Hello All,
New 445 owner here.
I live in NJ,USA & am looking for:
-forums - Is this THE forum on the internet to post on PV's?
-service -I'm looking for an enthisiast or reasonably priced mechanic within 100 miles of central NJ (Bucks County, Pa.?) who can help me get my 445 back on the road.
Thanks in advance to all.
Regards,
Jim

Jim,

First, welcome aboard. This is beyond a doubt the best place in the U.S. for information on and help with PVs. There are others in Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands, but the languages sometimes get in the way of easy communication.

You may get lucky and find a good mechanic nearby, who doesn't charge too much, and who is willing and knowledgeable enough to work on your car, but that's a tall order. I traveled the other road. I started with minimal auto-mechanical knowledge and/or experience and have gotten to the point where there is very little that goes wrong with my PV that I can't tackle. Age and arthritis make me, at times, reluctant to get going, but in the end it turns out to be the only and best alternative. I couldn't do it without the help from the people here, though, and I'm sure you'd find the same enthusiastic cooperation here. So, my suggestion is, get some books and CDs and some tools, if you don't already have them, and start tackling the problems one at a time. There's hardly a car out there that is easier to work on. You'll get a lot of satisfaction out of having fixed it yourself and save yourself a bundle in the process. That is, if you don't count divorce lawyer fees. ;-)

Bob S.

PS: I hadn't been back here for a couple of days when I wrote this and, going back over some of your previous posts, I now realize you're well on your way with rolling up your sleeves. Way to go!

I just looked at the pix. That's a little jewel you've got there. Looks like it shouldn't be too difficult to get that one back on the road. Congratulations! You're a lucky man.
--
"62 PV544 (B20, M41), "71 142E, "93 240 Classic Wagon.

Hello Sil,
Thanks for your post.
You know, you jokingly mentioned "divorce fees". Sadly, the P.O. confessed that working on the car did, in fact, contribute heavily to his divorce. I don't want to get too heavy here but I know I will have to be very conscious of the amt. of time spent on my new baby vs. my wife or I could end up in the same situation! I've tried the "Honey, it could be other women, or it could be drugs or alcohol, it's just a car, Honey" but she ain't buying it!
J

This guy sells copies of the factory greenbooks, parts manuals, etc. for $25:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VOLVO-PV-Parts-Service-Manual-CD-catalogs-extra_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6762QQihZ014QQitemZ330233852315QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

It comes from Poland, and he ships fast (I think I got mine in a couple of days).

Paul

Jay at Yankee Trading in Riegelsville south of Easton is a great guy and not far from you. Where exactly are you located?

I'm in NYC, have a 444 (in Ca for now) and many 122s, one here and Easton. I could help you with some information, along with everyone else here, and maybe in person, as I get out to Easton fairly frequently - I have a studio/shop there.

Longhorizon (Kai) posts on this board, has a 210 (a later 445) out on long island.

Is your 445 stock (B16/6 volt, etc)? Although I risk get roundly pounded by others here, I swapped up to a B18 and overdrive and 12v and never looked back.

What kind of shape is it in? Running? front end? rust? leaking rear seal? brakes pull? Is this to be a driver - planned use?

Welcome!

I highly recommend you make the trip to Jay's shop. Not cheap.

Pay peanuts - get monkeys.

Danny,

Thanks for the plug. We really should get our Volvos together sometime!

Those pictures of the 445 are really nice. Great find. Best of luck and good fun to the new owner.

Kai

Hello Danny,
It's great to have someone you can "talk" to about your car.
Here's a link to photos of the car taken by the P.O. & sent to me so I could "look" it over before I bought it:
http://jimpascale.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album78
The best thing about the car is it is rust free. I previously had a 63 P210 that had wonderful mechanics (B20/overdrive)but unfortunately the frame was shot & the body was full of bondo - not this one. On the other hand, my new car still has it's B16, 6 volt system, etc. I'm with you - I wish it had a newer engine/12 volt system. It has been sitting since 1995 so the brakes need to be gone through & it's not running. Quite feankly, I'm not sure how much time/$$$ it'a going to take to make it a driver again.

I'm located in Hopewell, NJ, one hour from Easton, Pa. I attempted to email Yankee Trader but the email bounced back ( yankee@yankeetrading.com ). I'll try to call tomorrow to get the skinny. You had me sold on them until you said they are not cheap. This project needs to be done pretty inexpensively. I was hoping to find a PV enthusiast who might be looking to make a few bucks but also works for the love of the car - maybe people like that don't exist anymore? If you are ever in the Hopewell, Lambertville, or Princeton, NJ area, or New Hope or Bucks County Pa. area please look me up..
Regards,
Jim Pascale
PSHow the heck do you keep a car in NYC??

Jim-

Nice looking car!

Doesn't look like it will take too much to get it running. A battery and a little gas (or starter fluid), and you should be able to see what shape the engine is in.


Brakes shouldn't be too hard to get working again. I just bought a '60 P210 that was off the road for 32 years, and I just threw in a master cylinder rebuild kit ($14), a little brake fluid, and I got the brakes working again.

Paul

Congratulations on your new car, and welcome...

This is definitely the place to get good advice on your car.. quickly. As for nearby mechanic type folks.. couldn't help you there... maybe when we visit my wife's family again near Salem County, NJ... but no immediate plans as of now...

Good luck with it!

--
-Matt I ♥ my ♂