Volvo 480 Club Europe

brinkie wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 2:54 pm

dragonflyjewels wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 9:48 am

Nice to have you on board - just be aware that 480itis never goes away!

I can concur. Now I need to have patience until December 2021, then our son will turn 17, he will surely get his provisional drivers license in no-time and I have a reason to buy a second 480.

Well I can confirm it is a very smart first car!

Kira wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 21, 2020 10:19 pm

I love what you're doing with saving the wedgies and chipped in a bit.
Im looking forward to more updates and when one of them does get sold and I haven't found my own to save yet you already have an interested buyer.

Best Regards
Kira

Kira,

Welcome to the forum.

If you let us know what part of the country you live there might be a local member who can show you around a 480, also cars do become available now and then from members so worth checking in regularly, I was lurking for a year or so before one came up in the right place.

Thanks for the welcome dragonflyjewels and arthuy

arthuy wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 8:18 pm

If you let us know what part of the country you live there might be a local member who can show you around a 480, also cars do become available now and then from members so worth checking in regularly, I was lurking for a year or so before one came up in the right place.

Uhm Bavaria, Germany. To be fair, it does say Europe

We do have a selection of international contributors so you never know.

Some of the UK owners have been known to tour about on the continent to

We take ours to visit my daughter in Mannheim, whereabouts in Bavaria are you ?

dragonflyjewels wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 9:27 pm

We take ours to visit my daughter in Mannheim, whereabouts in Bavaria are you ?

Around 30km west of Nuremberg.

Kira wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 8:26 pm

arthuy wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 8:18 pm

If you let us know what part of the country you live there might be a local member who can show you around a 480, also cars do become available now and then from members so worth checking in regularly, I was lurking for a year or so before one came up in the right place.

Uhm Bavaria, Germany. To be fair, it does say Europe

Though there are German forums, you're most welcome here. I'm from the Netherlands, where they record mileage every MOT, so if you find a 480 here it's got its mileage guaranteed (and if not, that is registered as well). And we have speed limits so they're not driven very hard. But we also have a lot of rusty cars as we're closer to the sea.

brinkie wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 23, 2020 8:34 am

I'm from the Netherlands, where they record mileage every MOT, so if you find a 480 here it's got its mileage guaranteed

And because of the joy of 480 ownership, that mileage may not increase, despite doing many thousands of KM's!

Oh yes, I've seen many cars which have the same mileage for 10 years in a row.

Kira wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 8:26 pm

Thanks for the welcome dragonflyjewels and arthuy

arthuy wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 22, 2020 8:18 pm

If you let us know what part of the country you live there might be a local member who can show you around a 480, also cars do become available now and then from members so worth checking in regularly, I was lurking for a year or so before one came up in the right place.

Uhm Bavaria, Germany. To be fair, it does say Europe

Hello and welcome. This is certainly a European club, it just so happens that there are more UK members nowadays and it seems to be in the English language. I think it ended up very UK focused as we never bothered to make a UK club and other clubs in specific countries (e.g NL, DE, FR) so a lot of those country's members hang out in their own local langage clubs.

It was actually started by a Dutch member Daniel, and he still hosts the website (I presume) in the NL, plus some very knowledgable members from there help us out e.g Brinkie, ROBOU, Daniel, Van, etc.

There are Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian, German people, and more, I'm sure, on here so you are very welcome from Germany.

R2 is now the proud possessor of an insurance policy and an MoT booking for Monday. The lifeline has more strands ! Deeply indebted to Jeff for all the hours he has put into it along with parts from his own stash. Thanks also go to members who have kindly supplied other much needed pieces of unobtanium.
It's going to be a big wake-up call on Monday morning when Pud takes to the road again after 9 long years !

This is brilliant news Sylvia!

Hopefully no problems at the MOT, and a gentle start to reminding Pud what moving on a road under her own power is about...she's got a somewhat longer journey ahead to reach the Pamper Parlour!

Many thanks to Jeff for all his efforts on this and the other rescue projects - he really is the key link in the lifeline...

David

dcwalker wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 09, 2020 6:08 pm

This is brilliant news Sylvia!

Hopefully no problems at the MOT, and a gentle start to reminding Pud what moving on a road under her own power is about...she's got a somewhat longer journey ahead to reach the Pamper Parlour!

Many thanks to Jeff for all his efforts on this and the other rescue projects - he really is the key link in the lifeline...

David

I will second that.well done Jeff

Indeed, if there was a Volvo 480 equivalent to the OBE, I think Jeff would be in line for it.


But what would it be called? Hero of the Wedge, Knight of the Wedge?



Either way, your dedication Jeff is really inspiring, really well done!

MisterH wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 09, 2020 8:13 pm

Indeed, if there was a Volvo 480 equivalent to the OBE, I think Jeff would be in line for it.


But what would it be called? Hero of the Wedge, Knight of the Wedge?



Either way, your dedication Jeff is really inspiring, really well done!

- this is getting a bit surreal now!

I like the idea of there being an "Order of the Wedge" known as the "OOW". Mind you, we'd need to think about the ranks - the standard "OOW" is OK, but a Commander (thinking CBE, which Jeff would surely merit) would be a "COW"...hmmm...

Whatever, I think we all agree that the 480 world owes a lot to Jeff, among others.

David

dcwalker wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 11, 2020 6:13 pm

MisterH wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 09, 2020 8:13 pm

Indeed, if there was a Volvo 480 equivalent to the OBE, I think Jeff would be in line for it.


But what would it be called? Hero of the Wedge, Knight of the Wedge?



Either way, your dedication Jeff is really inspiring, really well done!

- this is getting a bit surreal now!

I like the idea of there being an "Order of the Wedge" known as the "OOW". Mind you, we'd need to think about the ranks - the standard "OOW" is OK, but a Commander (thinking CBE, which Jeff would surely merit) would be a "COW"...hmmm...

Whatever, I think we all agree that the 480 world owes a lot to Jeff, among others.

David

Yes I am definitely in agreement there. Really though, we are all Knights of the Wedge if you think about it, as we go out of our way to protect and cherish this strange little Dutch sportshatch with a French heart and Swedish face...

So yes while the honours will still need some working out, I think we should all pat ourselves on the back for what we are doing for no reason other than passion, and the heritage that is therefore secured.

When I'm not overthinking life I can get quite philosophical at times

So, pud arrived at the sanctuary, and it was time for a quick survey to see what we were going to be dealing with.

On the outside, it wasn't too bad:

















And under the bonnet didn't look too bad....



until you look closer...





And thats a theme that continues inside....

As already alluded to by Sylvia, this condition is something that does NOT sit well with me..... If you need to work on cars, then they need to be clean! So....





thats a start!





but this was a worrying discovery....



Only one thing to do....

Boot carpet came out, revealing a surprisingly solid floor







then the carpet was vacc'ed and pre-treated with LOTS of chemicals and allowed to soak....



Whilst I pulled out the rear seats...



By this point I was actually working in darkness! (so some of the pics were taken the following day!) However, once the rear seats were inside, they got their first cleaning in (at least!) 9 years along with a generous dosing of Liquid leather conditioner.

The next day saw some quick wins: These are essential to keep motivation levels up!

Blocked drain holes





No more!



Much, much more Vacc'ing...







You think torrential rain would stop play?



It's a great time to apply traffic film remover!

under the bonnet too!









I decided to investigate why the NS pop up sat funny.



Ah, DIY headlamp hinges eh?

Nose cone off then.. which revealed another failure:



Never seen that before!

and removal of the pop up assembly meant I had access to clean all this...



but also a butchered headlamp cover...



and the sight of this, meant the next job before starting the engine again, would definitely be timing belt!

A pair of faulty washer pumps also gave me an excuse to remove the bottles for better access, not only for the belt, but for this









First amusing part of the timing belt, was discovering that tyre fitters never cease to amaze me...





Inside goes on the inside, outside on the outside. I mean, it's NOT THAT HARD IS IT?? The insides of the wheels need a clean too....

We've covered belt changes in a how to, and thankfully, it would appear that it was only the drive belt that got a nibbling, but it was passed its best!









and they'd fitted the wrong alternator belt too....



Lots of loverly newness





and whilst we waited for a drivebelt to arrive, the water pump pulley got removed, blasted and painted.

but speaking of paint.... I did a thing.