Yet more reasons why I love my Amazon!

[222s]

Just been transporting a large armchair & a decent size sofa earlier this evening. With the back seat folded & the tailgates open, BOTH pieces of furniture fitted in the boot!!

I'd like to see any modern estate car manage that, let alone one which is only 4.4m long

[BillKat]

Excellent... I got this body in mine with the gates shut, it's about 6 foot long

[222s]

Sounds about right as I can stretch out & sleep in the back (I'm 6'2") with the tailgates closed. Both the chap I was collecting the sofa & armchair from, & also my housemates couldn't believe it - neither could I to be honest, as I was expecting to strap one on the roofbars. Having that tailgate arrangement / extendible loadbay is so useful & just reinforces my view that nothing can beat an Amazon estate for practicality as a workhorse

[Gordon Hunter]

half wishing I hadn't sold mine now.
Always glad to hear another story of an old Volvo giving as good as and better than a modern car.
I sold mine because I thought it wouldn't be suitable for towing another Amaozn on a trailer which I regularly need to do.
I have a 940 with a 2.4 turbo diesel engine which is great for towing just about anything.
Tell me, how do you get on with the Amazon towing? What do you think the maximum safe / legal load would be for an Amazon estate to pull?

Cheers,

Gordon

[222s]

Originally Posted by Gordon Hunter

Always glad to hear another story of an old Volvo giving as good as and better than a modern car.

Indeed! We met a few years ago (I bought an estate rear seat & a few other bits from you) so you've seen how scruffy my car is!

Originally Posted by Gordon Hunter

Tell me, how do you get on with the Amazon towing? What do you think the maximum safe / legal load would be for an Amazon estate to pull?

Although I find that it tows ok (the car & trailer in my sig pic were towed from Surrey to North Devon a few years ago), I've no idea what the actual legal weight is for an Amazon. Unlike a modern car, I suspect that there isn't a set limit so at the (in)discretion of the Feds .

The only thing that worried me was the braking, as I don't have a servo. Fine in normal driving, but with that little lot on the back, there were a few scary moments slowing down from high speed until the trailer brakes were tripped (required a very strong stamp on the pedal....) but fine once that had happened. On smooth motorways, 60mph was fine, but on less good surfaces (even dual carriageways) the tail sometimes wanted to wag the dog above 50mph.

My engine is a twin carb B20 with D cam & Simonz exhaust so the extra power & torque certainly helps matters. However I wouldn't consider towing anything heavy with a non o/d saloon as the gearing for 1st will be too high for pulling away comfortably. Also if towing another car of the same / similar weight, I'd want to use a braked trailer of as low a weight as possible to keep the overall weight down. Even then, I wouldn't want to tow that sort of weight long distance, or too often.

[Gordon Hunter]

Originally Posted by 222s

you've seen how scruffy my car is!

Scruffy is good. Otherwise I'd feel uncomfortable using it like I do in my P1800

Originally Posted by 222s

Although I find that it tows ok (the car & trailer in my sig pic were towed from Surrey to North Devon a few years ago), I've no idea what the actual legal weight is for an Amazon. Unlike a modern car, I suspect that there isn't a set limit so at the (in)discretion of the Feds .

I've got away with towing an Amazon estate with the 940 on a Heavy Brian James trailer. If you get the car positioned correctly on the trailer then you can just sit behind a truck on the motorway (apart from M25 truck rails!) though this would be a no no with the Amazon as you'd be towing nearly twice your weight.

Originally Posted by 222s

The only thing that worried me was the braking, as I don't have a servo. .

I guess a servo is a must

Originally Posted by 222s

My engine is a twin carb B20 with D cam & Simonz exhaust so the extra power & torque certainly helps matters.

I guess lots of low down power would be a must.
Anyway it'd be nice to have a tax free classic Volvo as a tow car one day. I saw a 164 converted to a tow truck on eBay a while back. The larger wheel base and uprated brakes coupled to a 3 litre straight 6 might be the best option.

All the best,

Gordon

[devilishdesigner]

yeah, I have a non-O/D sedan and I wouldnt be towing anythign bigger then a light 6x4 trailer, where I live I have enough trouble starting on the steep hills as it is when she's cold. would love a folding back seat in the sedan too, that'd be sweet, oh well, theres enough space to carry lost stuff inside anyway.

[Pigeon]

Originally Posted by BillKat

Excellent... I got this body in mine with the gates shut, it's about 6 foot long

Ah, yes. Use of the Amazon's extended tailgate to transport home some 8x4 sheets of chipboard held in place by my grandad lying flat on his back on top of them resulted in a young policeman following us home and up the drive to ask why we had a body in the back. The body then got out of the car and started walking around, everybody ****ed themselves laughing and the policeman looked like he really wished he just hadn't bothered getting out of bed that morning.