Hi

I have just come back from a trip to Gothenburg, where my primary aim was to visit the 76/77 343 in the Volvo museum (I'll let other people fight over the exact model year). And I wasn't disappointed!

Here are some teaser pictures:










After a bit of lunch we decided to ask the museum staff if they'd kindly let us behind the cordon to get some pictures of the back and other side. Well the kind museum staff did more than that and let me have a look inside and under the bonnet. So here are all my many pictures in all their glory for you to enjoy:





































As you can imagine, I was very happy. The most surprising thing was just how awful (and brilliant!) the interior looked - both in terms of brown "aesthetics" and quality (bearing in mind this car had only travelled 94km!). And most surprisingly, just like every other early 343, the steering wheel edge had faded - despite being indoors its entire life. Every plastic part, pretty much, is brown. I love it!

I particularly liked the push-button light switch, which is a very early feature.

Here are a few pictures of the rally 343 they also had:




Just a small piece of advice, if you do ever visit the museum and follow the tram & bus directions from Gothenburg, do make sure that you get a return bus ticket, as there is nowhere for you to buy one at the museum bus stop unless you have a Swedish mobile phone, and Swedish buses don't sell tickets!!

In terms of Volvo spotting, I only saw 1 340 in three days in Gothenburg, but there were a handful of 240s, and hundreds of 700/900s.

Wow, many thanks for the hi-res pics!

The most surprising thing was just how awful (and brilliant!) the interior looked - both in terms of brown "aesthetics" and quality (bearing in mind this car had only travelled 94km!).

That was my thought exactly It doesn't look like it would last very long at all!

That's probably the first time I've seen the original air filter production stickers, the ones which Robbert reproduces ...

Glad you had a good trip and well done for catching that early detail in all it's glory

Cheers

Tom

EDIT: what was the chassis no exactly? Hard to tell on the pic ...

Yes it is hard to tell, I think, having held my screen at a funny angle and zoomed in on the full size original, it seems to be 306780. I'm happy to stand corrected if someone else knows otherwise. I'm afraid I didn't realise how unclear that picture was when I looked at them afterwards.

Hi mate.
That must have been some trip. Seat belt warning lights and rear belts in a 1976 car.Brilliant.
The earth strap looks like its never been hooked up to a battery.
Cheers Mark.

Great pics Sion.

Mark, get your beady eyes off those shiny handles!

I can't believe I had one like that and it slipped through my fingers... Then again it was about as far away from that one condition wise as you could get! The lovely blue paint was almost all gone under grey rattle can due to various bits of rust and 'incidents' and where it hadn't (the roof and middle of the bonnet!) even that was totally crazy paved laquer by the time it was stolen. The interior was very ill fitting in places, the air vent grills and seat back winders broke if you looked at them and the plastic edging on the seat seams broke and stabbed you in the legs if you wore shorts! The dashboard/ centre console palstic went very soft in the sun and was ill fitting. After 10 years the seat fabric broke down in the sunlight and vapourised. As for rust resistance...well better not go there

It was in the family for 30 years, of which I drove it for the last 10. 30 years is a long time for any car however...so I suppose it didn't do that bad!

Yes is was very brown. To me after 10 years of driving brown, any other car I went in seamed very black/grey!

I have my sticky mits on some chrome door handles already....and I've got my eye on the blue metalic paint. Together with those wheels/hub caps I saved, I have a plan All I need to do is weld together that Mk1 shaped rust in the garage and......


Nice photos, did you have to ask to get that close and inside?

Hell Driver wrote:Nice photos, did you have to ask to get that close and inside?

The clue is in the text hidden in the middle of that vintage porn.

S10NPH wrote:After a bit of lunch we decided to ask the museum staff if they'd kindly let us behind the cordon to get some pictures of the back and other side. Well the kind museum staff did more than that and let me have a look inside and under the bonnet. So here are all my many pictures in all their glory for you to enjoy:

Speaking of hubcaps, I have bagged myself a few of those centre caps, but I wonder how do they actually stay on to the wheel? I'm guessing it's something to do with the four small holes in the wheels. I'm not going to put them on my '79 car, but I'd like to at least have the option!

Great photos Sion, thanks!

S10NPH wrote:I'm guessing it's something to do with the four small holes in the wheels.

Yes indeed. I think the have some posts fitted for the inside edge of the cap to grip.

macplaxton wrote:

Hell Driver wrote:Nice photos, did you have to ask to get that close and inside?

The clue is in the text hidden in the middle of that vintage porn.

S10NPH wrote:After a bit of lunch we decided to ask the museum staff if they'd kindly let us behind the cordon to get some pictures of the back and other side. Well the kind museum staff did more than that and let me have a look inside and under the bonnet. So here are all my many pictures in all their glory for you to enjoy:

Just noticed that bit Got carried away with the photos!

Yes, there are indeed some studs which stick out to hold the caps in place. A small tool came with the car to get the caps off again, a metal bar with a pin in the end, thats what the tiny hole in the edge of the hub cap is for, it levered them off against the wheel rim. I might still have it somewhere...I do remember it being around a while ago...maybe the late 90's

If I had to chose between the Rallycross 343 and the blue 343, I think I would be a very happy man either way.

Thanks for sharin dude.

Hell Driver wrote:Yes, there are indeed some studs which stick out to hold the caps in place. A small tool came with the car to get the caps off again, a metal bar with a pin in the end, thats what the tiny hole in the edge of the hub cap is for, it levered them off against the wheel rim. I might still have it somewhere...I do remember it being around a while ago...maybe the late 90's

Pic please, I can't remember having ever seen it on one of my cars.

Well maybe "post" is lost in translation, or maybe I'm talking partial bollocks.


Pre Repair Condition 005 by macplaxton, on Flickr


p5130003 by macplaxton, on Flickr

So I expect it to be the same method, except with four thingamajigs in the vacant holes:

Wow...Great photo post from the Museum Sion.

The display 343 is identical to my 1978 343 right down to to Headlamp wipers. The only difference is that I have Alloys (and a few more Kms on the clock).

John