Celebration 356 on ebay
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:02 am
We are watching this one with interest
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203327183893 ... 1758.m4703
It's just outside of Ispwich so Al and I went to see it yesterday. It's on a farm, amongst a collection of Amazons, 1800s etc all awaiting restoration. Tony has a big farm shed with 2 1800s he has fully restored inside (amongst others) which he and his wife drive to shows in. Apparently when he was younger and the 480s were current he re-shelled 2 that had accident damage and got them back on the road. He's also re-shelled a Volvo on an exhibition stand at the NEC - it arrived a wreck and drove out at the end of the 3 day show ready for paint. We were there more than 2 hours, he's a very interesting man !
Back to the Celebration, the previous owner to Tony bought a better one in 2014 when prices were really low, and a scrapyad offered a couple of hundered for it, which was about all he thought he'd get if he sold it on. So, Tony saw it arrive at the scrapyard and stepped in to save it. It went into his shed to await the work, but later got moved out to make space for a paint booth. As he is now in his early seventies, Tony has decided he has more Volvos awaiting work than he's likely to be able to do so the Celebration found itself on ebay.
The bad points:
alternator duff
rust is starting on the rear wheel arches, but it hasn't gone too far to save them
there is lots of laquer peel, especially on the roof
very shallow dents on the driver's door could easily be pulled out
lots of areas need attention, its all small stuff but it all mounts up on a bodyshop bill
passenger seat release doesn't work
fuel flap release doesn't work
rear wiper problem looks to be broken wires in the loom at the top of the hatch
rear hatch reluctant, needs new gas struts
cover for rear wiper motor split
surround for fuel flap lever has the usual broken fixings
plastic cap on the bonnet release missing
small cigarette burn has made a hole on a back seat
wear on the bolsters of both front seats but not made any holes
drivers door leather panel screwed on
drls need replacing
aux lights seals gone
rear lights completely white
boot carpet badly rust stained - rust does NOT come out
rust stain on back of one rear seat
dash starting to crack on the usual corner but all still there
hole in the gearshift glove
glove box lid not fixed properly
one pop up off the brackets after someone leant on it (brackets in the glove box) so we didn't try the motors
lots of water in the car - mould on the carpet says it's been there a while but no puddles or rust stains round the seat runners, just damp all over - Tony said it took a high pressure hose to get the green algae off the paintwork for photos hmmm
rear roller blind missing
brakes will need to be dismantled and cleaned up, all fluids drained and replaced, belts changed
Tony advised clutch pedal was sticky, but he thinks just lack of use, seems to recall it was ok when he bought it but he has so many cars....
good points:-
solid inner arches
no rust on the bottoms of the doors
started easily and ran very smoothly on 2014 fuel
lack of wear on the brake pedal rubbers so maybe genuine mileage at 70+k
rear lights clusters look undamaged so should polish up nicely
original radio/cd present
both pre-tensioners unfired
aircon appears to work
roller blind brackets both present
Tony is a member of the Volvo Enthusiasts Club, and offered it there for £250 as a restoration project but got no takers. Pity he didn't think to offer it to us ! We will watch what happens with the ebay sale, I suspect it will 'sell' to a 12 year old, but at £460 it's already too much for the rescue group given the amount of bodywork needed. The other stuff is all well within the Sanctuary or Pamper Parlour's capabilities, but also fairly easily fixed by a new owner even if they need guidance. Our normal requirements for a rescue car are good bodywork with mechanical problems. This one is more the other way round but still far too good to break.
If anyone is interested, I have lots of pictures and a video with the engine running and revving
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203327183893 ... 1758.m4703
It's just outside of Ispwich so Al and I went to see it yesterday. It's on a farm, amongst a collection of Amazons, 1800s etc all awaiting restoration. Tony has a big farm shed with 2 1800s he has fully restored inside (amongst others) which he and his wife drive to shows in. Apparently when he was younger and the 480s were current he re-shelled 2 that had accident damage and got them back on the road. He's also re-shelled a Volvo on an exhibition stand at the NEC - it arrived a wreck and drove out at the end of the 3 day show ready for paint. We were there more than 2 hours, he's a very interesting man !
Back to the Celebration, the previous owner to Tony bought a better one in 2014 when prices were really low, and a scrapyad offered a couple of hundered for it, which was about all he thought he'd get if he sold it on. So, Tony saw it arrive at the scrapyard and stepped in to save it. It went into his shed to await the work, but later got moved out to make space for a paint booth. As he is now in his early seventies, Tony has decided he has more Volvos awaiting work than he's likely to be able to do so the Celebration found itself on ebay.
The bad points:
alternator duff
rust is starting on the rear wheel arches, but it hasn't gone too far to save them
there is lots of laquer peel, especially on the roof
very shallow dents on the driver's door could easily be pulled out
lots of areas need attention, its all small stuff but it all mounts up on a bodyshop bill
passenger seat release doesn't work
fuel flap release doesn't work
rear wiper problem looks to be broken wires in the loom at the top of the hatch
rear hatch reluctant, needs new gas struts
cover for rear wiper motor split
surround for fuel flap lever has the usual broken fixings
plastic cap on the bonnet release missing
small cigarette burn has made a hole on a back seat
wear on the bolsters of both front seats but not made any holes
drivers door leather panel screwed on
drls need replacing
aux lights seals gone
rear lights completely white
boot carpet badly rust stained - rust does NOT come out
rust stain on back of one rear seat
dash starting to crack on the usual corner but all still there
hole in the gearshift glove
glove box lid not fixed properly
one pop up off the brackets after someone leant on it (brackets in the glove box) so we didn't try the motors
lots of water in the car - mould on the carpet says it's been there a while but no puddles or rust stains round the seat runners, just damp all over - Tony said it took a high pressure hose to get the green algae off the paintwork for photos hmmm
rear roller blind missing
brakes will need to be dismantled and cleaned up, all fluids drained and replaced, belts changed
Tony advised clutch pedal was sticky, but he thinks just lack of use, seems to recall it was ok when he bought it but he has so many cars....
good points:-
solid inner arches
no rust on the bottoms of the doors
started easily and ran very smoothly on 2014 fuel
lack of wear on the brake pedal rubbers so maybe genuine mileage at 70+k
rear lights clusters look undamaged so should polish up nicely
original radio/cd present
both pre-tensioners unfired
aircon appears to work
roller blind brackets both present
Tony is a member of the Volvo Enthusiasts Club, and offered it there for £250 as a restoration project but got no takers. Pity he didn't think to offer it to us ! We will watch what happens with the ebay sale, I suspect it will 'sell' to a 12 year old, but at £460 it's already too much for the rescue group given the amount of bodywork needed. The other stuff is all well within the Sanctuary or Pamper Parlour's capabilities, but also fairly easily fixed by a new owner even if they need guidance. Our normal requirements for a rescue car are good bodywork with mechanical problems. This one is more the other way round but still far too good to break.
If anyone is interested, I have lots of pictures and a video with the engine running and revving
