Volvo Amazon - again!

quenching

Not too sure if the Volvo 144 in an earlier thread is quiet as attractive as this Amazon! Amazons in general seem to come highly recommended, however, any particular questions I should ask of the seller, I've requested photos of the following to check for rust, have I missed anything:

Door sills
Bottom edges of doors – inside and out
Interior of engine bay
Interior of boot, corner recesses and under spare wheel in particular
Lower edges of bootlid
Jacking points
Bottom corner of the windscreen
Inner wings/wheel arches
Around headlights –inside and out.

Is it overpriced??

Regards

Johnboy Mac

If I was looking for a pre '79 car with 4 doors at reasonable money and slightly different from the norm, this would be the one for me. My only conern would be lack of p.a.s as I presume they were built without?

As for price as you probably know it's subjective, but if the car is good and no major repairs required and no real expenses to be incurred for the next 12mts, I'd say it's got to be worth the money or close to. Also there are specialists in the U.K. which is a bonus.

Good luck.

MercMad

Looks good to me but again there is nothing like being there to acertain its true condition. Lovely cars and practical as a daily too !

gfwd

They're good cars alright. An old neighbour of mine has had one for over 30 years. There's a fella in Skerries selling an estate in good nick for around 4k.

chiefwiggum

that my friend is one cooooooooooool car

Luke Crowley

I remember reading something about needing a special tool to get the rear brake drums off; so check the brakes, including the handbrake, well. Anyone know more about this?

Other than that, good choice! I've always had a soft spot for them myself. As the ad shows, they look good in white!

245

You're right - the rear drums can require an astonishing amount of force to come off if its been a while. The problem is worse if a lip has formed inside the edge of the drum and the shoes won't pass it easily. A three legged puller won't do it and risks damaging the shaft. A proper puller is available and there are generic ones that work quite well also. Basically, the puller is bolted onto the drum using the wheel studs and a central thread applies force evenly onto the shaft.

The correct type of puller can be seen on page 87 of April's Practical Classics.

Some people have removed the drum by unbolting it, refitting the tyre and driving until the drum and wheel come loose :eek:

2cv

quenching wrote: »

Not too sure if the Volvo 144 in an earlier thread is quiet as attractive as this Amazon! Amazons in general seem to come highly recommended, however, any particular questions I should ask of the seller, I've requested photos of the following to check for rust, have I missed anything:

Door sills
Bottom edges of doors – inside and out
Interior of engine bay
Interior of boot, corner recesses and under spare wheel in particular
Lower edges of bootlid
Jacking points
Bottom corner of the windscreen
Inner wings/wheel arches
Around headlights –inside and out.

Is it overpriced??

Regards

Nice car, but for the same money, you could be driving a nice 280SE :-)

quenching

2cv wrote: »

Nice car, but for the same money, you could be driving a nice 280SE :-)

I could indeed, and probably would be if my families travel plans didn't keep changing!! I've come to accept my place in the pecking order, luckily with good grace.

I haven't forgotten about it though and if I could manage to get to see it I'd more than likely be easily convinced. Let me know if you plan on driving it anywhere near (or even nearish) to Dublin, looks like I'm going nowhere for the next 2 weekends.

PaulK_CCI

The amazon is an excellent practical daily classic (although it must ofcourse be placed within its timezone, but compared to the competition of its day, it runs rings around its contemporaries).

In Holland it's the number one choice for people wanting those classic Coupe style looks, rugged practicality and ease of use. They can be a bit Claustrofobic for 'shorter' people with the high waistline and short windows, but in general they are a great drive. Independent wishbone suspension makes them modern in feel. Also the gearbox and steering are surprisingly light!! The gear lever is about 3 feet long , but it shifts very precise!! and light. I've had a few amazons myself over the years, and I rate them very high.

Re. price, I think if the car checks out, it's cheap, but not a lot of people have copped on to them very much in the Uk and definitely in Ireland. Here on the continent, prices for good examples are stiff, to say the least!!! So if I was to get you a good one, you'll be needing a lot more! Prices are running up to 6-9k for a very good example, and even more for the more desireable examples. Loads are converted to run on autogas, making it even more cheap to run! But they ultimately suffer from worn valve seats.

Top of the bill are the rare "GT" and the 122S with overdrive. The 2.0 litre examples have that extra little bit of grunt over the 1.8, and they benefit from Dual circuit braking system. Twin carbs are much better performers, but the single carb is still more than adequate in modern day traffic. They all suffer from gearbox and diff whine, but they last forever regardless. Engines can go on forever too, even thoug they can suffer from headgaskets and worn piston rings etc. I have had a car with both issues, and still you'd hardly notice it, it just went on and on. You can check by taking it for a good long spin, let the engine warm up and then let it idle for about 5 or ten minutes. If the needle goes up all the way to the top, you're looking at a headgasket in time. But don't let that hold you back too much as parts are cheap!

2cv

quenching wrote: »

I could indeed, and probably would be if my families travel plans didn't keep changing!! I've come to accept my place in the pecking order, luckily with good grace.

I haven't forgotten about it though and if I could manage to get to see it I'd more than likely be easily convinced. Let me know if you plan on driving it anywhere near (or even nearish) to Dublin, looks like I'm going nowhere for the next 2 weekends.

Hahahah
I'm not in Dublin in the foreseeable future... Tend to stay away from the place as much as i can. I think i've been once in the last 18 months
And when i do go, i tend to take something that doesn't attract too much attention. After all, i need to leave it parked overnight in Tallaght

The car is still here, so no worries. I've only advertised it yesterday, so there's no major hurry.