SPOTTED: 343 MY 1977

[foggyjames]

Go on Tom...you know you want to! Surely you can find some way of getting that past the Mrs...?

I know where there's a 77 car located...but it's not in good shape. Would be good for a shell swap though.

cheers

James

[trabitom99]

No, I can't The car came up for sale on a German small ads site in April, and I had some contact with the seller but the last thing I need right now is another project

Cheers

Tom

[volvomania]

So what is the history behind it?
Apparantly from the ebay ad there is some damage previnting it to move under its own power?

I have an identical car, same color, also "early" 77 (312446).

[volvosneverdie]

I have an identical car, same color, also "early" 77 (312446).

Er, Pics please.

[Hell Driver]

Thats amazing! Brings ba xck very brown memories! I spot a non original door mirror there, but we'll let them off for that considering the good condition of the bodywork. Wish it was a UK car

Are you sure? Looks original to me...

Drivers side (left) is original but passengers side is different. Original mirror has a squareish oblong chrome fixing part/bracket thingy on the door.

Not running, I would imagine maybe engine problems? Mine had a burnt valve and later piston rings failed both at less than 80ish thousand miles. Or maybe transmission problems, the very early ones had problems with bearings and other bits, I believe in the CVT units. Mine did anyway, both units had to be replaced at less than 100,000 miles.

Having said that, it looks in remarkable condition, must have been well looked after and garaged cos mine was a very badly rusted mess by 1991 and less miles than that (I know the clock's in km!)

If I remotely thought I could get away with it I'd be interested despite LHD, now maybe if I got rid of the 440 and sold the 340 and......

[trabitom99]

Well spotted, I honestly wouldn't have noticed

There's nothing in the ad to say the car isn't driveable. "Fahrbereit" means "driveable", the ignition switch is broken and has been replaced by some other kind of starter switch.

I don't know anything about the car's history, except that it's one owner and the current seller says he "inherited" it. Whether that means literally from a relative, or from some kind of deal I don't really know

Personally I find one-owner cars always very special, particularly after 30 years.

Umm, 35

Cheers

Tom

[Hell Driver]

Just out of interest, is it relatively easy to import a car to the UK from Germany, or are there nasty import taxes, fees, regulations etc (on top of the cost of transportation/ferries etc).

The more you look at it, the more it grows on you

As far as I can see from the photos, the only other things visible wrong with the car are the bumper damage at the front right, (minor), wrong mirror (nice shiny new one on there anyway) and some damage to the passenger rear interior card just below the window. This is caused by the rear seat folding down where the metal latch bar catches the trim and rips through the surface, bit tricky to find a good one in brown! It's also bubbled in a big way from the card. Seat fabric is also baggy and stretched, inevitable on these early ones, they don't wear very well long term. Doors (hinge end) also show straining from being allowed to go too far by the check strap, also a common problem on early cars.

Not that I'm trying to put anyone off buying it or anything

And the seat adjuster plastic's broken, (I do have one in brown just waiting for a car to put it on!)

[MCHUDD]

Hi All.
There is a couple of wing mirrors like those on German e-bay at the moment.
I would love them but just too expensive.
Cheers Mark.

[macplaxton]

Just out of interest, is it relatively easy to import a car to the UK from Germany, or are there nasty import taxes, fees, regulations etc (on top of the cost of transportation/ferries etc).

No import taxes (or extortion rackets like Irish VRT or Dutch BPM). No VAT as EU origin. 50 odd quid to register, MOT. Piece of cake really.

Ah go on! You know you want to.

[volvosneverdie]

Ah go on! You know you want to.

I double dog dare you.

[foggyjames]

(Looks for towbar for V70 D5, and plans roadtrip with Andy)

cheers

James

[Alanovich]

Just out of interest, is it relatively easy to import a car to the UK from Germany, or are there nasty import taxes, fees, regulations etc (on top of the cost of transportation/ferries etc).

No import taxes (or extortion rackets like Irish VRT or Dutch BPM). No VAT as EU origin. 50 odd quid to register, MOT. Piece of cake really.

Ah go on! You know you want to.

If you import a LHD car to the UK, make sure that your MoT centre knows that it can pass the MoT with headlamp deflectors on. When I did this once, the MoT centre I used insisted I had to replace the headlights with RHD ones for it to pass the MoT. I took their word for it, sourced some headlamps and coughed up for them to change them over. This cost me several hundred pounds (it was FIAT Ulysse, and parts were tricky to come by - I needed a front grille for the new lamps too as I could only find second hand lamps from a Citroen Synergie, which were slightly different and didn't fit the FIAT grille).

Some years later I discovered this had been unnecessary. I was not pleased and haven't used that garage since. Which is a shame as it's the nearest one to my house.

[S10NPH]

Tom, do you have any of the pictures from the ebay advert in a larger format? I'd love some of the whole car, it's a real beauty that one!

[macplaxton]

If you import a LHD car to the UK, make sure that your MoT centre knows that it can pass the MoT with headlamp deflectors on....

Good advice there. Never believe a MOT tester until he has shown you the wording in the testers' manual, as a few have been known to talk a load of cod about non-existent or not-applicable requirements or to go and wreck CVTs roller brake testing them / revving the nuts off them in Park. Always check the manual.

A MOT tester that looks the age of a person who would remember the cars when they were new is a handy bench mark....even better if they worked on the things.

[Hell Driver]

Not long to go on this one, I'm not bidding on it (although I'd love to ), just interested to see what it goes for.