Another What to do Post...

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petefarrell360
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Post by petefarrell360 » 08 Jul 2008 11:42 pm

jtbo wrote:Steering in older Mercs is like steering jellyfish with rubberband, seats are like sitting on wooden park bench but ride is not so bad eventually, specially after you put cushion under pants or something.
PMSL! Absolutely spot on! They are built to last though those old W124's, I had a 220TE with 260000 miles on the clock, engine ran perfectly, pulled well, handled quite well, well equipped, AC, etc.

And V6 Man is indeed correct, I never though it was possible to find a better seat than a 300, but the 960 is like being in an armchair! I'd never noticed it before, but a 300 seat you sit on, and seem to be perched, where as the 960 you sit deep within it and it hugs you. May explain why passengers tend to grip on for dear life in a 300 driven in a spirited manner!

And back to Steve, there are a lot of cars out there, but none will fit your criteria exactly I don't think, just go window shopping until it feels right. Think well outside the box though, there are some cheap cars to be had, some with a lot of kit for very little money. TBH, if you're not going to drive it like you stole it every day, dare I say it, FWD isn't so bad, I've been FWD the majority of the time recently, and yes, I miss RWD for the interesting side of things, but it isn't the be all and end all. It is less likely to catch you out when near the limit, but on the other hand, grip and handling suffers, along with turning circle and understeer rules the day, plus mine is eating tyres! :roll: Being a huge RWD fan, having tried FWD, I would never leave RWD completely, but it never hurts to broaden your horizons and it's not terrible for a road going car.

Don't rule out a T5, having done 350 miles or more of driving in less than 6 hours, I can honestly say it's an amazing car, needs more traction, less understeer would be good and I think the rear end needs the suspension sorting on mine, but otherwise, the noise and performance are spot on, and handling wise it's pretty good.

Pete
G reg 360 GLT, G reg 340 GL Variomatic, plus many more..........

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foggyjames
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Post by foggyjames » 15 Jul 2008 12:46 am

Bump! I've been away...oh Steve...you big car swapping pansy :P

I had a look at S14s a few weeks ago...specifically S14As. The front is very pretty, but they look like arse from the back...a real turn-off, in my eyes. I wonder where you got that idea from ;)

850/70 (especially C70). Don't rule out the TDI or 2.5s (including 2.5T...very nice), and don't be a snob about FWD. They handle well for something that's supposed to be comfy, and it's not like your RWD car for the last 2-3 years has actually had the power to cut the rear wheels loose for doriffffto :-P sm56 ;)

Soarer. Hell yes. Have you seen how cheap these are?

R32 Skyline. 300ZX. Do it. Do it. Do it.[/Starsky]

Final (impractical) thought: Stick it in storage for a rainy day. If you entrust it to Foggy storage, it might even end up with go-faster bits attached, if I get bored.

Final (practical) thought: Strip the shell (which, to be fair, is nothing special) & keep the more interesting parts for a rainy day. I went from struggling to fund one car and having nowhere to work on it to owning a house with a double garage and being able to run 3 cars at once (if they worked) within two years...and I really don't earn a fortune. At this stage, your situation is likely to change faster than you could possibly imagine.

Did those shocks ever turn up, by the way? Mine haven't... :evil:

cheers

James
VOC 300-series Register Keeper
'89 740 Turbo Intercooler
'88 360 Turbo Intercooler
'85 360 GLT
'81 343 GLS R-Sport
'79 343 DL
'70 164
...and some modern FWD nonsense to get me to work...

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Chris_C
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Post by Chris_C » 15 Jul 2008 10:24 am

I keep getting tempted by S14a's and 300zx's. I can easily insure both now, and you can get both cheap.

R32's and soarers have both been tempting tbh, but the initial purchase price puts it out of my reach.

If you havn't guessed, I have also been doing a Steve the last month or so. Went to look at an Amazon last Friday, but turned out significantly more rotton than I first thought. Then found an Avenger, that was less rotten, and tbh, I was damn tempted.

Ah well. I finally made up my mind. I had x amount of money to buy a new car, and it would have involved some work (I'm not going to look at a *new* car, so everything will need something). Plus, when I asked Kate as she's good at understanding what I'm like, she just asked if I'd prefer the avenger or a turbo 300. Difficult choice, but I'd prefer the tubby I think. I can't afford to get rid of Fake, thats the only car I have that's actually working. So, I decided to spend the buy a new car money on Fake and Kar combined. I don't need much to get the turbo running, so that is hopefully getting trailered over to here from my parents at some point soon.

In the meantime, I'm going to do Fake up. I just managed to buy sill and arch repair panels. They were damn expensive, but they came with a lot of other goodies too.
'89(G) 340 GLE B172k
'03 S60 D5 SE, '91 (J) MX5, 1954 Cyclemaster
Ex:
'89(F) 340 GL F7R (ex B172k) - Fake -> SBKV 300 Runner Up 08, 12; '91(H) 340 GL B14.4E - Kar; '88(F) 360 GLT B200E - Jet -> BKV 300 Runner Up 09; '89(G) 360 GLT B200E - Beast

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SteveP
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Post by SteveP » 16 Jul 2008 03:46 pm

Well, the 360 is getting pretty stripped as it is and some parts have already gone. I did get the shocks pretty quickly, but these will be up for sale too.

Running the 360 lately has been a total pain, I've not used it properly for nerly a year and to get a 300 where I want it will ultimately cost more than something out of the box (which will probably do it all better, as well...) So onto something new methinks.... Maybe I'll get another 300 in the future, probably something older like an early GLS or 343 though.

Trouble is with a modern FWD Volvo is that they were never set up to be particularly sporty, so all I keep imagining is overassisted steering, softly damped suspension etc. Besides, it's not like I need a big 4 door saloon! Although saying all that, every time I hear one at full chat...
Last edited by SteveP on 16 Jul 2008 04:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1989 - Volvo 360 GLT
1985 - Volvo 360 GLS
2008 - Volvo S60 SE Lux

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SteveP
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Post by SteveP » 16 Jul 2008 03:48 pm

Chris_C wrote:In the meantime, I'm going to do Fake up. I just managed to buy sill and arch repair panels. They were damn expensive, but they came with a lot of other goodies too.
You tight git.. find another one of them rear repair panels, never mind both sides!
1989 - Volvo 360 GLT
1985 - Volvo 360 GLS
2008 - Volvo S60 SE Lux

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Chris_C
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Post by Chris_C » 16 Jul 2008 04:03 pm

SteveP wrote: You tight git.. find another one of them rear repair panels, never mind both sides!
They were damn expensive, just came with free Spax, bodykit, Ronal 7" alloys and who knows what else I didn't quite manage to fit in the car :D
'89(G) 340 GLE B172k
'03 S60 D5 SE, '91 (J) MX5, 1954 Cyclemaster
Ex:
'89(F) 340 GL F7R (ex B172k) - Fake -> SBKV 300 Runner Up 08, 12; '91(H) 340 GL B14.4E - Kar; '88(F) 360 GLT B200E - Jet -> BKV 300 Runner Up 09; '89(G) 360 GLT B200E - Beast

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foggyjames
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Post by foggyjames » 17 Jul 2008 12:10 am

If you're stripping it...I might be interested in leather...

cheers

James
VOC 300-series Register Keeper
'89 740 Turbo Intercooler
'88 360 Turbo Intercooler
'85 360 GLT
'81 343 GLS R-Sport
'79 343 DL
'70 164
...and some modern FWD nonsense to get me to work...

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Jason B
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Post by Jason B » 17 Jul 2008 01:14 am

kinky :lol:
'89 360 GLE awaiting 2.3 power

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hatch360
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Post by hatch360 » 17 Jul 2008 01:17 am

LOL!!!! That is gold

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foggyjames
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Post by foggyjames » 17 Jul 2008 01:41 am

I had a feeling, as I typed that, that this would happen. No, I thought to myself...our members aren't that depraved...

I've been away too long sm56

cheers

James
VOC 300-series Register Keeper
'89 740 Turbo Intercooler
'88 360 Turbo Intercooler
'85 360 GLT
'81 343 GLS R-Sport
'79 343 DL
'70 164
...and some modern FWD nonsense to get me to work...

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SteveP
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Post by SteveP » 17 Jul 2008 09:44 am

Yep do indeed have a leather interior to sell, it's in very nice condition too... let me know if you want it, it'll be out of the car soon and taking up valuable space! :lol:
1989 - Volvo 360 GLT
1985 - Volvo 360 GLS
2008 - Volvo S60 SE Lux

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foggyjames
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Post by foggyjames » 17 Jul 2008 07:06 pm

Let me see what the stuff in this GLEi SE is like...but I'm quite likely to be game.

cheers

James
VOC 300-series Register Keeper
'89 740 Turbo Intercooler
'88 360 Turbo Intercooler
'85 360 GLT
'81 343 GLS R-Sport
'79 343 DL
'70 164
...and some modern FWD nonsense to get me to work...

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V6 Man
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Post by V6 Man » 17 Jul 2008 07:32 pm

foggyjames wrote:I might be interested in leather...
foggyjames wrote:but I'm quite likely to be game.
DOH!
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foggyjames
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Post by foggyjames » 17 Jul 2008 09:11 pm

(Whipping sound) ;)

Thhhhhhh.....any word on the shocks? Have yours arrived yet? I did ask earlier, but you're clearly being a Brummie :-P ;)

cheers

James
VOC 300-series Register Keeper
'89 740 Turbo Intercooler
'88 360 Turbo Intercooler
'85 360 GLT
'81 343 GLS R-Sport
'79 343 DL
'70 164
...and some modern FWD nonsense to get me to work...

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Chris_C
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Post by Chris_C » 18 Jul 2008 01:23 am

After Foggy spent ages taking the mick out of my 175's at Gaydon this weekend, I bought Steve's old wheels.

Too start with, they look aweful on my car, not sure if it needs the kit or what. But I just took them out for some rally practise, and I've never ever ever ever ever known grip like it! Good tyre choice Steve, I really couldn't make it slide!
'89(G) 340 GLE B172k
'03 S60 D5 SE, '91 (J) MX5, 1954 Cyclemaster
Ex:
'89(F) 340 GL F7R (ex B172k) - Fake -> SBKV 300 Runner Up 08, 12; '91(H) 340 GL B14.4E - Kar; '88(F) 360 GLT B200E - Jet -> BKV 300 Runner Up 09; '89(G) 360 GLT B200E - Beast

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