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

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MisterH
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 1161
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2018 6:15 pm
Location: Stockbridge

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

Post by MisterH » Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:56 am

Spainal wrote:
Wed Sep 08, 2021 11:51 am
MisterH wrote:
Tue Jan 26, 2021 12:04 pm
brinkie wrote:
Tue Jan 26, 2021 11:07 am
I've given away my set of Pollux alloys with snow tyres for the 480 last week to a friend who has his 480 as only car. Snow has become rare here due to global warming (at best we've got a mild frost at night and lots of cold rain during daytime) so I'm not bothering to put them on. When it snows, I'm letting the car in hibernation. My V70 has snow tyres though, so I'm still prepared.
That's interesting, at some point I would love to explore the Nordic Nations, either in the 480 or another modern classic. How do these things perform in extreme conditions? I know it must have been tested in the arctic circle as part of Volvo's due diligence, but do we know of any really northern 480 owners?
As I put the car on wheels, I will definitely make a video of how it drives across our Siberian expanses!
That will be most fascinating!
Current Jobs to do (23/1/22):
Fix Central Locking
Fix drivers side speaker
Annoying Scratching Squeak
Water leaks
Complete Front O/S rebuild

User avatar
MisterH
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 1161
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2018 6:15 pm
Location: Stockbridge

Re: 1988 Volvo 480 ES - 10,000 mile anniversary

Post by MisterH » Tue Nov 02, 2021 8:38 pm

About a week ago, my speedometer flickered over onto a historic figure: 80,074. 10,000 miles prior, we fixed the speedometer leading to the quelling (mostly) of the biggest issue my car faced (non bodywork wise).

To celebrate, here is a small roundup of a 10,000 mile story far more enjoyable than some Proclaim...

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My first drive out on my 17th birthday, after a long time of personal struggle it felt like a new era was dawning. That and I had one helluva lot to learn (still do)

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The summer of 2020 was a special time, for many reasons. While the car was a bit shabby, it was already starting to stretch its legs and enjoy being out again

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While someone thought Panic At The Disco was a good name for a band, I wonder if they ever thought about Panic Painting Rear Wheel Arches? Winter was fast approaching so I decided to paint the exposed outer arches with the only paint I had available. Technically it was a Two Tone for a while.

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16th October 2020. At long last, after a failed first attempt, I was somehow able to pass with no faults at all. I am sure I made a couple of mistakes, but maybe the examiner was charmed by the burble of the B18E and the smell of slightly damp velour (with blue piping)

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At last, paint could finally be donned and the car could look it's best. I gave strict instructions to save as much original paint as possible, so the roof and bonnet still retain the original Arctic Blue shade...

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...and the result was absolutely astounding. Jon and the lads did an incredible matching the paint to the bonnet and roof, looked like it had always been there.

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Proper plates, toyed with the idea of going Full Plastic Serck but decided to save those for when I get a pair of colour matched bumpers (the summer wardrobe)

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Dense fog allowed me to take some of my best shots Ever

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February and at last I was able to take some snow shots! Ok the roads were quite salty but I was able to finally get a photo that said "Arctic Blue"

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At last able to put some faces to names! A lovely run down to the Lair of Lies with Sylvia & Al. Car enjoyed it so much it suffered what can only be described as an automotive stroke, with the car becoming possessed by CEM demons.

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I got my name in the paper! The paper, or rather magazine, was the debut issue of Classic.Retro.Modern. Knowing one of the editors I put a good word in for the wedge and got to flex my writing muscles, as well as helping out a fantastic mag.

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The Odd Couple. Through the Beige Forum I was able to meet Skizzer Martin, one of my best automotive friends. Who had an Aerodeck. Now we must know how to tell a 480 isn't an Aerodeck, so we made a nice video to help with that :lol: :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGx17mUIL4M

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An unlikely pairing, but an amusing day had chasing a ropey Triumph 2.5S around Poole driven by one of my young car mates

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At last seeing a healthy number of 480s. Other than club events, and Bosnia, I have never seen a 480 on the road other than mine

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A-Level results day allowed me to get one last shot in the photogenic grounds of my old haunt

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I was able to display the Wedge at the Forgotten Favourites display, as part of the Beaulieu Autojumble. While I couldn't find anything for the 480 in the masses of interesting chod for sale, I was able to find a couple of contacts (or rather they found me) with 480 related happenings.

BUT. On the way home the alternator stopped working, meaning the Rover was able to get its swansong in our ownership with a trip to the Isle of Wight Festival with some friends of mine
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But with that alternator fixed, and the Rover sold to a Bus collector (no that couldn't be further from how it drove :lol: ) and new shocks, it is mostly all fine now. The headlights need to be aligned properly, hopefully without taking the nose off, and I need to sort a squeak and I need to find out why the radio makes a ticking noise whenever I listen to any station that isn't Radio 2.

But I've driven 10,000 miles in a piece of Dutch Tat. Try singing that while drunk on New Year's Eve...
Current Jobs to do (23/1/22):
Fix Central Locking
Fix drivers side speaker
Annoying Scratching Squeak
Water leaks
Complete Front O/S rebuild

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