1995 Volvo 480 2.0 Celebration - Poppy!

[acidicdavey]

Hi everyone! Here is Poppy, named for being red with pop up lights.

This is my first post here on this forum and I just have to share my lovely little 480!

My main love is my V70 but that's not really 'Retro' so here we are!

I bought the car in March 2011 off ebay. Low mileage, fantastic condition and local! I couldn't resist!

The 480 Celebration for those who aren't familiar was a limited run of just 480 to mark the end of production. My car is No#212 but this doesn't really mean squat! Unless it's No#1 or No#480!


Anyway, the car is standard apart from a Powerflow Stainless Steel catback. I have a few plans to improve the handling but I don't really want to squeeze any extra power from that 2L Renault engine, I mean who could find fault with 110BHP!?!? But no really, the charm of this car is that it has low power and just handles superbly for an old Volvo lol!

Here's the car:







Interior:

I don't know what I was thinking with those mats! Do not worry, I've got 2 other genuine sets to chose from!

At the moment though she's tucked away in my garage,


I'm only 19 so as you can imagine insurance is a nightmare, plus she's rust free so don't like the idea of using her through winter.

As you can tell it really needs a drop, I will get a full suspension kit when money allows. I'd also like some different alloys, maybe some black 5 spokes with a polished lip.

Any thoughts or suggestions people?

[twincammy]

very nice, dude.

[ettorebugatti]

Nice car!

There is tons of info at volvo-480-europe.org.

They look good with 40mm lowering and rare Volvo Vega alloys.

And I would get some floor mats, but perhaps it is just my preference.

[acidicdavey]

Dec 5, 2011 0:05:34 GMT ettorebugatti said:

Nice car!

There is tons of info at volvo-480-europe.org.

They look good with 40mm lowering and rare Volvo Vega alloys.

And I would get some floor mats, but perhaps it is just my preference.

Yeah I quite like Vegas but think I'd like something a bit different you know?

I've got some original mats that are in the boot, I thought I'd breath some life into the interior but chucking in the bright red mats! Not everybodies taste I know.

[shaun850t5]

love this its nice to see another 480 as they are quite rare now, well i hardly see them around lol ive seen this on the volvo forum, lots of work gone in to this
just thought id show a picture of my 480

its not a celebration but the 1.7 turbo, cracking cars

[acidicdavey]

Yeah that's me on the Volvo Forums too, the link to my thread is in my signature.

I've seen your Turbo before when you posted her up on the Volvo Forums, nice motors aren't they? I'd like a turbo!


Started to remove the rear lights for refurbishment as they are faded.



Started on the Driver's side as it already had a mark on it I thought it wouldn't matter if it broke.
Success!


Although the inevitable happened as it already had a crack in it!


I think I might treat her to some brand new units instead!

[delux]

480. Love these!

[shaun850t5]

Dec 5, 2011 21:02:19 GMT acidicdavey said:

Yeah that's me on the Volvo Forums too, the link to my thread is in my signature.

I've seen your Turbo before when you posted her up on the Volvo Forums, nice motors aren't they? I'd like a turbo!


Started to remove the rear lights for refurbishment as they are faded.



Started on the Driver's side as it already had a mark on it I thought it wouldn't matter if it broke.
Success!


Although the inevitable happened as it already had a crack in it!


I think I might treat her to some brand new units instead!

yeah ive been following your thread oooo yeah i remember putting 1 pic up on there lol I'm more into my 850 hence the same pic lol but i do love the 480 as is different the turbos are nice theyve got a good kick to them i had the same trouble with my lights as i got a blue one non-turbo from a friend who let me strip it so i have many parts for the 480 but the one thing that cracked was one of the rear lights but it was the one i didnt need thank god good luck with the ride and ill stay watching this as its good to keep an eye on another 480

[Geordie]

Dec 5, 2011 21:24:01 GMT delux said:

480. Love these!

Amen to that. Great looking little Volvos.

I think I was the only person I knew at around the time these were built that actually liked them. Still am lol.

I'll be watching this thread with interest.

[acidicdavey]

Smallish update!

The car's coming out of my garage as I checked up on her today and the passenger's carpet is soaked through!

It's the heater matrix and it's about time I swapped it out!

But anyway I got hold of 2 bargains recently. A Downpipe and a Cover. Less than £60 for the 2!



Here's a pick with 'That other one'

[tenman]

one of these was my first car, I loved it to bits... handled well as well... all my mates at the time had XR3i's and Astra GTE's, it battered the scrotes in every way, maybe a bit slower than the Astras in a straight line but battered em over the twisties, in fact I actually put it up a tree while racing a mate in an Astra GTE, I was that far in front I had time to climb out of the passenger door and wave him down from the side of the road...

[acidicdavey]

Haven't forgotten about her,

I had her out in the fresh air the other week.
Started first time after a charge, running better than when I put her in :lol:
It's the first time I've started her since I put her away in July/August, whenever it was!

Proof!


Also took a pic to show how close I am to losing my spoiler!


It's snapped all along the front and only being held by the sections as it curves round the bumper at the sides.

I really REALLY wish I had the money to get this car back on the road but it's number 3 on my life list at the moment and everything relies on number 1 soo...

[acidicdavey]

This car will be coming out the garage this week and will be going back on the road!

I bought this a couple of months ago:

[Deleted]

Love these, they are one of my favourite shapes from the '80s.

Here's my old 480 2.0 ESi A/C Auto - one of the few cars with A/C and sunroof!



16" Monzas, special order for it in '98. Cost more than the car ended up being worth, tragic really!

Find the big armrest with cupholders if you can, really cool little accessory.

[graham1200]

Good luck with your project, the celebration is the one to have. When you replace those rear lights use silicone sealer, anyone who worked in a dealership in the 90's myself included will tell you water ingress was one of the 480s many niggles.

[roddersc4]

Dec 7, 2011 13:10:03 GMT Geordie said:

Dec 5, 2011 21:24:01 GMT delux said:

480. Love these!

Amen to that. Great looking little Volvos.

I think I was the only person I knew at around the time these were built that actually liked them. Still am lol.

I'll be watching this thread with interest.

I quite liked them when they first came out,in fact i can remember seeing my first ever one in Paris about June 87,a few months before they were on sale over here

[acidicdavey]

I got a cupholder armrest a few months back.
I've got some new seal for the rear lights, thankfully my example was never an 'En Suite' lol

Don't have many plans for the car except wheels, don't know what yet though mind!

[Deleted]

Very cool!

My Friend has one identical to this, she's just put it on ebay! Car number 288

[acidicdavey]

Today, when my Aunt dropped off my Nan she asked which car I was getting back on the road and suggested that I should get the V70 back on the road as she thought it looked such a lovely car after I've worked my magic on it. That was nice to hear as she was trying to convince me to sell the car when I was 15 and inherited it from my Father and said it was an old man's car, it was for sale and a sale was agreed; thankfully the sale fell through which of course I'm glad about now, I was silly to put it up for sale really but that was early 2009 so.... Anyway, isn't this the 480's thread lol

I put the battery from the V70 in it today and it started up immediately! No hesitation or anything. The warning lights on at the moment are the SRS light (loose cable in the wheel?), the open door light (Dodgy switch?) and the low fuel lol

It needs a bloody good clean inside due to the bit of moisture 'released' from the heater matrix which is of course the first thing I need to settle, we also need to:
-Fit new discs and pads all round, I'll also paint the calipers so colour ideas please! I'm thinking black or silver.
-Fit new rear anti roll bar links.
-Fit new downpipe as the old one has been welded up several times it seems.
-Fix o/s headlight as it's currently failing to 'pop up'.
-Remove interior and clean it all thoroughly.
-Clean and detail exterior after sourcing good rear light clusters.
-Figure out why the rear suspension was chattering when on the road, I'm told it's more than likely due to the damper bolts coming slightly loose.
-Give her a good service with genuine parts.
-Possibly she'll need some new rear tyres due to cracking in the side wall which is a shame as they have loads of tread and are a good brand.

Ok, that looks like a long old list but in reality it's only a few hours work that I should manage on my own, just have to find the motivation lol

Here are some pics taken this afternoon, I polished up the car before I put her away last year so she looks good(ish) still!





The interior looks worse in the photos than it actually is. As you can see the driver's seat is clean and this is just from me sitting on it, it's all just on the surface.




Here's how she rests now, I needed to get it out of that garage as it's on the point of falling down!


I'll keep everyone posted on my progress so check back soon!

[acidicdavey]

Right, so bits are starting to arrive now. I've sourced some fairly mint lights which will hopefully be with me this week, I already have a set of new set of light seals to fit along with them.

I also have bought some interesting 80ies/90ies deep dish wheels, I'm not sure what they are but were made by RH Wheels. You won't get any pics until I offer them up to the car. The have to arrive first though lol so yeah.

I've decided on silver calipers for that nice clean look.

I haven't swapped the insurance off the Golf yet but it'll go straight on the 480 as I'm obviously serious about getting this car on the road.

If all goes well then the car could be on the road come early November!!