New hobby

[czakky]

Jaap, how's the brick working out for ya?

 

I've got a leaky brake fluid junction box to replace next weekend...eight hard lines into a box the size of a D-cell battery. Fiddly work.

[belfastguzzi]

On 1/2/2016 at 9:59 AM, Admin Jaap said:

Old LandRovers... No sorry, I wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole. Talk about unreliable money pits!

 

 

Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

You know you are writing that on a Moto Guzzi forum, right? 

[gstallons]

Amigo ! Where have you been ?

[belfastguzzi]

Driving my Land Rover (I wish) 
 

[p6x]

On 1/1/2016 at 3:30 PM, Admin Jaap said:

Because my 1200 sport runs like a charm and I don't feel the need to modify it, I decided to trade my Renault van for something completely different. A '91 Volvo 240 Super Polar. A proper swedish tank with 313.000 kms. Love it to bits! And with help from a Haynes manual very nice to tinker on.

Either the Volvo or the SAAB 9-3 convertible. The 1.9 Turbo was ahead of its time. I remember looking for one when I was looking for a convertible, but at the time, I only found the automatic transmission version, much more common in the USA.

 

[audiomick]

49 minutes ago, p6x said:

Either the Volvo or the SAAB 9-3 convertible.

I'd have the SAAB.

Back in the day, the Volvo bricks had a reputation in Melbourne. It lasted, more or less, until the 850 came out.

Up until then, the Volvo marketing emphasised how safe the cars were. Justifiably, if I remember correctly. That led to them being bought by people who relied on the car to keep them safe instead of learning how to drive safely. The motorcycling community was of the firm opinion that if you see a Volvo, you should give it a lot of space.

Relevant to the following anecdote, drivers wearing hats were also considerd dangerous. In the late '80s, a man in a car with a hat on was likely to be getting on in years.

I was riding through the suburb of Ivanhoe in Melbourne and came up behind a Volvo brick. I think it was a 244 Station Wagon. Squeaky clean, driver wearing a hat, custom number plates that read "Grandad". Maybe I misjudged the man, but I pulled over and waited for him to disappear.

[p6x]

15 hours ago, audiomick said:

Relevant to the following anecdote, drivers wearing hats were also considerd dangerous. In the late '80s, a man in a car with a hat on was likely to be getting on in years.

This brought back a memory...

I once flew from Paris to Rome seated next to a man wearing a cap with "Captain" on the front. Like on a ship.

He had a dictaphone in his hand (yes, back then), and he went on reporting absolutely all the trivial matters for the duration of the flight; such as:

-They have closed the doors

-They are demonstrating the safety procedure;

-They started the engines.

-we are taxiing.

-We are taking off; time is:.....

-We took off.

And so on. I remember thinking: what does he do with the recordings? today, I know. This is actually the audio version of all those "influencers" that document absolutely everything of what they do in life.

[Admin Jaap]

19 hours ago, audiomick said:

...

Relevant to the following anecdote, drivers wearing hats were also considerd dangerous. In the late '80s, a man in a car with a hat on was likely to be getting on in years.

...

 Exactly what my driving instructor warned me about around '84:  Men with hats in Opels

[audiomick]

1 minute ago, Admin Jaap said:

... around '84:  Men with hats in Opels

That's the time. The "Volvo incident" would have been around '86 or '87.

[billgreenman1]

Grew up driving Volvos. My dad taught my brother and me to drive manual transmission by putting a pack of cigarettes on the dash and making us start on a hill without knocking down the cigs. Ist car: 1962 Volvo PV 544. Still have dreams of  driving her..

[guzzler]

Ha ha 

I remember the Volvo and old men in hats scenario from the 80's here in Melbourne well....

Bloody hell I wear a hat myself now....BUT not whilst driving I promise!!!

And I've never even been in a Volvo, geez I feel a cold sweat coming on.....  

[p6x]

Speaking about manual tramsmission, do you know that it is almost impossible to rent a car with manual transmission in the US? even with Turo?

[gstallons]

People don't know how to drive them

[PJPR01]

9 hours ago, billgreenman1 said:

Grew up driving Volvos. My dad taught my brother and me to drive manual transmission by putting a pack of cigarettes on the dash and making us start on a hill without knocking down the cigs. Ist car: 1962 Volvo PV 544. Still have dreams of  driving her..

We were just a bit after you in the line up.  My Dad had a 66,67,68 122S station wagon all at the same time. He loved  Volvo’s and had a friend with a Saab dealership.  I learned to drive on these Volvos as a kid and had the 68 model until my mid 20’s!  Rebuilt them completely at times as needed.  
 

We later added a 73 145 that my dad bought from the factory in Goteborg and brought it back home to California.  Years later my Mom bought a 1982 245 DL.  All 5 station wagons and all 5 stick shift.

They were slow but reliable and super easy to work on and roomy.

The newer ones are reasonably stylish but never enough to want to buy another one.

Edited 2 hours ago by PJPR01