advertisement


Volvo C70 second generation question for the wise?

AudioAl said:
Blimey George , How do you get that under your chin ? :D
Click to expand...

Haha flipping ha! Nothing like catching the last train from Brum to Worcester where the drunks would ask how you could play a guitar that big! The risk was that they would demonstrate the impossibility of it by trying it out. Dressed in Black tie, I tended to look fairly un-aggressive. I managed the face enough to stop them!

IMG_8441 by George Johnson, on Flickr

That is now 21 years ago, but a guitar it is not!

Best wishes from George
 
The day of the photo in Great Witley Parish Church.

Brandenburg Three:


Followed [in the second half] by Grieg's Holberg Suite:


and the very best moment in my musical life playing Elgar's Elegy for Strings two years before in a large country house drawing room, eighteen months before:


I hope you enjoy those "moments musical."

best wishes from George

PS: The Elgar was given one week after my last professional performance of Haydn's Creation In the Adrian Boult Hall [now demolished ] in Birmingham. So I went from high class professional to rather fine amateur a week. Not a bad transition!

Best wishes from George

PS: I believe the Creation was recorded but have not yet tracked it down.
 
Well I hope you can afford and get the car it would be perfect for you. My Volvo experiences with an 03 S60 D5 and currently a 68 reg V60 D4 bought from a neighbour have been all positive. We bought the V60 with the intention of it lasting us until Electric are affordable and practical.
 
The C70 plan is off. It is a good car but too rich for me. Back to end of life bangers!

If only I had moth-balled my 1989 240. It was entirely rust free and if it have been well set-up for storage, would not have cost a fortune to re-commission these days. The car came from the OBD1 era, and though it had excellent Regina Bendix fuel management and electronic spark timing, it still used a rotor arm and distributor cap with one Bosch coil. And it was not much worse on petrol than my Mini One. Ten to fifteen per cent worse, which is shocking considering the space and weight of the Volvo, its relatively old fashioned engineering and design. Of course it had the typical sub-par 1950s chassis handling, which nowadays would be an acquired taste, but it braked well, and kept up with motorway traffic.

So that rounds out this thread.

If I had my choice of Volvos, it would be the 960 Wagon [Estate] with the straight six cylinder engine of either 2.5 or 2.9 litre displacement, non-turbo variant. A development by Volvo consulting with Porsche! So a Porsche powered Volvo with rear wheel driver, but the multi-link rear independent suspension of the four wheel drive 850. Probably peak traditional Volvo.

And part time I could easily go into Undertaking!

Best wishes from George

On the other hand, this is my potentially favourite car yet made:

 
Don't discount an early V70 Estate D5 engine with proof of Cam belt change. These will go on for ever and should fall into your price range for a pre 10 registration
 
slavedata said:
Don't discount an early V70 Estate D5 engine with proof of Cam belt change. These will go on for ever and should fall into your price range for a pre 10 registration
Click to expand...
Budget about £1k a year for Insurance, VED and maintenance on a good one (ideally the d5 185 with 6 speed manual gearbox).

…….And that still doesn’t cover you for surprises, like having to buy a full set of refurbished wheels after I couldn’t replace one I buckled during a high speed puncture. (£650 including new tyre and swapping the other 3).
 
Last edited:
Newer Volvos are definitely high rent.

Too cool for old George, and Lu.

But there is a car that is not a cult [probably because it was really not over-exciting] called the Reliant three wheeler. Regal, Robin or Rialto.

Not up to Volvo safety standards, but I could hardly care less.


450kgs, 848 cc engine with an SU carb, and does all I would need need for the rest of my life with 70 odd mpg as a careful expectation - I would not drive it like this reviewer - but would get me to work [etc].

Best wishes from George
 
Last edited:
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
Better off sticking with the Mini, surely George?
Click to expand...

The Mini may be repairable at some cost. The question, given the value for scrap, is whether it would better to get something else instead. It is all a question of the costs.

I like the Mini. It goes well but the rust moth has visited underneath. It always amazes me that cars often look nigh perfect on the outside and are complete rust buckets underneath!

Best wishes from George
 
George J said:
The Mini may be repairable at some cost. The question, given the value for scrap, is whether it would better to get something else instead. It is all a question of the costs.

I like the Mini. It goes well but the rust moth has visited underneath. It always amazes me that cars often look nigh perfect on the outside and are complete rust buckets underneath!

Best wishes from George
Click to expand...

Having driven and lived with four Reliant three wheelers over four years and covering about 10.000 miles a year, I would advise against it. They have their charms but their shortcomings are numerous. My ownership was in the late 70’s when I thought the original Mini was comfortable, we had good roads and speed humps/traffic calming were rarities. Yes they are frugal but a humble VW Beetle feels like a limousine by comparison.
 
Dear Snufkin,

I don't go far and don't go fast, even though the Mini would certainly be capable of it. Comfort is not something that worries me at all. One thing to like about the Reliants is their sensible windows that allow for good visibility for the driver.

I know a lady who has one only about a mile and half away, and bombs about at a reasonable speed! Certainly no sluggard, if not a race car either.

I have found out that later variants had the chassis galvanised, which must be a good thing!

Best wishes from George
 
In a word. Don't. The front wheel finds all the potholes, parts are probably hard to find (and you'll need them, they're knocking on a bit now) and, worst of all, little or no passenger protection in the event of a crash.

If you want a cheap runaround that'll be easy to look after and have a bit of longevity: Ford Focus, Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris.
 
Sorry the Volvo deal didn’t workout as you hoped George. How much is the seller asking for it?

Did you get as far as an inspection by your Garage?
 
George J said:
Dear Snufkin,

I don't go far and don't go fast, even though the Mini would certainly be capable of it. Comfort is not something that worries me at all. One thing to like about the Reliants is their sensible windows that allow for good visibility for the driver.

I know a lady who has one only about a mile and half away, and bombs about at a reasonable speed! Certainly no sluggard, if not a race car either.

I have found out that later variants had the chassis galvanised, which must be a good thing!

Best wishes from George
Click to expand...

Rust was a serious issue with earlier models so a galvanised chassis would be advantageous. The heating and ventilation was dire in the Supervans (think Trotter wagon) but the Robin was much better however still primitive by standards of the 70’s. On the plus side I would drive mine hard with no regard to mpg and the worst I got was 45 to the gallon. Cruising speed of the Robin would just keep up with modern trucks, any faster and it was scary. The acceleration to 30mph was pretty good because of the low weight and they were a dodle in London traffic because of their get up and go coupled with their modest size; remember though, this was the 70’s.
 
Stuart Frazer said:
Sorry the Volvo deal didn’t workout as you hoped George. How much is the seller asking for it?

Did you get as far as an inspection by your Garage?
Click to expand...

Really did not get very far. I think they worked out that in good condition [and it appears to] it would be worth more than I could reasonably afford, even if I borrowed a bit. It got as far as my saying that my figure would have to be £2000 as a maximum, and no doubt they had found out it was worth more than that. They smiled without actually confirming it. I then offered the view that nobody had lost any skin over it. They are a lovely couple, I would no more want to have bought it under-price than they would want to hang me financially!

I shall miss having them as a neighbours. They are moving out by the weekend.

____________________

Dear Snufkin,

As for a three wheeler, I am not remotely worried about going faster than fifty miles per hour. That is the legal limit for Transit sized vehicle and HGVs on single carriageway roads.

We are lucky to have a Reliant expert who bought some the machines and many parts of old stock [NOS] parts when the factory was finally shut down. He has about twenty of them which he is restoring gradually. So getting parts would be no issue, either NOS or off one of the breaker cars. They are only four miles towards Malvern from here, based in buildings my cousin has spare in his farmyard. In fact the main worksop is the old milking parlour from my uncle Den's days milking about two hundred cows.

Best wishes from George
 
George, don't be stupid. Reliant Robins were horrible cars 35 years ago when I last went in one. They have not improved since. Buy almost anything else. Focus, Fiesta, Corolla, Yaris, all will cost less to own than that joke of a car and they are decent to drive.
Leave them to the collectors of bad cars. That's all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top