Volvo Owners Club Forum - "The Blue Streak"

“The Blue Streak” is up for sale. It is a Phase 1 Volvo v70 Classic, in “Midnight Blue” with an “Oak” interior… first registered in March 1999.

The current mileage is very close to 150,000 and won't change as I have another car now.

Peter Best Insurance Services have a Classic Car Insurance on it with an agreed value of £1800.

Reason for Sale

I’ll be very sorry when the car goes; but the purchase of a newer (and faster) C70 convertible means I don’t really need two cars. So, the V70 has to go.

A Brief History

For many years, I had always wanted a Volvo. The ‘ex’ didn’t! And, it had to be a V70. However, becoming single again, I had the chance to indulge.

I bought the car, as a gift to myself, on retirement in April 2010. And, to be honest, it was a bit scruffy. However, time, effort and money has been invested in it to make it the great looking car it is today. Although it is not a concours car, it does get lots of admiring glances and starts to conversations!

Time and years of past ‘tinkering’ with cars showed me that anything mechanical that needed doing these days would be a bit past my limited abilities. So any work like that has always been done by my very good and reliable indy (a Volvo trained specialist and Volvo lover) – who, in turn, has had many praises sung in this forum. And such work has always been done to a very standard. If anything needed doing, I got it done. And with genuine Volvo parts. However, it has never needed anything really ‘serious’ to be done and MoT tests have never been a problem. I have all the documentation on the jobs done and money spent which will be passed on to the new owner.

It comes with the usual Owners’ Guide, Service Record Book, radio code and two keys (but only one ‘blipper’).

Important Works Done on the Car

The timing belt (and idler) and PCV (not that the PCV really needed doing – but hey, while they doing were ‘big things’, I got that done at the same time) were done at about 146,00 miles.

Since then: the alarm system has been sorted and is fully functional; the rear suspension has been replaced with new rear shocks and springs and a new radiator was fitted a couple of months ago as a drip had developed.

Other various ‘normal’ everyday things have been done as needed.

Tyres

The front wheels have new (done less than 1000 miles) Uniroyal Rainsport tyres (and they are so much quieter than the ones I had taken off!).

The rear wheels have Westlake R-VH680 tyres with absolutely loads of tread on them and are still good for several thousand miles.

Cosmetics

OK… it’s what is oft referred to as a ‘poverty spec’ car in that there are fewer ‘gizmos’ and it has velour seats (warm in winter and cool in summer – so need for heated seats!). But, I have made some cosmetic changes.

The interior has had a ‘wood trim’ fitted (including gear knob and steering wheel).

The wheels are non-standard Volvo… and they came with the car like that. They are TSW “Summit” wheels. They were pretty ratty when I bought them, I had them ‘refurbished’ – and that didn’t last long! So I had them powder-coated in shadow/chrome. There are no marks on them.

Body-wise… it ain’t perfect – after all it’s 16 years old; but there isn’t any rust. There are the usual sort of little stone chips and slight scratches that can be expected for a car of that age; but they are hardly noticeable and the car does look good – especially for its age.

When the headlamp reflectors got a bit marginal on one MoT (standard V70 problem!), I replaced the headlamps and indicators with ABM black projector lights and fitted “Night Breaker” bulbs. And as the sidelights were so pathetic, I modified them with led strips which make them far more visible.

There are one or two other minor cosmetic changes that are less noticeable.

The car comes with a fitted Volvo load cover in the correct colour.

Less ‘Pleasant’ Information!

And here, I will be as honest as I can.

The dash does creak a bit (a standard V70 problem) and I’ve never managed to cure it completely. As the car warms up and ‘settles into a journey’ it becomes minimal.

There is a ‘knock’ in the rear end on bumps and rough roads. It’s great on main roads and motorways, though! The garage can’t find the source – and neither can I. Everything that they could check was checked and found to be OK (and the new rear suspension – although I did have it changed because it was a bit ‘soft’ – didn’t help, either). But it has got through the MoT with nothing found. However, somebody who has the time might be able to locate the source and fix it.

Minor faults

The horn operates ‘incorrectly’. If you use just one thumb, silence reigns! Use both thumb buttons or press in the centre and all is OK. I suspect that something in the slip ring might need a bit of fiddling or adjustment.

One of the wing mirrors doesn’t have a working demist (IIRC, it’s the offside one?).

A couple of the rear screen demist wires are non-functional.

One rear screen washer nozzle is blocked.

If I were keeping the car, I would be replacing the tailgate struts.

Price

Having bored you to death with all the above nausea, I’ll now tell you the price.

Because the car is superfluous to requirements…

£1250

(Remember from above, PBIS are quite happy with an agreed value of £1800!)

Of course, being a private sale, no warranty or similar can be offered. You buy it, you take it away and that’s it.

Payment by cash, electronic transfer or certified bankers’ draft only as the nearest branch of my bank is miles away.

Tyre kickers, banger racers, bank robbery getaway drivers and time wasters are not particularly welcome!

I don’t anticipate placing it on an auction site. I would rather it went to somebody who appreciates and actually wants a good Volvo Phase 1 V70.

If you want any further details, or an appointment to view, feel free to PM me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.