What did you do to kill it?

And the Vario verdict?

It's a car in need of a weekend sorting out a few things, followed by a decent set of miles to remove the niggles. The poor thing hadn't been run for ages and (this is the assumption we came to) has a vario related vacuum leak causing the renix to give full advance and looks to be sparking before the inlet valves had shut, added to needing some electrical service bits. Really wouldn't take much, but given what I have going on with Fake is more than I can do to save it this time

Vario really took me by surprise. Even though the 4 way valve is having a lemon, i.e. it's always in "low gear" mode, it was remarkably refined and did everything the marketing people said it would. I was expecting to be annoyed, let down even after all the years of reading road tests scathing it.

I really enjoyed it. And want one.

And I've found a spare car shaped space too.

Chris_C wrote:It's a car in need of a weekend sorting out a few things, followed by a decent set of miles to remove the niggles. The poor thing hadn't been run for ages and (this is the assumption we came to) has a vario related vacuum leak causing the renix to give full advance and looks to be sparking before the inlet valves had shut, added to needing some electrical service bits. Really wouldn't take much, but given what I have going on with Fake is more than I can do to save it this time

Vario really took me by surprise. Even though the 4 way valve is having a lemon, i.e. it's always in "low gear" mode, it was remarkably refined and did everything the marketing people said it would. I was expecting to be annoyed, let down even after all the years of reading road tests scathing it.

I really enjoyed it. And want one.

And I've found a spare car shaped space too.

They are great fun man. Id have another.

Do it Chris! I test drove one once and it was a 5 minute dream

when i had my 340 and 360 on the road at the same time i drove the 1.4 340 99% of the time, bucket seats and daft suspension setups are just horrible for the roads lol.
300's r strange cars, sorta ugly but i love the way they look lol.


evoman, that looks like a nice private road were you took that pic,



cheers

For me....
Owning a 343 is "Dutch Pride" (even though the quality of some bits are somewhat ratty ) and the fact that there are only three (3) here in this country. When "Marilyn" arrived and was parked outdoors passers-by were getting whiplash just to get a peek at her. When I take her out for a spin she always draws a crowd.

John

Hi all.
Yes John. I get the same reaction with the 345. I have watched from a distance, people walking around the car and pointing at this bit and
that bit and admireing it. Its strange.
Cheers Mark.

Chris_C wrote:Even though the 4 way valve is having a lemon, i.e. it's always in "low gear" mode ...

Not necessarily, it could also be the CVT control relay. Have a go at it, using RJV's overhaul kit:
http://www.born-built-beauties.eu/html/ ... n_par.html

Cheers

Tom

trabitom99 wrote:

Chris_C wrote:Even though the 4 way valve is having a lemon, i.e. it's always in "low gear" mode ...

Not necessarily, it could also be the CVT control relay. Have a go at it, using RJV's overhaul kit:
http://www.born-built-beauties.eu/html/ ... n_par.html

Cheers

Tom

My money is on dead diaphragms though.

My love of Volvo 340s came from one that my mother had from 1987 to 1995, D875 VEY, which was a 1987 1.7 GL model.
Here's my usual position, in the back: .
I particularly remember how fun it was when I made my mum go really fast over a dip in the road near Llannerchymedd on the B5111.
This picture is taken at Cemlyn Bay in north Anglesey, and that's me eating quavers (I think):

My mother says I used to sit in the driver's seat on her driveway for hours pretending to drive it.

And also one that my uncle had for around the same period, HCC 692Y. This was a 1983 1.4 DL model. These photos were taken in 1989 on my first holiday visiting family friends in Walton on Thames (and Heathrow Airport). I (embarrassingly) still own and regularly use the grey holdall with red piping in the boot!



Sadly, both these cars died in about 2002 according to the DVLA.

My family have had lots of other Volvos over the years. This is our house in 1996:

I'm not sure why I am flashing my moobs at the world, but hey, it was a more innocent time. The 440 is still on SORN according to the DVLA, although rather worryingly my mother wrote it off in February 1997 (and I saw the mangled wreck with my own eyes!) :-S

I still love 340s now because I am very nostalgic, and remember the smells, textures and sounds of the cars from when I was young.

Hey, great classic pics Thanks for taking the time to scan them in ...

Cheers

Tom