"Madison" - 1979 cream Volvo 244DL for sale

[Steve and his 244]

Very good scooter - glad things are definitely going ahead!

I think the weather is going to be a little better on monday....

Steve

[pete-d]

Originally Posted by Steve and his 244

Very good scooter - glad things are definitely going ahead!

Well if Scooter backs out at the last minute it's only a matter of a week or two until the money I was expecting arrives in my bank account and I'll be looking for a nice 240 for occasional use...

Pete

[Steve and his 244]

Oooh Nice one Pete - get a pre 1980 one and join the big bumper club

[pete-d]

Thanks Steve - I'll see what's out there.

I'm in no rush - though the longer I wait the more likely I am to spend the money on something else!

Pete

[scooters]

well I picked up "Maddy" yesterday morning. Pete had given her a good clean up to his usual exceptional show standards. The vinyl roof gleams due to weekly applications of Kiwi and polishing.

I headed off from Wakefield yesterday at about 4.00pm and drove the 180 miles to Hertfordshire down the M1 and into the teeth of a very nasty winter storm.

First impressions are very good indeed - the car pulls well and likes to cruise at about 60-65. Will happily go up to 85/90 but I respect the old lady and my fuel bills! Starting she can be a bit rough and needs a dollop of choke till properly warmed up. This is no issue and is exactly what I would expec of a carb car of this age. Idling can be a wee bit on the lumpy side and I might tune the engine to make the mixture a wee bit richer. The brakes are very very good and much more sensitive than on my 940 - Maddy's brakes were done last year including new calipers and pipe overhaul so no suprise there.

On the open road it took me a while to get used to the dated handling of the 200 series but soon it all came back to me and I no longer notice. The car did the 180 miles in filthy weather in 3 and a half hours - not bad at all considering the lousy traffic and the two big tailbacks.

This morning I decided to take my Daf 55 rally car replica the 12 miles to work in St Albans. The 55 is an ideal car for snow and ice as it has variomatic cvt transmission ensuring correct power goes to each wheel at the right time. It also has narow tyres and is pretty light so it powers through snow and ice like a snowmobile. However, it has sat in the snow for the last 2 weeks without being moved and suprise suprise it wouldn't start. No choice but to take Maddy so I sparked her up and took her down to the office - no problems at all. I did wait until the engine was warm before heading off.

This is a lovely car which will be used several times a week but which I will also be keeping is the best possible condition I can

[Steve and his 244]

Glad everythings sorted - I went down to Pete's on Sunday (im sure you know what for ) and I was going to leave a note on the dash saying "Look after her, or next thing you know you'll have Thor to deal with!"



I know you'll look after her really - are you going to be taking her to any voc shows? Would be good to see her again with her new owner someday...

Enjoy...

Steve

[scooters]

cheers Steve and thanks for the offer of the photos.
Maddy has been pressed into daily use in my commute from Harpenden to St Albans. She takes some time to warm up in the winter and I will have to sort the idling mixture which I suspect has been tuned to emissions. If you try and move off before the engine is at operating temp (on the button that is) she will stall on you even with decent choke out. Mind you it has been VERY cold here and I am not too concerned. She likes to cruise at about 3000 revolutions - speed depending on the hill! She will do 80-90 no problem but the Borg Warner 3 speed is not the most efficiant auto unit and I don't like running a car at 4500 revs either for wear or for fuel consumption which will drop to Daimler levels - no this is a car for 'proceeding' What really strikes me is how "amazon" like the ride is compared to the newer 240 series cars I have owned - this merely adds to her charm. I am a happy trooper and may even drive her the 400 miles from St Albans to Edinburgh tomorrow night so I can garage her properly and use her as a weekend car whilst taking my 940 back to the south on Monday