Amazon: New (to me) 1963 Volvo 122

[Steve 940]

Originally Posted by Othen

I'm sure Sywell will be fun Steve, last time there were two Spitfires flying from the airfield next door, which was a bit of a treat:



The VOC magazine arrived in the mail yesterday; I was both surprised and disappointed to find there were no photos of Bob !

Maybe the house non-sale thing was for the best? Perhaps moving lock, stock and barrel to Zummrezette would have been a bit too radical: keeping my house in Corby allows me to maintain my circle of friends here, and not moving my main home is a great deal easier. This house is the right size and shape for me and will suit Dan well when he comes back from university (he is at Strathclyde in Glasgow). In addition I can buy a house by the sea in Lincolnshire outright for less than the additional it was going to cost me to move to Berrow sur la Mar. I'll be driving up to Mablethrorpe to look at a few places on Wednesday.

How is your garage project going? Will you get it finished before the winter takes hold?

Alan

Hi Alan,

Funny you mention the magazine, my copy dropped through the door yesterday and a 33k 145 for sale in the adverts inside the back cover….. much excitement, but it was the late big indicator model.

Some comments on this in the Seriously section and some update on progress.

Basically better half has determined a whole load of house stuff must be finished before my ‘toy’ project, but by doing myself, it allows man maths to set aside Classic funds rather than wasting on new windows😀

Cheers
Steve

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

That was a bit tongue-in-cheek of me Dave. Generally GAM is one of the scruffier motorcars to attend the Amazon love-ins. Most of the others are immaculātō, but cost 5 times as much; I like it that way and I think some of the other owners secretly admire GAM.

Alan

I was also being a little tongue-in-cheek Alan, if they're going to mark you down for the wrong wheels/tyres because of a winter fitment that's too picky IMHO.

GAM is a fine looking car for ~60 years old, there are many 6 year old cars that look worse. I can understand that some owners of "Trailer Queens" would be envious of the fact you are happy to use GAM on a daily basis.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I was also being a little tongue-in-cheek Alan, if they're going to mark you down for the wrong wheels/tyres because of a winter fitment that's too picky IMHO.

GAM is a fine looking car for ~60 years old, there are many 6 year old cars that look worse. I can understand that some owners of "Trailer Queens" would be envious of the fact you are happy to use GAM on a daily basis.

The Amazon bunch are excellent folk Dave. Inevitably some have spent a great deal on getting their 60 year old motor cars into excellent condition, I’d say some better than new. They all accept that my rationale with GAM is different - not better or worse, just different. At the Southwold meeting in May GAM even won a prize (‘the Amazon we would all like to drive every day’), which Bob and I were very proud of.

As you will know, I’m entirely happy with GAM and have no plans whatsoever to restore it. I like to maintain it in about the same condition it would have been in the 1980s when about 20 years old. There are a couple of little bits of orange peel paint (done by me with a rattle can), some of the chrome is a bit flaky and pitted, there are pattern parts here and there and nothing has ever been detailed - but everything works okay and the motor car suits me.

I’m looking forward to Sunday; Sywell is just far enough for it to be a trip out. I’ll fill up the tartan flask with tea and make some fish paste sandwiches

[Moomoo]

I’m looking forward to Sunday; Sywell is just far enough for it to be a trip out. I’ll fill up the tartan flask with tea and make some fish paste sandwiches [/QUOTE]

How the ‘other half’ live! Corr!

No need to rub our noses in it!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Steve 940

Hi Alan,

Funny you mention the magazine, my copy dropped through the door yesterday and a 33k 145 for sale in the adverts inside the back cover….. much excitement, but it was the late big indicator model.

Some comments on this in the Seriously section and some update on progress.

Basically better half has determined a whole load of house stuff must be finished before my ‘toy’ project, but by doing myself, it allows man maths to set aside Classic funds rather than wasting on new windows😀

Cheers
Steve

I’ve just read your garage report in the ‘Seriously!’ thread Steve. So did you fit the new windows, doors, fascia and so on yourself and so save the larger proportion of £29,000 - and so have that to spend on the 145 in the club magazine? If so that would be an excellent outcome (or maybe I have misunderstood- as I don’t have a better half I sometimes find it difficult to see things from the married man’s perspective).

I’ve just looked up the 145 in the VOC ad, it sounds perfect, have you collected it yet?

I’m guessing the garage project is delayed until next year as the winter will be here before we know it. That is a pity, but gives you a good look forward for 2024.

In a similar vein I’m looking forward to finding a place near the sea in Lincolnshire so Bob and I can spend about half our weeks away, one of the prerequisites is that it has a garage so I can leave a few motorcycles and an interesting car there. The Goldwing will be perfect for cruising up to Scarborough for the day, and maybe a 1980/90s Jaguar/Rover/Range Rover?

Alan

Addendum: I’ve just seen a 1999 Jaguar xj8 with only 62,000 miles for sale for only £2,400. Get thee behind me, Satan!

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Addendum: I’ve just seen a 1999 Jaguar xj8 with only 62,000 miles for sale for only £2,400. Get thee behind me, Satan!

Check that age X308 carefully Alan, it may have the ZF 5-speed auto with the ECU buried in the gearbox, susceptible to the ATF ingressing the ECU with the attendant failure that causes! Cleaning and resealing the ECU often works but can always be a worry!

Also the cylinder liners (almost all have been replaced by now i would think but some no doubt slipped the net) have a tendency for seriously premature wear - you know the rest of that story!
Other than that, a lovely car! If you're thinking 1980s BL fare, look for a very good Series 1, 1.5 or early Series 2 SD1 V8, if you can get the VDP EFi version that is the ultimate SD1 really but at all costs, avoid the 2.0, especially in auto form! Thirstiest and slowest of the range! The straight 6s are good engines as long as the oil restrictor valve in the top of the block doesn't get clogged or it siezes the camshaft. The 3.5 V8 is the best engine to go for and doesn't sacrifice economy either, i regularly achieved 28mpg from all of mine, providing they were properly set up.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Check that age X308 carefully Alan, it may have the ZF 5-speed auto with the ECU buried in the gearbox, susceptible to the ATF ingressing the ECU with the attendant failure that causes! Cleaning and resealing the ECU often works but can always be a worry!

Also the cylinder liners (almost all have been replaced by now i would think but some no doubt slipped the net) have a tendency for seriously premature wear - you know the rest of that story!
Other than that, a lovely car! If you're thinking 1980s BL fare, look for a very good Series 1, 1.5 or early Series 2 SD1 V8, if you can get the VDP EFi version that is the ultimate SD1 really but at all costs, avoid the 2.0, especially in auto form! Thirstiest and slowest of the range! The straight 6s are good engines as long as the oil restrictor valve in the top of the block doesn't get clogged or it siezes the camshaft. The 3.5 V8 is the best engine to go for and doesn't sacrifice economy either, i regularly achieved 28mpg from all of mine, providing they were properly set up.

Ah! I'd forgotten you were something of a BL man (although this one would have been a Ford I think). It is an awful lot of smart car for £2,400:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134757257882

I've never owned a V8 (I had a XJ40 back in the day) but always liked them. My understanding (from reading about it rather than personal experience) is that the plated cylinder liners either fail early on or they are fine forever. This one is 24 years old so one might assume the motor had either been changed or it was fine. I think there was an issue with cam-chain tensioners that is rather easier to resolve, although this one had a full Jag dealer history for most of its life so that may well have been dealt with.

I quite like the idea of an older Jag to be left at a seaside holiday place, it would be good for cruising around the Lincolnshire Wolds (keep the Skoda diesel estate for commuting to and fro, for towing motorcycle trailers, visiting Dan in Glasgow and for Bob).



PS. The motor car has a Jaguar service history up to 47,000 miles... but that equates to 2012 - so a decade of other servicing (which may be okay - or maybe none!). The MoT history looks fine though:

https://cartaxcheck.co.uk/free-car-c...y/?vrm=T660TGT

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Ah! I'd forgotten you were something of a BL man (although this one would have been a Ford I think). It is an awful lot of smart car for £2,400:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134757257882

I've never owned a V8 (I had a XJ40 back in the day) but always liked them. My understanding (from reading about it rather than personal experience) is that the plated cylinder liners either fail early on or they are fine forever. This one is 24 years old so one might assume the motor had either been changed or it was fine. I think there was an issue with cam-chain tensioners that is rather easier to resolve, although this one had a full Jag dealer history for most of its life so that may well have been dealt with.

I quite like the idea of an older Jag to be left at a seaside holiday place, it would be good for cruising around the Lincolnshire Wolds (keep the Skoda diesel estate for commuting to and fro, for towing motorcycle trailers, visiting Dan in Glasgow and for Bob).



PS. The motor car has a Jaguar service history up to 47,000 miles... but that equates to 2012 - so a decade of other servicing (which may be okay - or maybe none!). The MoT history looks fine though:

https://cartaxcheck.co.uk/free-car-c...y/?vrm=T660TGT

You're right, the V8 is a development of the AJV6 and is the AJV8, both developments of the Mazda V6 first used in the Mazda Xedos/Mazda 6 and Ford Mondeo.
Jaguar have played their tunes on both engines though.

You're correct about the Nickersil plated cylinder liners, they either failed quickly or were fine.

As a 1999 car, Jaguar were wholly owned by Ford then, as were Volvo and you may find some common parts across Volvo/Ford/Jaguar. It's well worth investigating that possibility as Jaguar would love to charge you £96 for a screenwash pump, Volvo charge ~£24 if memory serves and Ford about £12 - ebay £8 and i have one sat here! That's for my S Type but i daresay many parts will be common across models.

The underpinnings of the X300/308 are very similar to the XJ40 but a little more refined. As such it should feel fairly familiar if you've had a '40.

Definitely worth a punt at the asking price, you may even get it for a bit less if you wave the proverbial fistful of dollars under his nose. It's probably not had any servicing since 2012 so is due some about 60k but shouldn't be anything too scary in terms of things needing doing.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

You're right, the V8 is a development of the AJV6 and is the AJV8, both developments of the Mazda V6 first used in the Mazda Xedos/Mazda 6 and Ford Mondeo.
Jaguar have played their tunes on both engines though.

You're correct about the Nickersil plated cylinder liners, they either failed quickly or were fine.

As a 1999 car, Jaguar were wholly owned by Ford then, as were Volvo and you may find some common parts across Volvo/Ford/Jaguar. It's well worth investigating that possibility as Jaguar would love to charge you £96 for a screenwash pump, Volvo charge ~£24 if memory serves and Ford about £12 - ebay £8 and i have one sat here! That's for my S Type but i daresay many parts will be common across models.

The underpinnings of the X300/308 are very similar to the XJ40 but a little more refined. As such it should feel fairly familiar if you've had a '40.

Definitely worth a punt at the asking price, you may even get it for a bit less if you wave the proverbial fistful of dollars under his nose. It's probably not had any servicing since 2012 so is due some about 60k but shouldn't be anything too scary in terms of things needing doing.

Thank you Dave - I’d also forgotten you were an S Type bloke. That is all useful advice. I’m in no great rush, and I don’t think the motorcar will sell quickly. The Jag is in Reigate, but it won’t be ULEZ exempt, so the market near the Smoke will be limited, also it won’t be much good on fuel. I’ll just watch it for the time being, if it is still for sale when I next visit my parents or brother I may go for a look.

I do quite like it and can see it cruising around Mablethorpe.

[Rustinmotion]

Always liked this one