Volvo 240, Jimny, Corsa: Ever heard of a Toyota Paseo?

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A field in England
So, it's a bit of a long story...

So, somewhere in the region of August 2015, I was looking around for a second car. My Corsa and its boy-racer exhaust had served me well for my first car, but I wanted something a little more interesting to sit alongside the Corsa at home. Something different to the usual second car a 20-year-old male purchases in the UK - a diesel Audi A4.

Thanks to the days of Gran Turismo 4, 5 and 6 (I would have been about 10 when I got GT4) and my late grandfather having owned a few, I had a soft spot for the old generation of boxy Volvo wagons. The latest ones look gorgeous, but I wanted something a little older and more unique.

So, at work, there was a 740 saloon that had been sitting there for years (I had only been working there a month). I thought that it would make an entertaining purchase for sure. Only my pirate of a boss was being too coy about the price he was after - I don't deal with people who don't give a straight answer. That was that, then, I thought.

But by bizarre chance, next door to where I worked, another Volvo sat unused. A 240 estate! The two chaps that own the unit noticed me admiring the clapped out motor and approached me. I told them that I'd always liked the 240. They told me it was for sale. I might have been just a little giddy at the thought of owning the Gran Turismo troll-mobile. There was another potential buyer, however. The guy next door to them was also interested in the tired old Volvo (yes, there was 3 workshops in a row. I worked at a main dealer franchise, the interested man was a tyre fitter and the guys in the middle with the Volvo 240 were a local workshop.).

But, this other man wanted to use the Volvo for a different purpose to me. He wanted to
BANGER RACE the poor old thing!

So, I asked how much the owners wanted for it. £250. The next day I wandered over there with £250 in my pocket, handed it to them, and signed the temporary registration document. The Volvo was mine. I couldn't very well let it get smashed to bits, could I? As an added bonus, it was MOT'd until February 2016.

So, the first plan of action was to wash the bird droppings off and get it serviced.

01 PLD August 2015 Front Quarter.jpg

02 PLD August 2015 Rear Quarter.jpg


As you can see, the old girl wasn't doing well. At 187,000 miles, she'd had a difficult life. My plan was to reverse that. The rust in the rear wheel arches (as well as floor, rear valance and sills) was going to cost SEVERAL times more than what the car was worth. The exhaust as you can see was bent, some of the side trims on the doors were missing, the bodywork was truly awful. The bonnet had been washed with a scouring pad, too.

Within half an hour of the first drive, I didn't care. I was in love. The dirty, raspy, mechanical rattle from the rough old 4-cylinder was something I'd never heard before. Don't get me wrong, the car is crap to drive. It's slow, awful on petrol and handles like a boat. But it's so damn fun!

Anyway, there were a few mechanical things to tick off the list before the welding was to be done. Cambelt, tensioner, ball joint and a fuel pump relay (which was starting to prevent the car starting).

Next up was the welding. Despite the corrosion, it did pass its MOT in February on account of it not having rear seats at the time (slight abuse of the rules, there...). So, then it went to a Volvo main dealer (part of the franchise I worked for, which included Peugeot and Suzuki).

This is where everything went quite badly.

Why? Because this is what came back. 3 months later, I might add.


03 NS Arch June 2016.jpg


04 OS Arch June 2016.jpg


05 Upper Rear Valance June 2016.jpg


It's worth noting that the top picture taken from the outside was the better side. The other side had heat damage which had warped the panel from where they'd rushed the job, not to mention both repair panels were tacked over the top, instead of being tucked underneath. The bottom picture is a small patch they had stuck on top of the rear valance (under the boot/trunk lip), completely ignoring the minefield of rust underneath.

To add insult to injury, the underseal (rustproofing in other words) they'd put on the inner wheel arches peeled off after
FIFTEEN miles. For this, they charged me £1500. That's one thousand, five hundred of her majesty's great British pounds.

As you can imagine, I wasn't best pleased. So, we're in June 2016, and I've just turned 21.

To be continued.


The Corsa

So, maybe my other cars should get a little love and attention on this thread as well. On the right is my first car (on the left is a car I bought to sell on), and since I started driving in 2013, it's been more reliable than any GM-designed car has any right to be. Say hello to 'The Beast' - a name my friends came up with.

TTU HFC 11.JPG


'The Beast' is a 2002 Vauxhall Corsa in dark blue. The name was given by my friends because of the hamster-wheel of an engine.

Stats? Well it has a 1 litre, inline 3-cylinder engine with no turbo, making 58BHP and less than zero torque when new. As an entry-level model with the smallest engine, the official kerb weight is around 910kg, so on small British roads, this does at least make for decent handling.

Since 2013 when I got this car, it has had the following modifications;

-Removed stereo, speakers, rear seats, seat belts and plastic trim, shedding someting around 40-50kg, effectively making this a van
-Dacron insulation has been stuffed in the gaps to make it quieter
-Aftermarket halo-ring headlights
-Rear lights have been swapped for morette-style units
-A set of BBS 473 wheels and Toyo T1-R tyres.
-A cheap cone air filter, making more noise and no extra power
-A stainless steel exhaust system, cat-back with a rectangular tip, making more noise and still no extra power
-Spax Coilover suspension
-Replaced the old cracked bumpers with sports bumpers from an 'Exclusiv' special edition
-Front seats from a higher trim Corsa with a nicer look and better bolstering for a bit more comfort
-Black rear brake drums
-The roof has been resprayed
-Engine undertray made up for aerodynamics
-Tiny rally mirrors


The Combo

I couldn't very well stop at one poorly-built GM tin-can. Having become self-employed, I needed a van, and this was always going to be my first choice.

IMG_20190702_142200.jpg


IMG_20190702_091133.jpg


This is a 2010 Vauxhall Combo with a miniaturised tractor engine; the Fiat 1.3 Multijet JTD. It's a diesel (ugh) inline 4-cylinder with 74BHP and 125 lb-ft of torque from 1750rpm. Bollocks. There is one saving grace - it has no diesel particulate filter in this van.

Weight is a fairly low 1210kg unladen, which is the positive of GM producing a van based on a supermini. It's a lot lighter than the equivalent Ford Transit Connect. As a result the ungodly diesel engine can achieve over 55mpg.

Modifications so far;

-Floor mats from a Corsa to make it feel somewhat less van-like
-Recaro seats from an Astra GSi
-16 inch alloy wheels from an Exclusiv special edition, powder coated in gloss black
-Carpeting and insulation in the rear
-Black Halo Headlights
-Stainless steel straight pipe replacing the rear silencer
-Painted front bumper

The story of the 240 and the modifications on the other cars continues throughout this thread.
 
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That's some nice panel welding. You might want to go back with that. Jeebus.
Funny you should mention...

THE STORY CONTINUES!

I had actually provided repair panels from a classic Volvo parts dealer for those wheel arches - all the more annoying that they buggered it all up, especially since I worked for them!

So, it was June 2016 and the Volvo dealer had just bodged my car. This was a low-point in my life. Nothing was going right, and on the whole, I was just pretty down. I worked a 52-hour-a-week job that I never applied for on minimum wage, was treated like a second-rate citizen by my boss, my manager and the customers alike. And to top it off, my pride and joy had been bodged and I was expected to pay several months of wages for it. I guess I should explain the situation a bit better. I worked for a Peugeot dealer, which was part of a family-owned franchise that included the aforementioned Volvo dealer. So the Volvo dealer was technically my employer, as the managing director of the whole franchise worked there.

So, I took it back and had a moan. The service manager there pleaded complete ignorance and the bodyshop claimed that they were told it would be a basic patch to scrape the car through an MOT. There were three distinct flaws in that claim, the first being that the car already had an MOT, the second being that they charged me £1500, and the third being when first requesting a quote for the work, I specifically said "I've fallen in love with the car and I want it restored".

Anyway, the agreement that we came to is that they would rub it down, filler it smooth and prep it for the eventual respray (included in the £1500 price). I'm still not happy to this day that the welding had been done wrong, but it looks original and the weld is if nothing else functional. Here's how it came back.


06 NSR Arch July 2016.jpg


07 NSR Arch July 2016.jpg


Looked a lot better I must admit. Still felt like I'd been ripped off. The weld underneath was still wrong, but I couldn't very well buy another set of new weld panels and get it done again. So, it would have to do.

That these people could call themselves a main dealer for Volvo is pretty sad. It's a shame for the reputation of Volvo Cars in general and it's a shame for the local Volvo owners that don't realise they're being swindled. It's also kind of a shame for the cars themselves. I was ashamed to work for them.

So, there was the lowest point for both me and the car. It's not a part of my life I particularly enjoy reliving but we all learn from bad experiences, I guess. But, things did get better for the old 240.
 
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Onto the next chapter, July 2016.

So, where we left off, the so-called 'Volvo main dealer' had buggered my car, and then gone some way to un-buggering it.

Deciding never to take any car there again, I obviously began looking elsewhere to have the respray done. I heard of a local man who does bodywork, self-employed. I heard nothing but good reviews. The mechanic who'd done all of the mechanical work thus far on the 240 had seen a few of his jobs and told me to get a quote.

I'd already had a quote from a classic car restorer. Apparently a very well known company. Some amazing stuff they do, but you pay a price. My price would have been about 8 grand for the bodywork on the old banger. After all the issues with the welding, I needed to be at least a little bit reasonable with my money. I'd also heard that they had a reputation for inflating the price after the fact, too.

Anyway, I got a quote from this local guy, let's just say it was a good few grand better. Got it booked in. Managed to get progress photos along the way, too.


08 Rub-Down Front Quarter.jpg


09 Rub-Down Rear Quarter.jpg


2016-08-03 12.29.03.jpg


This was probably a little over a week into it from what I remember. Was very happy to be able to see how it was coming along. I ended up picking up a repair panel for the rear valance from Brookhouse Volvo (local classic Volvo parts dealer) and dropping it off on this visit.

I ended up having to get a new rear bumper cover(the old one wasn't fantastic to say the least), along with some new fixing clips for the bumpers and trims. I dropped them off about 2 or 3 weeks into the job. This is what greeted me.


10 Respray Front Quarter.jpg


11 Respray Rear Quarter.jpg


At first I didn't recognise her! and, as you can see on the bottom right of the picture, the rear valance repair panel had been put to good use.

After almost exactly 24 years, the 240 was finally getting the treatment it deserved.
 
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By now, it was August 2016, and the 240 had just turned 24.

So, when we left off the Volvo was in a body shop (a good one, this time) having all the body resprayed. When it was finished (which took about 4 weeks, as opposed to the welding taking 3 months), it looked rather nice, I'll say.

12 PLD Front Quarter August 2016.JPG


13 PLD Rear Quarter August 2016.JPG


I was ecstatic seeing the 240 looking like this. Finally she was starting to look like a good car once again.

Next on the list was to remove that rusty old towbar and replace the missing side trims (you can see the ridge on the car just below the door handles where the trims are supposed to go).

2016-09-19 13.05.46.jpg


I've no idea how much that towbar weighed, but I could barely lift the thing. You can even see the rear sitting slightly higher without it!
 
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Next step is to install a B8444S into this thing.

You gotta.
Much as I would like to have that Yamaha V8 screaming under the bonnet, I couldn't possibly afford the conversion, let alone the running costs afterwards!

Mind you - imagine that engine with a proper manual gearbox... :drool:
 
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UPDATE TIME!

So, the 240 was all sprayed up. Turns out the idiots who did the welding also cracked the rear valance panel, which if you look at the last photo in my previous post, is why there are holes in the body under the rear bumper. So, found myself a new one from a local classic Volvo breaker, spent about 2 hours cleaning the thing and then left it in a shed ready to paint (but more on that later).

I had a bit of an empty period next, so I figured that while the interior was stripped from the rear seats back for the welding, I'd clean it up a little.

2016-08-17 12.36.02.jpg


As you can see, I did actually do this before I removed the towbar.

2016-08-17 12.35.55.jpg


Afterwards, a problem had developed.

On the commute home, the emissions light (lambda icon) came on, the car jolted and then cut out, all the while the fusebox (in front of the passenger seat) began to smolder, with a distinct burning smell filling the cabin. My backside clenched a tad.

Turns out the no. 6 fuse had melted. I replaced it with another one and all was well. Until the next week when the new fuse burned out. The wonders of plastic torpedo fuses. A quick browse on the Volvo Owners Club Forum suggested my in-tank fuel pump had probably failed. So, I sourced a new pump and then attempted to fit it with my good friend Shaun the mechanic.

Now, you see in the picture above, that square panel with the black wire coming out? That's the access panel for the top of the fuel tank, where the pump is located (under the sender unit, but part of the same assembly). Only, it's barely wide enough to fit your hand (if they're tiny...).

Still, a lot of curse words later, we got it fitted and the fuel tank sealed again. The fuel gauge then stopped working.

Oopsie.

Still, with the fuel pump done, the car at least ran problem free. The sender could wait.

Next was to source some new wheels. These ones, to be precise.

14 PLD Scorpius Alloys.jpg


15 PLD Scorpius Alloys Upturned.jpg


As you can see, they were a bit mucky. By which I mean I've seen cleaner bomb craters. There was a spider living in the alloy on the right. But they cleaned up not too badly.

They are 14 inch Scorpius alloys, found on a few Volvo 240s, mainly the Torslanda special trim.

They're currently away being refurbed as we speak.

I shall end this post here, with a photo of the 240 next to my Corsa.


16 PLD + TTU.jpg
 
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Time for another update...

There were a few more things to attend to in terms of bodywork. The rear valance panel was no good (thanks to the main dealer who did the welding), so I sourced a new one, the roof still required a respray, and I wanted the front chin-spoiler colour coded. I sent it back to the chap who did the rest of the respray, and here's how she returned.

2016-11-13 13.16.35.jpg


2016-11-13 13.17.49.jpg


2016-11-13 13.17.15.jpg


2016-11-13 13.16.58.jpg


Now the bodywork's done, I've tucked her away for the winter in a garage I've rented. It was a bloody tight fit!

2016-11-13 13.41.49.jpg


2016-11-13 13.42.03.jpg


2016-11-13 13.42.28.jpg


2016-11-13 13.42.38.jpg


Sorry for the picture-heavy post, but I've had a good week with this old motor!

More to come next time I bring her out!
 
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That garage looks about as wide as ours. The Mondeo has to go in slightly to the left so the driver can get out. The Panda however fits in perfectly, and you can walk all the way around it. :P
 
That garage looks about as wide as ours. The Mondeo has to go in slightly to the left so the driver can get out. The Panda however fits in perfectly, and you can walk all the way around it. :P
Pretty much how I had to park mine! These council garages were built for smaller cars I think. Funny you should mention the Panda - there's an identical blue 54 plate one a couple of hundred yards down the road from me! Same hub caps and all!

Reversing in that garage in the dark is a pain though. It's a wonder that the 240 still has wing mirrors...
 
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UK garages always look so cramped and humid.

This car has come a LONG way. I would probably have shot myself if I received my car back from bodywork looking like this initially did. Although I do appreciate a stock 240, the car is so clean it deserves a B230FT at this point :)
 
UK garages always look so cramped and humid.

This car has come a LONG way. I would probably have shot myself if I received my car back from bodywork looking like this initially did. Although I do appreciate a stock 240, the car is so clean it deserves a B230FT at this point :)
It really has come far. That didn't hit home until I looked at the photos of how it looked after the welding, or when I first got it, compared to how it looks now. I'm glad it's finally coming together.

At first I pretty much did feel like shooting myself. Or the welder. Probably should have shot the welder.

Each to their own, but I'm not the biggest fan of turbos - they don't sound good to me. I do like the idea of putting a newer 5-cylinder engine in it, though...

I don't want to keep it entirely standard. I've got plans for some lowering springs and some gas-filled shocks way down the line.
 
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Pretty much how I had to park mine! These flagship garages were built for smaller cars I reckon. Funny you should mention the Panda - there's an identical blue 54 plate one a couple of hundred yards down the road from me! Same hub caps and all!

Reversing in that garage in the dark is a pain though. It's a wonder that the 240 still has wing mirrors...

Haha, really? You know, I've only seen about four in the same colour as mine, and they were all 54 plates.

I somehow managed to knock the Panda's wing mirror putting it into the garage, ironically driving it inwards. I was so used to backing it in I got confused. Luckily it just moved it on the hinge and no damage was done.
 
Haha, really? You know, I've only seen about four in the same colour as mine, and they were all 54 plates.

I somehow managed to knock the Panda's wing mirror putting it into the garage, ironically driving it inwards. I was so used to backing it in I got confused. Luckily it just moved it on the hinge and no damage was done.

I honestly had more trouble getting my Corsa in the garage. The wing mirrors stick out like the ears of an elephant... There was about a metre to spare behind it though!

My dad used to have a Corsa the same shape as mine, but in Aruba Blue, which is basically the same colour as your Panda. I adore that colour thanks to that Corsa. Wish we'd have kept it.
 
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Time to give the Corsa some attention!

So, I've already done a few things to this old 3-cylinder bone shaker in my time driving.

When I first got the car, the exhaust was blowing. A lot. Like, it had corroded so much it was hanging off in 3 different places by the time I had it replaced. The guys at Demand engineering built and fitted a custom stainless steel system from the cat-back.

2016-11-27 15.12.36.jpg


It would be shinier but I've not had the chance to polish it lately. The photo nicely shows my new Toyo T1-R tyres as well.

I also had the front headlights replaced with some aftermarket halo ring units.

2016-11-27 15.15.39.jpg


I also stripped the rear seats and plastic trim, because refinement and comfort are overrated.

2016-11-27 15.11.42.jpg


2016-11-27 15.12.05.jpg


2016-11-27 15.14.37.jpg


Note the lack of a stereo! It stopped working so I removed it... and then didn't bother replacing it... :dopey:

Beyond that, I found some Corsa SXi alloys from an old banger, and had them refurbed. With new tyres and wheel bolts, they're pretty nice compared to the old steel wheels.

2016-11-27 15.20.12.jpg


Fiat Panda photobomb...
 
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So, I tried my hand at a little tinkering recently. Knowing I had a spare set of headlight units from when I first purchased the car, I figured I'd try and take them apart. I forgot to take photos of the first stage, but I dismantled the spare set of headlights, with my first simple task being to replace the indicator lenses, which are separate to the main 'television-box' style headlamp. Having taken the spares off, I had cleaned up the two decades of gunk off, and then with my Sunday off work, I walked to the garage with a few tools and began.

The front grille is very simple, requiring no tools. You simply open the bonnet/hood, undo the two retaining clips and the whole grille pulls upwards and out.

L2 PLD.jpg


The headlight units themselves are also very simple - after unplugging them, you simply undo 3 retaining nuts and the whole unit comes out.

2016-11-27 14.56.00.jpg


The indicator unit is separate, attached via two plastic brackets on the back, though it wasn't necessary to remove this time around. The plastic lens on the front is simply held in by 3 phillips-head screws.

2016-11-27 14.55.49.jpg


That gives you some idea of what 24 years of no cleaning looks like. So, I had brought the clean spare lenses with me...

2016-11-27 14.56.42.jpg


Once that was on, it was simply a case of screwing it back and placing the headlight and grille back in place. With hindsight, I could have removed the lens without touching the headlight or grille, but I just wanted to get a feel for what I was doing, as I'm new to the whole do-it-yourself thing. So, here's how it looked before...

2016-11-13 13.16.35.jpg


And here's the after.

2016-11-27 15.07.16.jpg


Little things, I know, but I really enjoyed doing this, and working where I do, enjoying myself is a rare occasion.
 
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So, as you might remember from a little while ago, I did some tinkering with the indicator lenses on the 240. The primary reason for even starting the project was a large, circular chip in the glass headlamp lens, which you can see here on the left.

L7 PLD.jpg


Realising my spare lens was in better condition, I decided to swap it, only this time, I did it at work. No, not on a lunch break. On Saturdays, I'm the only employee on site, so, instead of cold-calling customers in a desperate attempt to get work booked for this disgusting company, I figured some more tinkering would be a better use of my time. So, after removing the headlight (again), I cleaned the area behind.

2016-12-03 13.32.18.jpg


L10 PLD.jpg


2016-12-03 11.27.20.jpg


You can more easily see the chip in the lens above. Once you remove those plastic chrome trims on the top of the unit, you can prize away the metal brackets that hold the glass lens in place. From there, dismantling the entire unit is very simple.

L11 PLD.jpg


I threw away the chipped lens, and had brought the spare with me, which I had previously cleaned.

L12 PLD.jpg


L13 PLD.jpg


With the rest of the unit cleaned up to the best of my abilities, I re-assembled the whole thing.

2016-12-03 13.29.11.jpg


Next, I put everything back together. I also did all of this on the other headlight, too.

2016-12-03 17.04.13.jpg


You may notice I left the plastic chrome trims off. I took them home to clean them up with some white vinegar.

L18 PLD.jpg


L19 PLD.jpg


L20 PLD.jpg


I had also found a new pair of headlight wiper arms from a fellow member of the Volvo Owners Club, so at the same time I replaced those, too.

2016-12-05 14.20.51.jpg


Pleased with the result, I treated the old girl to a wash.

2016-12-09 12.39.38.jpg


Like I said last time, I really enjoyed doing this, even if it's so utterly simple by the standards of an average mechanic. And at the moment, I'll take any shred of happiness I can find.
 
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I gave the interior a clean yesterday.

2016-12-11 14.36.48.jpg


2016-12-11 14.36.40.jpg


Bonus shot of the engine...

2016-11-27 14.26.22.jpg


It's a B200F engine, one of the later revisions to Volvo's "Redblock" engine. It's a 1984cc inline-4 which had about 111BHP. That was 24 years and 188,000 miles ago, however. Pretty clean, all things considered. It's doing well considering there's no service history with the car, at all. In terms of paperwork, this car's life began in August 2015 when I bought it.
 
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Yeah.

You have to paint those Scorpius alloys black, or something close to black. It will look so fine with all those shiny bits and paint.
 
Yeah.

You have to paint those Scorpius alloys black, or something close to black. It will look so fine with all those shiny bits and paint.
Way ahead of you :D Had them powder coated in matte black about 2 months ago. Just waiting for the cold weather to subside before I put some new tyres on and put them on the car.
 
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Well, it has been a while. The 240 is tucked away in my tiny little garage and the Corsa is back to being daily driven. It needed a good run.

I got the rear drums sprayed black.

2017-01-16 12.42.53.jpg


2017-01-16 12.43.06.jpg


As you can tell, this winter weather hasn't been kind to my alloys. This was one week after I'd washed it.

Anyway, next I had some free time so I've polished the exhaust.

Before:

2017-01-16 12.08.32.jpg


2017-01-16 12.29.45.jpg


And after:

2017-01-16 12.41.32.jpg


2017-01-16 12.41.41.jpg


2017-01-16 12.42.18.jpg


Waste of time? Yep.

Fun? Yep.
 
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