240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Excellent write-up Alan!

You suggest a garage would have charged more than £100 - i'd suggest that just for the labour given most hourly rates these days!

It's all the little things that add up like this to make the old beast that much more pleasant to drive and own and also make any future odd-noise-diagnosis easier because first they're easiler to hear and second, you're (normally) able to rule out a few things it might be.

Originally Posted by john.wigley

Absolutely agree, 'L.S.'. Not only that, but as Alan knows exactly what has, and has not, been done to his car, he will be much better placed to plan and execute any work that may be required in future than if he 'entrusted' the Royal Barge to a garage. That, and the satisfaction of a job well done, in addition to any financial savings, rewards the effort involved in spades.

Regards, John.

Many thanks Dave and John,

I'm pleased to say the RB has become a really nice place to be, so that is satisfying. I also like working on the car (and it is so simple) much more than trusting a garage to do the job (maybe not properly) and charge me a fortune.

[Othen]

Chaps,

I'd meant to post this photo of the old bearing yesterday, but my IT skills were not quite as good as I'd believed them to be:



You may see, the bearing is all in one piece, which is good, but it has a few decades worth of battle scars so it was time to change it.



PS. I'm glad I got that little job done yesterday - the monsoon has returned so Bob and I will get wet.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Chaps,

I'd meant to post this photo of the old bearing yesterday, but my IT skills were not quite as good as I'd believed them to be:



You may see, the bearing is all in one piece, which is good, but it has a few decades worth of battle scars so it was time to change it.



PS. I'm glad I got that little job done yesterday - the monsoon has returned so Bob and I will get wet.

Enlarging that image Alan i can see what look like several small puncture marks on that rubber sheild, if i'm right then the grese will have come out so it would have been running without lube.

Either way a job well done!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Enlarging that image Alan i can see what look like several small puncture marks on that rubber sheild, if i'm right then the grese will have come out so it would have been running without lube.

Either way a job well done!

I think you are probably right Dave, it seems okay at first sight, but if I hold it close to my ear whilst spinning it I can hear it isn't as smooth as the new one.

Maybe it would have lasted some thousands of miles, I don't know, but I'm happy it has been changed and it was a cheap and easy job.

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Stephen Edwin

Faultless logic.

But.

You can't go back to collect a free one. Unless you have a time machine or similoar.

And.

Would you like and want to have it?

Why not treat yourself?

Enjoy!

Comrade Stephen Edwin

I did decide to treat myself to the 1980 Volvo 244 sales brochure (it was only £3.95). It arrived in the mail today and is in first class condition.

[Stephen Edwin]

Good decision.



Actually.
As soon as I saw you had found the brochure,
I thought you would buy,
it was temptation ....



Comrade

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Stephen Edwin

Good decision.



Actually.
As soon as I saw you had found the brochure,
I thought you would buy,
it was temptation ....



Comrade

So...



...perhaps I'll buy a polo pony now, and spend my days chatting with Lavinia, Lavinia's friend and Lavinia's friend's sister...

[john.wigley]

I'm sure that the Royal Barge will be well capable of hauling the horse box around should you do so, Alan. J.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

I'm sure that the Royal Barge will be well capable of hauling the horse box around should you do so, Alan. J.

I was interested in seeing how Volvo was marketing the 244 back in the day John, I recall a very similar advertising brochure photo for Triumph sports cars set at (I think) a polo field from the same era (I think late 70s, I'd have been at school so about 1978). That was the market Triumph was aiming at then - I suppose where BMW and Range Rover are now.

I'd always assumed Volvo would have attracted more accountants and dentists (but perhaps dentists play polo?).

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

I was interested in seeing how Volvo was marketing the 244 back in the day John, I recall a very similar advertising brochure photo for Triumph sports cars set at (I think) a polo field from the same era (I think late 70s, I'd have been at school so about 1978). That was the market Triumph was aiming at then - I suppose where BMW and Range Rover are now.

I'd always assumed Volvo would have attracted more accountants and dentists (but perhaps dentists play polo?).

Alan

I always associated Volvo (particularly the estates) with antique dealers and the saloons (especially the Amazon models) with insurance brokers - the antique dealers because when i was a young pup it seemed every antique dealer had one and the insurance broker because a "family friend" (i use the term very loosely!) was an insurance broker and had an Amazon and i believe a 264.

However, i think Volvo were being more subtle than a simple stereotype as their marketing demographic. I suspect they were aiming at what was referred to in the 70s as "the County set" - those who were generally speaking well off, upper middle class due to income with aspirations to rub shoulders with royalty but in reality only clashed polo bats with them.

As for Lavinia and her chums, they are probably well into their 80s now so you, like the rest of us, will still be out of luck!