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HI all Newbie with Q's

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 12:03 am
by magnumpi
Hi everyone, been loitering on here with intent (of buying a 300) for a few months now, but as of two weekends ago, i finaly bit the bullet and made my purchase. :D

I'm usualy found over on Retro Rides, and thats where i found my beast.
Also in the F/S section on here under the heading "seen on Retro Rides" started by Redline.

It is a wheezy 340dl 1.4 in old man grey with super heated seats. Overall it's suprisingly rust free bar a hole right through above the rear number plate.

Enough rambling's, here are my Q's

1- Is it a fairly straight forward swap to a dash with a rev counter?

2-Why the petrol fume smell when giving it beans?

3-How low can i go (wheelsize dependant) and still get over speedbumps?

4-If i go for 13"s how wide can i go before i get arch fouling problems?

5-Wind noise above 60 is excesive, is this a standard feature, or do i need new door rubbers?

I'm sure there will be much more later, but that is all for now, thanks in advance.

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 12:14 am
by Carl
Did you get rid of your Renault 5 then? I've still got my 360 (the red GLT), but have decided to keep it a bit longer :)

1. Dash is certainly easy to change and if it's got the later VDO version I believe all the connections are there for arev counter already. For true pimp-tastic-ness you need the 6 gauge dash!!

2. Petrol fumes = petrol leak? But then lots of my old carb'd cars smelt of petrol.

3. ?

4. ?

5. Wind noise comes as standard if you have a sunroof - not sure if a DL would though? Silicone lubricant can help ageing rubber seals, so might be worth a try if it is coming through the doors.

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 12:34 am
by magnumpi
Hi Carl, yep the 5 turbo finaly sold, woohoo, but the step down in performance is rather significant :D

It's a Greg 89, so not sure if VDO dash or not, will look tomo.

Yes it is a carb model, and to be fair i had been throwing it round corners fairly hard, so that may explain the fuel smell.!

Lastly no, it doesn't have a sunroof, i presume a DL is the poverty spec model.
I always pressumed that a D in the car name would donate diesel, not that i wanted that, but it is petrol.

Put like this, i was doing 65mph with my window about 3" down, when i shut it, the wind noise was no less significant :roll:

That said though, i'm enjoyingthe little thing, and can't get enough of that "Volvo interior smell", or am i just weird??

Re: HI all Newbie with Q's

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 12:59 am
by Ronnie
magnumpi wrote:1- Is it a fairly straight forward swap to a dash with a rev counter?
You can swap the rev counter in where the clock is easy peasy - don't need to replace the whole unit.
magnumpi wrote:2-Why the petrol fume smell when giving it beans?
I don't pretend to know a lot about 340's and their messed up carbs, but I would guess, the carb!
magnumpi wrote:3-How low can i go (wheelsize dependant) and still get over speedbumps?
Image

Image[/quote]

That's slammed with 2" blocks on the back and -3" springs - looks pretty low to me! Ask Roop if he can get over the speedbumps. Parts courtesy of Classicswede Motorsports
magnumpi wrote:4-If i go for 13"s how wide can i go before i get arch fouling problems?
Nikdev fitted 13x8's with an 04 ET (:shock:} and they look like this:

Image
magnumpi wrote:5-Wind noise above 60 is excesive, is this a standard feature, or do i need new door rubbers?
300's aren't the quietest cars, but new doorseals will help plenty.


Welcome to V3M - have fun!

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 01:50 am
by magnumpi
Cheers for that Ronnie.

What size are the Wellers on car in pic?

Yep, thats low enough for me, admitadely my 1960 Beetle is lower, but thats mainly for fun, whereas the Volvo is meant to be my sensible everyday car, but already looking to slam it, with future plans for the Renault 16v lump!?

I'll probably be slack with replies from now on , due to me only getting on the net at friends houses etc, until i get my new PC up and running.

Cheers for the friendly welcome and all the help.

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 08:37 am
by redline
welcome to the club ,
As Ronnie says its easy enough to swap the revcounter in but if you get a complete dash it saves stripping down your one

( about 10 or 12 little screws on the back to seperate it once its out )

and I have found dash swapping is a lot easier if you take the steering wheel off

of course you can always get a set of those really pimp wind deflectors to help cut down noise
but new door seals and making sure tha latches are adjusted properly for a nice snug fit will help loads

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 01:39 pm
by Ronnie
New door pins help with wind noise too I'm sure

Posted: 06 Feb 2008 02:16 pm
by classicswede
On a 1.4 2 door I looked at a while ago the door rubbers had colapsed and gone sticky. How good do yours look?

Posted: 08 Feb 2008 12:31 am
by magnumpi
Well i thought with one of these old Volvo's , i get no problems at all, however on my way to my GF's tonight i got a tug from the fed's.
They were amicable enough , but it was all down to the slackness of the DVLA.

I'm not a pleb, so therefore don't drive illegal car's , however i tax'd my car over a week and a half ago, but it's still not on the data base, so now i've got to do a producer, an inconvenience more than anything, but still annoying.


Anyway, had a look at the doors and rubbers today and it seems the top of the drivers door wasn't flush with the body, so a bit of knee and muscle action soon got it back into shape properly.!

This has definately cut down on wind noise, but now the door has a slight rattle in the frame, oh well.

I presume i'll only need new door pins if the door has dropped?? which it hasn't.

What body panels are still available? I need the panel that hold the rear number plate, and possibly a front valance but not essential.

Posted: 08 Feb 2008 02:27 pm
by classicswede
I have got a new rear number plate panel if you need one (I hope I've not already promised it to someone else)

The tax thing is a pain. The data base system does not work properly - my old man keeps getting tugged with one of his cars as it keeps coming up as uninsured!

Posted: 08 Feb 2008 04:08 pm
by redline
magnumpi wrote:Well i thought with one of these old Volvo's , i get no problems at all, however on my way to my GF's tonight i got a tug from the fed's.
They were amicable enough , but it was all down to the slackness of the DVLA.

I'm not a pleb, so therefore don't drive illegal car's , however i tax'd my car over a week and a half ago, but it's still not on the data base, so now i've got to do a producer, an inconvenience more than anything, but still annoying.l.
thats a wierd coincidence

I got a tugin the camry (sounds painful but I assure you it isn't ) last week

have owned the car since new years eve , got a V5 in my name yet the very polite officer said it was still registered in the previous owners name

gave me a seven day wonder which I sorted within the hour

the police are also getting used to new paper work which confused the officer I spoke to as much as my cars situaition .

Posted: 09 Feb 2008 12:39 am
by magnumpi
classicswede wrote:I have got a new rear number plate panel if you need one (I hope I've not already promised it to someone else)
Well obviously its not an MOT failure, but the hole is about 3"x1" and right through both skins, so you can see into the boot!!

So if it's still available i'd like it please.