The Blanking plates on the front bumper you mentioned are the easiest way to identify what transmission these series of Volvos had. In the case of the manual they are indeed blank, but if they are open, that means that a car has a CVT automatic. there were ducts from the front bumper to the transmission that aided to cool it while on the move.
I also had a few of these in the mid 80s and early 90s. My first was a 1982 Volvo 345 1.4 GL which was a great little car. I then moved on to two of the 2 litre models experiencing both the carb and fuel injected engines - 1986 360 GLE saloon and my last was a 1989 360 GLT hatchback before I moved to the 440 range. My father bought a 1986 340 1.7GL when the 1.7's were first launched. Unfortunately the 1.7 had a much notchier gearbox than 1.4 and 2.0 models which was one of their teething problems. The 360's had a fantastic heater. The 340 1.4 and 1.7 spare wheel was located in the engine compartment whereas the 360 2 litre had a wheel well in the boot.
I had these in the mid 80s and early 90s. My first one was a 340 1.4 GL. Then I got the 360 gls then I had the 340 GLE saloon. The 340 GLE saved my life due to being hit by a truck. I then went onto the 740s. I was 19 when I got my first volvo. People always asked why I purchased volvos at my age. It was simply economics. You got a lot for your money.
They always stood out on driveways back in the day, a bold choice back then. Lovely to see the survivors being kept as nature intended, a lot became drift cars over the last 20 years 🙂
Back around this time, the advertising for Volvo said "If the company buys you a Volvo, you know you've made it". I nearly picked a Volvo 360 GLT as my company car but at the last minute, I changed my mind and had a Belmont GLSi instead. Like this Volvo, it was on an F plate. I liked the Belmont but I'm still not 100% sure I made the right choice.
Ayyy that my old Volvo haha, I got it back on the road after it’s been sat for about 12 years… Keep seeing it on Facebook on the retro shire page and it breaks my heart that i sold her after I got it back on the road.. watching this video nice
We had two of these when I was a kid! B reg red 340 and a red F reg either a 340 or 360, can't remember! Lovely cars though and many happy memories! The super-thin indicator stalks were incredibly hard-wearing as well - they used both the same stalks and the same steering wheel (probably larger diameter though) on the Volvo B10M PS bus and coach variants and they lasted hundreds of thousands of miles! I've a couple of classic Beetles ('72 and '66) if you're ever around Lincolnshire and want to do a video, or if I'm ever around Fife I'll let you know too! :)
I find the GLE destination a bit off-putting- you I expect it to have fuel injection, but it doesn't. The 340 and 360 were quite a unique offering at its time. Not as modern, more stately and perhaps also better built and longer lasting than its main rivals at the time.
All those things you mentioned are passive safety rather than active safety: airbags, seatbelts, head restraints, side impact protection, safety cage, crumple zones... Active safety is anything that affects driving dynamics: ABS, TCS, ESP, good roadholding etc. No mention of Volvo not having designed the vehicle in the first place? You mention it was Volvo’s first attempt at the Escort class. It was actually Daf’s. Daf started working on it in 1970 so it’s a 70s design. Volvo changed it cosmetically when they took over Daf in 1973, but it was always built in the Netherlands rather than in Sweden. The Dutch government came in on the venture along with Mitsubishi and the resulting NedCar B.V. gave us the Mitsubishi Carisma and Volvo 400-series.
They also came with a 2.0 litre engine , I had a 360 GLT B200E in Black I worked for Salomon as a rep it was a company car, not fast but very comfortable as a motorway car, I remember trying to out run an Astra GTE and it left me for dust even a bog standard Ford Orion 1.6 was faster, it was too heavy to be a fast car but it looked and was styled like a much faster car.
My father worked for Volvo Cars in the Netherlands. He bought a ne one every year. The first one in 1982 I believe. Coming from a Daf 44 I was amazed by the number of control lights in the dash. There was even a control light that lighted up if one ofvthe other control lights were out of order...
I had two of these back in the 90s, a 1.4 GL auto A reg then a D reg 360GLE Saloon, I seem to remember those areas on the front bumper having grills in them to keep the auto (variable transmisson) cool, great cars I loved them
The Volvo 340 series was actually designed as a Daf 77, Volvo then took over Daf so they could enter the small car market, and made it into the 340 series. The Daf 77 looked almost identical, Volvo then added their safety requirements and added cosmetic changes, especially to the front. The engine and drivetrains remained almost exactly the same as Daf engineered it them, hence the rear mounted gearbox and the CVT automatic versions. (Apologies if you already knew about this). My father had two of these 340s when I was growing up, so I remember them well, and they were so comfortable and reliable.
I think these went thru 3 revisions….the last one which incorporates a new Volvo dashboard (to replace the DAF and later improved DAF dashboard) is from F plate on. Early CVT automatic option on the 1.4. Regular automatic not available. The 360 is a more rare saloon version with a 2.0 engine. I think these 340/360 cars are probably more durable & less troublesome than the early versions of its replacement, the 440.
Nice 😀 I had this exact spec, colour and Reg but mines was the 4 door saloon. The sunroof was factory and those blanking plates on the front bumper i’m pretty sure covered air vents to cool models with the CVT auto gearbox 😉
Great video as usual and nice to see a 3 series Volvo in such great condition for its age. My Dad had 3 different 3 series Volvos back in the 80s; seeing your video has reminded me of the many features and details of those cars that became so familiar to me. I think that is an original sunroof and also those are original Volvo mats! LIke you, my first experience of driving (at 14) was in a 3 series Volvo :) . Keep up the great work with the videos and good luck growing your channel :)
Brings Back so many memories. I had the 1.4 version. Unfortunately, it was so under power, and god forbid if you hit a steep hill. 😂😂 Loved the car though, even had heated seats, which were unheard of in the 70's / 80's
@@RetroRatchet Just copy and paste incase you think I am genius lol dyslexic but got spell checker 😅 3.2 million miles One careful owner: The man who drove 3.2 million miles in a Volvo. The world record for the most miles on a one-person owned car - 3.2 million - is still held by a Volvo driver called Irv Gordon. He put 450,000 miles on another too. Irv Gordon died five years ago in November.21 Oct 202
Nice. Not sure it was the first cool Ovlov though - surely that was the 240 range? I owned a 440 - the follow up, for a while - a nice car - I enjoyed it. Ultimate 340 must have been the GLT?
hmmm, I love the 240's but not sure if I class them as cool, 400 series, yeah cool, and 100% would love a GLT to add to my collection, without a doubt. (in red)
The Blanking plates on the front bumper you mentioned are the easiest way to identify what transmission these series of Volvos had. In the case of the manual they are indeed blank, but if they are open, that means that a car has a CVT automatic. there were ducts from the front bumper to the transmission that aided to cool it while on the move.
I also had a few of these in the mid 80s and early 90s. My first was a 1982 Volvo 345 1.4 GL which was a great little car. I then moved on to two of the 2 litre models experiencing both the carb and fuel injected engines - 1986 360 GLE saloon and my last was a 1989 360 GLT hatchback before I moved to the 440 range. My father bought a 1986 340 1.7GL when the 1.7's were first launched. Unfortunately the 1.7 had a much notchier gearbox than 1.4 and 2.0 models which was one of their teething problems. The 360's had a fantastic heater. The 340 1.4 and 1.7 spare wheel was located in the engine compartment whereas the 360 2 litre had a wheel well in the boot.
Hello mate, stay tuned, ive bought a mint 40k mile facelift 460GLT, ive still to edit the vids, but its a lovely car, snd no rust on it!
@@RetroRatchet I spotted the 460 on a few of your videos, it's the same colour as the 440 that I've got at present.
I had these in the mid 80s and early 90s. My first one was a 340 1.4 GL. Then I got the 360 gls then I had the 340 GLE saloon. The 340 GLE saved my life due to being hit by a truck. I then went onto the 740s.
I was 19 when I got my first volvo. People always asked why I purchased volvos at my age. It was simply economics. You got a lot for your money.
what was your fav Volvo ?
They always stood out on driveways back in the day, a bold choice back then. Lovely to see the survivors being kept as nature intended, a lot became drift cars over the last 20 years 🙂
I know, the vast majority have vanished, kind of like Saab 900/9000 for their B204's
Chris a lovely red 91 340GLS with 6375 miles going through the CCA tomorrow bidding between 6 and 8k, stunning condition!
interesting see what it makes
@@RetroRatchet Went for 4.5k!
Back around this time, the advertising for Volvo said "If the company buys you a Volvo, you know you've made it".
I nearly picked a Volvo 360 GLT as my company car but at the last minute, I changed my mind and had a Belmont GLSi instead. Like this Volvo, it was on an F plate. I liked the Belmont but I'm still not 100% sure I made the right choice.
both nice cars to be fair, but I think the 360 would have been the better one to have
Ayyy that my old Volvo haha, I got it back on the road after it’s been sat for about 12 years…
Keep seeing it on Facebook on the retro shire page and it breaks my heart that i sold her after I got it back on the road.. watching this video nice
I’m pretty sure the sunroof is original
hi,
ah right, well I really enjoyed the short time I had with it, great motor, went well imho
Enter to win it back then.
We had two of these when I was a kid! B reg red 340 and a red F reg either a 340 or 360, can't remember! Lovely cars though and many happy memories!
The super-thin indicator stalks were incredibly hard-wearing as well - they used both the same stalks and the same steering wheel (probably larger diameter though) on the Volvo B10M PS bus and coach variants and they lasted hundreds of thousands of miles!
I've a couple of classic Beetles ('72 and '66) if you're ever around Lincolnshire and want to do a video, or if I'm ever around Fife I'll let you know too! :)
I find the GLE destination a bit off-putting- you I expect it to have fuel injection, but it doesn't. The 340 and 360 were quite a unique offering at its time. Not as modern, more stately and perhaps also better built and longer lasting than its main rivals at the time.
All those things you mentioned are passive safety rather than active safety: airbags, seatbelts, head restraints, side impact protection, safety cage, crumple zones...
Active safety is anything that affects driving dynamics: ABS, TCS, ESP, good roadholding etc.
No mention of Volvo not having designed the vehicle in the first place?
You mention it was Volvo’s first attempt at the Escort class. It was actually Daf’s. Daf started working on it in 1970 so it’s a 70s design.
Volvo changed it cosmetically when they took over Daf in 1973, but it was always built in the Netherlands rather than in Sweden.
The Dutch government came in on the venture along with Mitsubishi and the resulting NedCar B.V. gave us the Mitsubishi Carisma and Volvo 400-series.
They also came with a 2.0 litre engine , I had a 360 GLT B200E in Black I worked for Salomon as a rep it was a company car, not fast but very comfortable as a motorway car, I remember trying to out run an Astra GTE and it left me for dust even a bog standard Ford Orion 1.6 was faster, it was too heavy to be a fast car but it looked and was styled like a much faster car.
yeah I decided not to discuss the 360's as such, interesting re the 2.0.. I thought this felt livelier than my mk4 escort 1.6 - carb.
I saw this through retro show!te. Great channel and more reviews on retrosh!te cars can only be a good thing👍
thanks very much mate - @retroshite - what's next lol
My father worked for Volvo Cars in the Netherlands. He bought a ne one every year. The first one in 1982 I believe. Coming from a Daf 44 I was amazed by the number of control lights in the dash. There was even a control light that lighted up if one ofvthe other control lights were out of order...
I had two of these back in the 90s, a 1.4 GL auto A reg then a D reg 360GLE Saloon, I seem to remember those areas on the front bumper having grills in them to keep the auto (variable transmisson) cool, great cars I loved them
ah that's interesting, ill need to check out the next CVT one I see at a show!
The Volvo 340 series was actually designed as a Daf 77, Volvo then took over Daf so they could enter the small car market, and made it into the 340 series. The Daf 77 looked almost identical, Volvo then added their safety requirements and added cosmetic changes, especially to the front. The engine and drivetrains remained almost exactly the same as Daf engineered it them, hence the rear mounted gearbox and the CVT automatic versions. (Apologies if you already knew about this). My father had two of these 340s when I was growing up, so I remember them well, and they were so comfortable and reliable.
I think these went thru 3 revisions….the last one which incorporates a new Volvo dashboard (to replace the DAF and later improved DAF dashboard) is from F plate on.
Early CVT automatic option on the 1.4. Regular automatic not available.
The 360 is a more rare saloon version with a 2.0 engine.
I think these 340/360 cars are probably more durable & less troublesome than the early versions of its replacement, the 440.
Nice 😀 I had this exact spec, colour and Reg but mines was the 4 door saloon. The sunroof was factory and those blanking plates on the front bumper i’m pretty sure covered air vents to cool models with the CVT auto gearbox 😉
ive never been too much of a fan of the 4dr versions, hath defo my preferred style! interesting re this vents!
I had a 1.4 GL as my first car in real terms - had a Fiat Uno for a very very short period before it all fell to bits
Great video as usual and nice to see a 3 series Volvo in such great condition for its age. My Dad had 3 different 3 series Volvos back in the 80s; seeing your video has reminded me of the many features and details of those cars that became so familiar to me. I think that is an original sunroof and also those are original Volvo mats! LIke you, my first experience of driving (at 14) was in a 3 series Volvo :) . Keep up the great work with the videos and good luck growing your channel :)
thanks a lot mate - yeah its gonna be hard work growing it, but open to ideas!
That looks great, wasn't going to buy a ticket, but I'm going to after watching this.
yeah think ill prob buy one too! lovely car tif
Great cars. I had two in the 80s early 90s. Bomb proof. I fid over 100,000 miles in both.
I also had a 440i non turbo non cat version. It was an xr3i beater.
Very good strong highly practical cars nice to see again
Brings Back so many memories. I had the 1.4 version. Unfortunately, it was so under power, and god forbid if you hit a steep hill. 😂😂 Loved the car though, even had heated seats, which were unheard of in the 70's / 80's
lol - what were they 65-70hp?
nah the 1970s Volvo Amazon is by far the best car ever made . also holds the record for the most mileage
ah really, how many miles was that ?
@@RetroRatchet Just copy and paste incase you think I am genius lol dyslexic but got spell checker 😅 3.2 million miles
One careful owner: The man who drove 3.2 million miles in a Volvo. The world record for the most miles on a one-person owned car - 3.2 million - is still held by a Volvo driver called Irv Gordon. He put 450,000 miles on another too. Irv Gordon died five years ago in November.21 Oct 202
@@nickwatson2167 That was a P1800 if I'm not mistaken.
Believe GLE’s had a rear spoiler as standard spec as GLE’s were the high spec models with the 1.7’s.
Shame whoever had car before has removed spoiler
Nice. Not sure it was the first cool Ovlov though - surely that was the 240 range? I owned a 440 - the follow up, for a while - a nice car - I enjoyed it. Ultimate 340 must have been the GLT?
hmmm, I love the 240's but not sure if I class them as cool, 400 series, yeah cool, and 100% would love a GLT to add to my collection, without a doubt. (in red)
When is the next meet up buddy? Il bring my old datsun along
Last Sunday of the month at the Scottish vintage bus museum near Dunfermline ky12 0sj
what Datsun have you got?
Hi there ive got a skyline R33 GTR 1997
Ahh. For many years the favourite car of the over 60s. Definitely the least cool Volvo!
and now the drifter fav lol
Great looking car - would make a great EV conversion
Unlike the 240 / 740 this is definitely not cool
yeah I like them too!
2 engine size? 😂 What about 1.3 B13 petrol engine? 1.6 diesel (D16) and 2.0 B19E and B200E?
Not in the uk