Quote:
Originally Posted by Laird Scooby
Hi Alan, the power returned about 5pm ish yesterday thanks, having seen the UK Power Networks outage chart on the local news this morning, it seems i was one of the lucky ones!
I like your aim with the car although i'd be tempted to add improvements where possible while returning it to standard. Many mods can be either permanently hidden until used or built into the car in such a way as to look factory.
I'd be inclined to avoid T-Cut and use something like this instead :
http://www.performancemotorcare.com/...on_System.html
The Paint Cleaner does just that, removes oxidisation, ingrained dirt etc and leaves the paint ready for the Polish, that really makes the paintwork "pop" and then the Carnaube Wax seals it. It's not cheap but it's one of those things where you really do get what you pay for. THey're also all "diminishing abrasives" so the more you polish/clean with them, the finer they get Couple of tips on using them, pick a warm, dry day and do it in the shade, get a plant sprayer full of clean water and spray the panel before you start, if the compound starts to get dry as you're working it, add a little more spray to keep it liquid.
If you have a machine/DA polisher, use it as it takes a lot of the elbow grease out of doing it.
The rev counter should pick up its signal from the coil -ve terminal, even if it has been retrofitted with a 360 Hall effect dizzy etc the pick up point is the same. You may find that there is a wire off behind the dash or perhaps just cleaning the connectors on the multiplugs returns the rev counter to living status.
The inner lamps are driving lights and as Loki suggested, above the bumper would be a better place for them. The outer pair are fog lights and in the ideal place, they're also made by Ring and are pretty good lights although i prefer the Microline style as per the driving lights. Each to their own and if you're happy with them, there's nothing wrong with them, it's purely personal taste. To save repeating everything Loki said, i'd do exactly the same as he suggested. 
PS i did find the guide Loki referred to in the 240 Articles section but sadly it has been "Photobucketed".
Likewise with the sunroof, it's purely a slide back and forth unit.
The bonnet release will have adjustment on the bonnet end if it's anywhere. You're correct the white ferrule should sit in the bulkhead bracket and the adjustment is likely to be a cable clamp on the underside of the bonnet lock. It needs some slack (but not as much as it currently has!) to work properly, after all you don't want to go over a bump and the bonnet unlocks itself!  
On the tyres, the original if memory serves correctly were 165/78/15 - the original, non-specified profile (aspect ratio) of 78% wasn't usually used in the designation so they would have been 165 SR 15 - your handbook should confirm that. Nearest correct diameter tyre is 195/65/15 and they are much more comfortable than the 60 aspect ratio.
Think that covers it all!
Oh yeah, instrument light lamps, from memory they are 1.2W "501" designation, often referred to as "T10". It's a long time since i changed them in a 240 so my memory might be playing tricks. Fairly sure they were just clear bulbs and the bluey/green hue came from filters in the instrument cluster. Later cars had translucent latex "condoms" over the bulbs/lamps to give a coloured light output. If yours has those, you can change for LEDs easily to whatever colour you want. Green seems to suit Volvos but go with what suits you. |
Hi again Dave,
Super, many thanks.
So, this morn I've changed the oil + filter and fitted the Osram H4 bulbs - I'll report on those after it gets dark. The oil that came out didn't look bad at all, as far as I can tell from the history it was changed 2 years, but only 1000 miles ago. It is an easy car to work on, but how many non-Volvo owners have a 25mm spanner for the oil plug? I managed to find a 1" from my American toolbox that fitted snugly.
I'm glad you like my aim with the car, I'm not agin a few subtle mods, and I'm certainly not trying to return it to the way it came out of the factory. I'd looked a couple of similar aged cars (Triumph and Rover) before finding the Royal Barge, they were rust buckets and very low-tech in comparison. The 1980 244 is just about the sweet spot in classic motoring for me: it will be tax and MoT exempt next April, it only costs £80/year to insure (including the breakdown cover), it has just enough modern engineering (disc brakes, proper lights, power steering...) to be safe on the road, but none of the electronics that came just afterwards (ABS, traction control, climate control...) that will lead to the premature demise of many 1990s and younger cars.
The bottom of the car looks marvelous for a 40 year year old:
No sign of any rust or repairs, no oil leaks, everything looks very tidy. The exhaust look quite new:
... and everything looks good with the brakes and suspension:
... so all in all I'm very happy with the car. The Royal Barge's cabin is becoming quite a nice place to be now that most of the controls work properly. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Sony radio will play music from a USB stick, so I had Robert Plant singing away during my short test drive.
Thank you for the advice on cutting the paint, I'll follow that up when the weather improves a bit (Easter I should think!). You are probably right about the tacho as well, I have to take the instruments out anyway to fix the illumination (501 bulbs ordered) and I'll probably find a bad connection somewhere which will fix it.
The driving/fog lamp installation is a complete mess, fortunately I'm an trained as an electrician (although I don't do it as a business) so it won't be difficult to resolve. If you would send a link to the article you found that would be helpful. I think I'll keep all the lights, but mount them properly and sort out the wiring so both sets operate properly.
Re: the bonnet release cable. Do you mean the ferule sits on the engine side of the bulkhead in a bracket, with the release handle poking through into the cabin? That is what looks like should happen. I don't think that will be hard to fix, as long as I can get access to the bulkhead via the driver's side wheel arch (I have not looked yet).
Okay, I'll go for the 195/65R15 tyres, I can get a whole set for £150, fitted, balanced and including the tracking adjusted - that is so cheap compared with my other cars (and even my motorbikes). I'll probably order them this afternoon - I'm not all that happy about driving round on the wrong tyres (or odd ones).
Many thanks for all the help - I suspect I will have several hundred more questions as I discover more about the Royal Barge.
Best wishes,
Alan