No 56k: Racing to the Punchline - kicking tires with public and frankiess

Ahhh...the automatic gearbox - Volvo's Achilles' heel.

While I don't know it for a fact, I can believe it to be a problem. The overall cooling system however, is as good as on any other car.

I've driven for hours in a 90 degree weather, and the car didn't feel any different. I guess that isn't hot enough...
 
You don't have a turbo, though. Turbo cars require more cooling, and Volvo didn't give them enough.
 
Yes, the cooling system is identical on the NA and Turbo models.
 
Woah...

I actually think the bodykit isn't that bad. It's just the color and the terribly small wheels.
Also, 330,000km isn't that impressive. I'm currently at 265,000km and going.
 
Incidentally, the green T-5R has had a turbo replaced, among other things.
 
For a Volvo, probably true - QW used to say it about less well built cars.
 
I've noticed that people who like Volvos tend to really, really, really like Volvos.

:blink:

Must make things messy for them.

//Yes I went there.
 
For a Volvo, probably true - QW used to say it about less well built cars.

330,000km is less than 200,000 miles.
My never-a-paragon-of-reliability Series III has done more than that; just how bad *were* these other cars?
 
frankiess:

After seeing the night run of Inception, it was firmly agreed we'd wake up earlyish to quickly get to checking out some wheels.

Of course, I'd disregarded this, since such promises usually end up meaning sometime late in the afternoon. Imagine my surprise then, that I woke up to the phone ringing at 10 o'clock with a brightish voice on the other end informing me that departure time was now. Well, this was something new.

I've never been an advocate of air conditioning, since I like my sunroofs, but sitting in the Mazda shifted my opinion towards a cooler climate control. I don't remember sitting in a car and being so uncomfortably hot. It helped though, when we realized that the blower, at its coldest setting, was pushing red hot air into the cabin. Turning that off made the trip almost bearable.

After getting minutely lost, we arrived at the car yard selling this Audi 80. The place didn't even remotely resemble a car dealer, which made sense, since they'd apparently moved over only the previous week. They also sold suitcases and golf clubs... And underwear. Whatever.

http://img186.imageshack.**/img186/8284/image0255.jpg

Oh, and the car in question:

http://img718.imageshack.**/img718/2579/15d796e.jpg

public:

The car in question was a 1991 Audi 80. Silver, base model, sunroof, 180k on the clock. Not a great car, nor a bad one per se, but inspecting it on the surface told it had been neglected. Mis-matched blinkers, terrible wheel trims, dents, interior trim falling apart; checking the log book pretty much confirmed that it once had been maintained rather well, but then fallen on harder times. It still hadn't rusted anywhere else than at the dents, but as we opened the hood and glared at the poor old engine completely covered in gunk, the vague interest soon completely faded away.

http://img838.imageshack.**/img838/9634/2aebcc2.jpg

frankiess:

http://img10.imageshack.**/img10/1553/ebe3488.jpg

I had to test drive the poor thing though, if only to know what to gripe about later. So I pushed the abused interior trim aside and rolled off the yard. The engine was interestingly un-enthusiastic. Acceleration was totally non-existant, even for a 1.6l. As if you were coaxing life into something that decided to kick the bucket a long while before. Driving this thing was agony, so I pulled over for closer inspection.

"Is that smoke? Tesoman jakkikaluste! Kill the engine!"

http://img444.imageshack.**/img444/3287/image0256u.jpg

True enough, the oil spill on the exhaust manifold had started giving off smoke. That combined with the enormous heat outside sounded too hazardous for entertainment's sake, so we quickly decided to head back to the sales yard. And while an Audi 80 going down in a blaze of glory would make for some fine pics, that would mean doing the return leg on foot. And in this weather, any unintended physical endeavour would most certainly result in massive vexation.

As we walked past the underwear assortment, public quietly noted that their customers must consistently be in need of a fresh pair after testdriving these heaps.

public:

After a stroll round the Sula region, which offered us nothing but overpriced crap, we went to see a car that had been on my mind for years. It's a Nissan Sunny Coupe (B12), similar to the one that has been in the family for ages ? but with a SR20 swap. I had seen it advertised numerous times, and knew more of it than the present seller. The car was rebuilt in Kotka in 2001, close to my hometown, and it had received a fresh coat of paint back then. The drivetrain was from a 100NX GTi, complete with 100NX instrumentation and steering assembly fitted into the Sunny dashboard. As it sat in the baking sun, in the lot of an East Helsinki used car dealer, it was easy to see it had come a long way since its completion a decade ago. It was pretty much beaten to hell and back by now.

http://img44.imageshack.**/img44/9039/1b96d58.jpg

The bodywork was now bubbly, the GTI glassfibre cracked, and under the car was a huge oil puddle. The SR20 had been shoehorned in, and the oil pan hung quite low; so it was easy to see why it had hit something and the gasket had developed a severe leak. The Hell's Angel managing the lot fiddled with the immobiliser to crank it to life; and despite the oil leak, he said the engine had well enough oil in it and gave it some serious revs. It did sound healthy, but as I prodded around the engine bay, the rust holes there made me question how long the engine would be connected to the car.

frankiess:

The old SR20DE roared like a motherfucker, I could've bought the car only for the noise. But that's why public accompanies me to these car deals, so I don't do anything TOO stupid.

http://img213.imageshack.**/img213/5599/d86f304.jpg

public:

It was a shed, and despite having originally been made reasonably well and fitted with quality suspension components, nobody should have anything to do with it. Apparently the sump gasket was going to be fixed soon-ish, and the car could be had for something like 1500 euro, which is basic Sunny Coupe money, but since the engine bay looked like the SR20 could drop from the car any day, it would make more sense to build another SR20 B12 Coupe from scratch. Crack pipe.

http://img822.imageshack.**/img822/6500/6b63121.jpg

frankiess:

Also, public's Mazda is developing dangerously Christine-like qualities. It actually tried to eat the flesh off my elbow. This after attempting to boil us in the burning heat. Bloody frightening.
 
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See those footprints near the Sunny? With that sort of oil leak & accompanying problems, it tempts nobody..
 
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