I've found a really nice 1982 345 GL with only an owner since brand new and only 70000 original kms ,it looks very very good and clean inside and outside. I like it so much because it still have the old style dashboard (it's so 70's ) . It has the Renault Cleon series 1.4 litre pushrod that should be very reliable.
I think i'll go to see it next weekend,have you got any suggestions about the most important things to check? Famous rust points or so....

And,another little question : the car hasn't the radio,but the dash area for it looks bigger than a normal 1 din radio. Do you know if somebody produces a 1 din adaptor for early 300 series? I tried to do a web search but i found it only for the mk2 dash.

Thank you very much!

The worst problem as with any car is rust.

The 1.4 engine is well known for air leaks around the carb and manifold. Rough idle problems are common but can be solved.

I'm sure I have seen some radio adaptors somewhere

Ok,so it seems that the idle is a thing that needs to be checked well.

This 345 has a 4 speed manual gearbox,is it good? Probably a 5 speed would be better,but a 4 speed one gives a more vintage feel

Just for curiosity how is the fuel consumption of this car?

And it seems that a 1 din radio could be adapted Thanks classicswede!

KURGAN wrote:And it seems that a 1 din radio could be adapted Thanks classicswede!

Older 200 series cars where the radio was in front of the gear lever have the same shape/size hole (later 200 series cars more often have the radio high in the dash with a different surround.)



or for older DIN "D" - two spindle radios.



Better still, just get an old Volvo radio.


Volvo MTS with AVI by macplaxton, on Flickr

Thanks Macplaxton! The fact that the radio place is the same of early 200's is interesting!

The original Volvo radios are cool,but i'd like to have a MP3 source...anyway,there's a very good solution (in my honest opinion) , look at this Becker retro sound:

http://www.ebay.it/itm/Retro-Sound-RC90 ... 2ec464856b

It's a modern MP3 radio but with old school look and,very good thing,it isn't so expensive.


EDIT : the radio brand is not Becker but Retro Sound,it fits old Becker equipped vehicles.

It's a bit 1960s. Like the retro look thing Becker made (Monaco? c. €1000+ with sat nav)

The handy thing with the higher spec Volvo units is that they can be used with an external amp. For example, the model shown has a 7 pin socket on the back for an amp. Also it is a very convenient socket to feed in a MP3 player.

macplaxton wrote:It's a bit 1960s. Like the retro look thing Becker made (Monaco? c. €1000+ with sat nav)

The handy thing with the higher spec Volvo units is that they can be used with an external amp. For example, the model shown has a 7 pin socket on the back for an amp. Also it is a very convenient socket to feed in a MP3 player.

It's interesting,specially for the look of an original radio,but a new old style look one should be less expensive and surely more comfortable.

But the radio question is less important,the most important thing is to bring home the car.

Any suggestions about things to know before buying a 345 are welcome.

I noticed a detail on the 345 that i'm going to go to see : it hasn't plastic badges ( "Volvo" on left side and "345 GL" on right side of the back) like all the other 300 series i Always seen,but it has White adhesive writes. Are them stock?

KURGAN wrote:Any suggestions about things to know before buying a 345 are welcome.

Early 345s are rarer than early 343s, and the rear doors changed from the 1983 model year on, so check the rear doors aren't in too bad a condition, otherwise you could have a hard time hunting down spare parts.

KURGAN wrote:I noticed a detail on the 345 that i'm going to go to see : it hasn't plastic badges ( "Volvo" on left side and "345 GL" on right side of the back) like all the other 300 series i Always seen,but it has White adhesive writes. Are them stock?

Sounds like a special edition to me!

Cheers

Tom

macplaxton wrote: The handy thing with the higher spec Volvo units is that they can be used with an external amp. For example, the model shown has a 7 pin socket on the back for an amp. Also it is a very convenient socket to feed in a MP3 player.

There are a few other Volvo ones available of varying levels of sophistication, such as this MW/LW radio which is original to my 1980 345:


or this slightly more upmarket LW/MW/FM radio cassette player in my 1979 343:



And I'm really looking forward to seeing pictures if you buy the car (or even if you don't!), I particularly like the 1982 model with the revised front but the black 70s dashboard.

S10NPH wrote:There are a few other Volvo ones available of varying levels of sophistication, such as this MW/LW radio which is original to my 1980 345:

That's my personal favourite, even if it's so basic ... Suits the dashboard perfectly.

trabitom99 wrote:

KURGAN wrote:I noticed a detail on the 345 that i'm going to go to see : it hasn't plastic badges ( "Volvo" on left side and "345 GL" on right side of the back) like all the other 300 series i Always seen,but it has White adhesive writes. Are them stock?

Sounds like a special edition to me!

Something like this? A 345 GLS "5-Speed" limited edition.


Not that keen on the MkIII spoiler on that car though ...

Cheers

Tom

I'm guessing it's like this:


I'm not sure what warranted that being on the car rather than the standard badges though.

I didn't think there was a 300 Venetian blind? There is a 480 one though, which is kinda the same size window.

In the loft I have a Volvo 8 track, the same era as

S10NPH wrote:

with "Volvo Stereo 8" in the script font and has an aux in fitted. It's currently waiting for a Mk1 to arrive to go and sit in!

S10NPH wrote:or this slightly more upmarket LW/MW/FM radio cassette player in my 1979 343:

Metal Tape selector and Dolby NR. That's just soooooooooooooo decadent of you Sion!

macplaxton wrote:Metal Tape selector and Dolby NR. That's just soooooooooooooo decadent of you Sion!

I know, the sheer luxury is hard to cope with, I feel guilty every time I listen to it.

Thanks for the interest guys!

The one i'd like to buy is exactly like the one posted by S10NPH,the only differences are that the one i'm interested on is light blue and it hasn't light alloy wheels.

For me it's very strange to see cars with the steering wheel on the wrong side

Unfortunately Tomorrow i can't go to see the car because i've got a lot of work to do (but i feel lucky for this because nowadays there's isn't too much work out there.....at least in Italy). I hope i'll find the time to reassemble the dash of my Jeep,it isn't so difficult because YJ's dash is minimalist,but it requirest a bit of time anyway. I had to strip down it to repair the heater fan switch. I'm glad i solved the problem because now it starts to be a bit cold.