Celebration 356 on ebay

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dragonflyjewels
480 Is my middle name
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Celebration 356 on ebay

Post by dragonflyjewels » 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
Sylvia

Snazzy - 1993 Paris Blue ES red dipstick 2.0i bought 2001
Lethal Lily - 1991 White Turbo
Paris the Unicorn - 1991 Paris Edition
hubby has
Sven - 1994 Racing Green GT
Evil Eva - 1992 Paris Blue Turbo

no previous 480s - can't bear to sell any

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dcwalker
480 Is my middle name
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Location: York

Re: Celebration 356 on ebay

Post by dcwalker » Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:49 am

Thanks for this Sylvia - both interesting and useful.

As you say, I do not see anything in the list of problems that would be totally beyond the combined efforts of the Rescue Group, albeit some would be more challenging than others. I can already see several parts on the broken list where I know I have a spare in stock...

However, as you also rightly say, the price it's at puts it beyond us at the moment, so here's hoping for a genuine enthusiastic buyer who is either already here or else joins us here so we can all help to get 356 back to her former glory!

David
Current: 1994 480 GT, 1996 460 CD & 1997 440 LE with lots of optional extras & 2007 V50 SE Sport
Previous: Celebration 331 (re-homed with Richard S), Celebration 467 (returned to Martin Mc); Celebration 346 (re-homed with Alan480); Celebration 269 (scrapped abandoned project), Celebration 73 (sold on after 6 years), 1992 ES, 1988 ES - and numerous other non-480 Volvos!

Martin63
Knows where Volvo is from
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2020 8:57 am
Location: Fareham, Hampshire UK
Contact:

Re: Celebration 356 on ebay

Post by Martin63 » Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:54 am

dragonflyjewels wrote:
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

Sounds like it was worth the visit Sylvia. Shame the price is already getting on the high side, especially considering how much work/expenditure will be needed to get it back on the road :-(
480 ES - M696 UFC - January 1995
480 GT - M586 TMF - August 1994

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dcwalker
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 1522
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Location: York

Re: Celebration 356 on ebay

Post by dcwalker » Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:13 pm

A lot of that depends on how much you can do yourself, Martin. The way prices seem - at last - to be going I doubt this will sell for peanuts, whatever its faults.

If you can look at Sylvia's list and think "yes, I could do all that" then you will just be factoring the cost of parts - something you will have to do anyway. It's the cost of someone else's labour that is the crippling element.

Good luck in your quest, whatever!

David
Current: 1994 480 GT, 1996 460 CD & 1997 440 LE with lots of optional extras & 2007 V50 SE Sport
Previous: Celebration 331 (re-homed with Richard S), Celebration 467 (returned to Martin Mc); Celebration 346 (re-homed with Alan480); Celebration 269 (scrapped abandoned project), Celebration 73 (sold on after 6 years), 1992 ES, 1988 ES - and numerous other non-480 Volvos!

Martin63
Knows where Volvo is from
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2020 8:57 am
Location: Fareham, Hampshire UK
Contact:

Re: Celebration 356 on ebay

Post by Martin63 » Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:29 pm

dcwalker wrote:
Thu Apr 01, 2021 4:13 pm
A lot of that depends on how much you can do yourself, Martin. The way prices seem - at last - to be going I doubt this will sell for peanuts, whatever its faults.

If you can look at Sylvia's list and think "yes, I could do all that" then you will just be factoring the cost of parts - something you will have to do anyway. It's the cost of someone else's labour that is the crippling element.

Good luck in your quest, whatever!

David
You are absolutely right David. I can do some of the basics, but I am also well aware of my limitations. Bodywork, paint work, electrics etc I know I would need to handover to a professional .......and that will cost. The Celebration is also a special car that I suspect someone really does deserve more than I do. I will fine a good 480 eventually 😃
480 ES - M696 UFC - January 1995
480 GT - M586 TMF - August 1994

User avatar
dcwalker
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 1522
Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:30 pm
Location: York

Re: Celebration 356 on ebay

Post by dcwalker » Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:35 pm

Granted this one may not be destined to be yours, Martin, but I do not see that can in any way be down to you being somehow less deserving. Hang on in there - the 480 with your name on the key-tag WILL come along...as I said above, I genuinely wish you good luck with your quest!

David
Current: 1994 480 GT, 1996 460 CD & 1997 440 LE with lots of optional extras & 2007 V50 SE Sport
Previous: Celebration 331 (re-homed with Richard S), Celebration 467 (returned to Martin Mc); Celebration 346 (re-homed with Alan480); Celebration 269 (scrapped abandoned project), Celebration 73 (sold on after 6 years), 1992 ES, 1988 ES - and numerous other non-480 Volvos!

Martin63
Knows where Volvo is from
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2020 8:57 am
Location: Fareham, Hampshire UK
Contact:

Re: Celebration 356 on ebay

Post by Martin63 » Thu Apr 01, 2021 8:22 pm

dcwalker wrote:
Thu Apr 01, 2021 7:35 pm
Granted this one may not be destined to be yours, Martin, but I do not see that can in any way be down to you being somehow less deserving. Hang on in there - the 480 with your name on the key-tag WILL come along...as I said above, I genuinely wish you good luck with your quest!

David
Thanks :-)
480 ES - M696 UFC - January 1995
480 GT - M586 TMF - August 1994

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