1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Diary - Update September 2024

[100]

a 968 CS! I would love a 968 and briefly looked at one last year - I remember when they were £15k - £20k! What a fantastic colour

Cheers Oli; 2 years to find a CS in Riviera Blue. We got there in the end. Dream spec, body colour hardback Recaro's, not even a radio! I had my first 944 in 2003 and remember a '68 CS at £12k.....

Congrats, a fabulous colour! Speed yellow with matching wheels for me which ideally I'd like to park next to a yellow on yellow 205 rallye. Don't judge my poor taste!

[Jay-Kay-Em]

Speed yellow with matching wheels for me which ideally I'd like to park next to a yellow on yellow 205 rallye. Don't judge my poor taste!

Yep, very cool and exquisite taste I’d say.

Besides, if you want poor taste, you could of said the Skoda Felicia “Fun”

[100]

Speed yellow with matching wheels for me which ideally I'd like to park next to a yellow on yellow 205 rallye. Don't judge my poor taste!

Yep, very cool and exquisite taste I’d say.

Besides, if you want poor taste, you could of said the Skoda Felicia “Fun”

I was in your thread anticipating an update, instead I'll take the opportunity to state that the Skoda Fun rear seats are glorious and I saw an exceptionally ratty example just a couple of days before your post!

[Jay-Kay-Em]

I was in your thread anticipating an update, instead I'll take the opportunity to state that the Skoda Fun rear seats are glorious and I saw an exceptionally ratty example just a couple of days before your post!

No updates here I’m afraid. The car has slipped back into that parallel universe called a one-man-band tradesman that has no concept of time.

Yeah the rear seats are bonkers! I note the extremely rare Felicia Fun has actually 4x more survivors than 480 Turbos…..

[Alan 480]

Besides, if you want poor taste, you could of said the Skoda Felicia “Fun”

I dunno, looks fine, just 'fun' . . . ..

[Jay-Kay-Em]

November 2023 - Half an Update...

Since September 2022 a text was sent every fortnight to that paintshop man. This continued for 8 months.



May 2023 I was told rectification work was ready.

Turned up for collection. Driver's seat impregnated with dust. Should never of fitted the leather drivers seat.

My genuine Volvo battery drained as flat as a pancake. That probably has damaged cells now.

Some of the paint faults still present.

No dispute was made. Just wanted out. I took the keys and drove off knowing I would never have the misfortune of dealing with this guy ever again.

Some relief, knowing that fortnightly text charade of begging was over.

The drive home, 26th May 2023...



She was misfiring like a pig. I think the plugs are fouled being idled and/or daily shunting in and out of their shop.

The poor thing hasn't had a proper run since the drive home from Wales some 7 bl00dy years ago.

Got home genuinely upset and chucked a car cover on...



There she sat all summer. Didn't want to talk about it, deal with it or even look at it.

Concentrated on other matters like keeping these two on the road...



Had a great summer with these two, but the Golf and 968 are hibernated now - and still working (amazingly). That means the workshop is vacant again.

So here we are, November 2023 and I have to bite the bullet.

I have totally lost track of where I am with the 480, what's left and what I was planning.

Being an observer of the 480 community for many years I have seen many unfinished projects come and go. The hard fact is that unfinished projects are utterly worthless, irrespective of hours invested thus far.

Perhaps the biggest motivational factor now is not to be beaten.

She went back into the garage this weekend...



Paint has developed a micro-blister rash...





What joy

Every 480 owners indispensable tool is currently spinning my meter...



Being stored outside with no door cards, rear lamps etc. hasn't done me any favours damp wise.

To summarise; two years wasted on paint and the paint is still sh1t.


Moving Forward

I think the new strategy is to forget paint - for now - a subject I have struggled with for 25 years on countless cars.

Just rebuild as complete as possible so I can visit more professional paintshops (further afield) for quotes. Yes, more money will be ploughed in.

Good job they're worth so much money or I'd be on the point of a nervous breakdown.

(Checks the Morris Leslie Auction for the Turbo this weekend where the hammer fell for £1100 )

Hopefully an update with more positivity after Christmas.

I really enjoy writing these updates, so time to refocus.

All the best; JKM.

[Optimistic]

The painting a car thing going bad is saldy a more common sighting than I thought. One of my friends civic coupe 5gen, was also at the painter for 1 year, when he went and visited him, the car had not ben touched.... I saw his struggles so I can somewhat understand your's.
I wish you will have the time and will power to continue with I tho. My rule for paint would be, no paint until everything else is perfect, eiven if that never happen, not so optimistic of me I know

[100]

If it's any consolation we really enjoy reading the updates. I can understand your frustration around paint, what constitutes a good job is pretty variable. Having had paint on a couple of cars, my conclusion is that it will never meet your expectations, although your experience is clearly unacceptable.

If it was any other business then it'd be attributed to disorganisation and lack of resourcing but it appears to be acceptable and considered a mark of quality for bodyshops to operate with huge lead times and work to sit dormant.

Anyway. Good luck building your enthusiasm back up!

[jifflemon]

I feel both saddened and relieved by this update.

Saddened that painters, by and large, are unreliable (I think it's the fumes) but relieved that you're back on it.

Just a thought - Find a good detailer; They may be able to work wonders with the paint. I had Seymour done and was genuinely shocked by the result; You'd almost think he'd been painted.

[Jay-Kay-Em]

not so optimistic of me I know

When not even Optimistic is optimistic, we've got problems

Kind words as always on here.

I have a future place lined up, so all is good.

[edie_fox]

I know I’ve said this lots of times but I promise 2 or 3 of those £1 dehumidifiers sat in the car Oct-April, if you don’t have other facilities (carcoon/heated garage), make a world of difference to the interior.

Probably only need replacing once.

The first winter I had my last 480 the interior got damp and mouldy within 2 weeks. Popped those in and it really made a difference.

I’m so sorry how long you’ve been put through that stress only to have that outcome. It’s like you’re the problem isn’t it?!

I’ve had the exact same with an auto electrician. Dead brand new Volvo battery, sat under trees with bird muck burning through the perfect paint for months. Raging. I feel your pain. Glad you’ve got plans in place already to help you look forward.

[Jay-Kay-Em]

May 2024 - Paintshop Déjà Vu...

If you're tired of this saga, guess how I feel

I desperately want to start rebuilding this thing. Reality is, I can't do anything until I put to bed this subject of paint

Door cards? Can't refit them in case the rubbing strips have to come off.

Headlining? Can't refit in case the paintshop oven destroys the adhesive (speaking from painful experience here).

Interior Trim? Can't refit in case the rear windows are coming out again.

The previous "tainted" paintshop was only the next village away, so having no bumpers and a trailer board was of no great concern. However, my next paintshop of choice is a trip from Huntingdon to Hitchin down the A1(M), so the car needs to be more "normal" looking.

Here's how that went...


Two Steps Backward...

As usual, it's two steps backward with the addition of jobs to the list, rather than crossing them off


Driver's Door Handle

My newly fitted driver's door handle was making a bid to escape...



A failure of the tiny little wedge clips (irrelevant to note, but part number 3343127)...



Again, you're the victim to 30 year old plastic...



NLA of course and donor car clips would be equally as brittle. Oh to go back in time and get a bag full.

Converted to stainless M4 button head bolts plus nylocs...



Slightly awkward... protective masking tape required on the door, but it does the job quite nicely...






Electric Window

My passenger electric window decided to grenade itself in a spectacular noise of exploding springs and crunched cable!

Pretty sure this shouldn't be poking out the top...



Various broken pieces of plastic...



Amazingly, still listed on Autodoc from Germany, and posted fuss-free from the EU... Skandix take note!



It's 95% similar... bit of tweaking required here and there... shan't argue with that..



You also have to install your own harness connector. All fitted and operation restored. Having no fitted door cards gave me a head start.

More jobs that also shouldn't be necessary...


Driver's Seat



Removing 12 months of paintshop dust from my leather drivers seat, after they tore my protective seat cover and did nothing about it.


Misfire

This is a new spark plug that had covered just 40 miles...



That'll explain the misfire on the way home then. It has the look of countless cold starts and endless idle. Another hidden paintshop bonus.

All cleaned and refitted.

Half the problem is the car just needs normal use after 8 years.

Anyway, back to where we left off. Let's make some progress forwards...


Front Bumper

Rebuilding the shot blasted and powder coated bumper irons with new expanding screw clips...



These are actually a Land Rover item (Part Number CZA4705L or RTC3744). They secure the bumper skin to the beam.

Fitting the bumper skins was an absolute NIGHTMARE. They are exceptionally tight. They were painted skins off. As if that wasn't bad enough, you are wrestling something freshly painted that mustn't be scratched at any cost.


Front Registration Plate

These are known as "jack nuts"...



Needless to say, the old ones are as good as scrap. When they tighten, they become captive.

New ones fitted to the front bumper which is a sound base for the front plate plinth...



My preferred number plate fixings are the dedicated plastic number plate bolts in either yellow/black/white...



They don't corrode, they have no cap to fall off, they are always secure (compared to double sided tape) and above all, they enable a quick plate change dependant on circumstances. More on that later.

Captive nuts placed in the plate plinth for the number plate bolts...



...then the plate plinth painted satin black (after plastic primer)...



Drilling the front plate...



It's quite scary I purchased these plates November 2016 and I am finally fitting them SEVEN YEARS LATER. This painful diary is proof of that. These plates are the correct "pre-2000" Charles Wright font and display the last Volvo dealer that my car ever saw as an "approved" used car; Baytrack of Cardiff.

Ultimately i'd love the original registration mark to represent the PDI it received as a new car at Lyehill Quarry, but as I no longer have that "SFC" registration mark, it's all academic really. See my other thread (here) for more information on that.

Sorted...




Undertray (and Horns)

Many thanks to Jeff for sourcing an undertray... absolute legend as always.

Getting a good de-grease...



New expanding nuts in the subframe...



I then go to install it.... and it doesn't fit!

This is an error on my part. Last year I purchased these horns...



They're called "fanfare" horns as they have an integral black trumpet like a snail.

This is all very well, but they foul the undertray!

After much research, these are the exact OE equivalent horns...



Bosch part number for the High & Low set (a pair)...



They even have the circular terminal surrounds for our factory connectors...



Looking as OE as possible...



Undertray fitted and the horn alignment should match the grills in the undertray...



Finally an undertray equipped car, for what is rarely ever fitted...





Nose Cone

Two nose cone support rods given a good clean...



The two arrowed clips are square captive nuts that go in the radiator panel. The old ones were badly corroded. After much much searching, they are the same as Fiat Ducato undertray clips.

Kitchen cupboard damper blobs installed...



...ensuring the nose cone doesn't fret the bumper...



Then spend far too much time trying to get the headlamp pods aligned...



There is some adjustment in the covers, which is handy...





Headlamp Shrouds

Looks like the previous owner struggled with paintshop quality too...



These are the late "non-painted" type... but what can you do when they're covered in someone else's overspray?

Overspray removed with Scotch-Brite...



Primed...



Painted satin black to represent something similar to OE plastic and installed with new screws...





Front Grille

All looking pretty shabby... this used to be chrome once upon a time. Time for a strip down...



A good clean in the first instance...



Painted with plastic primer and three coats of satin for that unpainted plastic look...



The "Jakob" bar isn't going back to chrome. I'm not a big fan of chrome on an 80-90's coupe. Chrome was deeply unfashionable at that time. What does surprise me is all 480 grilles are "egg-crate" style. This design was reserved for the Turbo models in 200/700/900. In my opinion there should of been something to distinguish the Turbo grille, which is why my Jakob bar is going gloss black (against the satin)...





Stop the press. Prepare to be amazed...

I present to you item '12' in the parts catalogue...



A shared 740/760 part and therefore still available...

Once i'd picked myself up off the floor, I got myself down Marshalls Cambridge and ordered this...



Looking smart enough for something essentially hidden under the bumper...



Not forgetting the external temperature sensor (amazingly still accurate which is a small miracle!)...



All installed....




Front Spoiler

At least something was a total success from the paintshop...



Front body-colour spoiler looking great.

More of the same "jack nuts" installed...



...becoming captive...



...ready for use...



I was then concerned about a freshly painted spoiler fretting against a freshly painted bumper; so I made a gasket...



... hopefully eliminating any chafing damage...



All fitted with new yellow zinc fittings for that OE look...




Rear Bumper

Same process as the front, wrestling with an even tighter bumper foam with something you mustn't scratch...



A rear number plate plinth sourced from Jeff as mine was missing. Again, my sincere thanks Jeff.



I don't understand why the plinth has three mounting points, but the bumper foam only has two cut outs...



So much so, the centre plinth fixing fouls the foam. A Volvo oversight?

The car didn't come with a rear plinth and the number plate was screwed directly to the bumper. Strange that these plinths, both front and rear, go missing in many cases. Where do they all go ?!?

Right, bit of trivia now...

What do our cars share share with a Lotus Exige?



I wouldn't get too excited, because we also share it with Neoplan coaches...



Nope? Well, its number plate lamps...



HELLA 2KA005049-007 to be exact. Still plentiful, helped by its commercial sector usage. The Hella parts catalogue even cross refers to a DAF part number - I bet that's the family link (Born, VDL, Nedcar etc).

Drilling the rear plates for plastic bolt fitment...



Sorted...





Rear Towing Eye

This was weld repaired and powder coated many moons ago. Took me more time to find it than fit it!



I also welded-in this captive nut many moons ago too... just cleaning it of underseal with the tap chuck...



I have no idea why half bolts to the car and half bolts to the bumper iron. The bumper iron is only held to the car via 13mm nuts so you wouldn't think it was that load bearing. The only connection with the chassis is a single M8 bolt which hardly seems strong enough. Hopefully we will never have a cause to test.


Wheel Arch Liners and Mudflaps

Unfortunately it took me 7 years to work out I had broken wheel arch liners, which is terrible planning on my part...



Another trip to the Lakes provided...



In one piece, sure, but they had terrible UV damage. They were almost white and that just won't do....



Learnt a new trick; if you use a heat gun just prior to the melting point, it removes the UV damage...



I wouldn't try it on visually critical parts, but for an old wheel arch liner, it worked wonders.

Some M6 stainless captive nuts installed into the front wings....



This is a rust high-risk area, so plenty of sealant used and everything painted. Rust will come one day - it always does - you just do what you can.

I need mudflaps, but all the second hand ones I came across were in a right state. That's if you can find them. Ask Will!

I purchased some mudflap material...



... and via cardboard templates, made my own...



Again, I use my favourite fixings, the M6 nylon number plate screws. For such a location, they don't rust and never seize...



Discreet mudflaps; perfect.



Same process at the rear...



Need to make rear wheel arch liners. Shaping plastic to the correct curve...



Making pieces that fit around the torque arms...





I had absolutely nothing fitted here originally so I have no idea what the factory solution was. Something tells me it wasn't quite so thorough around the torque arms. This is surprising considering Volvo is associated with winter conditions.


MoT

For reasons that wouldn't make sense to most normal people, I don't want to fit my new rear lights yet pre-paintshop.

I don't want any mask lines and the thought of them kicking around a paintshop floor fills me with dread.

Means I have to fit and wire up these in the meantime...



Just don't ask

Back in the MoT bay again and thanks to a now >working odo cog< I can say that's 48 miles completed...




Paintshop... Again...

So here we go. Again.

After a breakdown in communications with my last painter, a small selection of quality issues taken to Finishline near Stevenage.

They have worked for me before. But yet again, so had the last guy. This really was last throw of the dice.

Driven down the A1 in what was the longest trip since purchase (that's Wales in 2016).

Primarily it was this wheelarch crack that pi55ed me off the most...



Dropped off March 2024 with instructions to make good...



More wallet punishment ensued.



Crack eliminated...



Quality issues in the roof taken care of...





Consider the subject of paint firmly closed. Not that I'm ultimately satisfied, it's just that I have to stop. I am a broken man, financially and mentally!

She came home - for the second time - April 30th....



We are now flat out re-building. I think the see-saw has tipped towards a state of being more depressed that it's still unfinished, rather than being depressed with paint quality issues.

Gutted I missed the recent NL get-together last weekend. Would of probably done that. Another year perhaps?

My outstanding tasks are (but not limited to); external lighting, an interior refit including headlining repairs, decent stereo, some geeky finishing touches and... erm... "done" ?

Don't like to mention the 'd' word much because it seems so inconceivable.


Behind the Scenes

For every hour in the workshop (currently 640 and counting) there’s an hour spent behind the scenes.

Good old “EEG” has been steadfast transportation keeping all these fragile 480’s going



That’s visiting Jeff's secret 480 lair. This was a trip to see a guy called Billy on Facebook who had found out that restoring a 480 Turbo is not financially viable.

Yeah, tell me about it!

Sadly it was broken for spares. I picked up a glass tailgate as a spare (should the unthinkable happen)…



I then relayed a boot load of bits down the M1 for Sylvia and Jeff.

Thanks Billy for great comms and very fair pricing. One 480 sacrifice is the saviour of many others.

All delivered to the 480 secret lair…



G & H plate excellence right there

Great to meet Will too (WRDendy)

I also collected a pair of these from Jeff……



Installation of those to follow in a subsequent episode, in what, god willing, must be coming to some sort of conclusion…

All the best;

JKM.

[WillC9303]

Looks amazing so far & I'm sure will be an absolute stunner when finished! Just wish I had the patience for such detail...

May 2024 - Paintshop Déjà Vu...
I need mudflaps, but all the second hand ones I came across were in a right state. That's if you can find them. Ask Will!

Don't quite know which 'Will' you are referring to as there seem to be quite a few here nowadays , but I managed to complete a full set recently for mine after about 2 on-and-off years of searching. All I can say, is anyone who isn't a sucker for originality, then I really wouldn't bother with the time, effort and money it takes to get them. Especially seeing how well your custom ones turned out. Of the 6 flaps I ended up buying, 5 were severely blistered along the edge from the rotten internal steel strips and at least one had ripped mounting holes. I ended up slicing mine up with a Stanley knife to remove the rot, but you can imagine how it looks now. Might have a look at plastic welding it back together in the future.

May 2024 - Paintshop Déjà Vu...
I have no idea why half bolts to the car and half bolts to the bumper iron. The bumper iron is only held to the car via 13mm nuts so you wouldn't think it was that load bearing. The only connection with the chassis is a single M8 bolt which hardly seems strong enough. Hopefully we will never have a cause to test.

I was told some years back that there's a lot of misconceptions when it comes to 'towing eyes' on cars. They're not actually intended for towing - that's what a tow-bar is for. The main purpose of them is to keep the car from shuffling about on boat decks when they are transported overseas (from the factory to the intended market) when new. One strap for the rear and one for the front. Hence why they don't really need to be load bearing. There's an old video on YouTube of someone trying to remove a tree stump with a 480. Stump wasn't going anywhere and it looked like the front bumper was about to be ripped off!

[Jay-Kay-Em]

Hi Will; yes it was your good self re. mudflaps and your struggle !

Well done on your perseverance.

I respectfully disagree re. the towing eyes. At the very least their function is to facilitate recovery which, at a bare minimum, is a 30° tilt & slide recovery bed. That's dead weight too via a winch so entirely load bearing. Like I say, fingers crossed, we will never have to test.

With the condition of some 480 bumper irons out there, like you say, they're not putting up a fight

[dragonflyjewels]

Jay your day will come ! There are several meetings being organised for the 40th anniversary in 2026. Is 2 years enough ?

Mudflaps - I guess you haven't seen the post about Al's mudflap project. Slit open, remove remnants of rusty grot, insert stainless replacement (type and thickness recommended by my engineer brother) stick together and make good with gasket maker. All 5 of our car now have a decent set from a pile of wrecks.

Towing eyes. Snazzy once towed our 940 estate 30 miles to the repair shop and hardly knew it was on the back. and no, Norfolk is NOT flat ! When she went in for restoration a few years later her rear bumper bar needed a lot of welding but only because of rust.

[edie_fox]

Never mind a meet. Surely this thing will require a coronation when it's time!

A line-up of 480s either side as he slowly meanders through the centre with full band playing and people waving flags and clapping.

Absolutely amazing, as ever. The time that goes into these posts alone is probably a recommission number of hours in itself.

You are SO close now. My recent car didn't take that long (purchased July 2022, MOT'd March 2024) and of course was 2% of the work yours has had but when it was actually ready, there was no 'moment' that I was looking forward to, it was just get in and drive and there we go!

You will enjoy it, for sure. I completely agree with the being used thing. Put thems miles on it!

Not long now.

[jifflemon]

Once again, a superb bloody update.

As always, an absolute pleasure to help out - It really cheers me up to see people not being afraid to do the hard graft and save a car. So many people just give up; despite my best efforts, I can’t save them all!

[Jay-Kay-Em]

Sylvia, Edie, Jeff

There are several meetings being organised for the 40th anniversary in 2026. Is 2 years enough ?

Should be enough, although I said 2 years in 2018

Estimate a euro meet for 22-24 May 2026 I read?

My decade ownership anniversary that, all for a car never used

Headlining only thing left i'm dreading... everything else (half) enjoyable to bolt back on.

[cranna21]

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

Driver's Door Handle

My newly fitted driver's door handle was making a bid to escape...



A failure of the tiny little wedge clips (irrelevant to note, but part number 3343127)...



Again, you're the victim to 30 year old plastic...



NLA of course and donor car clips would be equally as brittle. Oh to go back in time and get a bag full.

Converted to stainless M4 button head bolts plus nylocs...



Slightly awkward... protective masking tape required on the door, but it does the job quite nicely...

[Jay-Kay-Em]

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.