Can anyone ID these Volvo remains (maybe 240) in a wood?
 

So, I've known about these two cars for about 20 years, slowly fading into a wood in South East England. One is definitely a Volvo as it says so on the head and based on the shape of the rear drivers side door it looks like a 240, but it has chrome trim and I can't find any pictures of one with chrome door trim. The one in front of it is a mystery, the rear quarter suggested a Ford Capri but the handles are wrong. Anyway, here are the pics, Volvo first:

Now the other one
 

4 cylinder petrol with front discs. Any ideas?

How about an early '70s Hillman Avenger for the second one?

The Volvo would have to be a 1972 model or later given the flush door handles. The chrome may have looked like that on a 140 series car, but the engine looks OHC not OHV to me.

Avenger:
https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/attac...1&d=1618957570

Thanks, I think you're spot on with the Avenger, the front number looks right too. Good call on the Volvo too.

It was a fun little piece of 'carchaeology' to do. I love how both cars have mostly returned to the earth. Maybe someone can get a better ID on the Volvo. The intake manifold should be familiar to some on this forum. Maybe ClassicSwede will know.

I agree it is really interesting that both cars have returned to the earth in just a few decades. I find that quite sobering in that if we (humans) suddenly ceased to exist there might be almost no sign of us having been here after only perhaps 100,000 years - a blink in the eye for the planet.

The Volvo lump looks like a B21A - the inlet manifold is for a side-draught (Stromberg CD175 or similar) carb.

The other, OHV, lump is a single-port face one, i.e. the two manifolds are on the same side of the head, so that would back up the Avenger theory. I thought at first it was a Mark3 Cortina till I noticed the manifolds and realised the front suspension (or what remained of it) was a MacPherson strut.

An interesting find, I wonder why they ended up there...

B21a engine and later door handles as above date it to 1972 or later. The door catch looks like the early style that was used up until... 1977 I think?

Cheers

On closer inspection, the chrome door window trim has traces of black paint on it.

The window trim is stainless steel.

The B21 rocker cover with the breather hose on the side was only used for a short time so the year can be limited down by that