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Howdy All!
In addition to a transmission noise I am looking at getting the whole car (1989 245) painted. The while-you-are-in-there-itus disease is a strong one with me. In repainting the car I feel as though it would be prudent to replace the lower molding pieces. Do we have a source for them?
Thanks!
Andrew
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posted by
someone claiming to be MIKE
on
Mon Mar 15 13:05 CST 2021 [ RELATED]
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Why don't you try a well known reputable body shop that you can trust - they may not get the OEM but can get and install something that works. Its likely not that unique and they have seen it all
I did this with my 245 (have 2) tailgate seal - the installation is perfect, and cost is cheap - they do this stuff all the time
Good luck
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On the actual subject of this post, you might want to try VP Auto Parts (vp-autoparts.com/). They list a ton of hard-to-find stuff. That doesn't mean, however, that they have it or can get it. You have to inquire once you find what you want. Worth a shot!
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Gave them a ring, they are in the process of moving to a larger facility so they asked me to send an email. Hopefully they can pull through...
Thanks for the source.
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No they fall into the unobtainium category. Just like the Volvo manual trans fluid you were inquiring about. Had I known it would be discontinued I would have a case of it as I have 2 late 80s with M-47s in them. Missing the OEM downpipe as well as the aftermarket(Bosal/ Walker ) ones are crap 5 yrs at best. The OEM was good for 20 yrs.
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First a rant:
Why is it that so many people are content with disposable junk? Why? Why can folks not see past the BS advertising that is trying to convince them that shiny and new will make them happy? I know why; it is the banks, the banks that say that it is easier to put a value on something that is new rather than something that is old that way we can have established values for things and when folks can’t pay we can reclaim.
That all said, we can’t find these lower trim pieces for the Volvo. Not that they are in terrible shape but the whole car is getting re-painted and I wanted to replace them, they are getting a bit scuffed up, a bit sun faded, etc. But they are NLA (no longer available) and it sent me back looking at Ford Model As again, a few years back (maybe 10), the company that manufactured new model A frames ceased the frame building but up to that point you could build a totally new model A. They were originally manufactured from 1927-1931. That thought process got me thinking that there is one manufacture that actually supports 100% of all the vehicles they ever manufactured. Mercedes.
So I found this one:
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/mercedes-benz/320/2129384.html?utm_source=autotempest&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=autotempest_classifieds
Do the lights even go red for you if you drive this? Do all the peasants just get out of the way?
Going for a happier color:
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/mercedes-benz/170v/2471845.html
This one has a price tag, and survived the war, and would require a bit of a swim to get it back…
Then I got to really thinking about the whole issue. Petra (my wife) has said that I have great mechanical sympathy, I can feel the pain of mechanical thing (house, water heater, car, steering linkage, etc) and if there one thing I hope none of us ever have it is the empathy of cancer. But it does happen, cancer is a real disease and while the cause in people is frequently a mystery (sin and the fall of man aside) we know that for cars, salt is one sure fire way to get the cancer going. So here I am, about the embark on a journey back to the mid-atlantic, where they pride them selves in how many thousands of tons of salt they can dump on the roads every time it looks like it might snow; and I have a truck that has never been east of the Mississippi (I think last year when I went up to NM might have been the first time it was out of Texas), a Volvo that was a CA car its whole life and the Porsche which is finishing up its last round of chemo getting all of its cancer fixed.
In good conscience I cannot drive these cars in the winter. I have thought about selling almost everything except the Porsche once I get there and just getting some local, already cancer ridden cars to get us through… (like my cousin’s Audi wagon that he has already promised me)
There is a game that says you get a new car every 5 years, but I don’t want to play that game, it is very expensive and helps no-one.
What would you all do?
What are the rules of the game that I am trying to play?
And good morning!
Andrew
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Hi Andrew,
What is this disposable junk you speak of? New cars are safer, quieter, faster, and more efficient (not to mention shinier) than your '89. Why shouldn't people prefer new?
The rules are what you make them. You do you.
The parts supply, this was always going to be the case, Volvo can't be expected to maintain a parts supply for every bit of every 240. There has to be a market. They might be convinced if they would see a profit in it, as Mercedes has. But lets be honest, most 240 drivers don't have deep pockets or a desire to empty them. The answer, dunno, create value in the market? How do you get a 1970 Volvo 142 to be 10 times as valuable as it currently is? (comparing to https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/mercedes-benz/280se/2466576.html)
The other option is to have such a massive following that the market will support. See the original Mini. They are producing whole brand new body shells.
I share your affliction of being a mechanical sympathizer. It would be a lot less painful to be ignorant to such things. You have the right idea, lots of ppl do it, have a winter beater to save their "nice" car from the salt. Or you could get a newer car (a Volvo even!) that doesn't rust, that's what I did.
As for the trim, since you're going to the trouble of painting, why not strip off that trim and weld up the holes?
Regards,
Will
--
XC60 / Odyssey
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Howdy Will!
Thanks for being my sounding board this AM. Speaking of quieter, we took the truck out for a spin on Saturday. We had 25mph sustained winds and I am sure a whole lot more going over some of the passes, a few times I slowed down and the wife had her hands over her ears it was so deafening!
You are 100% correct, new vehicles are quieter, safer (let me tell you about the steel dash and no seat belts in the '66 truck!) and a whole lot faster. But to what end?
What I think is really rubbing me the wrong way with the new cars is they are not designed to last. They are all sold on the build quality IDEA of the 80's cars when manufactures were trying to build the most durable cars they could but current cars have planned obsolesce perfected. I quit as a mechanic at VW after I replaced a motor in a brand new car whose internal, submerged belt failed on the oil pump. Yup, there is a little belt in the oil pan that drives the oil pump.
That is a gorgeous 1970 benz!
So plastic car for the winter (kosseneigg, or pagani or one of those other carbon plastic cars) and save the fun cars for the summer? :)
It is the lower trim. The ones that are ~6" tall. I think what also gets me is that if wife was not active duty, I have the wherewithal and the funds to be able to re-produce many of the parts that are NLA but I cant, so I am stuck calling everyone all morning. :(
Andrew
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Very good Sir!
I do agree, in many cases the cars being built today are not being built to last, but rather built to be efficient and easy to manufacture at the expense of durability and ease of maintenance). But that is not always the case. I spent many hours on my back fixing rusty floors, rockers and exhausts on my second 240 (20 years old at the time). Show me a 20 year old Volvo S60 or V70 and I bet it's still not rusty and is sporting it's original exhaust.
The 2006 Honda I drive now is a breath of fresh air. It just works. Durable as anything. One spot of rust starting, and it has its weak spots (power steering pumps, transmissions...) but overall @204k miles has required less maintenance than any other car I've owned. If they weren't so pricey and boring, I wouldn't daily drive anything else.
The planned obsolescence I think is coming from the marketing department more than anywhere else. Nothing new about that.
Have a great day and thanks for listening to my little rant too!
--
XC60 / Odyssey
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You wrote: "The OEM was good for 20 yrs."
And more. It was thick enough I could weld the corrosion pit holes.
Had to replace the triagular flange also.
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