300-series advice for Journalists

[RKM]

As the former owner of a 340 Auto, it looks like the little Volvo *may* come back into my life, hopefully with your help!

To explain, I am part of a team studying for a master’s degree in journalism, with many of us either aspiring or already motoring journalists. As part of our studies, we have secured a regular newspaper column and will shortly be creating a website and writing our own magazine.

One of our plans is to buy our own car which will be professionally decorated to promote our not-for-profit website and magazine. More importantly we will be attending events in the car and will be competing in motor-sport events. We currently have ‘drifting’ in mind but we are also thinking about other events such as hill climbing and rallying.

The car has to be RWD and an obvious contender is the 300 series (my Dad had a 360GLS, my Mum a 343DL and my Gran a 340 – which I later inherited)

Obviously we will need a car with some power, which discounts the lowly 1.4. We were thinking of a 1.7 but is it strong and powerful enough? A 360 may be a contender but would it be too heavy? While it may be ambitious for us to win events, we would like to perform well; if anything to kick dust into the eyes of our colleagues who have given the 300-series bad press!

So, if anyone in the South West or Midlands area in the UK thinks they may have a suitable car to sell/donate, do post a message here. We don’t want to do a full-rebuild as time is short and an MoT is preferable.

This car obviously will be getting a lot of press coverage but our budget is very low and any advice on suitable modifications would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Rob

[foggyjames]

Cool project

Regarding which model to choose...It depends how mechanically able you are. If you're a mechanic, you can take your pick - they're all potentially a good basis for performance builds down different paths.

If you want it 'out of the can', get an injection 360 (preferably a 3dr...lighter) - they were the fastest. They're still not 'fast' though - my mildly tweaked carb 360 (140bhp) is still barely a match for a modern 'warm' hatch, never mind a 'hot' one.

cheers

James

[Carl]

A 1.7 340 or 360 would do you fine. Both have the advantage of having relatively well documented engine swaps too, so later on you could build a 340 1.7 Turbo, or a full on 360 2.0 16v Turbo

In reality no 300 in standard trim is gonna be lightening quick, but I used to be just about able to keep up with 205 GTis in my 360 GLT on road rallies with a bit of committment. Once we hit some mud/gravel roads I could lose a lot of them

It'll be difficult to combine a drift/hillclimb/rally car into one as for drifting you'll ideally need a locked (ie welded) diff - that's not gonna be too handy for rallies or hillclimbs! And TBH a 300 on a hillclimb event is gonna be left for dust by most other cars - you'll find some serious machinery at these events! So for entry level motorsport rallying or drifting is probably your best bet IMHO. Either way more and more parts are available off the shelf to help you!

Which newspaper colum you writing for BTW? And which uni are you at? One of my closest friends is a motoring journalist - hard work but you get plenty of perks!! I got an MMS from her yesterday with a pic of the 6.3 Litre AMG Merc she was blatting aroung Bruntingthorpe! Very jealous!

[RKM]

The newspaper column we do together at Coventry University but outside studies, between us, our outlets vary from Practical Classics to "Automobil Revue" (The official publication of the Geneva Motor Show). So we are pros!!

Whatever car we choose, it will be mainly for promotional purposes but also as a "have a go" car at events. We hope it will also be a talking point.

As a matter of interest, is there much advantage between choosing a 1.7 and a 360? Will the torque tube prove a problem?

[petefarrell360]

To be honest most of us thought it would be the other way round, with the prop shaft being the weak point, yet none of the dedicated drifers using the 1.7's have had any problems....... yet! The torque tube in the 2.0 would be my choice for handling power and abuse.

Welcome along anyway.

Pete

[5lab]

the 1.4 or 1.7 would be fine, just drop a new engine in - the obvious choices are the 1.7 turbo from a volvo 400 or a 1.8 16v from a renault 19...

powarrrrr

[Carl]

The torque tube is only a problem when you want to start changing drivetrain related bits. Even then it's not really a problem, just a little bit more work.

From a driving point of view it's gotta be a plus, especially if you're planning to abuse the car!!

[RKM]

due to lack of time, we dont really want to change engines, rather start with a decent one to start with. From my own experience, I found the 1.4 to be a little overworked, but have never tried a 1.7 before, nor a 2.0

So the question is, a 1.7 or 2.0 - much difference? and what would be best for our needs in your experience?

Thanks again!!

[Ronnie]

Get a 360 GLT - proper Volvo engine with superior power, stronger drive train, slightly beefed up in the details.

By the way, don't listen to me - I'm biased...

[RKM]

WOuld do if I could find one for our budget (i.e. <£150!)

[petefarrell360]

They're often as cheap as chips on Ebay when they do come up. I couldn't give away a GLT recently, it had stood a little while, but was all there and wouldn't have taken much recommissioning, so I was forced to break it for the space.
Pete

[Carl]

If you would settle for a 1.4 theres a few on ebay going cheap with MoTs at the moment. The only 360 on there is already over budget!

EDIT:
Theres this one with not much MoT:
>clicky<
And there a 360GLE Saloon with the rare Hella light Grille and plnety of MoT on autotrader for £295, bit more but would make a good publicity car I reckon:
1987 D Reg VOLVO 360 GLE
4 Doors, Manual, Saloon, Petrol, 160,000 miles, Silver, MOT-07-2007. Electric windows, Power assisted steering, Radio/Cassette, Sunroof. Insurance Group:8, part ex to clear ,very good condition,drives extreamly well!

[petefarrell360]

The 1.4's are overlooked, and I must admit, I'm pretty impressed by what they can do when pushed!
Pete

[antiekeradio]

please skip the 1.7 option, you're trying to become car journalists not carburettor guru's...

[SteveP]

please skip the 1.7 option, you're trying to become car journalists not carburettor guru's...