Practically Classics Forum

rich. wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2024 1:03 pm Great to see the rover back in use
I've looked at wadhams via Google and a reconditioned radiator is about £220. Not sure if it's helpful.. I'll try and find a link later

Problem with them (and Rimmer's I think when I looked) is that they're on an exchange basis, and my current unit isn't suitable as a core due to the damage to the end tanks. Have found a couple of options in the £2-300 mark though so will look into that in more depth in the near future. Currently have enough enough other things going on that it's not quite at the top of the to do list yet.

Things have been slightly shuffled around on account of us having a new vehicle collection caper happening towards the end of the week. This is more sensible daily than classic, though my brain can't quite wrap itself around the concept of what to me still seems to be a brand new car being 17 years old!

Are any s/h rads available for reconditioning? Can't wait to see your new car? What have you bought?

rich. wrote: Sat Jul 20, 2024 6:20 am Are any s/h rads available for reconditioning? Can't wait to see your new car? What have you bought?

I absolutely wasn't looking for another car. While it wasn't perfect, the Partner was doing a decent job of being a daily driver. There were a couple of compromises though. Firstly was that while it's fine for one of the dogs at a time, getting them both in comfortably really needs the rest seats to be put down. That only takes ten seconds, but does mean that I can carry more than one passenger OR both dogs - and as we do travel fairly regularly as a family of four that's not ideal. The other gripe is simply that my other half doesn't find the driving position very comfortable. Not a big issue originally, but now their employer is insisting on them going into the office once every couple of weeks (which is daft - 4-6 hour round trip to sit at a hotdesk to attend exactly the same remote meetings via Teams as would be done from the desk at home), so that comfort issue has become a bit more relevant. However it wasn't something I was really planning on doing anything about in the immediate future aside from continuing to trying to get the cruise control working. So far we've been defeated by the fact that it looks like the engine ECU has been replaced at some point so the diagnostic software won't let us get into the relevant menu to enable it.

However then this turned up.













She's a 2007 V70 D5 SE. A low mileage, low owner car which has clearly been enthusiast owned since day one. As evidenced by the history file.



This contains everything going back to the original new vehicle order form and even what appears to be the brochure from the showroom from when the car was ordered.



Other signs of this car being cherished are than things like both the summer and winter mats still being with it along with the curtain for the factory dog guard, likewise the bag with the accessories that go with the tow bar.

These cars don't come up for sale very often these days in this combination of condition, specification and mileage. Which is why I'd never really considered them when I *had* been looking prior to the Partner being bought.

There are a lot of toys here which aren't things I'm used to. My brain still hasn't quite got used to the concept of this being my car rather than something I've rented or borrowed.

It really does highlight how much progress slowed and became so much more incremental once we got past 2000. The lack of an integrated display for navigation really is the only thing which dates it from the driver's seat. It's supremely comfortable, feels extremely well screwed together, and has more get up and go than anyone in the real world is going to need. Accompanied by the gloriously pleasing thrum of a five cylinder engine every time you do touch the accelerator.

With the exception of the Peugeot 107 which I bought new back in 2009 this is the most expensive car I've ever bought - however it feels like it does warrant that price tag at least.

I've been a huge fan of Saabs since I was about 5. Hence having owned four Classic 900s, the most recent of which I had for five years back up to 2014 or so.



However I have never up until now owned a Volvo, and always felt that was something I needed to do, to see how they compared. I'd always expected that to be in the form of a 70s or 80s 240 or similar, but this still counts I think.

So far I'm very impressed.

Excellent choice sir, I'm quite a big fan of the older Volvos, I have a 1997 V70 T5, the previous model to yours, and can endorse your view that it's a well made car and surprisingly easy to work on. Had mine for about 14 years now and not found a job I couldn't do myself.

I can strongly recommend the VOC forum for technical assistance and advice on these, here: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=19

I'm a frequent contributor to the section for the pre-2000 models.

Great choice! My nephew has had a couple of them.. all had done starship milage but still ran like new
Re rover, there's a V8 P6 minus the engine in Monmouth for spares if you want a spares car...

So begin the little fixes.

One broken electric seat switch.



You could still move it by manipulating the little stub in there, but it was really fiddly. Also drew my eye every time I opened the door.

Not a difficult fix.

Step 1, locate a suitable parts donor. This was grabbed from a local Volvo breaker for less than I could get one from eBay.



Even if I did swear a *lot* attempting to get one of those plugs out. This isn't actually a direct fit for mine, the plugs are totally different - but all I actually need is one little bit of black plastic, for which it will do just fine.

It goes without saying that before doing ANY work involving electrics on a car this modern and complex, the battery should be isolated. One slip of the screwdriver or dropped screw in the wrong place could result in a short that wipes out very expensive to replace ECUs. It's *unlikely* but for the sake of ten minutes work, do you really want to take that risk?

One screw holds the trim on, then it can be lifted up at the front and unclipped at the back.

There's no need to actually disconnect the electrical connector for this job, the wiring is plenty long enough.



Removal of three screws then allows the switch module itself to be withdrawn from the trim.



Then 9 small Philips screws need to come out to allow the PCB to be released - do this with it board side up or you'll end up with all the switch sliders falling out.



Yes, I learned that the hard way and had to pick all but one of them up out of the grass.

Here's what was actually broken.



Reassembly as the Hayne's manual loves to say is the reverse of disassembly.

Worth checking that everything is properly lined up before adding any screws.



Then the switch caps can be clipped back on.



Reconnect the battery and we're done!

Looks much better without something obviously broken visible once you open the door.



The driver's footwell lighting was restored with a new bulb.



That did cause a bit of initial head scratching though until I realised that the car only turns the interior lights on when you unlock/open the doors when it's relatively dark outside.

Gave the exterior a quick clean today. It's astonishing how much difference the wheels being clean makes.





She's a long old bus that's for sure, really obvious when you see the car fully side on.



Pointless but satisfying job was attacking this with the metal polish.





Much better.



Might need to try some of this new fangled ceramic coating stuff to protect the paint, see if it lasts any longer than a good quality traditional wax.

Somehow I've already managed to do nearly 500 miles in the car. Probably because I've been coming up with excuses to take the long way round getting to places as it's such a nice place to be.

Zelandeth wrote: Thu Jul 25, 2024 10:19 pm
Might need to try some of this new fangled ceramic coating stuff to protect the paint, see if it lasts any longer than a good quality traditional wax.

I've been using the Meguairs Ceramic Wax on the Subaru and Alfa for a while. Bird droppings tend to come off much easier and leave no marks and when it comes to washing the cars a quick snow foam coat and power wash does 90% of the work.

There are also those satisfying 'globules' of rain water when the heavens do open and watching it roll off the body work adds to the happiness.

gazza82 wrote: Fri Jul 26, 2024 5:39 pm I've been using the Meguairs Ceramic Wax on the Subaru and Alfa for a while. Bird droppings tend to come off much easier and leave no marks and when it comes to washing the cars a quick snow foam coat and power wash does 90% of the work.

There are also those satisfying 'globules' of rain water when the heavens do open and watching it roll off the body work adds to the happiness.

I've got some of Autoglym's equivalent sitting on a shelf in the garage, just haven't got as far as trying it on anything yet! Suspect the Volvo will be the first test subject as it's got good quality modern paint which should benefit properly from it I'd think.

-- -- --

First of the things I've ordered for the Volvo arrived today.



Properly matched touch up paint. Mainly to touch in the couple of nicks on the trailing edge of one or two doors.



This actually turned out to be significantly cheaper direct from Volvo than the offerings from Halfords which I'm sure wouldn't be even close to the right colour.

Guy on the parts desk was really enthusiastic and helpful though, even if they couldn't find my suspension bushes as they're no longer made so I'll need to go aftermarket for those. Not really a surprise at this age, but it was worth a shot. Given how extensive the history of this car is and that it's clearly been looked after I'd like to stick with OEM parts wherever I do have that option. Though obviously after 17 years that's just not going to be possible sometimes.

Which suspension bushes are you after?

I get a lot of aftermarket parts from PFV Online - they specialise in Volvo parts, and have a sister site for Saab.