1987 480 ES Project -- D-reg, 2nd oldest in UK

[frenchfries]

Still haven't told my wife!

. You are sooooo dead

[jamescarruthers]

Thanks everyone for your advice and many offers of wheels!

Jeff, I shall be brave and attempt start like you say.

Funnily enough I called Lake's by mistake (meant to call ex-Volvo dealer in the sticks: Kings of Witcham) about replacement. Surprisingly the nice guys at Lake's are going to get my keys cut from the code kindly supplied by Marshall's of Cambridge from the VIN. A very pleasant surprise and only £15/key.‎

So if I'm going for keys I might as well try and get 4 skinny wheels. I've transported 4 alloys in the back of a 480 before and they take up much more room than I ever thought they would!‎

Jaster, drop me a PM if you fancy dropping by on Tuesday. ‎

[brinkie]

The rot at A looks like its letting water in and caused the screen to delaminate at B

Worse: the rot is all over the place where the windscreen meets the roof. I have seen it in my Paris Blue 480:




The car is worth saving due to its rarity, but your restoration budget needs to be stretched a bit I'm afraid.

[WRDendy]

I just mentioned going up to Redditch tomorrow to the other half and unfortunately I've been reminded that I am on dog duty tomorrow (which I agreed to some time ago apparently??).

This being the case, I shall wish you all the best if you are going ahead as planned!

[jamescarruthers]

No problem. I have the same trick pulled on me quite often! I am defenceless as my brain doesn't remember things like that.‎

Plan is going ahead for tomorrow and weekend.

[jamescarruthers]

[jamescarruthers]

[jamescarruthers]

[jamescarruthers]

[jamescarruthers]

 

Yesterday was a good day! The car has been outside for likely the first time in 20 years!‎ Up at 6AM to pack the car‎ with tools, coolant, fuel, parts, etc.‎

En route to Redditch, Lake's Volvo kindly lent me some space saver spares in case they were needed. Two breakfasts at McDonald's and then on to meet D101 DWP for 1200 after choosing the wrong motorway and getting very lost and adding 40 mins to the journey! 

It got better after that and the tyres inflated up to 35psi no problem and the spares weren't needed. 
‎
I made sure I had absolutely everything in the back of my car to get it running.... except I forgot my tow rope‎! Thankfully a nice guy helped me out from a tool/equipment hire company with a big RWD Transit on a neighbouring building site. He had some ratchet straps and we were away! The hand brake was seized on so the van had a bit of a job and some tyre squealing until it finally let go. He went for it and I hung on and tried to steer out the garage.

The previously unseen right hand side‎ has revealed that the driver's door is only on with one hinge (couldn't see or hear any A-pillar rot so maybe the weld is just cracked?), the window was down because the window regulator cable is snapped and there is something going on at the sill where the wing wraps around. It didn't look horrendous and might just be that the wing isn't bolted or the nut it bolts to in the cill is a bit crunchy.

Other than that, it is more solid than many 480s I've seen on the road! (Even the screen top corner I have had on a silver 480 years ago).‎

I took off each wheel and freed off the rear brakes and felt how free the fronts were. Calipers are probably beyond repair (very rusty) but will look in to seeing if I can refurbish them at home. No wheel turns well but it is possible to push the car around now. New bearing, calipers and discs would probably go a long way in to getting the car back on the road.‎

I did as Jeff suggested and took the plugs out and put WD40 down the cylinder bores. Now with the right hand wheel off‎ I got the engine turning smoothly after a few back-and-forwards of a socket on the bottom engine pulley.

Battery on, but there's no keys! They have been ordered c/o Volvo delaer for code and Lake's for knowing a locksmith. Thankfully I did have a spare ignition switch so put this on the plug under the steering wheel and operated it with a flat bladed screwdriver. 

I cou‎ldn't believe it when it all burst to life. Dashboard lights, info centre, interior fan, etc, all worked. Spun the engine over without plugs to see if oil pressure would build... it did. One pop up works, the other will wind manually so I'm optimistic. 

Coolant was empty. Topped it up but in the end it started to come out the radiator which must have perished. It is safe for a brief run I think.

Time was running out and I'd achieved the goal of getting it ready and mobile for the truck to collect it‎.  I couldn't resist going a little further.

Fuel pump didn't run but after removing/installing every relay in the engine bay and removing the rear seats to give it a good tap, it did run again. I should have ran the fuel pump and flushed the old fuel out, collecting at the fuel rail in the engine bay. Instead, as the info centre said only one bar of fuel in the tank, I put 20L in the tank and attempted a start before having to go home. This was a bit of a gamble but would have been great for morale to get it running briefly.‎

After much cranking, with my other car in parallel to keep the voltage up, it did eventually catch and run very badly for a few seconds. This could be repeated but it always died and ran poorly. I think with the fresh fuel bled through this will run no problem. ‎It is basically now flooded with 20 year old fuel and WD40 so I was expecting a miracle really!

So all in all, I'm happy with a hard days work. I drove back to Cambridge for 9PM absolutely shattered‎ and had a good long sleep. It went better than I thought and I'm quite pleased with myself.

*****‎
‎FUTURE
‎
Transport is arranged for Saturday. 

Once it is home, job number one is going to town with the Jet Wash and scrubbing the inside. I think I'll also hire a rug doctor to give the upholstery a good going over.‎ It isn't terribly mouldy but I think it is a nice easy win if I can get it smartened up and wife friendly!

Job number two is to give the engine a service (all bits here as I was about to do the E-reg car) and get it running (proper attention to the fuel system with no rushing).

Job number three is to put change the cam belt (it is in the post)‎.

Job number four is to get the brakes (and maybe bearings) sorted.

Job number five is new tyres

Job number six is ‎to run it to MOT station for undoubtedly a  fail on the windscreen but to see what else is wrong with it.

‎
I found a little bit of history in the car. Volvo history book takes it to 40000 miles in the mid 90's. Pile of chewed papers (mouse?) next to this book was likely the later stuff up to 93187 miles where it sits now and probably has done since it was last taxed in 1998. ‎

Also found it used to be on a private plate, although I can't remember it right now.‎
‎
‎
***

Questions:
Opinions on attempting to force a start with Easy Start and keep it going until the fresh fuel is dragged through. Or is that cowboy mechanicing?
‎
Opinions on whether I may have blocked the injectors dragging the old fuel through the line?

Anyone had experience of the weld repair for the door. I've heard of this failure but never had it on one of my 480s.‎

***

Parts still required to get started:
Keys!‎‎
Radiator (not properly diagnosed yet)‎
R/H window regulator (will attempt E-crofting repair)‎
Intake pressure sensor with black body (has blue one from later car so will not run right like this)‎
Rear wiper arm exterior arm cover
Rear wiper/brake light interior cover ‎(actually need two... broke on both cars!).
‎
‎

‎

 :hopping:‎

[jamescarruthers]

And this the Lake's Volvo resident cat! Helpful creature

[jifflemon]

Questions:
Opinions on attempting to force a start with Easy Start and keep it going until the fresh fuel is dragged through. Or is that cowboy mechanicing?
‎
Opinions on whether I may have blocked the injectors dragging the old fuel through the line?

Anyone had experience of the weld repair for the door. I've heard of this failure but never had it on one of my 480s.‎

Do NOT use easystart. Its highly volatile, but can often end up breaking the top rings, leading to more easy start being required. then the middle rings break....

Never, ever, needed it. You've done some cracking work so far, getting it cranking and turning over successfully. So, lets stay on that track, success is not far away. Plugs out (cos I'm assuming you've nice fresh ones?), crank it over. You'll push any accumulated crap out of the plug holes, giving us a nice clean(er) combustion chamber.

Next, 20 Litres of fuel, should be enough to compensate for 5-10 litres of crap stuff; But some more would be better. As would bleeding out maybe five litres, from the fuel rail, just to make sure were getting the good stuff through. If anything, we're making sure the fuel pump can run happily

Finally, for the "big start up", we want a completely fresh and charged up battery. we know from our previous cranking we've got good turn over speed (and if not, check earth leads!).
We'll have fresh fuel and fresh plugs. There's little more we need.

Once she starts, I'd go for a minute or two at a high'ish RPM (2.5k) assuming the radiator can hold enough water to keep her cool.
Once hot, then were into oil changing. I'd be adding some cheap oil and an oil flush, before repeating the start up, heat up and drop the oil&flush out, before changing for good oil.

[jamescarruthers]

Thanks Jeff. I was on old plugs but do have new ones ready to go in. I'll install those at the weekend when it gets to Cambridge. ‎

I have spun it on the starter motor with the plugs removed.   Do you think I should do this again after the unsuccessful starts so far?

I will bleed a good quantity of fuel out. It looks to me that the easiest place is at the B-nut on the L/H side of the fuel rail‎. I'll get my mate to drive us through a petrol station and we can fill it up to the top to dilute the old fuel further.

Understood: Easy Start won't be going anywhere near the engine then! Thought it was bad but didn't realise it was destructive!‎

Jifflemon Consultancy Services much appreciated!‎

[jifflemon]

Yup, deffo spin over again with plugs out. Little bit of fresh oil down the plug hole will help too, better seal on the rings = better compression. Every little helps when bringing them back from hibernation!

[Alan 480]

only comments from me would be to drain out some fuel from the lines, but probably well mixed by now with 20 litres in on old stale 1 star/ paraffin . . . the return line will have mixed it tall up?

and keep the revs LOW for a wee while until it all frees off in case lump of crap in oil gets through??

well done, another one saved, and looks in 'fair' shape for a 'spares' or is that 'spare' car

[dcwalker]

Sorry for the slow reaction but been away...this is brilliant James - great to see one of the originals being saved, even if it is going to involve some serious work.

Mind you - you are a brave man dong this without telling the wife That said, I always ask Lee before jumping at any of these things and she tells me "no" so perhaps I should just adopt your approach!!

I can't add anything to the advice already received, but would be happy to help you with the project going forward if you needed it, distance not withstanding...

David

[jamescarruthers]

En route to Cambridge!‎

[jifflemon]

only just noticed, but is the front volvo badge sitting a little higher up?

[jamescarruthers]

[jamescarruthers]