In a sense I feel guilty for subjecting the car to daily use but when all is said and done I bought it to use, not to hang on the wall and admire (even though I'll be taking it to a few classic car shows this year and I'm sure it will attract plenty of interest).
Given that I've pressed the car into daily use in the worst winter for 30 years I thought it may be a good idea to list any problems to date so as to demonstrate that a well maintained 340 is perfectly suitable for everyday use (even though most of you will need little convincing anyhow..)
Firstly, when I collected the car I noticed the clutch was quite high and I thought it may need replacing - I even used this as a bargaining tool to lower the price. However, having adjusted the cable all seems to be well and whilst the clutch is still high there is no sign of slipping so I'm not too worried.
Secondly, the engine was running cold and this was rectified by a new thermostat which I just happened to have in my shed which I purchased for a previous 340 and never fitted..
The fanbelt was split but there was a brand new genuine Volvo belt in the boot. Sorted.
Driving the car home from Cheshire on the first day it was almost impossible to monitor road speed due to the speedo needle bouncing up and down like a mad thing. I lubricated the cable which improved things for a few days and then it was as bad as ever. I now have a replacement cable courtesy of a fellow V3M member (many thanks MCHUDD in Belfast) which will hopefully resolve the problem.
Outstanding jobs are a jammed heater temperature slide control - the heater valve moves freely so it must be a problem behind the dash. There is also a creak from the front suspension strut top mountings but at only 19000 miles I'm guessing this is little more than lubrication. The front brakes are squealing and the plastic cover keeps falling off the tailgate lock but apart from that I really can't fault the car.
A decent stereo with FM would be a nice bonus though and I still need an engine undertray after the original fell-off on the second day of ownership...
