240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Steve 940]

Originally Posted by 360beast

Thanks Steve! I've now spent three hours this morning crying in the corner 😂

Didn’t mean to put you into therapy, sounds ‘interesting’, is the saga on an old thread here for a bit of light reading😀

Cheers
Steve

[loki_the_glt]

198LW still active

I was right about the gauge pack's presence - just confirms that I haven't totally lost it.

Oh, what it really needs is a supercharger, definitely not a turbo!

[Moomoo]

I’ll check my wireless, I got zilch next door in Derbyshire.

T internet said it was still broadcasting on 198 LW .

I’ll dig a bit more!🤔

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Moomoo

Yes, I think so, can’t find a definite answer.🤔

Addendum:

Dug out old wireless, 1500m , 198mhz? all quiet, so no Dave, you’re right!👍☹️

It will be KHz on Long Wave Andrew and 1500m = 200KHz or as close as makes no odds. Using 198KHz, it works out as 1514m and 198MHz is bordering on microwave transmssion, certainly above VHF (88-108MHz) or FM as it's known these days.
Even MW (Medium Wave) is still in KHz, for example 693 and 909KHz convert to 433m and 330m respectively.

Still no real confirmation on the LW transmission as (i noticed Lokis comment) many of them seem to have disappeared from certain areas in the UK, a bit like Sky switching off SD satellite transmissions, especially from Third Party broadcasters recently. Things as we knew them are disappearing into the vast black hole that is commonly referred to as "history".

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Moomoo

I’ll check my wireless, I got zilch next door in Derbyshire.

T internet said it was still broadcasting on 198 LW .

I’ll dig a bit more!🤔

What is broadcasting on 198m Andrew?

Also a frequency to wavelength converter site, be warned it gives the frequency in MHz, 1000KHz = 1MHZ so 0.19986MHz (199.86KHz ~200KHz) = 1500m.

[Moomoo]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

It will be KHz on Long Wave Andrew and 1500m = 200KHz or as close as makes no odds. Using 198KHz, it works out as 1514m and 198MHz is bordering on microwave transmssion, certainly above VHF (88-108MHz) or FM as it's known these days.
Even MW (Medium Wave) is still in KHz, for example 693 and 909KHz convert to 433m and 330m respectively.

Still no real confirmation on the LW transmission as (i noticed Lokis comment) many of them seem to have disappeared from certain areas in the UK, a bit like Sky switching off SD satellite transmissions, especially from Third Party broadcasters recently. Things as we knew them are disappearing into the vast black hole that is commonly referred to as "history".

Yes Dave I see my MHz /KHz faux pas, silly me!

I always thought it was kept for the shipping forecast, it being so reliable.

If Lokis gets it in Cheshire, I’m well miffed not to get it next door!

Not that I’ve accessed it for years!🧐

[john.wigley]

Oh dear - look at what I have started now ... ? J.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Moomoo

Yes Dave I see my MHz /KHz faux pas, silly me!

I always thought it was kept for the shipping forecast, it being so reliable.

If Lokis gets it in Cheshire, I’m well miffed not to get it next door!

Not that I’ve accessed it for years!🧐

Ah, the shipping forecast, that's why i couldn't think what it might be! As for the MHz/KHz thing, easily done and yes, i did once get marked down in an exam for the same mistake! Fortunately not an exam that mattered, just a mid-term coursework test so got a mouthful of expletive-laden ribbing from the instructor and tht was it. He got it back 20-fold when he made the same mistake while trying to teach us something new afterwards as we all ripped into him mercilessly!

Are you far from the coast where you are? Just wondering if they've reduced the power and/or redirected the transmitters to be more on the seaward side than land? They've done a lot of weird things with radio and TV transmissions in the recent decades.

Originally Posted by john.wigley

Oh dear - look at what I have started now ... ? J.

You trouble-maker John!

[Moomoo]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Ah, the shipping forecast, that's why i couldn't think what it might be! As for the MHz/KHz thing, easily done and yes, i did once get marked down in an exam for the same mistake! Fortunately not an exam that mattered, just a mid-term coursework test so got a mouthful of expletive-laden ribbing from the instructor and tht was it. He got it back 20-fold when he made the same mistake while trying to teach us something new afterwards as we all ripped into him mercilessly!

Are you far from the coast where you are? Just wondering if they've reduced the power and/or redirected the transmitters to be more on the seaward side than land? They've done a lot of weird things with radio and TV transmissions in the recent decades.





You trouble-maker John!

Yes mate the tide goes out about 80 odd miles in Ashbourne in Derbyshire.

As for M/KHz , I suppose it depends whether you want to listen to it or cook it !

Yes JW , look what you’ve started. I’ll sneak to Calverton one Sunday and let your tyres down!

[Othen]

I had meant to spend the day in reconnaissance - to find out what I'd bought with the Barge, and what needed doing. In the end normal life got in the way a bit, so it became about 4 hours.

I had a good look around the Barge, sometimes just noting things, other times ordering parts to complete another day - and occasionally completing fixes because I had the parts handy.

The engine compartment looked more or less okay. I did notice the pre-heater pipe for the air intake doesn't go anywhere:



... this pipe is supposed to fit onto a bracket attached to the downpipe - which is missing. The bracket is available (about £40) but there is no point replacing it unless the constant temperature device is still working. That is one for investigation.

I noticed the under engine tray had been noted as insecure at a few previous MoT tests - it was still insecure (wired on at the front - I don't know why). I could repair it with some GRP, or get a new one for about £35, we'll see.

At this point I concluded the motor car had probably belonged to a farmer: things only got fixed when they broke, but it is pretty complete because farmers never throw anything away.

Inside the cabin the passenger side map pocket is missing:



- we'll probably just learn to live without that, it isn't really worth £80 for a new one. I did order a nice set of blue floor mats for abut £26, which will improve the cabin. Still inside - I did manage to tune the radio/cassette and found perhaps 3 stations (I can normally find 20is in the FM band with a modern tuner. So, it does work, and I might live with it for a while, but in the longer term I don't think 1980s quality radio will be good enough. I take John's point, but I don't think it is worth spending hundreds replacing the innards of a radio/cassette player with modern stuff just to look nice when I can buy a Chinese classic looking item like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354167690741

... for £18 and it will work much better than the original, or a nice Sony like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254871083968

for £70... either way, I'll convert the wiring to DIN sockets (if they aren't already) so it is easy to put the old beast back in if someone really wants it. The unit did come with one cassette tape (which is the only one I own):



... Patsy Cline, the Queen of Country, may not be one of my favourites. Talking of speakers, the motor car has these nice original Volvo speakers fitted on the hat shelf:



... plus some nice Volvo door speakers at the front - I'll certainly keep those. The extra instruments seem to more or less work - although the outside temperature gauge is wildly optimistic, even during this summer. One day I'll find the sensor and make it read right.



I thought the headlamp wipers were broken, but it turned out that they were badly adjusted so they lodged below the headlamps and so couldn't move. I adjusted them so they sit on the glass and they both work now - except the blades are worn out (I'll order some). Perhaps that is why someone wedged then below the headlamps in the first place. Anyway, another no-cost fix (apart from buying some wiper blades).

I put the Barge up on some ramps and had a look underneath and gave it a clean up. I'm guessing this is the sender for the oil temperature gauge that John mentioned?



I gave the contacts a clean up - we'll see if it starts working. I also tidied up the engine bay a bit, the carburettor damper seemed to have no oil in it so I topped it up with ATF. The motor still has points ignition:



These seem okay (I'll check the timing when I get a mo) but I think I'll change it to an electronic points set up like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363401865643

... fit it for £35 and no more fiddling with points and capacitors.

The PO had spent good money having the alloy wheels refurbished and fitting new tyres, but had fitted odd wheel nuts:



... I had a spare set (for the Pholus winter wheels) so I fitted them. The old wheel nuts were mostly stiff to remove, so I had a suspicion they were not the right thread (so they went in the bin). The 1/2" UNF ones look much smarter (and are all the same):



I'll order a set of closed nuts in the fullness or time.

The Barge seems to be pretty original (generally a good thing). As well as the service book and handbook it also has the original jack and tool roll:



The wheel brace took looks pretty useless though, so I'll order a proper one to keep in the boot. There was a bit of rust in the wheel wells (as normal), not bad enough to warrant welding and there is nothing structural there so I scrubbed it up, used some Kurust and fixed it with a generous helping of GRP. The good thing about repairing rather than restoring the motor car is that I don't have to fix everything as new. If I still own the Barge in a decade I'll probably have to weld in a couple of spare wheel well sections - until then my repair will be just fine.

Overall the car looks pretty good - and will be the perfect project for me: complete (more or less) but just enough neglect to give me something to do.

I must admit, I'm excited by this motor car just as I was when I first bought the RB and GAM, and that is what I like about old Volvos. I get real satisfaction out of finding, diagnosing and fixing problems like the above.

I hope readers don't think this tread too verbose - I use it as a journal and my records of plans and their execution.

It isn't really worth taxing the Barge for just a week, so I'll SORN it and pay the tax from 1 September.

I'm very pleased with EWM33Y - the Barge.

Alan