240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Othen]

Spot the difference:



... and:



That's right: in the first photo the little lever on the top (DEF) heater control is missing... and in the second (today) I found a replacement and have fitted it. Actually I bought 4 of them in an eBay auction for just £2:



... three spares of these must be at least two lifetime's supply!

A tiny change, but strangely satisfying :-)

[Moomoo]

Originally Posted by Othen

Spot the difference:



... and:



That's right: in the first photo the little lever on the top (DEF) heater control is missing... and inn the second (today) I found a replacement and have fitted it. Actually I bought 4 of them in an eBay auction for just £2:



... three spares of these must be at least two lifetime's supply!

A tiny change, but strangely satisfying :-)

I saw those. Handy purchase!👍

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Moomoo

I saw those. Handy purchase!👍

These little wins are so satisfying when running an older motor car Andrew.

:-)

[Moomoo]

Originally Posted by Othen

These little wins are so satisfying when running an older motor car Andrew.

:-)

Just like a BIG SHED to keep it all in!😁

[Bugjam1999]

I don’t believe the earliest cars with heated seats had on/off switches, after a couple of years volvo added switches to turn them off completely rather than relying on the thermostatic switch.

If it was my car I’d add a heating element to the passenger seat and isolating switches for both on the handbrake console, but it’s up to you of course..

More discussion here

Cheers

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Bugjam1999

I don’t believe the earliest cars with heated seats had on/off switches, after a couple of years volvo added switches to turn them off completely rather than relying on the thermostatic switch.

If it was my car I’d add a heating element to the passenger seat and isolating switches for both on the handbrake console, but it’s up to you of course..

More discussion here

Cheers

Ditto ^^^^^

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Bugjam1999

I don’t believe the earliest cars with heated seats had on/off switches, after a couple of years volvo added switches to turn them off completely rather than relying on the thermostatic switch.

If it was my car I’d add a heating element to the passenger seat and isolating switches for both on the handbrake console, but it’s up to you of course..

More discussion here

Cheers

Thank you, that corroborates what I’m seeing.

I’m not sure about adding heated seats elements to the passenger chair; the interior is very nice so I wouldn’t want it to appear tatty after I’d taken it apart (I’m better at oily bits and electrics, not so good at upholstery). Inserting a switch for the driver’s chair into one of the blanks in the hand brake console would be easy though, and I even have the switch (left over from the RB project). I just wonder whether it might look odd with only one switch.

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

...

The 15" rims and 195/65 tyres fill the wheel arches much better than the original 14" wheels and 175/70 tyres:



The Pholus wheels have nearly new winter tyres fitted, but that doesn't really matter, I think I'll run them as all year round rubber. The winter tyres will wear a little quicker, but I'm only expecting to do around 2,000 miles/year so that will hardly make any difference. I think they suit the Barge much better than do the originals.

I was intrigued at another thread I was reading in the general section of this forum where a chap said he had just bought some new tyres (for his wife's Vauxhall I think) that came with less than 6mm of tread. This led me to seeing how much thread I had on the Barge's winter tyres that I have decided to run all year round. The answer is 13-14mm on all four (bear in mind these have already done about 2,000 miles on the RB).

I'll measure them again this time next year, so if winter tyres wear that much (but with 14mm to start with that is a huge head start).

:-)

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

I was intrigued at another thread I was reading in the general section of this forum where a chap said he had just bought some new tyres (for his wife's Vauxhall I think) that came with less than 6mm of tread. This led me to seeing how much thread I had on the Barge's winter tyres that I have decided to run all year round. The answer is 13-14mm on all four (bear in mind these have already done about 2,000 miles on the RB).

I'll measure them again this time next year, so if winter tyres wear that much (but with 14mm to start with that is a huge head start).

:-)

The standard amount of tread on new tyres is 8mm Alan, i guess winter tyres may have more to start with to help disperse snow, ice and slush and are a much softer compound for enhanced grip so they probably wear much quicker too.

I wonder if the persons "new" tyres for his wifes Vauxhall were in fact new or just good part-worns and new-to-him/his wife?

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

The standard amount of tread on new tyres is 8mm Alan, i guess winter tyres may have more to start with to help disperse snow, ice and slush and are a much softer compound for enhanced grip so they probably wear much quicker too.

I wonder if the persons "new" tyres for his wifes Vauxhall were in fact new or just good part-worns and new-to-him/his wife?

When I lived in Germany I knew quite a few people that ran winter tyres all year round - particularly those in mountainous areas where they were legally required during the cold months. They often said their tyres lasted the same mileage as ordinary ones - now I know the reason why - they start off with twice as much tread.

You may be right about the chap getting tyres for his wife's Vauxhall - perhaps he just told her they were new!

:-)