Thumbs up for keeping it rolling! Love the fact that the old DIN-style plates are still allowed.

NOS seal

Nicely done bud, glad you decided to stick it out.

Great work Tom.

Im likeing the chromeless seal.

Speedy88 wrote:How about spraying the chrome if you like the black? Been meaning to do this for a while but better to wait until warmer times

I'd be worried that it starts flaking off after a while, looking even shabbier than before ... TBH for the whole "GLT" look I'd need the gutter trim and the rear window doing as well, not sure if I want to put the effort in ... But if I had some black trim handy, I'd certainly fit it I look forward to see how you get on, if it works for you maybe I'll give it a go!

nvdw wrote:Thumbs up for keeping it rolling! Love the fact that the old DIN-style plates are still allowed.

Nothing's 100% sure yet ... window out and in is not such a huge deal. Whatever happens, I'll be driving the car for another 6 months at least, including UK and probably eastern Europe trips, I couldn't really carry on with the old cracked windscreen. You could push it, and watch it move, pretty scary The rest of the welding will be a different matter though.

I totally cherish my old-fashioned DIN plates Euro-flagged plates have been around since the mid-nineties, Germany allowed both for several years until around 2001 after which it was Euro-only. When a car changes hands you're forced to change to Euro ones, two years ago I had the car "abgemeldet" (SORN in the UK?) for only 6 weeks and they wanted me to change my plates after that! I'm a mild-mannered kind of chap, but I almost had to go the the Bonn Bürgermeister to keep them These days you don't see very many, usually a 190E or a W124 with a very old man at the wheel.

For me, number plates really add to the look of a car. A mid 80's 190E 2.6 with DIN plates? A future classic, straight out of the brochures, one careful elderly owner. The same car with Euro plates? Fifth owner, 400,000 kms on the clock, last oil change in 1989. But I digress Maybe in the UK there's a similar thing with old font / new font, or in Holland black plates / yellow plates, I dunno.

Chris_C wrote:NOS seal

They pop up on the bay every now and then. The version with the gap for the surround trim seems to be more common than the "base model / L" version without, otherwise I might've fitted that instead to save refitting the trim.

volvosneverdie wrote:Great work Tom.
Im likeing the chromeless seal.

Thanks, VND! With GLT trim, even better ...

Cheers

Tom

Yes in the UK there is a new font old font thing for post 73 cars that have a replacement plate fitted. At least with pre-73 stuff it can be as original.

If the windscreen filler strip is a standard Claytonrite thing, then I see no reason why you couldn't source a black one. (sealsdirect)

Thanks for that! At 87p a metre you can't go far wrong, although the cross section of those does look a little different to the Volvo one.

Cheers

Tom

I need some black trim for my rear saloon window, had a look at that web site but the filler strips are a completely different design + the saloon rubber is quite special. I think rubbing down with wet and dry then epoxy primer, and maybe a matt black paint.

Well, get me a pic of the exact cross-section and crucial dimensions and I'll have a scout around...

macplaxton wrote:Well, get me a pic of the exact cross-section and crucial dimensions and I'll have a scout around...

Is this any good? Crap camera, crap cameraman ...





Cheers

Tom

Instant rusty sill fix - fit a piece of plastic to it



Pic taken on the "Afsluitdijk" since 1 March it's the only place in Holland (so far) where you're allowed to drive at 130 kph. Further stretches of road with increased speed limits are to follow on in May.

Cheers

Tom

that kit looks amazing dude.

aah Tom, good you had a chance to pick the front spoiler and skirts up! my current bodykit is from the same guy but needs a tiny bit of work to get the cracks out of them and a colorchange from 219.5 to 218.5

looks good! can't help thinking it would look even better if the car drops a few cm's though

its a shame v3m doesnt resize the pics anymore, is there anyway we can get it to again?

This is looking great Tom! Fair play for keeping the old girl ticking!

With regards to the screen trim, I removed mine with a flat blade screwdriver and have replaced with the thinner (black) strip from a mk3. Not fancy just grabbing a black one from a breaker?

volvosneverdie wrote:that kit looks amazing dude.

L14MNP wrote:This is looking great Tom! Fair play for keeping the old girl ticking!
With regards to the screen trim, I removed mine with a flat blade screwdriver and have replaced with the thinner (black) strip from a mk3. Not fancy just grabbing a black one from a breaker?

Thanks guys, I needed some kind of pat on the back after our friends in Amsterdam fell over themselves with laughter when they saw the car "Mid life crisis started then?" was the amongst the nicer comments ... Maybe I am doing the old girl injustice in her old age, I dunno.

Black screen trim is a good idea, I don't think I'll be refitting the chrome stuff. Speedy was going to spray his black - maybe that's the way to go? No V300s around breakers near me ...

I picked up some red bumpers too, thinking the spoiler wouldn't look good with the standard bumpers, but TBH I quite like the way the front spoiler goes with the original ones:

volvodspec wrote:aah Tom, good you had a chance to pick the front spoiler and skirts up! my current bodykit is from the same guy but needs a tiny bit of work to get the cracks out of them and a colorchange from 219.5 to 218.5

So you're the other chap with the sizeable dent in your wallet then Yes, this kit needs a bit of a touch-up too, but then the whole car needs a "bit of a touch-up" (see pics on page 1)

I got the rear valance too, but taking off the rear bumper and towbar would have been a bit too much hassle - it's all got to come off again in a few months anyway.

volvodspec wrote:looks good! can't help thinking it would look even better if the car drops a few cm's though

I'm not going to lower the car, the last thing I want to to is damage the front spoiler in some Romanian pothole The 13" GLE wheels do look a little lost in the wheel arches though, I think I'll either go for some standard 14" GLT fare, or some Leos.

Cheers

Tom