Volvo 480 Club Europe

Very pleased to say we were successful in buying the Paris Blue 2ltr being auctioned on ebay.

As it is in Lincoln, it's not too far from David so he will be arranging to have it trailered to the Pamper Parlour.

It needs the clutch sorted plus all the usual stuff after sitting in a garage for many years. There doesn't seem to be much rust on it so we are hoping for a straightforward save on this one.

I am arranging transport as I type .

Once R9 arrives I will be getting straight to work. I think there will be a fair bit of reconditioning needed as she hasn't gone anywhere for a few years. But structurally she appears sound - and many thanks to Edie who went to check her over for us!

By the time she's ready to move on from me she'll have had a full service including belts, new clutch, new brakes, brake fluid, coolant etc etc and any suspension or other parts she needs so as to gey a shiny new MOT.

I will keep this thread updated as things progress.

So c'mon people, someone must be interested in the idea of owning a lovely recommissioned Paris Blue ES in due course - please do sing out!

David

Cheers everyone, chalk up another one!

dcwalker wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 01, 2022 7:09 am

So c'mon people, someone must be interested in the idea of owning a lovely recommissioned Paris Blue ES in due course - please do sing out!

David

Disgraceful!


I can't believe you failed to mention the half leather interior!

its got THE half leather interior people......





Late model ES, great colour, great interior, I'm genuinely excited by this one!

Same interior as R7, as well as Lily, my white turbo.

An update on R9 is clearly well overdue - forgive what follows being across a number of posts but I keep getting thrown out if I try to upload more than a couple of photos per post

Bearing in mind R9 - or Bluebell as she has been named - has been sitting doing nothing, she doesn't seem to be in bad shape at all in terms of bodywork. Her roof paintwork seems to have been attacked by something (perhaps a tree she has sat under for years dropping sap?) but the rest of her should polish up to a decent, useable finish. She will need some new wheels though - currently she sits on two Avior (7 spoke) and two Pollux (original 5 spoke) - as well as tyres (basically, they're rotten).:





Having stripped the boot interior out it appears all dry in there, which is a bonus, with an unused wheel and jack set, complete with its screwdriver!



I know, I obviously need to get out more

I decided to start under the bonnet - before putting too much effort into cleaning I'd like to know she actually runs, plus my understanding is that she was laid up when "the clutch went" - until I can run the engine and try moving Bluebell under her own steam, I don't know whether I need to just adjut the cable, or embark on the huge task that is changing the clutch on these cars.

It was filthy dirty under there....



Cant work with that, especially as the plugs are missing and I need to start with belts etc, so...

Time spent with grease remover, a brush, and copious amounts of water left the near side half looking like this:

In regards to the mismatched wheels, I believe the Aviors are the originals. I think 1991 was the last year for the Pollux’s. Alternatively, you could upgrade to a set of 15” Taurus wheels (there’s a set on Marketplace I believe). Would look really nice with the Paris Blue paint!

WillC9303 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 12:04 pm

In regards to the mismatched wheels, I believe the Aviors are the originals. I think 1991 was the last year for the Pollux’s. Alternatively, you could upgrade to a set of 15” Taurus wheels (there’s a set on Marketplace I believe). Would look really nice with the Paris Blue paint!

I thought I'd lent my complete set of 480 brochures to Jeff, Will - are you sure you haven't nicked them? You're getting as bad as me!!

Aviors are indeed the originals for a 1993 ES, the year they came in (on the 440 and 460 too).

Pollux were replaced by Atlas for 1991 onwards.

I always liked the Aviors, tbh - ideally that's what I'd like to see on her, for originality's sake, although ultimately she just needs a matching set of wheels!

Taurus were always fantastic looking wheels on the 480 (never worked on the 440/460 though in my view, where they were only ever options.....)

Back to the updates!

I then spent a happy day on a full service - new timing belt and pullies (not before time), Poly-V-belt (definitely not at all before time!), spark plugs, HT leads, distributor cap, rotor arm, oil filter (genuine Volvo of course) and oil.



Cleaned and replaced washer bottle, complete with a replacement front pump, and expansion tank. And here the mystery began, because the coolant expansion tank was not just empty, but bone dry.....

A clue lay in how things looked around the thermostat housing:



We've clearly had a leak there! The area around the water pump looked the same.

So I took the drain plug out of the radiator - and nothing came out, nothing at all.

Anyway, obtained nice new water pump and thermostat, and got on with the necessary dismantling. The system didn't look any prettier inside:

Much cleaning done; replacements a vast improvement!





I refilled with plain water for now, because I suspect there have been further leaks - sure enough, everything is now sound (at least without a running engine) except the radiator itself, which is leaking steadily and I think explains why after so many years the system was bone dry. Once I've obtained a fitted a replacement and washed everything through, the genuine Volvo coolant can go in.

New battery is here, so once the coolant system is watertight I can try starting the car, right?

Well, not quite, because the exhaust system (except, I think, the cat itself) is rotten.

So far I have replaced the downpipe (the flange meeting the cat was completely rusted away), the back box has just been delivered (the delivery guy thought it was some sort of tree sculpture thing in all its packaging and I'm waiting for the centre section/ once I've fitted those parts, then I can see if the car runs....

"But what of inside?" I hear you cry!

Again, it was all rather grubby but is cleaning up well. Because I'll need to work on the instrument cluster and reassemble the dash (someone appears to have started taking it apart then stopped part way) I haven't done anything with the driver's seat or footwell yet, but the rest is looking pretty good I think





See what I mean about the dash? Oh yes, driver's door card is off due to the need to repair the check-strap. Carpets all seem dry, leather clearly not been cleaned and treated for a while but it is responding well, and there is very little roof lining sag to report.

Still lots to do - brakes, broken spring at front, various suspension components etc. By the time she's finished this car will have undergone an intensive rescue job; I'm sure in due course she will make someone very proud

dcwalker wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 23, 2022 1:02 pm

Well, not quite, because the exhaust system (except, I think, the cat itself) is rotten.

So far I have replaced the downpipe (the flange meeting the cat was completely rusted away), the back box has just been delivered (the delivery guy thought it was some sort of tree sculpture thing in all its packaging and I'm waiting for the centre section/ once I've fitted those parts, then I can see if the car runs....

"But what of inside?" I hear you cry!

Again, it was all rather grubby but is cleaning up well. Because I'll need to work on the instrument cluster and reassemble the dash (someone appears to have started taking it apart then stopped part way) I haven't done anything with the driver's seat or footwell yet, but the rest is looking pretty good I think





See what I mean about the dash? Oh yes, driver's door card is off due to the need to repair the check-strap. Carpets all seem dry, leather clearly not been cleaned and treated for a while but it is responding well, and there is very little roof lining sag to report.

Still lots to do - brakes, broken spring at front, various suspension components etc. By the time she's finished this car will have undergone an intensive rescue job; I'm sure in due course she will make someone very proud

Looking good, David.

Before the winter descended upon us, the exhaust centre section finally arrived as did a replacement radiator. Fitted the radiator and...all seemed sound. So I refilled the system, with genuine Volvo coolant, and so far so good, we appear to have no more leaks

I need to realign the exhaust pipe since I've got contact with the underside of the body, but at least it was fitted come December (always a pig of a job lying on your back on the driveway under the car!). Once fitted there was nothing for it - time to see if she would run.........

Double checked everything was as it should be then cautiously turned the key. Bluebell coughed and spluttered - as well she might being woken up from a 13 year sleep - then roared into life. Revs were high but settled within seconds and there she sat, idling happily away, as if her last run were only yesterday

Let her warm up in her own time - no strange smells, no smoke, no oil leaks, no coolant leaks, thermostat opened at 92, fan cut in at 99: perfect.

While the engine was running I established that the clutch is, indeed, completely gone. So now the weather and light is better changing the clutch is my next job. While the OS hub and strut are part dismantled to let me remove that driveshaft, I'll dismantle it further and change the broken spring.

Then it's brakes - I think the front's will be ok with just new pads; the discs look new. Of course I will be doing a fluid change but the calipers don't look bad at all. Different story at the back - rusty seized caliper on NS, no caliper at all on OS , and knackered handbrake cables.

After that just need to sort out wheels and tyres and we can start to think about an MOT....

I will keep everyone updated, but R9 is making progress.

Hopefully it won't be too long before she is seeking a nice new home, and it's encouraging to the see the interest being shown on here . I should just make clear though that there is someone who has previously shown interest and has been promised first refusal when the time comes.

David