TECH Sometimes it's good to drive a clunker

txs

Contributing Member
The weakness in the 300 was that it was UNDER carberated, and that Thin Film Ignition system they used. A one barrel carb on that stout engine was a joke. A dual carb set up or a Quadrajet totally turns on the beast in this machine. The TFI was simply just not reliable and being right above the exhaust manifold was a REALLY DUMB place to put something that was heat sensitive.

Ideally an intake injection system would be the total BOMB....and a simple but strong electronic ignition system with the proper intake and exhaust manifolds removes 99% of engine issues. :sal:

View attachment 465259
They make the gm style HEI distributors for many motors besides gm ones, I know they make them with the proper base for mopar engines, they might well make one for the venerable 300.
 

AlfaMan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
It looks brand spanking new. Never sees rain or snow and little to no sun all these years. Still has the original tires on it lol. They still have the little spiky things on them. Matter of fact I have all the original parts including the oil filter. It has a soft top and it still looks new. Windows are still clear. The bumpers are still black and fenders. Sunlight is what causes all the deterioration I assume. Paint is perfect. No scratches or blems of any kind.
You have a bundle of cash sitting in your garage.

I did an inspect on a '04 Yellow jeep about a month ago. It was relatively clean and had 198K on it. Yep, almost 200,000 miles. It was a 5 speed and the clutch was GONE. Master and slave cylinders were recent; pressure plate was toast. Faded windows, soft top was there but showed wear on the wear points. Surface rust on the undercarriage, motor had a slight miss around 2800 rpm. I'd figure it never got tuned up. Had a recent set of tires on it.

That puppy sold for $7800.00...........wholesale. There is a healthy market for older SUV's and Jeeps. You can't give away a new Jeep Gladiator these days; but people act like piranas in a river when an older Jeep comes up for sale.
 

tm1439m

Veteran Member
You have a bundle of cash sitting in your garage.

I did an inspect on a '04 Yellow jeep about a month ago. It was relatively clean and had 198K on it. Yep, almost 200,000 miles. It was a 5 speed and the clutch was GONE. Master and slave cylinders were recent; pressure plate was toast. Faded windows, soft top was there but showed wear on the wear points. Surface rust on the undercarriage, motor had a slight miss around 2800 rpm. I'd figure it never got tuned up. Had a recent set of tires on it.

That puppy sold for $7800.00...........wholesale. There is a healthy market for older SUV's and Jeeps. You can't give away a new Jeep Gladiator these days; but people act like piranas in a river when an older Jeep comes up for sale.
Yeah I have had several people tell me it would sell for near $30,000 or better if there were any competition. One guy runs some kind of Jeep off road place and told my son if I ever sell it he wanted first dibs and said he would give $30,000 if its as good as we say it is which it is showroom all the way. Under the hood looks spotless. Not a spec of rust anywhere.

The frame still looks like it just came off the assembly line. Its never been dirty lol.
I just can not part with it. It will last the rest of my life while most any newer car / truck will not likely do that. Plus the aftermarket parts are abundant.

The day may come when I would need to drive it. Until then its a garage queen ha ha.

ETA: I am hoping to buy an older engine with a carburetor, distributor and all. Then rebuild it so I will have a non electronic backup should the time ever present itself.
 
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psychrn

Senior Member
2004 Volvo XC70 here... just lucked into it as Covid was starting - Guy specialized in Volvos, usually lower mileage, but during this time, he couldn't source low mileage; mine had 184K when I bought it, but I trusted him.

Bottom line-4000 for the car, have put about 3500 into it so far (intake manifold, brakes, tires, headlight levelers). Now I have 202K, and it is our driver up and back to Maine (from MA).

So...for about 7500, I have a beautiful, reliable car with no payments.

I never had a Volvo before, it is a tank, and I feel lucky that I got it when I did, before car prices went crazy.

Bonus-it has a casette tape deck and CD player :)
 

Dennis Olson

Chief Curmudgeon
_______________
The only thing I personally have against Volvos are that they have no style. Yes, petty but true.

Oddly enough, my Aurora has a CD player and a cassette player both, and my Murano has a CD player.

And I’m happy that the Murano doesn’t seem to hold its value that well. It let me replace it for much less than would otherwise have been the case. It was $10k less than I paid for the original, and $22k less than the current model year would be to replace. And though some owners have had bad experiences with them, I never have. The first one was reliable as all get-out, and I’m hoping that this one will be the same.

And the Aurora is gaining in value as time passes. I’ve said it a bunch of times, that I wasn’t very upset when the Murano was destroyed, but I would’ve been hugely upset had the Aurora been totalled.
 

Southside

Has No Life - Lives on TB
2004 Volvo XC70 here... just lucked into it as Covid was starting - Guy specialized in Volvos, usually lower mileage, but during this time, he couldn't source low mileage; mine had 184K when I bought it, but I trusted him.

Bottom line-4000 for the car, have put about 3500 into it so far (intake manifold, brakes, tires, headlight levelers). Now I have 202K, and it is our driver up and back to Maine (from MA).

So...for about 7500, I have a beautiful, reliable car with no payments.

I never had a Volvo before, it is a tank, and I feel lucky that I got it when I did, before car prices went crazy.

Bonus-it has a casette tape deck and CD player :)
I never argue the benefits of a car without payments
 

AlfaMan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
2004 Volvo XC70 here... just lucked into it as Covid was starting - Guy specialized in Volvos, usually lower mileage, but during this time, he couldn't source low mileage; mine had 184K when I bought it, but I trusted him.

Bottom line-4000 for the car, have put about 3500 into it so far (intake manifold, brakes, tires, headlight levelers). Now I have 202K, and it is our driver up and back to Maine (from MA).

So...for about 7500, I have a beautiful, reliable car with no payments.

I never had a Volvo before, it is a tank, and I feel lucky that I got it when I did, before car prices went crazy.

Bonus-it has a casette tape deck and CD player :)
You have a real Volvo.........In 2008 Volvo was sold lock stock and barrel to a company called Geely. Geely is a carmaker from communist China, where crash test standards are suggestions, not regulations. Geely has run all the current Volvos through a bean counter's wood chopper-quality on the new ones is nothing like the quality on yours. Also, the Polestar EV's that Volvo sells? COmpletely chinese designed and manufactured. When we have to inspect them we call them Polecats-because they stink like a polecat. Horrendously cheap unibody structures and under the skin metal. Avoid......

But your wagon is barely broken in. I've seen these XC-70s with 300k plus miles. They don't break. They rarely rust. Transmissions are generally good; I've seen the occasional onsie twosie with shift solenoid issues. The gas tanks are plastic-watch pancaking the underside (going over speed bumps too fast and bottoming out the car) because I've seen one or two gas tanks on them that have actually split open. There's no skid plate under them.
To replace the gas tank on those models you have to remove most of the rear suspension to slide the tank out. Then you have to realign the rear suspension so your tires don't wear unevenly.

Also, you have the first Volvo where structural adhesives/bonding techniques were used in the primary body structure. BMW and Mercedes use bonding rather than welding or riveting in the manufacture of their cars; this was Volvo's first attempt at it, and it was a home run. I've never seen these vehicles with structural issues related to the bonded adhesive manufacture of the car.

Bottom line-you paid a decent price, did the good repairs and you're driving a car that will go like a mountain goat and do it for years and years to come.

Oh, did I mention how comfortable those cars are to drive? They're great roadtrip cars. Very comfy!
 
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