Back in the fold!!

[dragonflyjewels]

duplicated post !

[dragonflyjewels]

I had both our 2 litres waxoiled and it didn't slow the rust down for long - our repairman said he sees as much rust on cars that have been done as on cars that haven't. This was before waxoil was made 'more environmentally friendly' - ie. less effective.
I'm sure jifflemon will give some excellent advice on a better alternative, he's in the know about chemicals.

[Norm57]

Thanks for all the input folks. Have decided to take the plunge on the Essex celeb. It was in such good condition i just could not refuse it. Have decided to have it trailored up to n/yorks at the start of next month. Will change all oils fluids and cambelt and waterpump. Will take some pics and post them on forum i hope.intending to leave everything else untouched and hope to make the Derbyshire meet, so wish me luck

[Martin Mc]

Congratulations Norm! It does look like a fabulous example

I'm taking the plunge this afternoon with my own 'extra-marital car as my wife likes to call my 480 indulgences . Whilst she (the car, not my wife I hasten to add) is not quite in the same league as your own muse, she has certainly got potential, having covered only 46k and coming with comprehensive history & MOT.

She is #467 / 480 Celebration, henceforth to be known as Ms 97%

First jobs are going to be:

1) sort out dropped door on drivers side - will diagnose and seek advice from the forum

2) remove rubbing strips all round & repair / replace / repaint where damage has been inflicted over the years (they've done their work well!)

3) get drivers side rear arch sorted & repainted - will use Skandix parts & local trusted garage for this

4) strip down instrument binnacle & treat electrical connections with contact cleaner (intermittent Speedo & rev counter issues apparently). Good news (I think) is that the dashboard surround has never been off, and is intact

She wiĺl be garage based until these jobs are all done so will probably SORN her once home. My goal is to be ready to join in this year's May meet up, even if all of the cosmetic work still needs to be done. Whilst this might mean I'm the ugly bug at the Ball, at least it will make the rest of the 'fleet look even more stunning!

Will post pictures, weather permitting, over the weekend.

All the best!

Martin

[jifflemon]

Two more celebrations back in the fold? This is a most excellent week!

My goal is to be ready to join in this year's May meet up, even if all of the cosmetic work still needs to be done. Whilst this might mean I'm the ugly bug at the Ball, at least it will make the rest of the 'fleet look even more stunning!

Well if I don’t make it, someone has to carry the title! If I do, they can be the two ugly sisters

[dcwalker]

Two more celebrations back in the fold? This is a most excellent week!

It certainly is! Plus Sylvia encountering another early model in Norwich which will hopefully soon join the fold - the numbers are growing

Norm - well done; from everything you said it was too good to miss - what number is it? Trailering back sounds sensible rather than suddenly giving the car a long drive after relative inactivity for so long. You want to wake her up gently!

Martin - again, well done! A late Celeb in terms of the numbers allocated...doesn't sound much like an ugly bug to me based on what you have listed.

480 good times all round

Looking forward to seeing you all - and these new fleet additions - in May.

David

[jifflemon]

I had both our 2 litres waxoiled and it didn't slow the rust down for long - our repairman said he sees as much rust on cars that have been done as on cars that haven't. This was before waxoil was made 'more environmentally friendly' - ie. less effective.
I'm sure jifflemon will give some excellent advice on a better alternative, he's in the know about chemicals.

sounds like I need to do a how to.....

[dragonflyjewels]

y, share the knowledge chemicalman.

[Martin Mc]

Well, there's good news and bad news...

Good news is that she drives wonderfully, pulling smoothly through all the gears and no bumps or rattles as you go. Plus side too is the very nice interior (as might be expected from a low mileage Volvo) complete with hard mats (full set) plus Volvo over-mats, both window mechanisms functioning, both heated seats working, aircon blowing ice cold, roller cover in the boot nice and clean and properly sprung, headlining perfect, seatbelt arms both sides (plus a spare!) and door cards in good order. She is certainly nice to be in and I enjoyed my short drive (25 miles) back from picking her up from Mitch. Having given her a good clean on arrival at Mc HQ, I can also say that large areas of paintwork are in good fettle and look surprisingly glossy and fresh for a 24 year old car

Not so good news.. well, if I was to be brutally honest, she isn't quite as pristine on the outside as my memory had convinced me she was. Both rear arches are on the way out, the driver's door is shot - it may even need a complete replacement - the rubbing strip on the passenger side is basically toast (Mitch told me some hee-haw had left it like that in a public car park), front bumper is in a bad way and the front driver's side wing will probably need to be replaced. I know what you are thinking - lipstick and rouge is all it needs! Well, although she is Flame Red, I think there will be more than cosmetic surgery required to make her pristine. Hey ho! I like a challenge!

So, if anyone knows where I might source a flame red drivers door (will look for paint code tomorrow & post pics), possibly a front bumper and front drivers side wing, I may be in the market real soon for said items.

My thanks to Mitch - who had the car for 15 years, and who was more than a little bit sad to part with her - I promise I will do my best to love, honour and obey my new mistress! Best thing is, my wife (Maeve) knows all about her and approves too!! Yay!!

I'm definitely looking forward to May now!

All the best!

Martin

[dcwalker]

Ok, so it's more of a project than you realised...but there is plenty of positive here and hey, it is a 480 after all

Enjoy your new mistress and I look forward to meeting her on May!

David

[jifflemon]

Have the other side too

[Martin Mc]

Ok, so it's more of a project than you realised...but there is plenty of positive here and hey, it is a 480 after all

Enjoy your new mistress and I look forward to meeting her on May!

David

Hello David,

I think there may be potential for mini-mini-meets up North, given your location down the A59 and the arrival of Norm with his Celebration too . Something to celebrate, pardon the pun!

May might be the first opportunity to venture into the limelight for my new steed though, with the work that needs doing. I can't find any reference to cam belt change in the documents I got from Mitch, either, so there may well be additional expense looming..

As you say - she is a 480

Martin

[Martin Mc]

Have the other side too

Brilliant! I think the colour is different, but I guess the main thing is the condition of the metal - I reckon there is going to be a fair amount of paint required on the car anyway, though I'm hoping to avoid having to go full respray.

You're going to the May mini-meet aren't you? Perhaps we could transact there. PM me what you think would be a fair price for the driver's side wing.

Many thanks!

Martin

[dragonflyjewels]

Hi Martin, Lovely to see you 480d again! I think I'd rather have bodywork problems I can see and plan for than elusive gremlins in the works. Just bear in mind that the Flame Red used on the GTs was a different shade to the Celeb colour (it was from a different paint manufacturer, as indicated by the two digits after the dash on the colour code)
Look forward to seeing your and your new love in May, along with all the other recent aquisitions.

[arthuy]

I have doors and bumper in grey if you cant get anything in red.

[dcwalker]

Ok, so it's more of a project than you realised...but there is plenty of positive here and hey, it is a 480 after all

Enjoy your new mistress and I look forward to meeting her on May!

David

Hello David,

I think there may be potential for mini-mini-meets up North, given your location down the A59 and the arrival of Norm with his Celebration too . Something to celebrate, pardon the pun!

May might be the first opportunity to venture into the limelight for my new steed though, with the work that needs doing. I can't find any reference to cam belt change in the documents I got from Mitch, either, so there may well be additional expense looming..

As you say - she is a 480

Martin

I'd certainly be up for a mini-meet: as I established the other week, we're not particularly far apart

As you say we have Norm with his new Celebration in Knaresborough, and there's Nigel with his grey Celebration in Leeds...

Thinking I might bring Nora to Derbyshire rather than Lily - we might be able to make it quite a celebration there too

David

[nigel poustie]

I'm up for the Derbyshire meet, it would be good to go in convoy do there?

[dcwalker]

I'm up for the Derbyshire meet, it would be good to go in convoy do there?

Excellent!

As I think I mentioned when we met up, our plan is to join the others at Tissington - if that suits you too, Nigel, then we can certainly arrange to go in convoy.

Norm - are you going? Care to join us if so?

Martin - what are your plans? I realise going with us might put a bit of a dog-leg in your journey but if we could join together somewhere on the way...?

All the best all,

David

[Martin Mc]

Hello David,

Am open to suggestions for meeting up en-route to Derbyshire. I'm sure there are some logical points at which it would be possible to hook up. There's a fair amount to do before then though! I haven't been able to do much this weekend, due to the awful weather and having had a major leak & ceiling down in our new home (2 weeks since we moved in to a brand new house).

Anyway, I've started documenting her condition via photographs and, as you can see, I have my work cut out



This is how far the door drops on opening - I can't see anything wrong with the welded plate holding the door hinge, so guess it must be something inside the door itself. Will investigate and report back..

This shows how far gone the door lock is - completely bashed in, it looks. However, the door does lock when closed using the special 'technique'

Driver's side looks ok, but the rear arch is more oxide than ferrous metal Ah well, that was always part of the plan! Skandix here I come !

Something I've always wanted, but never achieved till now - a tailgate that stays open by itself! Woo Hoo!! The roller cover is pristine and fully functional too

Ouch! This is the driver's wing, which looks like it has been fouled by the door for a good while...

Yeah I know, some of us use the steering wheel to go round corners..but clearly not everyone has mastered that technique

Interior is in good order



Passenger side rubbing strips are erm... well rubbed!!!





Thanks for looking - wish me luck!!

Martin

[dcwalker]

Hi Martin

Hope you get the house sorted out soon! The whole point of a brand new house is to avoid that sort of thing, I thought...

The car looks to clean up very nicely - lovely and shiny, as Lee would say - and the interior looks to be good, all of which are positives!

The front bumper looks like a sand and respray job. The rear arches don't really show in the photos, but as you say they are part of the plan and we all anticipate them on a 480 (driver's side on Lily, the green GT, has suddenly started to go quite badly near the sill). The door looks interesting though! You say the hinge plates look ok, is the check-strap? May well be that the door metal has split where the check-strap fixes to it - that's quite a common one and often bolting a reinforcing plate can sole it quite easily and cheaply. I have a spare check-strap should you need one.

Overall looks like a lovely car with a lot of potential - I am sure the positives must outweigh the negatives!

Anyway, as you request I shall wish you "good luck" and hours of fun...

And yes, let's think about a meeting up point for May

All the best

David