Reliability is overrated :lol: It's the wonders of running old tat: you can swear at it when it breaks down and forget it all when it's back in working order because it gives so much joy. I don't know if I could ever forgive a Mazda 323 for failing to start. Or a Mondeo diesel for that matter :lol:

macplaxton wrote:First, purge these impure thoughts from your mind.

While we're at it:

Nice write-up, but what the hell is he on about with this? when the gas pedal was released the car almost stopped immediately because the driveline was shutdown completely by the variomatic (there was no freewheel-effect). Much of the information about the P900 development and Volvo's involvement is...

I'd say it's likely that at least the rev counter is pre-wired in your car.

It has a REV COUNTER. Which is even MOAR fun on a variomatic.

Ha, the Danish time capsule showroom. I reckon most of the cars have been sold already, I've seen one of the Fiat 127's offered not that long ago. As the story goes, this shop stopped selling Fiat cars somewhere around 1982 (continuing to sell Iveco), but never sold its remaining stock. Most of the ...

Not in any particular order, nor the definitive list, but three cars that spring to mind: The Fiat 130 Coupé, for combining Fiat's last true (as in convincing) luxury offering with a clean, timeless and relevant design. The Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9, for looking terrifyingly imposing while being com...

Aaaaaaaaaaaannnd I just read somewhere else I was right.

Does it actually float at all? Put it in a bowl of water and check. It must only touch the surface. If it goes Titanic however, you need a new one. Pity your clever mate just destroyed what is possibly the most expensive piece of rubbish plastic known to mankind.

Keep up the good work!

Nice to see you've still got the old hubcaps. After MY1978 they were deleted, and Volvo 66 ones do not fit, so early 343 owners, beware!

Thanks for taking pix Tom, I couldn't find any time to visit Essen this year. A bit of a let down for me, especially since a VCD man already told me last year they would have a Dutch-oriented theme this Techno Classica! I found that quite daring since almost all of the club's cars are 'real' Volvos ...

The 123 unit was originally designed as a replacement for older contact breaker units. Unless you plan to tune the engine with other carbs or cams and need a custom setup, I can't see how the 123 would improve on the standard supplied Renix unit. Check http://www.123ignition.nl/ and leave Aryan a me...

There was this brilliant thread on the Chevy Cobalt SS forum that went all over the world: a guy asking how reversing would work in a car with a turbo since that would also have to spin backwards. Unfortunately the forum admin put it behind mandatory login bars but it was hilarious nonetheless. This...

I use Spotify, same principle.

macplaxton wrote:

nvdw wrote:Because I had to do lots of motorway in it, I ignored the variomatics and found

...then saw the light

Yes I did! But that's for another thread, "What made you get into variomatics"