1979 245DL,... in brown!

[mylittletony]

Morning all,

following on from a number of questions, I'm pleased to present my new project:



While researching I stumbled on this thread, which was the previous sale:
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=153538
I could be annoyed the guy has made £500 on it, but instead I prefer to think I have done fairly well for 800.

The seller runs a scrap yard and it was parked since the sale until October when he realised it was deteriorating, so patched it up and MOTed it. It's not as minty as the old ad makes out, it's been patched in a lot of places and badly colour matched. Some more pics:



The tailgate is BAD:



This is coming through on the inside, and will need a fair amount of new metal, or most likely replacing.

Rear arches look ok



this is the worst section, OSR arch



Sills have been repaired very roughly, this will need redoing





The spare wheel well and opposite side have had the same treatment, one badly patched from the inside, the other from the outside!





And then there's the screen surround...



this is a hole (about 1/3 in from the right)



All in all though, it's reasonably smart.

Other problems:

there is a wheel imbalance issue, 30-40mph is uncomfortable but I'm collecting some temporary wheels this evening. The old tyres are pretty much shot anyway.

The brakes pull to the left on initial bite

The fuel consumption is AWFUL, 20mpg on the return journey, 60-70mph in 4th, possibly a brake binding?

The driver's seat has collapsed, the back doesn't adjust and it's filthy!! Still comfy though??

So, the to-do list is as follows:

Sort out wheel wobble
Thorough service, including brakes
Screen rust repair
Tailgate replacement
Interior work
Sill and wheel well repair
Paint
Gearbox conversion

Paint wise, I'm thinking of using the graffiti paint as used by a few people on retro rides (I know a few of you are members there too) This will give a matt finish which is very durable, it covers very well and sticks well too. I just need to decide what colour. I can't justify the cost of a 'proper' respray and I don't think my meagre skills will come close to matching the original paint, plus there's a fair bit that needs doing

Hoping to get stuck in this weekend!

This is my fabourite angle