The stop-gap: 1980 (mk1) 345 DL

A global place for general discussion (Volvo, V3M or non-Volvo related topics).
Please introduce yourself here, your Volvo 300 hobby...
NO technical support, parts requests or car advertisements here
volvosneverdie
*** V3M DONOR ***
Posts: 9143
Joined: 11 Nov 2008 04:22 pm
Location: Newcastle Upon Toon

Re: The stop-gap: 1980 (mk1) 345 DL

Post by volvosneverdie » 14 Mar 2011 02:17 pm

foggyjames wrote:Just a quick mini-update. This is back at my house now. I've cleaned it out inside (it has become its own parts store...) and am running it for 10-15 mins at least once a fortnight while I wait for the weather to get better so I can be bothered to fix the remaining mechanical issues...then it's MOT time!

cheers

James
Sweeeet.
Image

User avatar
Speedy88
Posts: 4057
Joined: 04 May 2009 11:52 pm
Location: Bristol

Re: The stop-gap: 1980 (mk1) 345 DL

Post by Speedy88 » 14 Mar 2011 03:24 pm

Winrar :D
'88 340 Williams (Sold)
'85 360 GLS - Drift project (Sold)
'77 Colt Sigma
'96 940 Drift project

User avatar
foggyjames
*** V3M DONOR ***
Posts: 9361
Joined: 29 Jan 2004 04:20 am
Location: Nottingham, UK

Re: The stop-gap: 1980 (mk1) 345 DL

Post by foggyjames » 14 Mar 2011 03:41 pm

That reminds me, I'm overdue to post pictures of the mk1 343's return from the bodyshop... ;) Facebook has seen them, but that's all so far.

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...

User avatar
trabitom99
*** V3M DONOR ***
Posts: 4398
Joined: 06 Jan 2007 02:38 pm
Location: Bonn, Germany

Re: The stop-gap: 1980 (mk1) 345 DL

Post by trabitom99 » 14 Mar 2011 05:24 pm

Pics pics! Glad things are progressing ...

Cheers

Tom
343 GL Touring B14.1E CVT (155) 98000kms 1980 (sold)
343 L Junior B14.3E MT4 (155) 229000kms 1981 (scrapped)
343 DLS B19A MT4 (155) 167900kms 1982
360 GL Injection B200F MT5 (231) 348598kms 1988 (scrapped)
360 GLT B200F MT5 (302) 230000kms 1988

MCHUDD
*** V3M DONOR ***
Posts: 2537
Joined: 18 May 2006 03:43 pm
Location: BELFAST UNITED KINGDOM

Re: The stop-gap: 1980 (mk1) 345 DL

Post by MCHUDD » 14 Mar 2011 06:15 pm

Hi James.
Glad to here she is up and running.
Cheers Mark. sm4

volvosneverdie
*** V3M DONOR ***
Posts: 9143
Joined: 11 Nov 2008 04:22 pm
Location: Newcastle Upon Toon

Re: The stop-gap: 1980 (mk1) 345 DL

Post by volvosneverdie » 15 Mar 2011 08:15 am

foggyjames wrote:That reminds me, I'm overdue to post pictures of the mk1 343's return from the bodyshop... ;) Facebook has seen them, but that's all so far.

cheers

James
Pics oot for the lads pet. :wink:
Image

User avatar
foggyjames
*** V3M DONOR ***
Posts: 9361
Joined: 29 Jan 2004 04:20 am
Location: Nottingham, UK

Re: The stop-gap: 1980 (mk1) 345 DL

Post by foggyjames » 08 Jun 2011 01:09 am

I should probably update this. I've been edging closer to getting the car ready for MOT. I set about fixing the blowing (hastily repaired last summer) mid-pipe by attempting to fill a few pin-holes in the exhaust with weld. I'll not try that again, as I'm convinced I now have an exhaust made mostly of ground-down weld. sm56 There is a time to admit defeat and buy a new pipe, and that was passed long, long before I finally got it to seal. The mid-to-backbox joint is blowing slightly, but that just needs some assembly paste. I hope the downpipe to mid-box joint remains sealed once the rear joint is sealed up, or I might throw my dummy out of the pram! In due course it probably wants a new exhaust, but this should do the trick for now.

I then turned my attention to MOT fail-worthy rust. The car is in a curious state...it has quite a bit of superficial rust which hasn't broken the paint but is worming around the rear arches and doors (so are a pretty low priority), but is pretty good underneath. Nonetheless, there are a few areas which needed some attention. I scraped off some failed underseal, cleaned the lightly corroded surface which lurked underneath with a paint/rust removal wheel in a drill, and treated the clean metal with Jenolite, zinc primer, and topcoat. I'll underseal it when I get around to it. I then started poking at the sills, and found some speed holes. Curiously the failure was with the 'middle' skin (castle section?), with the outer being ok, but you have to remove the outer to get at the middle skin. I have pictures ready for a rainy day...

I got about halfway through fixing one of the two (or maybe three?) holes in the NS sill (using a section of Swedish steel from a bent V70 door) when I started to run out of gas (for some reason, the regulator had crept up to 50psi, whereas I normally have it set at 7 or so), and the wind was blowing away what little remained, so the welds started to look crappy. I don't know exactly what happened, but somehow whilst getting frustrated with this, and trying to cut back the messy welds as quickly as I could, I managed to take the grinder to my finger, which stopped play for the day. It's only just healing properly now, 10 days later. I was very lucky I didn't do myself some proper damage there. A couple of friends who are doctors saw it and were amazed I didn't sever a tendon. Moral of the story? Respect the angle grinder, kids!

I had a bit of a poke about, and the other side needs a couple of bits doing too, plus there's a section of poor quality old repair which has failed and needs re-doing. There are a few more bits like that, which while still solid at the moment, will need re-doing in due course. Bearing in mind my dependence on the weather and the current rate of progress, I decided to switch attention to the 343 (which needs mechanical work, not welding), so the 345 is on hold for now. On the plus side, I managed to insure it for about £50 today, which was nice...

The car will be for sale in the next few months, so watch this space...!

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...

User avatar
foggyjames
*** V3M DONOR ***
Posts: 9361
Joined: 29 Jan 2004 04:20 am
Location: Nottingham, UK

Re: The stop-gap: 1980 (mk1) 345 DL

Post by foggyjames » 07 Jan 2013 12:47 am

A final update, 18 months on.

I don't think I did any more after this post, other than replacing the cigarette lighter, and keeping it moving every few weeks. Events conspired (V70R got stolen, then recovered and needed work prior to sale, 343 got pampered, etc), and this car took a low priority.

It went to a new home with Shimon back in November. He's going to give it some TLC. I was very sad to see it go, as it has been a faithful friend. It always started well, and refused to seize up, etc. Good luck with it, Shimon, and I look forward to hearing more about it soon!

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...

Post Reply