These are installed on the underside so the shelf can be trimmed stealth...



Then the shelf is gas strut equipped...





Trimming

I ordered a selection of fabric samples...



I chose the closest colour to 480 plastic and one that was "acoustically transparent"...



This is so it can trim the parcel shelf making the 6x9's invisible.

Trimming said shelf...



... and adding a little satin black handle to aid lifting...



Trimming the box build...



Adding magnets to the amp fascia panel...



...before trimming...





Removal & Installation

It all lifts out easily enough and is ready to slot in...



The required cables emerge from the boot carpet...



...to be easily connected and concealed behind the rear seat...



The parcel shelf uses quick release hinges...



... (black arrow) and the 6x9 wiring is on wing nuts (white arrows)...



The whole set-up takes about five minutes to remove after unbolting from the centre console.



Complete!

All objectives complete but that took far too long...





90% happy and if I did it all again I'd probably change a few things, but too few to mention.

What is a total fluke is the boot lamp picks out the Amp at night which is a nice touch...



Wish I could say that was planned. I forgot I even had a boot lamp as the battery has been disconnected for so long...

Sounds great and the inward facing sub provides a real punch!



I simply love my old headunit as a teenager...



Streaming through my old headunit brings me so much joy. Memories of just passing your test and the world was your oyster. Not much of an oyster as i'm still doing the same things 25 years later, but the sentiment was there

The same things like naming your CD's as a gimmick...



I'm also really happy with the green on green illumination. It's a good match...



It's a nostalgia thing I guess. Mission complete.

We get ever closer to the car I always promised myself

[100]

I’ve missed a couple of your updates because I’ve not been visiting the forum for whatever reason.

I was enjoying reading through your detailed post from July and I tried to continue through the latest one but I was too distracted. You really ought to address the fact there is a BMW K1 in your dining room!

[Jay-Kay-Em]

You really ought to address the fact there is a BMW K1 in your dining room!

Hey 100, hope you are well. I saw your car at the 480 sanctuary of waif and strays. Hope you turn it around.

Yeah; K1. The tenuous 480 link I guess is that in 1991 when the 480 Turbo became my dream car, the K1 became my dream bike.

Going through school I knew that if I owned both these two vehicles one day, I’d have “made it”.



Being in the dining room is probably the best place for it nowadays; it’s pretty rubbish as a motorbike. It’s not exactly superbike fast, you can’t carry any luggage and it has irreplaceable fairings.

I absolutely bloody love it though. Pointless and/or Marmite vehicles at the time of sale do have a habit of becoming incredibly interesting as a classic.

I hold my hands up….. it’s decommissioned and drained. I’m waiting for the tax exempt years because all these road taxes are a nuisance to juggle.

T-5 years and counting....

[edie_fox]

Here's me, reading the latest update with a big grin on my face and tears in my eyes thinking "what the hell am I doing with my life?!" Talk about feeling inadequate.

The skill, work and detail that go into this project are like nothing I've ever encountered before. It's beyond...everything!

Looks SO GOOD!

[Jay-Kay-Em]

Thanks Edie. Very kind words.

Two more 'chapters' to go...

• All external lighting. This will cover overhaul of all front lamps, rear lamps and markers.

• Loose Ends. This will cover all the finishing touches. Badge refurbishment, footwell lighting mods and such like.

Hopefully seeing road tax October 1st; just in time for winter SORN

[WillC9303]

Looks absolutely stunning - I wish I had the patience and skill for such things!

Although, is that an office chair made from an Rover 75 seat I spy in the background? Most jealous.

[Jay-Kay-Em]

Although, is that an office chair made from an Rover 75 seat I spy in the background? Most jealous.

Cheers Will and good spot!

We were scrapping a 75 at work and my office chair was broken...

[Jay-Kay-Em]

September 2024

Two updates in a month! Unheard of!

Truth is, if i'm to see any of 2024, I really need to press on...

Lighting Update

Always wanted this to be a cherry-on-top moment...



That's genuine new-old-stock rear lamps, genuine new-old-stock front indicator units and genuine new-old-stock side markers.

Timescales have been mocked by some on here, but there are some advantages to a ten year project; I have been scavenging parts since 2014. Those rear lights were the last pair that Skandix ever sold. The price I paid was "Skandelous" even back then. I'd like to say it was a wise move but I still feel ripped off ten years later

Here's all the stuff concerning exterior lighting...



Side Indicators

These needed a bit of work to bring the Volvo script back to life. Plus, I wanted clear side indicators to match the front indicators. Why Volvo kept them orange when the fronts went clear i'll never know. Half arsed 480-ness at its best.

First of all, carefully detach (or unavoidably break off) the orange lenses...



Clean the lens seating surfaces and wash / degrease...



First paint in plastic primer...



Then paint in silver, then paint black. The idea, once all black, you can wet & dry the raised Volvo text and silver will appear.

Using clear grab adhesive, attach the clear lenses and apply tension overnight...



You need to change the bulbs to orange capless of course...



Ready for fitment with new Joep gaskets...



All installed...



RIP Joep; some things live on.



Side Marker Lamps

The USA side marker lamps for zero USA sales... (face palm emoji).

This is a typical 480 saga...

These are fiddly to remove, plus the retention tags break (arrowed) due to 30+ year old plastic...



I ordered another pair off eBay with the tags present. Upon arrival, on closer inspection, they too had hairline cracks around the tags. Only a matter of time before these tags snapped off too. Another £20 down the pan.

I can't begin to explain how much cash has been wasted on "maybe" items over the years.

I messed around with loads of second hand items. Then, I struck gold...



Yep, "new-old-stock" and I paid an absolute fortune.

All fitted with new gaskets...



Went into the garage the next evening and...



Yep, you've guessed it...



I fished this out the rear quarter...



Those "new-old-stock" items are still susceptible to the characteristics of 30 year old plastic.

A total disaster and another lump of cash wasted

On one hand I was seriously angry. But on the other, quite smug. Why you ask?

Let us re-wind 5 years...

Back when I was struggling with countless used side markers off eBay, I knew something had to be more resilient than 30 year old plastic tags.

How can I attach these more securely? Bolt them in? That's what I explored...

The side markers are designed for bulbs - that they never had. You get plenty of space behind them and the shank of a bolt can pass through quite easily...



If you tacked a washer in that bulb aperture you could make them bolt-in. So that's what I did...

I set up a lens-less housing with a bolt through it to ensure correct alignment...



Earthing the bolt...



I ground a nut right down to tighten the assembly, against a washer to be welded-in, giving maximum clearance for tacking that washer. This ensured correct alignment...



Side markers can then be converted to M12...



Re-attach the lenses with clear adhesive...



... and they bolt in a treat using twin skinny nuts to ensure a locking function...



Well, five years later those welded washers were not a wasted time as we have gone back to bolted items...



New gaskets are great. I wanted to write a comparison between Joep's gaskets and Jeff's gaskets - but then we received bad news. I think Jeff's gaskets fit better but that's no disrespect to all the effort Joep put in over the years. Perhaps new consideration should be given that the gaskets are slightly too thick and putting undue stress on the clips, but i'm extremely grateful they exist at all.

At the end of the day they need to be tight to keep the water out.

With a bolt-in method, gasket thickness is irrelevant and i'm extremely happy there's a solution for what would be rock hard perished items.

Either way, Joep bless him, or Jeff, your efforts are so respected in the 480 community.



Driving Lamps

All stripped down for assessment and cleaning.

The driving lamps had terrible chrome reflectors. I was quoted over £200 to re-chrome these! That ain't happening!



I did notice upon disassembly that the reflectors are totally symmetrical... left & right... top & bottom...



My theory is that chrome degradation is due to the sun beating beating down, meaning only the bottoms were in a bad shape...



.. because rotate them 180' and...



Hey presto instantly restored

I know this method does NOTHING to improve performance... but they will look better to an external observer.

One reflector was too far gone, top or bottom. I put a wanted on here July 2020 and obtained a reflector eligible for flipping.

Thanks Arthuy; donation made to East Anglian Air Ambulance

Time for a rebuild and lenses re-attached...



Left to dry clamped for a week or so...



Glass polished and looking smart...



All fitted and very happy with that...





Front Foglamps

Victim of a cracked glass sadly...



The glass is quite thin considering their vulnerable location. On the second hand market, I find "phase-2" fog lamps much rarer.

Finally, eBay provided a phase-2 non-cracked front foglamp. Admittedly all the fixings were torn out, but at least it's not cracked!



To be fair, I have never seen one for sale without the fixing tabs broken.

Four objectives here :

1) Repair the fixing tabs
2) Provide some stone protection so they never crack again
3) Make them yellow
4) Convert them to DRLs

Items 3 & 4 will divide opinion i'm sure. It's just a little nod to it's Renault lineage. I wouldn't dream of yellow fogs on my Mk2, but for some reason, it just seems right on the 480. Like I say, something to do with its Renault roots...



If yellow front fogs are good enough for our Nige, then they are good enough for me

Plus, I want them illuminated more often than not. That certainly will divide opinion. I like the look of fogs on, but headlamps lowered. Unfortunately, that divides opinion with the Old Bill too. On that basis I will convert them from fogs, to day running lamps. This means converting them from H3 55W to day running 21W.

This is how I went about all of the above.

First of all, the eBay one had a loose reflector - most likely transportation damage. They are so rare with unbroken glass, that I couldn't possibly reject it.

Remove the glass by cutting open and find the broken reflector tab...



... and make a new bracket for reflector retention...



Then make a start on the broken mounting tabs...



For stone chip protection, I plan to mount Perspex in front of the glass.

I went about this by making some extra tabs for the Perspex to bolt to...



...with the addition of some riv-nuts...



...now giving some captive nuts adjacent to the glass...



For day running lamp (21W) conversion I made some bulb holder shape cut-outs...



I pulled out the H3 holder, and slid my new plates into the tongue & groove...



This enables a generic twist-and-lock bulb holder...



...for a capless 21W...



They are day running lights now your honor.

I then flipped the lamp onto some yellow translucent Perspex and drew an outline...



This will not only provide a yellow tint, but hopefully fend off any stones.

I mounted the Perspex on bolted legs so they are fully adjustable to achieve the smallest of air gaps between the glass.

Trial fit and the glass/perspex air gap arrowed...



The glass can then be washed and cleaned...



... and glued with clear adhesive + clamped for a week...



Always satisfying removing the protective film...



Looking good with the grille mounted up flush...





Front Indicator Units

This is complicated n'all. There's a surprise.

These were my original units back in 2016...



Not great. The DRL lenses cracked and destroyed as is so common. I ordered a set of replacement lenses from Joep many years ago...



I set about refurbishing them, glued them on, all sorted.

The indicator units got fitted for return visits to the paintshop and back.

I was running normal incandescent filament 21/4w bulbs.

Word of warning... the heat from traditional bulbs absolutely destroyed the replacement lenses...



That's pure heat damage after about 60 miles. Not great.

Then these came along and all is history...



I didn't want to take any risks with these new lamps so LED conversion is essential, even though I dislike LED retro-fit bulbs in classic cars. They're often too bright and far too ice white.

This is where it gets confusing. For some unknown reason, 480 DRL bulbs are 21/4w.... whereas the majority of stop-tail bulbs in all other cars are 21/5w. No idea why there is that 1w difference.

To distinguish 21/4w bulbs from their more common 21/5w counterpart, the 21/4w has an offset pin and different bulb holders to accommodate...



21/4w is so rare, the aftermarket LED world can't be bothered to recognise them. Who can blame them?

I found some otherwise perfect aftermarket LED bulbs from Classic Car LEDs LTD...



They specifically have an old fashioned "warm" look about them and don't scream LED which is perfect for me. Only problem is they are based on 21/5w standards meaning the pins are inline, not offset.

Due to this, and I know it's cowboy, but you have to grind off a pin...



... meaning they slot easily into the 480 bulb holders.

For the indicators, I used normal bulbs as they don't get hot long enough to matter. I selected ones with the chrome effect finish so they don't look so awkward when installed...



All fitted...



That's warm looking DRL's to a false LED 21w equivalent... plus yellow fogs downgraded to 21w behind yellow stone shield perspex.



Rear Fog Lamp

I've only got one as the exhaust removed the dummy.

Easy and straight forward (for once!). Simply cleaned, polished and fitted...



Simples.



Rear Lamps

Something to behold...



Fitting Joep's gaskets...



Cleaning all bulb pins, ensuring good earths and running light bar checks on the bench. This ensures not just correct operation, but correct bulb intensity too. Especially for the rear lights as they operate in a pair.



Cleaning the middle section ready for fitment...



All fitted...



Scared to take them out in daylight, knowing what they were like...


Nearly done...

I keep saying that

Genuinely, one chapter left; The Finishing Touches.

Thanks for reading!

JKM

[Optimistic]

How the front end of the car is looking now WOW, more than superb i must say. A bit jelly of it to be honest

[Jay-Kay-Em]

How the front end of the car is looking now WOW, more than superb i must say. A bit jelly of it to be honest

Cheers Optimistic, I thought that too and took a photo with it poking out the garage. One day it will see the outside world

Shame to screw a number plate on it really.

Look forward to a diary update from yourself. Gather you had some bad news prior to your planned UK trip?

[Optimistic]

Well i don't know if your laws are OK with it. But my plan is to have magnets behind the bumper and on the plate so when you remove it for a show or just to make It look 10x better there are no holes

Yes the damage to the car was a bit bigger than I thought but I already have a donor shell that will be cut up to repair my car. I will wait until the car goes to the body shop, as my friend has a lot of work lined up right now so in two months time I hope to get my spot

[jamescarruthers]

Its true, Jay's car lives again, and looks factory fresh!