[Terzoed]

**FOR SPARES OR REPAIR**

It’s with a bit of a heavy heart that I’m putting my 1969 164 up for sale, as I really hoped that I would get this back on the road. I’m admitting defeat but hopefully someone more mechanically minded will succeed where I failed.

The story so far….

A couple of years ago I was told of this car that was languishing in the back garden of a friend of a friend. The previous owner had passed away and the car was going to be scrapped along with his 343. I was told (wrongly) that the car had been a runner but hadn’t been driven for some time. Me & a friend went along and bought both cars. The 343 was in reasonable condition and actually ran, but the 164 couldn’t be started. The 164 was clearly passed it’s prime, with rot in both rear wheel arches & a sizable hole in the spare wheel well. But I really wanted to save the car. It hadn’t been taxed since 2006; there was neither history with it nor any record of a MOT on the DVLA database. This leads me to conclude it was last MOT’d in 2005. Although pretty irrelevant, the current mileage shows 112k.

I recognised that it was going to be a labour of love and was up for the challenge of getting it back onto the road and having it as a rolling restoration. I fully intended getting the bodywork issues sorted once the car could be driven. All attempts by me to get it running failed. A good friend of mine (who also happens to be a professional mechanic/MOT tester) had a look. He conducted a compression test which proved to be fine. However, the carbs were absolutely shot. Therefore I had them fully overhauled by Mowatts in Basildon who were renowned for their carburettor skills. I changed the condenser & plugs along with the water & fuel pump, but the blasted thing would still not run. In the end I lost heart/interest and the car sat in my garage for over a year gathering dust.

About a month ago I suddenly got the urge to get the car sorted. To my utter astonishment I discovered a fantastic Volvo specialist (River Way Workshop in Harlow) I got in touch with the owner, Robert, who is a bit of a legend. He agreed to have a look. The car got transported over where I left him to work his magic. Last week he got in contact to tell me that he’d got the car running but I needed to go and see him. Apparently, there had been an issue with the distributer cap which he’d dealt with. Although I was delighted that he’d got the car running, I knew there was a problem. I went and saw him, he was true to his word, and the car fired up and ran. The car has NOT been driven although it does roll unimpeded

HOWEVER, Robert reckons that either the head gasket is on its way out/gone or there is a blockage somewhere within the block which I knew was a regular fault with the B30 engine. Either way, it’s not financially viable for me to get him to do the work and I’m not skilled enough to do the work myself. Hence, the reason why I’m now selling the car **FOR SPARES OR REPAIR**.

The car itself is quite unusual. For a start it’s black with a light blue leather interior. From doing my research, neither of these were options until the early 1970’s. Furthermore, it’s an automatic. It appears that there are less than 10 automatic 164’s left. Given the unusual specification I can only assume that it was either built as a showroom car or perhaps a VIP /Embassy vehicle. Clearly I can’t ask the previous owner! The car is still registered in his name but I do have the V5C and an older V5.

The car owes me in excess of £1750, given the cost of the initial purchase, the carb refurb, the River Way bill plus all the other bits and pieces. Now, I fully recognise that I won’t recoup my expenditure but I would like to claw some of it back. I’m looking for @ £1000 but am open to sensible offers.

I’m advertising the car on here first as I’m certain there will be a certain amount of sympathy for my (and the cars’) plight. Otherwise I will be forced to go down the Ebay route. It’s too good to be sent for scrap.

Like I said, there has got to be someone out there with the time, knowledge & skill to get this beast back on the road.

The car is located in the CM16 postcode, approximately 4 miles from J7 M11 or 6 miles from J26 M25. The car will have to be trailered away as it’s not taxed nor SORNED or MOT’d. The car is currently in a neighbour’s car port. I’ve assured her it will be gone ASAP.

Please fire away any questions you may have. I’ve been as honest as humanly possible when describing the car and the situation

If you PM me a mobile number or email address I am more than happy to send you as may photos as you like.

** PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS FOR SPARES OR REPAIR**