343 - B14.2E > B200'RS'

[foggyjames]

Bump.

So you may have noticed that this car has been AWOL for a while...since the end of 2008, to be precise. The front doors and wings were a bit crusty, the bonnet was in factory primer (bad ju-ju!), and the paint on the roof was toasted. On top of this, there were a couple of small areas of rust which would present an MOT problem. It's a very solid shell for its age...but it's still 30 years old.

So, I bit the bullet, bought some panels...and booked it in for a stack of metalwork, and an all-over respray. Little would I believe that it would take over 2 years to get the car back (long and boring story)...but back in February (or was it March...I can't remember!), I picked it up. It is now undoubtedly the most expensive 300 in the country. I don't even want to admit what it cost...but it was a lot. I've just replaced my daily driver with a 2005 V70 D5...and that was cheaper. I'm not completely happy with the job, but I'm not sure you ever will be unless you do it yourself.

A few of you might have seen pictures on Facebook when I first picked it up. It was looking a bit sorry for itself. I'm slowly piecing it back together. It's been apart for a long time, but I keep finding bits, and it looks like there is actually very little missing. I'm hoping to get it MOT'd this week ready for the VOC national BKV on Sunday, but I'll most likely only get one shot at the MOT before the deadline. Anyway...a couple of pics for you...





It still needs some tweaking, as you can probably tell (spoiler needs screwing on more securely, wing mirrors need fitting, door window trim is missing...), but I'm focussing on the mechanicals at the moment. I have a Volvo-only track day at Castle Combe booked in a few weeks, and I really want to take this...preferably with coilovers fitted. I'll keep you posted on progress over the next few weeks...

cheers

James

[Hell Driver]

Looks great so far to me! Wish I was 2 months behind you with my project
I like the colour, and those later stainless bumper trims look good, the more 'chrome' the better.

[volvosneverdie]

Looks awesome dude.
You building the coilovers yourself man?

[foggyjames]

No, I have a set I bought from Kev Strong's 360 turbo. I'll see how I get on with them...

cheers

James

[jon-ovlov]

Gorgeous thing. Very nice indeed! Love the colour.

[Chris_C]

I don't even want to admit what it cost...but it was a lot. I've just replaced my daily driver with a 2005 V70 D5...and that was cheaper. I'm not completely happy with the job, but I'm not sure you ever will be unless you do it yourself.

If you are being completely honest with the first statement, then it goes back. You don't charge that much for bodywork and not back it up. Or you just stole the D5 from someone.

[foggyjames]

Well the D5 was cheaper than you might expect, as it has done 200k miles....but it still wasn't free with cornflakes. It's a little more complex than it sounds, as it went to two different places. The first guy, with hindsight, charged quite a bit for what he did. The second guy did a lot of metalwork AND paint for what a decent (cheap) all-over respray costs, so I can't really complain. There are just a few localised areas which aren't as good as I'd like them to be. In the future, I'll be doing it all myself (not least because I won't be able to afford to do this again...), so I'll only have myself to blame if it's not the result I wanted.

Quite miffed that Rupert managed to get his work (not anything like as extensive, granted) done so cheaply (and so well)...and so quickly...but that seems to be the luck of the draw, and I've had some foul luck on this one.

cheers

James

[valman]

any more info on the combe volvo track day?

[foggyjames]

It's organised by T5D5.org, and fully booked What else would you like to know? Erm...It's on Friday 8th July.

cheers

James

[Speedy88]

Foggy. Much respect for this man, gorgeous car.

[trabitom99]

Foggy, you're a true enthusiast

The paint job looks great as far as I can tell from the pictures ... It's probably better to bite the bullet and get it done all at once, if you start spraying some panels first and others later you always end up seeing the difference, particularly with metallic colours.

Tom

[foggyjames]

Foggy, you're a true madman

I fixed that for you Tom! Never again, that's for sure. Too much money, and too much hassle. I could do this all day every day if I didn't have to worry about work, but bloody hell is it a pain in the arse trying to fit this around everything else that's going on!

cheers

James

[trabitom99]

I know what you mean. Your respray is my air con And add a "family factor" to that equation ...

Tom

[MCHUDD]

Hi James.
Car is looking great. I know what you mean about spending on these things.
I took my mk1 to the graphics people and they told me the car needed a respray
before the stripes could go on otherwise they would just come of in a week or two.
Good luck with the rest of the job.
Cheers Mark.

[SteveP]

Bah worth the wait in my opinion, that is bloody awesome. SO glad you kept with that colour