Volvo 360

[Raize]

Was thinking about getting a 2L one of these for my first car.
Cause they are:

Cheap
RWD
2.0L with Over A Hundred BHP
Insurable for under two grand (this is very good for my age).

Am I making a terrible, terrible mistake?

[TAHodgson]

do it! I was seriously tempted by one of these for my first car last year, but in the end, the image of an 'old man's volvo' put me off.

[Baffled Spoon]

Nah, those seem to be pretty good reasons for getting that car. I think another member on here actually did the same as you are planning to do, and feedback was mostly positive iirc that time.

[AnotherClarkey]

The 360GLT was considered a viable alternative to a BMW 320 in the contemporary Motor road test. They are nice enough to drive with a pleasant, torquey engine and balanced handling. Heavy controls though and a long winded gear change.

[OllieWinchester]

Heavy old things, and ponderous gearchange but I say go for it. Just don't get overconfident and think you are a drift hero, because whoever you crash into will probably come off worse...

[Tunku]

Perfect sort of car to tool about in waiting for your age related premiums to come down to more sane levels. You are invisible to the Polis too. Win win, at the end of the day.

[anonymous-user]

Many Many moons ago, i had a GLT as my (nearly)first car, and it was ace, although, this was in 1990, so it was probably a lot "less vintage" back then..........


(mine ended up with the 2.3 turbo from a 760 stuck in the front, and was actually quite rapid, but a) couldn't stop for S**T (std non vented piddly brake discs at the front) and 2) without an LSD, forget the notions of "drift B**ch", it just squeels the inside wheel in the dry (in the wet, ok, you can get it sideways, but then with the nearly 4turns ltl steering can get a bit busy ;-)

[Negative Creep]

I have heard a Clio Williams engine goes straight in

[anonymous-user]

Tunku said:

You are almostinvisible to the Polis too.

EFA: 3points and a fine says even the plod notice 90mph in a volvo (in retrospect, it may not have helped saying "wow, your police car must be really slow" in response to the "it's took us 15 miles to catch up with you" line from the BIB......... ah, the arrogance of youth lol)

[AnotherClarkey]

Max_Torque said:

Many Many moons ago, i had a GLT as my (nearly)first car, and it was ace, although, this was in 1990, so it was probably a lot "less vintage" back then..........


(mine ended up with the 2.3 turbo from a 760 stuck in the front, and was actually quite rapid, but a) couldn't stop for S**T (std non vented piddly brake discs at the front) and 2) without an LSD, forget the notions of "drift B**ch", it just squeels the inside wheel in the dry (in the wet, ok, you can get it sideways, but then with the nearly 4turns ltl steering can get a bit busy ;-)

It pains me a bit when these get forced into drifting because they are actually very well balanced and satisfying to drive smoothly fast.

[anonymous-user]

Negative Creep said:

I have heard a Clio Williams engine goes straight in

not into a 360, you need the 340 with the 1.7 litre, then it goes straight in

[RaySingh]

I'm on my fourth 300 series, and have had great fun in them all. They're becoming rarer by the minute though, and you're more likely to find a 360 Ferrari in the classifieds than a 360 Volvo!

[ClaphamGT3]

Get a standard 340DL/GL with the variomatic gearbox - ideally an early (pre 1980) one.

Its not the fastest thing on four wheels going forwards........but it is going backwards

[WeirdNeville]

Had a 1.4 340 as my first car, 10 years ago. Wallowy steering, felt "top heavy", horrific gearchange and dog slow.... But it was huge fun as a first car. I can't imagine they will have improved any with another 10 years on them though!

Don't buy the "they out handled a BMW" line.... Volvo WISHED they did! In reality they were a parts bin special born out of difficult times, with LDV van parts, renault engines, and in my case room for the spare wheel under the bonnet.

[Raize]

So... mixed reviews. I'll keep it in mind.

I was trying to think of similar cars but it's quite difficult, all I could think of was a Reliant Scimitar SS1 and a Ford Sierra (with a tiny 1.3). Any other ideas? Nothing post-1989 please for insurance reasons.

[EDLT]

So you are looking for a cheap RWD classic then? Whats the budget for the car?

[Raize]

£1000 or less. And it also needs to be capable of being a daily driver (either ultra-reliable, or nice cheap parts). And insurance group in single figures. Tough call I know.

[carmadgaz]

Max_Torque said:

Negative Creep said:

I have heard a Clio Williams engine goes straight in

not into a 360, you need the 340 with the 1.7 litre, then it goes straight in

IIRC the larger Volvo redblocks go in (B230 from 240s for example). Had my first ever drive in a 360GLS and my first road car was a 340GL, would love a 360GLT but they seem to be hard to find .

You can make them look quite mean

. Lad who I went to school with, very tweaked (can't remember the full spec but included discs all round and a 16V Clio engine)

[andoverben]

Wow and there was me thinking I was the only one who had a 340 for my first car, mine had the wheels and Spoiler off the 360 GLT as well as a Sunroof and everything!

I can confirm they are not invisible to Police - 3 points for 96mph on the M3

Amongst the Nova's and Metros that were first car fodder my bus would do 110 (just) would go sideways round roundabouts (providing it had been raining) and is generally remembered with a great deal of rose tinted spectacles.

I remember wanting to transpant the turbo charged engine out of a 5GT into mine but then the clutch went so I bought a BMW instead

[OllieWinchester]

Booted 360 GLT was the first car I ever went sideways in at the age of 17, felt pretty rapid at the time, but that isn't too suprising considering I was used to the almighty 40bhp or so of my Mk2 Fiesta 1.1...