240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Othen]

Originally Posted by davidcheshire

Alan, if you search for 'Viper stripes', you may find something that will do for the tops of the wings.

As for the glue for the seal, would a contact adhesive work? I'm thinking of the too-permanent problem that might arise otherwise, if you opt for a total replacement of the seal.

David.

Thank you Dave,

We are back home, so project Royal Barge can proceed.

Thank you, that was exactly my thought regarding the sunroof seal, so I've carefully cleaned off the 40 year old adhesive just from the area it had failed (about a foot long on the right side only), applied some contact adhesive and carefully wound the sunroof closed whilst making sure the seal stayed in place. Everything went together nicely as there are no kinks or tears in the old seal, so I'm fairly confident this will solve the problem. If it doesn't the contact adhesive should not be too difficult to remove and I'll fit a new seal.

Re the tops of the wings: on closer inspection it looks like the vinyl strips (very professionally done) stop just before the horizontal plane of the wings, which seem to be finished with satin black paint. This is good news, the plan will be to fill the holes from underneath as Dave (L-S) suggested via the wheel arches (probably GRP a little mat under the holes then use filler), then re-paint with satin black rattle can which should be easy to match. The grommet repair is fine for now and will keep the weather out until the spring/summer when I get round to this.

Best wishes,

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Bob Meadows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAYFfq3xkCY Sun Roof
https://www.sealsdirect.co.uk/ Seals Direct
https://coh-baines.co.uk/ Seals- Various

Alan: ~ Quote “but what sort of adhesive? I could try a 2 pack like Araldite, or perhaps a modern superglue Gorilla glue”

I would avoid using any of the above to repair the seal- Araldite is too permanent and I believe Gorilla glue is foaming and not ideal for rubber.

RTV (gasket) or a “thin” line of Polyurethane adhesive will stick the seal & remain flexible.
If it was my car then I would look at a replacement seal- If the original isn’t available then you could improvise with a new seal, the above companies may have one that can be used but other classic car rubber extrusions exist so I’m sure that you could track one down.
Regards Bob

Hi Bob,
I've tried contact adhesive (see reply to David above), I'll let you know how it has worked in 24 hours.
Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Thanks Bob, saved me a lot of typing (and researching!)!

Hi Dave,

Dan and I have come back from our road trip a day early. Bob (the dog) got an infection in his foot, the dog-sitter panicked a bit so we drove back from Devon and didn't get to 'ampshire, Dan's visit to his nanny will have to be postponed a few weeks. The good news is Bob is much improved after a trip to the vet and some antibiotics (and a £100 bill), he is important to us and coming back was the right thing to do.

So, project Royal Barge may proceed (but I may not get a great deal done today - I will be checking over my Triumph (bike) for the MoT tomorrow).

I have just checked eBay and see that 4 speed auto box I was interested in has sold, not to worry, I have about a year or so to acquire a suitable box. Thank you for your advice on that.

Best wishes,

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Bob Meadows

http://www.volvotips.com/index.php/g...o-color-codes/
https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/paint_colour_codes.shtml

Hi Alan: ~ the above links may assist regarding your paint colour- a descent paint shop will also help as some hold the Volvo paint chips & codes. Should the colour be anything other, then most should be able to mix a matching sample?
My ’88 240 is a similar colour -Blue/Green Volvo 402 but difficult to say exactly with photos etc.
The car looks a little different today as I have fitted Virgo wheels- a pair of roof bars & additional chrome trim to the bumpers & door sides black plastic trim. Plus it now weighs a little more with 20 Lts of rust treatment creeping about!
Keep up the good work the car has found the right owner!!
Regards Bob

Hi Bob,

By some detective work I have discovered the paint code is Volvo 136 - 'Cyprus Green Metallic'. I got a rattle can from the internet and it is not a bad match to the areas which have not faded over the past 40 years (i.e the vertical surfaces). Unfortunately the horizontal surfaces are the ones that need attention (the roof and the boot lid, both due to spoilers) have been affected most by the sun and rain over the past 4 decades and are much duller. I think I will end up re-painting the whole of the boot lid (it has has a number of little patch ups with paint that is not quite the same over the years) and possibly the roof as well. I'll probably leave this job until we get a nice, warm, dry day - but I think it will work fine and will list the whole car.

... more to follow.

Alan

[Dippydog]

Glad that Bob is recovering well,it's quite amazing the lengths we will go to and the money we will spend on our pets[and some cars] because they are "family".

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Nothing like them at all Alan! Those are on the post 82/83 240 series and having seen that manual now, it's NOT a Haynes!

Useful for keeping in the bathroom though!

Just noticed not one, but TWO glaring errors on the front cover of that Autodata book! The engine capacities, should be 2127cc and 2316cc - they managed to get the 1986cc correct so why get the others wrong?

Hi Dave,

I was flicking through the 1980 owners' handbook I acquired for the Royal Barge this morn and noticed the photo on the front cover showing the headlamps:



I've been outside and had a look - and am 99% sure these are the ones fitted to the car - they have the same brightwork and wipers. I'm pretty sure the headlamps are the originals (which is good). What do you think?

It is also just about possible to see the gap behind the bumpers - so again that looks all original (which is again good).

Best wishes,

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Dippydog

Glad that Bob is recovering well,it's quite amazing the lengths we will go to and the money we will spend on our pets[and some cars] because they are "family".

Good morn,

Thank you for that. You are right, Bob (and Milicent the cat) is very valuable to us. My son and I took only a moment to decide to cut short out trip and drive the 200 miles back from Devon.

You are right about cars as well. I suppose it makes not much sense to spent money on a 40 years old car when I could buy a much more modern car cheaper, but that isn't the point: I don't need the Royal Barge at all, but I have enjoyed saving it and I think it is really cool (my son doesn't agree, but he will see my point of view one day, that is part of growing up).

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Hi Dave,

Dan and I have come back from our road trip a day early. Bob (the dog) got an infection in his foot, the dog-sitter panicked a bit so we drove back from Devon and didn't get to 'ampshire, Dan's visit to his nanny will have to be postponed a few weeks. The good news is Bob is much improved after a trip to the vet and some antibiotics (and a £100 bill), he is important to us and coming back was the right thing to do.

So, project Royal Barge may proceed (but I may not get a great deal done today - I will be checking over my Triumph (bike) for the MoT tomorrow).

I have just checked eBay and see that 4 speed auto box I was interested in has sold, not to worry, I have about a year or so to acquire a suitable box. Thank you for your advice on that.

Best wishes,

Alan

Sorry to hear your visit was cut short Alan but very glad Bob is recovering nicely now - dog sitter did the right thing IMHO and so did you.

I'm a big believer in things happening for a reason and if that box hadn't sold, there's a fair chance you might have decided as it was local (to where you would have been), you'd get it anyway so i think Bob may have saved you something there.

As you say, there's plenty of time, you can research which box you have at present and the length of it, propshaft lengths etc so you can get the right box and propshaft combo without having to mess about to make sure it's just a "spanner job" to swap it.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Hi Dave,

I was flicking through the 1980 owners' handbook I acquired for the Royal Barge this morn and noticed the photo on the front cover showing the headlamps:



I've been outside and had a look - and am 99% sure these are the ones fitted to the car - they have the same brightwork and wipers. I'm pretty sure the headlamps are the originals (which is good). What do you think?

It is also just about possible to see the gap behind the bumpers - so again that looks all original (which is again good).

Best wishes,

Alan

I'd say your headlamps are what's shown on the cover of the handbook Alan, i don't ever recall seeing any UK 240 models with those headlamps but that doesn't necessarily mean Volvo didn't fit them for a short time. The other thing is both those cars are LHD and as i previously suggested, it's possible other markets got those headlamps as standard and perhaps they were an option on UK models.

Knowing how Volvo often fitted what came to hand depending on the alignment of the stars and the results of a sacrificial moose, it could be they were fitted as standard.

If you refer further up the thread to Lokis blue 244 on a V reg, that had the square headlights i'm much more familiar with on a 240 of that vintage.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Sorry to hear your visit was cut short Alan but very glad Bob is recovering nicely now - dog sitter did the right thing IMHO and so did you.

I'm a big believer in things happening for a reason and if that box hadn't sold, there's a fair chance you might have decided as it was local (to where you would have been), you'd get it anyway so i think Bob may have saved you something there.

As you say, there's plenty of time, you can research which box you have at present and the length of it, propshaft lengths etc so you can get the right box and propshaft combo without having to mess about to make sure it's just a "spanner job" to swap it.

Hi Dave,

I agree the dog-sitters did the right thing, they are a lovely couple and just had Bob's interests at heart

You are right about the auto box as well. The 3 speeder is perfectly good (in that it does exactly what Mr Volvo intended it to 40 years ago). there is no imperative to change the box, so I can take my time and get all the parts ready over the next year or so.

Alan