240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Lucien

I think you're right. In the UK in 1980 the 244DL had the square headlights; the GL had rectangular (as well as overdrive, tinted windows, sunroof, metallic paint and leather or plush upholstery) and the GLE/GLT had GL spec plus fuel injected engine (but the GLT got black cloth seats). The limited edition black 244 Thor also got the rectangular headlights and the black cloth seats.

regards
Lucien

Excellent - the mystery is solved (the RB is a GL auto - so sunroof, metallic paint, velour seats and maybe tinted windows under the much darker tints (which I quite like)) - many thanks.

Alan

[loki_the_glt]

Originally Posted by Lucien

I think you're right. In the UK in 1980 the 244DL had the square headlights; the GL had rectangular (as well as overdrive, tinted windows, sunroof, metallic paint and leather or plush upholstery) and the GLE/GLT had GL spec plus fuel injected engine (but the GLT got black cloth seats). The limited edition black 244 Thor also got the rectangular headlights and the black cloth seats.

regards
Lucien

Almost - the GLE and GLT had leather as standard but it was an option on the GL; velour ("Trico Plush" was, I think, what Volvo called it) was a no-cost alternative to leather. My uncle had a 244GLE a with gorgeous cream leather interior and I hoped that I could get it if he sold the car. He never did.
The sunroof was anoption on the DL saloon but I only ever saw one, a 1976 example, so fitted.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by loki_the_glt

Almost - the GLE and GLT had leather as standard but it was an option on the GL; velour ("Trico Plush" was, I think, what Volvo called it) was a no-cost alternative to leather. My uncle had a 244GLE a with gorgeous cream leather interior and I hoped that I could get it if he sold the car. He never did.
The sunroof was anoption on the DL saloon but I only ever saw one, a 1976 example, so fitted.

Thank you Loki. This forum is such a rich source of information - today I have learned that the RB has 'Trico Plush' seats - wonderful.

Alan

[john.wigley]

Originally Posted by Othen

Thank you Loki. This forum is such a rich source of information - today I have learned that the RB has 'Trico Plush' seats - wonderful.

Alan

Having had both leather and plush in various cars over the years, Alan, I much prefer the latter. They are warmer in winter (really toasty coupled with the two-stage seat heaters fitted to my last 745), cooler in summer, and one tends not to slide around on them as with leather.

My all-time favourite seats were the dark blue pin-stripe ones fitted to my '83 245 GLT, on which, despite being a high-spec ex-embassy car, leather had not been specified. My least favourite were the vinyl ones fitted to lower spec 1-series cars - they were most uncomfortable to drive in shorts on a hot summer day.

I've never really understood why leather in upmarket/executive/luxury cars is considered de rigueur - anything less and it's almost as if one somehow hasn't quite made it!

Regards, John.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

I've never really understood why leather in upmarket/executive/luxury cars is considered de rigueur - anything less and it's almost as if one somehow hasn't quite made it!

Regards, John.

The power of marketing John! Go back ~100 years and the chauffeurs seat in a Rolls-Royce was leather but no roof and no heater (1927 Ghost) but in the rear, where the "posh nobs" sat, they had a roof, heater and moquette upholstery.
Fast forward 55 years to a 1982 Silver-Spur and the seats (all of them) were lovely Connolly Hide or similar high quality leather, full climate control heating and air conditioning and a complete roof although if memory serves it had a slide/tilt steel sunroof too.

In between those dates, instead of the leather being almost a waste product of the animal, it had become a prized possession for people that could afford it. Because better and better finishes were available with it, the marketing and sales peoples' jobs were easier - bright and shiny = expensive/exclusive. The idea was sold to a lot of people and i think now it's down to personal preference.
In cars i (generally) prefer leather. At home i prefer fabric. No, i've never worked it out either!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

In cars i (generally) prefer leather. At home i prefer fabric. No, i've never worked it out either!

... I have a nice leather sofa and recliner combo at home in the sitting room - the problem is that Millicent (the cat) likes it too much as a scratching post - so never again leather inside the house!

I really like the velour in the RB, it really suits the car and is very comfortable. In the Porsche and the Skoda there is leather, both are fine but I have found with leather seats generally if they are not treated regularly they deteriorate. The Saab 900 we had previously looked very worn indeed inside, such that I ended up re-painting the front seats (which worked well, but I don't think Saab used very good leather in its cars). After painting they looked okay (but it took a lot of work to get them like this:

[Othen]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

Having had both leather and plush in various cars over the years, Alan, I much prefer the latter. They are warmer in winter (really toasty coupled with the two-stage seat heaters fitted to my last 745), cooler in summer, and one tends not to slide around on them as with leather.

My all-time favourite seats were the dark blue pin-stripe ones fitted to my '83 245 GLT, on which, despite being a high-spec ex-embassy car, leather had not been specified. My least favourite were the vinyl ones fitted to lower spec 1-series cars - they were most uncomfortable to drive in shorts on a hot summer day.

I've never really understood why leather in upmarket/executive/luxury cars is considered de rigueur - anything less and it's almost as if one somehow hasn't quite made it!

Regards, John.

As I said to Dave above John, I really like the velour in the RB, it suits the motor car perfectly and is very comfy.

Alan

[Stephen Edwin]

Originally Posted by Othen

... Millicent (the cat) likes it ...

Ah now. Perhaps you are a gentleman. You gave your friend a name worthy of a cat. Well done you.

Arabella graciously allowed me to rescue her from her taking refuge in my garden. Bit my hand that did feed her. Became the loveliest most thoughtful imaginable. Resides in splendour beneath a favourite tree now her days are gone.

It became clear she was nearing departure when she explained that it was easier for her if food was offered with her remaining in her controlled temperature basket. Although she preferred to be fed on my lap thank you very much.

Favourite a little boneless sardine in tomato sauce.

And occasionally a lick of cream please off a finger ...




P.S. ... I hope the dragonfly she jumped up and injured forgave her. She was only interested in a friendly way .....


.

.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Cancel the rubber support Alan!

Find a supplier that has the complete assembly and order one of those instead.

There are many reasons for this the main ones being that firstly it's almost impossible to get the bearing perfectly aligned by yourself in the rubber donut which leads to vibration and premature wear of both parts and secondly if one part is worn, the other is almost certainly going to be worn and will induce premature wear in the new part. It would be like fitting new threads on a knackered resilient mount.

There are other reasons but those two are strong enough on their own that i'm firstly fairly confident that you can work them out yourself and secondly, they're certainly good enough IMHO to warrant replacing the complete assembly. A quick hunt reveals a kit of new parts (amazed they haven't assembled it!) :

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/vol...40-260-51-6309

I also tried Rockauto.com and found the separate parts, no kit or fully assembled item though!

You were so right about this one Dave. I did pull the rear half of the prop shaft off last week (a 10 minute job) intending to swap just the rubber doughnut and re-visit the bearing later. Unfortunately it turned out that I have the 44.5mm prop shaft and the doughnut I'd been sent was for the 50mm bearing. Fortunately the supplier had a good returns policy, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The old rubber bungee turned out to be not too bad - those holes at the top had been put there deliberately by Mr Volvo, but the bearing is starting to grumble a bit (it would probably be okay for a few thousand miles but...).

So, I gave everything a good bit of grease and reassembled with the old doughnut. The old bearing looks like it should come off easily without removing the front prop, so it should be an easy job (famous last words...) when the replacement bits arrive.

I couldn't find a UK supplier with both the bearing and the doughnut, but both were available at a reasonable price from Amazon (I was surprised to find them there), I think £6 for the bearing (it arrived in the mail today and looks like the right part) and £15 for the doughnut. Once the new rubber arrives I'll post a few photos and words about the centre bearing job, at first sight it would seem to be a quick and easy one.

I'm convinced the prop shaft has not been on the car for 40 years - everything came apart easily, also the rubber doughnut (a Volvo part) did not seem to have 4 decades worth of perishing, so I'm pretty sure this job has been done previously. I think that is a pretty good thing, confirming my theory that the RB has been looked after quite well over the past 109,000 miles.

:-)

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

You were so right about this one Dave. I did pull the rear half of the prop shaft off last week (a 10 minute job) intending to swap just the rubber doughnut and re-visit the bearing later. Unfortunately it turned out that I have the 44.5mm prop shaft and the doughnut I'd been sent was for the 50mm bearing. Fortunately the supplier had a good returns policy, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The old rubber bungee turned out to be not too bad - those holes at the top had been put there deliberately by Mr Volvo, but the bearing is starting to grumble a bit (it would probably be okay for a few thousand miles but...).

So, I gave everything a good bit of grease and reassembled with the old doughnut. The old bearing looks like it should come off easily without removing the front prop, so it should be an easy job (famous last words...) when the replacement bits arrive.

I couldn't find a UK supplier with both the bearing and the doughnut, but both were available at a reasonable price from Amazon (I was surprised to find them there), I think £6 for the bearing (it arrived in the mail today and looks like the right part) and £15 for the doughnut. Once the new rubber arrives I'll post a few photos and words about the centre bearing job, at first sight it would seem to be a quick and easy one.

I'm convinced the prop shaft has not been on the car for 40 years - everything came apart easily, also the rubber doughnut (a Volvo part) did not seem to have 4 decades worth of perishing, so I'm pretty sure this job has been done previously. I think that is a pretty good thing, confirming my theory that the RB has been looked after quite well over the past 109,000 miles.

:-)

It surprising what you can find on Amazon Alan or should i say "Amazong"?

Very wise move adding a bit of grease and changing the bearing (when it lands) as if the bearing "picks up" and partially seizes, you get a nasty squeal and a smell of burning rubber!

I wonder if the PO did similar to what you've just done to get it in a state where it could be sold? Probably got a quote from Volvo for the bearing and when he finished crying (or laughing!) decided to bodge it and scarper.