Friday 19th June 2015

Shed Of The Week: Volvo 480 ES

Non-turbo Volvo Shed shocker!

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We don't get many genuine classics here in Shed of the Week. Nowadays, anything old that might be seen as having some value to someone with more money than sense usually has a ludicrous price tag attached to its crusty flanks.

Pop-up lights for £750? Winner!

However, there is an underclass of cars that aren't really classics but that are also more than just strolling players on the stage. The Volvo 480 falls into this shadowy category, and there's one caught up in our dragnet this week.

Visually, Volvo's first front-wheel drive car erred on the challenging side of unusual when it first appeared in 1986 alongside more conventional offerings like Rover's 800, Renault's 21 and Jaguar's XJ40. The contrast with Volvo's regular right-angled output up to that point made it doubly shocking.

The 480 project was outsourced to the DAF factory in Holland. Its quirky marriage of boxiness and pointiness was the result of an impossible mission objective. The task for its Dutch designers was to blend the restrictions of style-destroying crash protection regs with at least a suggestion of descendancy from the graceful P1800 'Saint' coupe of the early '60s. The outcome was something only a mother or a Volvo fanatic could love. But, as so often happens with daringly-styled cars from a bygone era, the look has mellowed with age.

The big 480 news was the exciting new age of advanced electronics it ushered in. Pre-'92 480s featured whimsical touches like screen wipers that automatically moved up to full speed when you shoved the throttle pedal down to the carpet.

Leather still looks great (from here)

30 years down the line, from the relative safety of our solid-state civilisation, the idea of living with mid-1980s advanced automotive electronics is about as appealing as the idea of signing up for an endowment mortgage. They didn't really work back in the day, so the cars you see today will almost certainly have had more than their fair share of work done on their electricals.

The owner of this one says he's sorted most of it, including by the looks of it the PH essential pop-up headlights, but evidently he didn't have time to get around to the ambient temperature gauge. Of course, that might be a coolant or oil temperature readout that we see in one of his pics, but if it is an ambient one and the car is garaged somewhere in the Sahara, that's going to make collection difficult.

Assuming the rest of it is functioning as the manufacturer intended, what will it be like to drive? Well, the 1.7 lump under the bonnet is not the most shiny or inspirational example of engine design. Shed thinks it might be a Renault-sourced unit originally showcased (sic) in the generally hateful 340. Still, it was a game enough plodder and pretty reliable, and crucially in this application it only had 998kg to push around. Chassis wise, the suspension had some credible Lotus input, but the car did suffer faint praise from some members of the contemporary press who complained about its high cost and (if they were feeling particularly bitchy) its Dutch design.

Wedges are back in, right?

Considering it was built in Holland, the land of a thousand dykes, you'd think they'd have paid more attention to keeping the water out. Unfortunately many 480s succumbed to wet boots thanks to indifferent sealing for the rear glass panel and light assemblies. Your man doesn't mention this so it would be worth getting your divining rods out. 480 build quality generally was not thought to be up to Volvo's usual standards.

You will be able to find other 480s around for this sort of cash, but they will most likely not be running. Good working specimens are routinely advertised at twice this money, so our Shed seems to represent good value. Its intriguing combo of coupe individuality, four-seat practicality and rarity has an edginess about it that's missing from a lot of modern fare. And it's one that you think might even be a workable proposition for characterful real-world 2015 motoring.

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Here's the ad.

Retro Black Volvo 480 ES, Leather Interior, Working Info Centre, Pop up headlights!
I bought this a few months ago, but I now have another project - having got many of the electrical components sorted on this one (Info Centre, Headlights, Cabin Fans, etc).
Reliable strong car that I'm certain is one of the best 480s out there.
MOT until Nov 2015. Mileage 117150
This car has spent the last few years being owned by members of retro rides, so there is much more info over there, alternatively, you can message or call me.

[molineux1980]

I got an odd soft spot for these - I think it may have stemmed from seeing them on display in a local shopping centre as an easily influenced 6 year old. It looked cool AND had pop up headlights. (Which is why I have an MX5 now!)

I probably wouldn't want to own one though.