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Volvo 480

Volvo 480

I'm Jeff Longley, Emea's System Administrator, and utter petrol head. I love most cars - The odder the better - which means I'm never short of a project (or 12).

Step 1

A Volvo 480 is quite a rare car in Europe (well, except perhaps in the Netherlands, where they were built) and probably unheard of in the rest of the world.

Step 2

This one was destined for the scrap yard, as the garage it was in had declared it needed a new engine and couldn't source one.

Step 3

A prime candidate for repair don't replace!

Step 4

I went through the service history records of the car. The original owner had covered less than 21,000 miles in its first 12 years and even at the age of 33 years old, had only managed to get to 43,000 miles - No mileage for a modern engine! I found two telling invoices, one year apart.

Step 5

It appeared the car had had it's head gasket replaced twice within the space of a year!

Step 6

I suspected that the original fault was a mis-diagnosis, leading to a poorly executed job which had subsequently failed. So I set about rebuilding the engine (with the help of a product or two). I cleaned the standing rust out of the engine bores and block surface

Step 7

WD-40 Degreaser helps a LOT

Step 8

re-faced the valves and had it pressure tested for cracks (none!)

Step 9

Added new timing belt and water pump

Step 10

Torqued to Factory values which were different to the values on the box, which is where I suspect the original "repair" had failed.

Step 11

I then flushed the cooling system multiple times to ensure all the old oil/coolant mix was removed

Step 12

Because whilst you've access, you may as well!

Step 13

A new set of spark plugs, fresh oil and oil filter completed the work. It fired up straight away! The phone picks up the ticking of injectors WAAAAAAY too much, it's actually super quiet!

Step 14

I decided to add a few more personal touches, continuing the black/red exterior theme to the inside, adding custom seat Belts

Step 15

with matching red stitching

Step 16

Bonus points for spotting the nerdy detail!

Step 17

Gave the exterior a full wash/polish and wax

Step 18

It passed it's safety inspection first time, then we were off enjoying the car shows!

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