Underbody Oil Spraying

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by panda529e699

The 740 I have already had what looked like a factory applied underseal. I remember the first service after getting it, the mechanic said the prop shaft had also been sprayed, obviously on only part of it. About a year or 2 ago, I looked at some 2nd hand newer Volvos, about 4 years old, and there was no under seal on and for the age they looked a right mess. I have seen this with other new cars as well. I wonder if Volvo used to underseal from new. Just a thought.

I'm not sure what they used exactly but they did at one point have a 6-stage anti-corrosion process (think it was 6-stage anyway) and they did a lot of adverts about it as it was about the time the late 70s 240s were beginning to rust "while-u-w8".

My 1988 760 has had a little rust in common places in the front end but everything from the B-post backwards is near mint, courtesy of a long-term leak (now fixed) from the gearbox so the back end was rustproofed with ATF while the car drove!

Thing is, cars from about 2000 on are more or less considered disposable with sealed for life engine and transmission units etc. They also have different painting processes that inhibits the rust but not for as long as underseal and proper rust prevention treatments.
Also consider the fact that new Volvos are made for Chinese taskmasters who hold the purse strings and the chances are it's thinner, poorer quality metal to start with.

[panda529e699]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I'm not sure what they used exactly but they did at one point have a 6-stage anti-corrosion process (think it was 6-stage anyway) and they did a lot of adverts about it as it was about the time the late 70s 240s were beginning to rust "while-u-w8".

My 1988 760 has had a little rust in common places in the front end but everything from the B-post backwards is near mint, courtesy of a long-term leak (now fixed) from the gearbox so the back end was rustproofed with ATF while the car drove!

Thing is, cars from about 2000 on are more or less considered disposable with sealed for life engine and transmission units etc. They also have different painting processes that inhibits the rust but not for as long as underseal and proper rust prevention treatments.
Also consider the fact that new Volvos are made for Chinese taskmasters who hold the purse strings and the chances are it's thinner, poorer quality metal to start with.

That's one way, self rust proofing system from the gearbox. I have mine in for some dents to be repaired on the roof, have removed the headlining for recovering at same time. The body shop commented it took a bit longer dealing with the dents as the metal was so thick, just what you said about the quality being different now.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by panda529e699

That's one way, self rust proofing system from the gearbox. I have mine in for some dents to be repaired on the roof, have removed the headlining for recovering at same time. The body shop commented it took a bit longer dealing with the dents as the metal was so thick, just what you said about the quality being different now.

I've got a few 940 bits on my 760 simply because of availablility of unusual bits, the difference is fairly obvious with some of them, not so obvious with others.

It's not just Volvo though, my other beast as you'll see from my signature is a Rover 827 Sterling. Over the years i've had that i've slowly but surely brought it up to the spec i wanted, some bits were made standard on later models of the same era, others on;y came with the advent of the "Mk2b" aka the facelift or post-96 models. However, some other bits were only available from Mk1 models of varying eras - mine is a Mk2a for reference.

One of the things i changed was the carpet, the original was old, worn, dirty and although could have been cleaned, had been dirty so long it was almost thread-bare in areas. I also decided i wanted a dark blue carpet. That left me two options, either a Mk1 limited edition model or a Mk2b. I'd rulled the Mk2b out as i'd seen how thin the carpets are - about 6mm (1/4") deep on the pile. The Mk2a (mine) was originally about 9mm (3/8") and the Mk1 was 12mm (1/2") and eventually i found one. It also came with a proper drivers heel pad in rubber.
Something else i changed were the seats for ones with heaters in. Yes, there were some available on the Mk2a (mine was 6 months too old to get them as standard) but they were very rare so it had to be Mk2b seat covers. The leather was noticeably thinner so no doubt they will need some sort of refurbishment before long. Something else i noticed were the metal seat frames were made of thinner metal on the Mk2b. Also the motors for the seat mech were inferior quality to the older ones.

Many other reduced quality items on the later cars one of which spawned the "Volvo expansion tank conversion" which is now an accepted and desirable mod. My fault i'm afraid!

[panda529e699]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I've got a few 940 bits on my 760 simply because of availablility of unusual bits, the difference is fairly obvious with some of them, not so obvious with others.

It's not just Volvo though, my other beast as you'll see from my signature is a Rover 827 Sterling. Over the years i've had that i've slowly but surely brought it up to the spec i wanted, some bits were made standard on later models of the same era, others on;y came with the advent of the "Mk2b" aka the facelift or post-96 models. However, some other bits were only available from Mk1 models of varying eras - mine is a Mk2a for reference.

One of the things i changed was the carpet, the original was old, worn, dirty and although could have been cleaned, had been dirty so long it was almost thread-bare in areas. I also decided i wanted a dark blue carpet. That left me two options, either a Mk1 limited edition model or a Mk2b. I'd rulled the Mk2b out as i'd seen how thin the carpets are - about 6mm (1/4") deep on the pile. The Mk2a (mine) was originally about 9mm (3/8") and the Mk1 was 12mm (1/2") and eventually i found one. It also came with a proper drivers heel pad in rubber.
Something else i changed were the seats for ones with heaters in. Yes, there were some available on the Mk2a (mine was 6 months too old to get them as standard) but they were very rare so it had to be Mk2b seat covers. The leather was noticeably thinner so no doubt they will need some sort of refurbishment before long. Something else i noticed were the metal seat frames were made of thinner metal on the Mk2b. Also the motors for the seat mech were inferior quality to the older ones.

Many other reduced quality items on the later cars one of which spawned the "Volvo expansion tank conversion" which is now an accepted and desirable mod. My fault i'm afraid!

Even before I could drive, the car I wanted was the Sterling Saloon, with two tone paint, with cream leather seats. The Rover salesmen training videos on YouTube are interesting. Hope to get my Volvo back this week, and then on with re fitting the headlining. Was it BL who transported unpainted cars across an outside road bridge to be painted.

[eternal optimist]

Originally Posted by panda529e699

Was it BL who transported unpainted cars across an outside road bridge to be painted.

Half true - the bridge was enclosed and effectively was a conveyor belt between two bits of the factory.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by panda529e699

Even before I could drive, the car I wanted was the Sterling Saloon, with two tone paint, with cream leather seats. The Rover salesmen training videos on YouTube are interesting. Hope to get my Volvo back this week, and then on with re fitting the headlining. Was it BL who transported unpainted cars across an outside road bridge to be painted.

Mine has cream leather or as Rover like to call it, Stone Beige. No "Duotone" paint though, that was mainly the Mk1s although they reintroduced the option on the MK2b but not many people took it.

Can't remember if it was BL or Peugeot, remember someting vaguely about it.

[kelvinp]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

It's not just Volvo though, my other beast as you'll see from my signature is a Rover 827 Sterling. Over the years i've had that i've slowly but surely brought it up to the spec i wanted, some bits were made standard on later models of the same era, others on;y came with the advent of the "Mk2b" aka the facelift or post-96 models. However, some other bits were only available from Mk1 models of varying eras - mine is a Mk2a for reference.

I have an MG ZT 190 and there are noticeable differences when MGR introduced Project Drive across the 25/45/75 range - this basically meant that they removed lots of the little finer points - removing one of the horns for a start, and there were lots where quality of materials were reduced.

I had a pre-project drive ZT (Mk 1) before my Mk 2 and a lot of the bits were noticeable, so I have been gradually changing and replacing the missing bits. I even have a superior Mk 1 carpet to go in as I know mine has suffered from water ingress from a leaking sunroof drain.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by kelvinp

I have an MG ZT 190 and there are noticeable differences when MGR introduced Project Drive across the 25/45/75 range - this basically meant that they removed lots of the little finer points - removing one of the horns for a start, and there were lots where quality of materials were reduced.

I had a pre-project drive ZT (Mk 1) before my Mk 2 and a lot of the bits were noticeable, so I have been gradually changing and replacing the missing bits. I even have a superior Mk 1 carpet to go in as I know mine has suffered from water ingress from a leaking sunroof drain.

Lots of stuff was missing from the ZT/75 that was present on the 800 it "replaced" - Lazy Locking for one. Rear anti roll bar for another.

As for the sunroof drain, are you sure it was the sunroof drain? The reason i ask is i've seen a few 75/ZT models with chrom trim along the length of the car. This is held in place with a nut behind the panel and a small rubber washer between the trim and the outside of the panel. These move and/or perish so water can pour stright into the boot which then finds its way into the cabin, often leaving little or no trace in the boot. Worth double-checking on yours, just to be sure!