Volvo 480 Club Europe

What the ACTUAL Fuck?

Was not expecting to wake up to this news. R3 was an example of one of the rarest (and my favourite) colours and to hear that he has done this is appalling.

Is there anything we can do?

Oscar Wilde once said that true friends stab you from the front. I think it is clear what we are dealing with

Well that’s not cricket.

I thought Norm started a thread the other day highlighting the unjust carnage of the scrappage scheme….. oh the irony.

Regardless of R3’s whereabouts, the passion and dedication given by members on here doesn’t go unnoticed.

Hopefully, one day, the retail value of a 480 will be sufficient enough that they will “self rescue”. There’s a good selection on AutoTrader right now floating around the £5k mark….. that’s what preservation needs whether we believe those prices or not.

*****STOP PRESS: R3 WILL NOT BE HEADING ANYWHERE NEAR A SCRAPYARD*******

Right, here's the latest on this one. For the sake of my own sanity, and despite being part of the Rescue Group and very well acquainted with R3 in particular, I'm going to stand back from the discussions on here about the rights or wrongs of the situation.

What I have done, however, is go over and see Norm this afternoon - he's only about 12 miles from me. I have seen R3 and yes, she has a load of parts now removed and sitting in a large cardboard box, but as such she is "still all there". I have had her running too.

Perhaps more significantly, she now belongs to me and will soon be moving back to Alne and safety from the dreaded scrapman . My plan is to try once again to resolve the outstanding issues that lead her to a dead end with Norm. Once fully "re-rescued" we can all look at whether she's staying with me or moving to a new loving owner.

I said I'm not going to get involved in the debate and I mean that, but Norm asked that I clarify a couple of things from his perspective: you must make of it all what you will. There is a lot going on in Norm's life, and R3 needed to go. He never intended to make money from selling parts, rather they would have been made available to this community as needed free of charge.

Right, that's me done as promised!

I am going back over tomorrow to refit certain key parts (like lights) and see if I can adjust the clutch enough to enable me to drive R3 home. If not, she'll be trailered. Either way, she needs to be gone from Norm's asap.

So, breathe easy again people, R3 is safe

David

Well done David !! Huge relief to know that R3 is safe.

Thanks Sylvia

And now the first cry for help - does anyone out there have a spare clutch pedal? Needs to be from a later set up (ie long release arm so post 1989-ish) because we altered the pedal box on R3. Her current pedal is badly bent...

Thanks

David

David, you are the White Knight of the 480 world, and a great example to what is a rare breed of enthusiasts.

Top man!

And Norm, I completely understand that sometimes you just have to let your dream go, because stuff needs to be done in the real world. You'll be back

Further update folks.......

R3, or as she is now known, Felicity, now sits safely in Alne, in company with Lily my GT and R9, safely away from the clutches of the evil scrapman...



I will of course update as I commence work on getting her up to scratch, although what with the rain and the need to progress R9, I don't think that will be particularly soon

David

dcwalker wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 21, 2022 4:43 pm

He never intended to make money from selling parts, rather they would have been made available to this community as needed free of charge.

Hmm

Fantastic work David, I thought R3 was going to be a gonner for a second!
She’s a very nice example of an early car. Looks almost identical to Ben’s 480 as well (bar the newly coloured bumpers). Arctic blue must’ve been quite a popular colour for these early cars as I believe R1 is the same as well. Am I right in thinking this has the potent B18E?

WillC9303 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 11:57 am

dcwalker wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 21, 2022 4:43 pm

He never intended to make money from selling parts, rather they would have been made available to this community as needed free of charge.

Hmm

Fantastic work David, I thought R3 was going to be a gonner for a second!
She’s a very nice example of an early car. Looks almost identical to Ben’s 480 as well (bar the newly coloured bumpers). Arctic blue must’ve been quite a popular colour for these early cars as I believe R1 is the same as well. Am I right in thinking this has the potent B18E?

Thanks, Will, she's all safe now

I think it was quite popular - although of course there were only 6 colours in the early years, and if you didn't want black, white or solid red your choices were somewhat limited

In due course she will have a good spruce up - wash, polish etc - and I'll take a decent set of photographs of her.

She does indeed have the B18E; since all my recent 480s have been late models, with nice spec and 2.0i engines, it's a great blast from the past for me to be behind the wheel of an early car again. Reminds me of my first one (1988 ES) and how different they are to drive to the later cars.

She’s a very nice example of an early car. Looks almost identical to Ben’s 480 as well (bar the newly coloured bumpers). Arctic blue must’ve been quite a popular colour for these early cars as I believe R1 is the same as well. Am I right in thinking this has the potent B18E?

If I remember arightly R3 is petrol blue.

dragonflyjewels wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 12:20 pm

She’s a very nice example of an early car. Looks almost identical to Ben’s 480 as well (bar the newly coloured bumpers). Arctic blue must’ve been quite a popular colour for these early cars as I believe R1 is the same as well. Am I right in thinking this has the potent B18E?

If I remember arightly R3 is petrol blue.

Ahhh...now you might be right there...can't check at present - as I said, Jeff has the brochure collection!

David

218 is Arctic Blue, 219 is Petrol Blue.
Assuming it's not tipping it down like it is here a quick pop of the bonnet will tell us for certain.

WillC9303 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 11:57 am

dcwalker wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 21, 2022 4:43 pm

He never intended to make money from selling parts, rather they would have been made available to this community as needed free of charge.

Hmm

Fantastic work David, I thought R3 was going to be a gonner for a second!
She’s a very nice example of an early car. Looks almost identical to Ben’s 480 as well (bar the newly coloured bumpers). Arctic blue must’ve been quite a popular colour for these early cars as I believe R1 is the same as well. Am I right in thinking this has the potent B18E?

Ah ha, but that isn't Arctic Blue! It is the much rarer shade of Petrol Blue metallic, and there is only 1 other car I know which has it, that being James' old car

MisterH wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 3:05 pm

WillC9303 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 11:57 am

dcwalker wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 21, 2022 4:43 pm

He never intended to make money from selling parts, rather they would have been made available to this community as needed free of charge.

Hmm

Fantastic work David, I thought R3 was going to be a gonner for a second!
She’s a very nice example of an early car. Looks almost identical to Ben’s 480 as well (bar the newly coloured bumpers). Arctic blue must’ve been quite a popular colour for these early cars as I believe R1 is the same as well. Am I right in thinking this has the potent B18E?

Ah ha, but that isn't Arctic Blue! It is the much rarer shade of Petrol Blue metallic, and there is only 1 other car I know which has it, that being James' old car

Is it me then or do they look identical?

dragonflyjewels wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 2:02 pm

218 is Arctic Blue, 219 is Petrol Blue.
Assuming it's not tipping it down like it is here a quick pop of the bonnet will tell us for certain.

219-5 if I remember correctly

Petrol blue is both darker and slightly more turquoise. The difference is clear when you see them together. Photos are just misleading

See if you can find James' old ad for his 1987 car, it looked resplendent

jifflemon wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 3:49 pm

dragonflyjewels wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 2:02 pm

218 is Arctic Blue, 219 is Petrol Blue.
Assuming it's not tipping it down like it is here a quick pop of the bonnet will tell us for certain.

219-5 if I remember correctly

And Jeff wins the "Mr Memory" (or "Sad Nerd", depending on your perspective ) prize - Felicity is indeed 219-5, so Petrol blue. The difference was quite subtle Will, but nonetheless it was there...

David

dcwalker wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 5:35 pm

jifflemon wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 3:49 pm

dragonflyjewels wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 2:02 pm

218 is Arctic Blue, 219 is Petrol Blue.
Assuming it's not tipping it down like it is here a quick pop of the bonnet will tell us for certain.

219-5 if I remember correctly

And Jeff wins the "Mr Memory" (or "Sad Nerd", depending on your perspective ) prize - Felicity is indeed 219-5, so Petrol blue. The difference was quite subtle Will, but nonetheless it was there...

David

I would say that the difference was a little more than subtle - Arctic is a colour that really pops and is quite a simple shade, Petrol is more toned down and complex

Examples for Will
https://www.flickr.com/photos/38389354@N07/8653591365
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