Even an ancient 300 series with bodged sills can take a hell of a hammering and still protect its occupants. Look at the driver's and passenger's compartments on this wreck - astonishing for such an old, weakened car. Looks like he must have gone under a lorry or something.
www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12300
No NCAP rating in those days, but even Rattle will be impressed, I reckon.
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What was the impact speed?
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Don't know, the chap doesn't mention it in his thread. But it's a fair question.
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Without knowing the impact speed it is hard to comment. However I know in the mid 90's the 340 series always did well in insurance crash test results. When I first had lessons and thought I pass circa 2001 I was going to be a 340.
For some reason I have always been a fan of them, but by modern standards I think the driving experience would be woeful and the build quality wasn't a patch on the Swedish built cars.
The even more amazing thing about the 340 is it wasn't designed by Volvo, it was supposed to be a DAF.
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>> I think the driving experience would be woeful
Well, I prefer the term "nostalgic" to "woeful". :-)
I still enjoy driving mine. If it had power steering it would be better, but somehow that would spoil the point of driving one.
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>> What was the impact speed?
>>
He hit a 12 ton truck at 50 mph. I imagine the impact speed will be almost double that if the truck was moving.
The thread I linked to earlier has been updated with further photos, including one of the truck he hit.
Yikes.
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Wow that is pretty impressive. I knew somebody from the internet who is now about 7 years younger than me. When he passed his test at 18 he bought a Volvo 340. He was laughed at, but then he crashed it. It was quite bad crash and he got out without much injury.
Of course if they had airbags etc they would be even better but I don't think you can compare it with a modern car, somebody crashed a Panda at 70mph into a motorway barrier and got out without a scratch. The car just looked like had been 100% crushed up to the A piller, but the cabin was all in tact.
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I doubt the truck was doing 50, that's not a 100+ accident, not by a long way.
However having said that, yup the Vulva dun good.
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Where are the "struts" that are apparently still undamaged? Not the front, surely?
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I doubt it!
I wonder if I can hold on to mine long enough to let my children learn to drive in it? 10 years to go.............
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The truck is a 7.5 tonner or thereabouts parcel van.
Seems the NSF bumper and side step took the brunt, i'd have expected far worse from a 50mph impact.
What worries me is for a relatively light prang the NSF A pillar has collapsed.
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Probably the most memorable TV advert for the Volvo 340 which was originally going to be a DAF 77 before Volvo bought DAF out:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tOjBl52h7Q
Saw the actual car used in this advert and the doors opened fine and there was only a slight crease in the roof.
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I knew somebody from the internet who is now about 7 years younger than me.
What was the age gap when you first knew him, Rats?
};---)
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I knew him from a student forum, he was very young when he joined, he would have been 13 and I would have been 20, so the age gap then seemed much much bigger.
He was a right devil, he used to be a bit of a script hacking kid. He then went on to become a free runner and is quite well known now.
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Thats seriously bad driving to hit the nearside of the lorry, assuming they were both on the same road at the time and it wasn't a Zero moment.........
Don't know whether to applaud the guy for his honesty in saying he was driving like an idiot, or to chastise him!
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>> Probably the most memorable TV advert for the Volvo 340
Tested by dummies. Driven by the intelligent.
That was the slogan, wasn't it?
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>> Tested by dummies. Driven by the intelligent.
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That one wasn't, NSF to NSF impact takes some seriously crap driving, the truck isn't exactly inconspicuous.
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ive been looking for a very clean 340/360 for a while but cant find any.
my parents had a 340 when i passed my test and it was so comfortable even with those rear cartsprings
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They do pop up on eBay and Autotrader every now and then. Pays to keep 'em peeled if you're serious.
I'd part with mine if I found a mint 360 GLT Mk3, 5 door, to replace it! PAS would be nice.
But then, mine's got aircon which is seriously rare in a 300.
Or a mint 480 Celebration might do the trick also.
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I've an old 'department of transport' leaflet from 1993 entitled 'buying a car, choose safety' that tabulates the ' crash worthiness' of cars:
i353.photobucket.com/albums/r370/bathtubtom/IMG-1.jpg
It shows the Vulva (Stephen Fry speak) 300 as being the best in its group.
PS. I've still got the Haynes that I'd send if I had an address.
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Sheesh, Tom. I'd forgotten about that. I'll drop you a line. Thanks.
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From the original link..."but after the accident i can see that all the corrosion repairs were complete bodges, the front sills for example were just packed out with tinfoil then had new panels welded OVER the old ones, so although what i thought was a relatively solid car, turns out it wasnt.
"
New panels welded over old is not much weaker than original.. indeed in part the double metal thickness would increase strutural rigidity I would have thought..
Any comments?
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>> New panels welded over old is not much weaker than original.. indeed in part the
>> double metal thickness would increase strutural rigidity I would have thought..
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>> Any comments?
>>
The official answer I am sure is that the whole structure has been designed as a whole, and it is simplistic to think that over-reinforcing one bit will actually be an improvement. The argument I have read is that in overstrengthening one section you transfer forces to another section which is not designed to take them.
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i like the white one.
about ten yrs ago i had a friend who was in desparate need of i car but had no money so i bought him a 340 5dr on a jplate with 50k on the clock with a loud blow from ex manifold gasket and a leaky petrol tank so it was had for £150.
i repaired the petrol lines and changed the gasket for about £30. he still has it in the family with 100k on the clock and in white and rust free.
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In my experience the fuel lines on these do go porous, green cotton covered IIRC.
Rub your fingers over any fuel line you can see and if you can smell petrol when you sniff your fingers (stop snickering at the back please) then replace the lines. It's only worthwhile doing those under the bonnet and those that can be accessed from the panel in the boot floor.
My daughter had a 340 and it noticeably improved the economy when I replaced these.
Don't bother with the pipes around the fuel filler, they're concerned with emissions and inaccessible. I told my daughter not to put more than 25 litres in at a time when the low fuel light came on - it suited her finances at the time. I found this out when I borrowed it, it dripped until the level dropped.
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That's EXACTLY what's happening to my 360 at the moment, Tom. If I fill the tank to the brim, it drips fuel until the level drops. So I only ever half fill it now. I'm assuming there's some kind of breather that's gone bad?
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So you will survive the crash, but be roasted alive in the resultant fire? ;)
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Yes, with the smug smile of self satisfaction only a Volvo driver can wear. ;-)
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>> I'm assuming there's some kind of breather that's gone bad?
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If the tank (I mean fuel, not the car) is constructed like that on the 240, then it is made in two halves top and bottom joined with a seam half way up. This is a common location for rust and leaks to start. Below half way, fine, but fill it more than half full, and it drips.
Breather trouble would only happen when very full, or vigorous cornering.
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>> Breather trouble would only happen when very full, or vigorous cornering.
Its a volvo, vigorous cornering is out.
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>> Its a volvo, vigorous cornering is out.
Rubbish. 360s iz 4 driftin, innit bro?
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Good Lord, thats not Volvo Speak!
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>> Good Lord, thats not Volvo Speak!
300 owners are pretty much pariahs in Volvo circles. Not a "proper" Volvo, you see. Because they're rear wheel drive and cheap, the yoothful driftin community quite appreciates them. Bo. Or something.
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Cliff, it's only happening when very full. 50 miles or so after filling up, it stops dripping. I can see it coming from near the top of the fuel tank, so it's not rot on the seam. The only owner the car had before me garaged it and never took it out in the wet. It has no rust or rot anywhere.
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It's to do with emissions. IIRC there's a valve, canister and numerous bits of connecting pipe up there. It's the green,cotton covered stuff that goes porous. You'll see it in the Haynes (when I get up in the loft and toddle off to the PO).
Have the flexible pipes in the engine bay and under the boot floor been changed?
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I had a leak on the tank in my old Sierra estate.
There was a very small rusty hole where one of the pipes joined the tank but it was a pain to get in the right position to see it.
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Everyone who owned a Landcrab ended up removing the tank after smelling petrol, then wire brushing it which revealed pin holes and larger all round the half way seam.
Good cure was P40 Isopon, the chopped glass fibre/resin mix, would see another 3 or 4 years out of the tank.
Purely out of interest, in W124 non estate MB's (others i don't know about) the galvanised steel tank is situated behind a steel bulkhead behind the rear seats.
Safest place in a proper car (ie not a van with windows) for the tank?
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An acquaintance had one about 10 years ago - paid a couple hundred for it from a sweet lady who had owned it since new.
He was fond of a few sherberts and went through a roundabout at 2am in it - problem being that it was quite a large roundabout surrounded by railings. Caused a lot of damage, but I remember being surprised how well it held up - he only suffered a black eye - not bad given no seatbelt.
Also remember a friends girlfriend having a 1.4 auto version......drove it home one night for her and almost ended up under a lorry. Pulled out into a large gap only to find that the harder I pressed the gas the more noise it made, but the relaxed pace continued. Think it may have hit 40 at one point
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Volvo 340/360 - Crash worthiness - Zero
