Hello,
Just thought I would say hi.
Looking at buying a 360 off a friend of mine and looking around theres some knowlegable people on here. £250 1 owner FSH etc. Its a 2.0 GLE 80k on the clock. Is there anything I should look out for? I've only recently decided to get one as "old skool" is growing on me like a rash.

Regards

John

Welcome to the forum mate.
As has been said before,

Check the sills, rear jps, vallance, bonnet leading edge, arches for brown crusty smeg, therell be SOME, but hopefully not loads. VND

Ive got a 360 GLE and theyre good cars.
Carbs can be a pain, but noting that cant be ironed out.

Get a few pics up when you get your hands on it.

Any help you need, Im sure therell be someone here that can help you.

For £250 you can't go far wrong.

Rust is always the biggest enemy.

Also with 360 make sure the gear lver does not feel loose.

Check the steering damper if your steering feels vague - I've changed one on every V300 I've owned (3) and it's pretty easy and cheap.

Also, HT leads often need renewed. Choose Bougicord for OEM goodness. Fit a new cap and rotor while you're at it.

New shocks will likely transform your handling. Gas is best, but anything is likely to be an improvement.

Engines are bullet proof, and you're unlikely to have any issues with it. It probably hasn't been serviced in a while, so get on and do that first. If your engine is running cool then put in a new thermostat - easy job. If it's running hot then reverse flush your rad until it runs clear. Check when the timing belt was last done, and if in any doubt change it. I have to admit that I got a garage to do this on mine, but a search on the technical forum will likely give you clear advice on how to do it yourself. Should run smoother afterwards, and more importantly will stop you mashing your engine if an old belt lets go.

If you have any handling concerns then fit some quality rubber. I like CF1 Toyo Proxes, but others will have different recommendations.

GLE's have fabric covered fuel lines which are liable to leak - there's a thread on here somewhere which used to be stickied but I can't find it right now. Change them to GLT spec lines if any issues.

Diffs can leak around the gasket - Mac will sell you a new gasket complete with pretty domed nuts for a giveaway price:
http://www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/v ... f=5&t=3549 - Put some new diff fluid in while you're at it, but make sure you can get the fill plug out before you drain it - can need some scary amounts of torque to get it moving.

Carbs are a mystery to me which I'd rather not know anything about - all the petrol cars I've ever run were FI, so any issues there ask someone else

Welcome to the forum and enjoy your retro ride.

A full service history is priceless on cars like these. If you buy a car costing 100 pounds less, but then have to start changing the cambelt, all filters (air, 2x fuel, oil), shocks etc. then you end up paying a lot more in total ...

Sounds like a real bargain!

Tom

Im a mechanic by trade anyway so the technical stuff doesnt bother me too much when i can be bothered to work on it... service history was lost so fluids and drive belts will be the first on the list saying that the oil looks clean etc. Are these engines fail safe if the belts do go?
Diff oil is leaking but i was just going to top it up for now.
I got driven in it by my friend and there are no noises bumps rattles but the back brakes squeel a bit but thats just adding character IMO
Also does anyone have an indicator stalk for one or know if volvo still stock such an item?? Also posted this in the wanted section.

Should be getting it sometime today so pics to follow.Once ive cleaned it obviously.


Cheers

John

To be honest, I have to disagree with Tom on the service history count. These cars soak up all sorts of abuse anyway, and at this vintage I'm more interested in how a car drives and feels than stacks of papers.

Very few cars are officially non-interferance, but people have lost redblock cambelts and got away with it, other have been mashed up.

Is the stalk still on? The bracket which the stalk switches bolt into is really cheap and nasty plastic and breaks easily. This can manifest itself by making you think it's the switch itself which is dodgy. Take the wheel off to get a closer look. I've bodged the bracket together in the past using liberal amounts of epoxy and a few big washers to clamp it all together.

Volvo have deleted almost their entire parts support for the 300 series... I blame Ford.

Yea on closer inspection turns out it was the pastic bracket.
Suppose i better inspect the cambelt asap then, practice what i preach etc .
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=9 ... =557810253
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=9 ... =557810253

Two photos there not brill but you get the idea.

John

mnrjohn wrote: Two photos there not brill but you get the idea.

John

Look GOOD man.
tidy.

Ronnie wrote:To be honest, I have to disagree with Tom on the service history count. These cars soak up all sorts of abuse anyway, and at this vintage I'm more interested in how a car drives and feels than stacks of papers.

I'm not saying I wouldn't buy a car without FSH. My Mk1 didn't come with a scrap of history (unless you count a 7-year-old faded oil change tag in the engine bay).

But if I came to sell my 360 - without any history it would be just another 20 year old car, with 200000 miles on the clock, getting slightly scruffy around the edges. Sure, the new owner could believe all my talk about servicing etc. but what if I was exaggerating? And if the buyer came to sell it on again, would the next owner believe him about what the guy "two owners ago" did?

If I'm buying a car with a high mileage (particularly at this vintage), I'd like to know it's had regular oil changes, so I don't get lumbered with a worn lump which needs an oil top up every tankful. Also, with these cat-cars - it's important to have the engine running just right - all the time - so regular air filter and spark plug changes are needed so you don't end up killing the cat over time (and then failing the MOT).

Note, I'm not talking dealer service history here. Someone who's serviced his car at home, and kept his bills together is just as good, maybe better.

Ronnie wrote:Volvo have deleted almost their entire parts support for the 300 series... I blame Ford.

You can blame Geely in China soon

mnrjohn wrote:Two photos there not brill but you get the idea.John

Nice! I like light-coloured interiors

Tom

I do find it a bit strange that EVERYONE blames Ford for Volvo's lack of parts supply for older cars, when Ford themselves support their old cars extremely well. Very much the same as everyone blames ford for new Volvo's being crap, but new Fords are actually very good eg. Comparing the C30 T5 vs the Focus RS

SteveP wrote:I do find it a bit strange that EVERYONE blames Ford for Volvo's lack of parts supply for older cars, when Ford themselves support their old cars extremely well. Very much the same as everyone blames ford for new Volvo's being crap, but new Fords are actually very good eg. Comparing the C30 T5 vs the Focus RS

I blame the french.

SteveP wrote:I do find it a bit strange that EVERYONE blames Ford for Volvo's lack of parts supply for older cars,

There's a lot of truth in this too:
http://www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/v ... 00#p107200
... the whole mess-up between DAF, Volvo BV, NedCar etc. and Volvo Sweden doesn't help much ...

Tom