Volvo 480 Club Europe

As I thundered my way through France in my Audi 80 Sport, a not insignificant part of my mind was wondering just what I would find when I opened the garage door and for the first time was able to inspect the work of the bodyshop. When the time came, I was astonished. It wasn't a total surprise, I had been keeping a close eye on how the work was progressing, but in the flesh, and all up together, well, do I really need to use words?













Now for the less great news. Driving the car it is clear that it is not quite right. The engine is very sweet and willing, but the steering alignment feels off, it pulls to the left ever so slightly (conveniently slight enough to make me question my sanity). Now the tyre got slashed in the accident so the bodyshop fitted a cheap chinese tyre to get it rolling, and I am wondering whether this could be having an effect. First thing to check however is the pressures, then a tracking check. Of course, I could be wrong, either way I want to find some correct size tyres to fit to the wheels. It doesn't end there though, at low speed there is a dragging noise coming from the front of the car. Checking underneath reveals nothing however so I am wondering whether it could be sticking brakes? Oh and at 70 a rattling noise comes from the offside, like an interior fan is broken, which is plausible but unlikely. At least the bodywork is pretty, but it may be a while before I am happy with the way the car drives. With that being the case, I'd like to ask if anyone who has deep experience with how these cars are meant to drive would be happy to take mine out for a test drive with me, just to get a second opinion?

Of course, the car hasn't run since January so it will probably need a wake up too!

Oh and I have been driving a very different car for the last 5 months

(and yes there are more of those Hovercraft GB stickers from where that came from)

But it is good to finally get the car running again, and it looks drop-dead gorgeous with the Arctic Blue bumpers. I have even commissioned some Serck plates (sorry James*) to celebrate!

I cannot thank everyone enough for getting me here, I can't imagine any other club pulling out the stops like this


*I will also be keeping the black bumper and plan to switch them around when I feel like, so a separate, 1935 font set is also there

Wow.looks stunning,am now on the lookout for a bin wagon so I can get R3 looking the same!

Looks stunning Ben, it's amazing the difference colour coded bumpers make. Good luck with finding the cause of the niggles, I'm sure someone will be able to help pin them down.

Looks great, especially the bumpers! If I remember rightly, your car has ever so slightly fatter tyres on it than it should have . This wouldn’t be a problem other than the speedo being slightly out but maybe the garage replaced one side with the correct one? Also, after all this work, a tracking check is essential.


A weird noise at speed like you describe can be the black plastic panel behind the wiper spindles vibrating. Has it been off as part of the repair work? If so, take it back off and make sure it has an anti-vibration foamy tape on the back to stop it vibrating against the window.

jamescarruthers wrote: ↑

Wed May 11, 2022 7:54 pm

Looks great, especially the bumpers! If I remember rightly, your car has ever so slightly fatter tyres on it than it should have . This wouldn’t be a problem other than the speedo being slightly out but maybe the garage replaced one side with the correct one? Also, after all this work, a tracking check is essential.


A weird noise at speed like you describe can be the black plastic panel behind the wiper spindles vibrating. Has it been off as part of the repair work? If so, take it back off and make sure it has an anti-vibration foamy tape on the back to stop it vibrating against the window.

Everything you said sounds like it would make perfect sense, I always wondered why the Village speed tracker showed me as reading 3mph slower than my dial. Having one tyre slightly smaller does make sense to me as that is kinda what it feels like, although given they had 3 other tyres for reference it is a bit odd that they got it wrong.

As for the plastic panel, I think I know which bit you're talking about but is there a picture for reference? I have some 3M double sided lying around from sticking the door trim to the Audi, so that could be an easy fix.

Norm57 wrote: ↑

Wed May 11, 2022 6:36 pm

Wow.looks stunning,am now on the lookout for a bin wagon so I can get R3 looking the same!

Looking great Ben glad its sorted. Hope the bill is sorted too, or are the council wriggling?

Love the Audi btw. Cool pic.

Looks stunning. I have to say, body coloured bumpers are a marked improvement over unpainted ones (which I've honestly never been a fan of) especially with that cool colour. I am most jealous of your painted pop-up light surrounds. It's a shame the later cars didn't have them painted. I may have to look into that for my car.

That picture with your Audi 80 in is absolutely beautiful. I've never really gone abroad many times in my life, but I must visit that place sometime! Looks magical. Shame you couldn't take the 480 with you, I bet those windy roads are a bit of fun.
You're not a photography student by any chance?

Any chance you will be fitting a front spoiler or is that too far out for originality's sake? I don't know if it was only on the Turbos by '89

WillC9303 wrote: ↑

Wed May 11, 2022 8:42 pm

Looks stunning. I have to say, body coloured bumpers are a marked improvement over unpainted ones (which I've honestly never been a fan of) especially with that cool colour. I am most jealous of your painted pop-up light surrounds. It's a shame the later cars didn't have them painted. I may have to look into that for my car.

That picture with your Audi 80 in is absolutely beautiful. I've never really gone abroad many times in my life, but I must visit that place sometime! Looks magical. Shame you couldn't take the 480 with you, I bet those windy roads are a bit of fun.
You're not a photography student by any chance?

Any chance you will be fitting a front spoiler or is that too far out for originality's sake? I don't know if it was only on the Turbos by '89

Well I am on the look out for a front spoiler in my colour, it was on the options list from the start I believe, could even have it in unpainted black to match the black bumpers. I will be trying to get a set of black bumpers as a winter set so I can easily take the car back to original when I want it to be.

Thanks for the compliment, I am not actually a photography student, but I do my best. I touched it up using a free version of Adobe Lightroom on my phone, to try and give it a 1980s film camera look. The location was the Route des Cretes from La Ciotat to Cassis. More of a scenery road than a driving one, as it is very narrow and with steep drops. I would have preferred the (pre-crash) Volvo on the twisty French roads, but for doing a 12 hr, 80MPH cruise over 900 miles, the Audi takes some serious beating! I have a load more on my Instagram if you want some inspiration, with your 2.0 Engine, your car is much more set up for long distance

Jay-Kay-Em wrote: ↑

Wed May 11, 2022 8:31 pm

Norm57 wrote: ↑

Wed May 11, 2022 6:36 pm

Wow.looks stunning,am now on the lookout for a bin wagon so I can get R3 looking the same!

Looking great Ben glad its sorted. Hope the bill is sorted too, or are the council wriggling?

Love the Audi btw. Cool pic.

Well that was a bit of a caper. As we weren't able to get the wiring loom and bumper mounts (well I left it with them while I went to france) the bill came closer to 3.5K in the end as they had to get an electrician in to do the wiring and then there was VAT. The council had no contest and their insurers gave me £2990 to go away basically, so I wasn't too out of pocket, but it was a bit alarming to see

MisterH wrote: ↑

Wed May 11, 2022 8:25 pm

As for the plastic panel, I think I know which bit you're talking about but is there a picture for reference? I have some 3M double sided lying around from sticking the door trim to the Audi, so that could be an easy fix.

The plastic panel I mention is actually in two sections, items 21 and 22. Held in by plastic rivets 23, P/N: 3120254, check those aren’t missing or loose too. Non-original but mention the part number so probably a good guess for replacement: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111073138804 ... media=COPY

Rather than double sided foam, I think you just need single side adhesive foam of sufficient thickness that it compresses nicely when the rivet fasteners are done up. Something “closed cell” will stop it remaining permanently water logged too.


Regarding the pulling to the left, can you check the tyre size yourself and also get the tracking checked somewhere? That would be my first port of call. Speedos are always out, although 480 electronic speedos are much better than their mechanical contemporaries I’ve noticed.

That is really interesting James thanks. I am wondering whether using double sided is just a better idea as in my experience plastic rivets aren't the most reliable of fixings, but then it is OEM so must be there for a reason I guess...

Hi Ben

This is so good to see - the car looks better than ever!

Picking up on the various threads here:

You'd like to think the garage checked what tyres were on the car and matched the size, but if one is different that might explain the pull to the left. Indeed, you said it's a cheap tyre - even that degree of mismatch with the others, even if it is the same size, won't help anything. In any event, after damage like that where that front corner took the brunt of the impact, the wheel alignment definitely needs careful checking.

Body coloured bumpers were an option almost from the start. They came in as standard on the turbo in 1989, and then followed as standard on the ES a year or so later...

Spoilers were available as an option from the start - if ordered that way they came in black plastic finish so you could paint to match or leave black as you wished.

The trim panels behind the wipers are notorious for rattling at certain speeds. They should have, as James has said, a single sided sticky foam to hold them snug against the clip. Double sided will work just fine, but remember you may have more of a battle should you need to remove them in the future. Provided you have the correct style of clips, with a little padding they should hold the plastic down perfectly well.

Hope the final niggles are soon sorted for you!

David

dcwalker wrote: ↑

Thu May 12, 2022 7:30 am

Hi Ben

This is so good to see - the car looks better than ever!

Picking up on the various threads here:

You'd like to think the garage checked what tyres were on the car and matched the size, but if one is different that might explain the pull to the left. Indeed, you said it's a cheap tyre - even that degree of mismatch with the others, even if it is the same size, won't help anything. In any event, after damage like that where that front corner took the brunt of the impact, the wheel alignment definitely needs careful checking.

Body coloured bumpers were an option almost from the start. They came in as standard on the turbo in 1989, and then followed as standard on the ES a year or so later...

Spoilers were available as an option from the start - if ordered that way they came in black plastic finish so you could paint to match or leave black as you wished.

The trim panels behind the wipers are notorious for rattling at certain speeds. They should have, as James has said, a single sided sticky foam to hold them snug against the clip. Double sided will work just fine, but remember you may have more of a battle should you need to remove them in the future. Provided you have the correct style of clips, with a little padding they should hold the plastic down perfectly well.

Hope the final niggles are soon sorted for you!

David

Thanks David!

I think an alignment check is in order anyway, as you say I had hoped that they would have done all that from the off, hence why I think it could be the tyre making mischief.

With the Audi I have been getting to know all about double sided tape, and feel that it should be fine on there as it can always be removed with a bit of heat or alcohol. What jobs would I need to take it off for?

Either way, I think we are getting close, just need a new rear wiper motor and it should be ready to go

Only jobs requiring removal of those panels are clearing out rubbish, (ideally but not necessary for) replacing washer nozzles, and if you had to remove the dash (4 bolts behind it).

So no great risk in using double sided!

Have messaged you re rear wiper motor...

David

So a bit of an update. I took it for a tracking and alignment check today but after 20 minutes the guy came back and said that before anything else, I need brake pads, as the offside is bald and digging in to the brake disc. This would explain a lot, so I am currently trying to order up a new set.

https://brakeparts.co.uk/shop/Volvo/480 ... nd%20Shoes

The problem is, my car is a september 88 car, and as can be seen, this was a switchover time. Therefore, I don't actually know what I should have.

Any anoraking or advice that can be given here?
Cheers all
Ben

If one side is “bald” then surely you have a sticking calliper that needs addressed? After a bit of a drive, does that side feel hot?— you can detect it by holding your hands near that wheel and comparing its temperature to the other side.

I think you just have to look for “non-vented” pads. EBC are good for our cars I think— just order normal stuff, nothing fancy.

jamescarruthers wrote: ↑

Fri May 13, 2022 1:14 pm

If one side is “bald” then surely you have a sticking calliper that needs addressed? After a bit of a drive, does that side feel hot?— you can detect it by holding your hands near that wheel and comparing its temperature to the other side.

I think you just have to look for “non-vented” pads. EBC are good for our cars I think— just order normal stuff, nothing fancy.

To be honest James, I only really understood half of what he said. I think it did have a sticking calliper at one point, but that went with use (was not long after the Recomm. However, I imagine with the crash on that wheel the calliper might not have appreciated it

Glad the car has been put right.

Looks great.