First car I ever purchased new, replacing a Marina which I hated. No more rust, very reliable and I replaced with two more of the same model great car.
Superbly presented and informative ! Unlike so many so called presenters with an inkling for being part time comedians, this guy is what all real petrol heads want to hear from. No messing wasting time with silly innuendo or pointless snide remarks, he gives us what we really want...factual and useful information, put forth in a manner that holds your interest, preventing your mind wandering due to poor interaction and getting bored with their attempts to belittle everything and every body (almost every premier TV program motoring journalist) to get a cheap giggle. Well done that man.
@@TwinCam Honestly, its a tradgedy that dullards like Clarkson, Hammond and May ever got to present TV programmes, that I find ridiculous, but then their replacements begger belief....who the heck wants to watch idiots like Paddy McGuinness that have absolutely no knowledge or real interest in cars. If there was any justice you'd be doing their jobs, maybe the BBC might win back the many viewers that now abstain with somebody like you that puts in the real work.
I was a car salesman at a Volvo dealership between 1979 and 1982. I had a white 343 demonstrator that was equipped with optional alloy wheels and Volvo stripes. It was one of the best cars I ever drove. We could have sold that 10 times over and indeed sold it at more than full retail. In the 80's as a dealership, we couldn't stock enough of them. As a side note, when the variomatic was on song, there was nothing to out accelerate it, outstanding.
Great video, and what a fascinating history. I owned a 2litre 360 GLT Turbo injection, and it was fast. I loved the comfort, the solidity of the body and interior, and when I put my foot down, I would be pressed back into my seat. I swapped a mint Triumph Herald 1200 saloon for it. The car met a sad end though, I over cooked it on a roundabout in the rain and I spun off into a lampost, the car saved me as I didn't feel the impact. The damage wasn't too bad but too expensive to repair and it was written off. I still miss that car!
That took me back to the first of your videos I saw: the DAF 66. You got me addicted to TwinCam in that first (to me) episode. I've had sillier addictions. lol
Everything seemed to go wrong on my 1984 340 GL but I only paid £300 for it back in 1995. Agree about the superb seats and precise gearbox. This felt like pure luxury as I bought this to replace a Citroën 2CV6!
10:26 I feel Volvo gave these cars pretty unique, almost Japanese, look in these sporty specifications. I never thought 340 as an ugly car (it has hint of Alfa Romeo 33 about it, and that has pretty polarising design as well) but these look really nice!
My parents owned a 1988 360 GLT with the rare optional power steering when I obtained my driving licence in 2001. Switching over from the driving school VW Golf IV was like a revelation. Eqipped with new shock absorbers, the 360 handled just superbly. Drifting in rain and snow was also real fun! There are more comfortable cars, but I never again drove one that was so utterly predictable and quick at the same time. With the third generation dashboard and leather seats, the interior was quite nice too. Unfortunately, rust took its toll on the 300 series. Still hope I'll find a 2-litre hatchback in good condition one day.
The Volvo 345 was the first car I drove. I had my drivers lessons in one. I loved it. I still love the Daf variomatic transmission. It was so far ahead technically, people just didn't understand how good it was.
Not sure if others have commented, but the rear seats were set higher than the front. Probably because of the transmission underneath. But it meant that in the rear you could see forward over the shoulders of the people in the front seats. My dad had a couple of these as well as larger Volvos over the years. Great review @TwinCam. Having lived through the era of these cars, I am somewhat amused by the things younger folk find astonishing! ;)
Both these cars belong to the lovely Siôn at Morsels and Motors. You can see videos on these cars and the rest of his collection on his channel. ru-vid.com
i had all 3 engine variations...the 1.4 was slow, the 2.0 was a thirsty beast that would pull house down and the 1.7 was just about right being best compromise of power over consumption, i loved driving them great turning circle.
Whoever owns them has an amazing collection. 2 300’s a 240 and even better a Citroen Xantia! When the 5 door was launched we bought a Renault 14! I bought an X reg one a couple of years later. The 1397 engine was widely used in Renaults including the R5
In 1984 my dad drove a Vauxhall Cavalier, but ended up with one of these as a courtesy car. My overriding memory of it, as a 5 year old, was the prickly material on the bench of the rear seats.
Two of my friends had those (later models) as their first cars. I can remember thinking that despite being not at all cool or handsome, they definitely felt safe and comfortable. Most of our friends had metros, novas, minis, fiestas. I ended up owning a Volvo 850 and a s60 purely off the back of that. Both being extremely comfortable.
Great video. Found particularly interesting as growing up my grandad bought new, an E reg 2.0 manual, 360gle that later became our family car until the early 2000s - just long enough for me to get L plates on it. (Same colour metallic blue as the 360 in the promo shots) I've always been aware of its DAF heritage, but had no idea of the improvements Volvo had made to get it to the standards required to match the brand image. The novelties of a rear mounted gearbox and di-dion were lost on me at that age but my grandad was an engineer and obviously it impressed him enough at the time to make it his first brand-new car. We had many happy family holidays in the old 360 that tested load capacity and handling on Welsh roads to remote cottages... First car I had experience of oversteer in too.. ..Sadly e963low was written off during a school run accident, but Its built-in safety saved my mum from injury even when hit by a much larger, newer car.
My dad bought my mum her first Volvo, a beige A-reg 340DL back in 1989 for the sum of £2995. It was a Portsmouth registration A306POT. We had that car for 12 years with no problems. It was only rust that eventually killed it in 2001. Your grandad's one must have also been a Portsmouth registration being OW. I have a 1984 blue Volvo 340DL A235JEM but I won't take it out on the road because of the bad drivers out there. I'd be devastated if it was written off.
In the 1970's there was a DAF dealership in Cambridge just off the Queen Elizabeth way bridge, There was a report in the Cambridge evening news about a woman who took delivery of her DAF with variomatic transmission, on the way out she managed to get hit by a car on her side of the road then another on the other side. The car was tottale but no one was hurt, she balmed the variomatic for the accident. The only other thing I remember about the DAF's was I heard stories about the transmission slipping in wet weather which I can believe as at one time I had a Triumph Tina scooter that had that problem as it also had a rubber belt drive with varying speed pulleys.
Oh! You’re at Siôn’s! ;o) My Mum had a 1988 4-door 340GLE in the early 90s that was very tail-happy on wet roundabouts! At the same time my Granddad had a 1988 5-door 360GLT, if I remember rightly. Granddad moved onto a red 1989 240DL estate shortly after. Good times!
In 1978 couple of Finnish motoring journalists took a CVT Volvo 343 and drove it backwards round Keimola race track for 24 hours, tallying 1770 kilometres.
I had a 340 GL Y 1983. I owned it when I was 20. I so had a 360 GLS and a 340 saloon which survived being rear ended by a skip wagon. They were great cars. I then moved onto the 7 series models.
Hello Ed, I found myself watching this whole episode even though I have no interest at all in that model car. However your presentation skills are so good you can make any car sound interesting! Well done young man 👨 👍
Probably said it befor but I was never a big fan at the time. They really do make a sensible classic for all the reasons they weren't popoluar at the time. Good work Ed. A very interesting history.
Well, it’s the algorithm that brings me to this video. And I’m really surprised by the quality of the contents on this channel. Keep up with the good works, and I do believe that you deserve more subscribers!
Well done Ed, a vid on the V300 series. Great to see you giving them credit. Thank you so much! One of my first cars, a '86 CVT 340 GL 3 door, blue Metallic, blue velour interior, a set of alloys coming of the 480Turbo. I still love them, even in the Netherlands a rare sight nowadays. Have a great week ahead! Cheers from the Netherlands! 🇳🇱
Another great video Ed. I like your new word ‘Volvoness’ 😂 The 300 later models were great cars. I had a 480 ES. That was such a fun car great style as well. Good one mate. Dave
I had a 340, which I bought new in Paris. Though the car itself was OK, the dealership, or at least their technical know-how, was not. The performance and drivability were OK, but mine lacked power when overtaking, which was frequently embarrassing and sometimes dangerous. The owner's manual spoke about a "kick-down" that would operate when the accelerator was pressed right down, and give a lower gear ratio for extra power when overtaking - but it didn't seem to work on mine. I took it back to the dealership (the main Volvo outlet in Paris) on four occasions, but they always said "Ca marche!" - it works! After a few months, convinced that it didn't work, I designed and built an electronic instrument to give a real-time readout of the gear ratio, but when I wanted to show the guys at Volvo, they weren't keen to try to understand my device, and said "We can put it on the jack, and you can watch from under the car, and you will see that it works". Well, that wasn't a good test because on the jack, the car is not driving any load. Anyway, I accepted that it worked by design - but it must be a lousy design. After driving it for a couple of years, when it was out of guarrantee, I was still unconvinced, and decided to have a look myself. What could trigger the kick-down when the pedal was depressed? I looked around the pedal itself to see if there was a switch of any sort - but there wasn't. There was a Bowden cable from the pedal to the carburettor, and I found a switch at the carb end of the cable. I couldn't do anything that would actuate the switch, and it took a moment to understand it. When the padal was all the way down, the carb was wide open as expected, but when I unclamped the inner cable and pulled it through half an inch (oops, sorry - about a centimetre - this was in France!) and re-clamped it, when the carb reached the end of its movement, it started pulling on the *outer* cable, and that's what closed the switch. I took it out for a test, *_et voila!_* - the kick-down worked - and was everything it was supposed to be - such a simple fix, but the mechanics at the Volvo dealership didn't know about it! Sheesh!! I replaced the drive belts at about 120,000 km, but the ones that came off looked pretty much like the new ones I put on, so I could have saved myself the trouble - working on it on the road outside my flat. All in all, it was a relatively cheap car, and didn't offer the quality of a more expensive car, but it was very drivable, and didn't give much trouble while I had it. It had good roadholding, reasonable performance, and as a car, I liked it.
A million years ago I got a Volvo 360 sedan with the 2 liter Volvo engine from the dealers and I had to drive from Holland down to Le Havre France to deliver urgent engine parts onboard a ship. On the way back in the dead of night crossing the French-Belgium border I decided to put the pedal to the metal and "do" Belgium within the hour which is a good 100 miles (160 kilometers) I succeeded however there were quite some hairy moments taking fast turns on the Belgium motorways. These cars were clearly not built for real high speeds !
Brillant video Ed. I have to say that your videos are so well researched that they are a pleasure to watch. I watch RU-vid car videos daily and your’s rate among the best. I used to watch an American RU-vidr but I’m getting very sick of his saying how weird, strange and odd things are in the cars. You can’t compare apples and oranges and it was the way things were done. I could sit in my Model T Ford and carry on about how “odd, strange and weird” things were but that doesn’t take into account the fact that how it was done. Keep up the great work.
I knew about the Variomatic transmission and that it was developed by DAF, but most of the rest of the story was unknown to me. A very good, honest and unbiased article on this (initially) oddity, perhaps the ultimate ugly duckling that turned into if not a swan, then a much better looking duck! Thanks Ed.
Good video Ed but wrong re the Allegro Equipe. When that came out me and my workmates wanted one of these because we really liked the looks and later on I did end up owning one and it was an excellent reliable and quick car as well. Every time I left that Equipe parked anywhere I came beck to people always looking at it and in it and asking me about it because even though they were advertised in bill boards all over the country not many people knew that the Equipes existed - you never got that attention with many ordinary cars. Of course usual BL they brought out the Equipe just as they brought out the Mk3 Allegro so struggled to sell the remaining ones and had to really discount them to get them out the door but a bargain for those who bought them then but they would have lost more when it came to sell or trade them in. Loved mine and would still have had it today if it hadn't been written off in an accident.
Thanks for the video Ed. Very interesting facts about the Volvo 340 and as I thought about them I was surprised to recall just how many people I knew had one in the 80s.
Nice video, I have fond memories of being taken to school in my mums, she had three in total, an early 345 ‘V’ a ‘B’ and finally an ‘E’ plate before a very average 440 arrived.
My dad drove between 1986 and 1998 two mk3 340’s. Last one was a 1988 diesel and he clocked nearly 250.000 km in 10 years. Was actually also the first car i drove after getting my driving license in 1989. Mk3 made an jump upward in building quality, think it became comparable with the celebrated 240 of the same period. You still see them in daily traffic from time to time nowadays in Holland. Especially the CVT and 360 is nowadays sought after as a practical everyday classic while the later 440 is nearly extinct because of corrosion issues…… Would like to have a 340/360 but prices in Holland are rising last couple of years i’ve noticed so i will keep my year 2000 Lancia Kappa saloon on the road for now (thats by the way another misunderstood car, think its an Italian 850 quality wise car that suffered greatly from the bad image of the Lancia brand…)
ED amazing video you always do a 100 % insight i love what you do its all spot on research is amazing well done mate. p.s Melvin is awesome as is your new metro.
Great video Ed, I always enjoy your content. I was under the impression that these were considerably more expensive than comparable models towards the end of their life, I'd never have guessed they were cheaper than Maestros! I'm sure there was another car that did a similar trick with the folding front seats to the 3 door, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it was!
Thanks Rob :) At launch, they were very expensive thanks to the De Dion suspension and Variomatic system, but as they aged, technology moved on, production scales increased, and manuals became available, they ended up very affordable.
Thanks for another great vid Ed! It took me way back to when I had a 360 which I loved, although I didn't keep it very long. I used to change my cars more often than my clothes in those days!
I did wonder when I started watching this 25 minutes on the Volvo 340 seems a long time however I was hooked within the first few minutes, so well presented and informative. It's rare for me not to skip bits ended up quite sad it when it nished so well done. Would be great if you could do a video of the last generation model. I nearly bought a 340 Automatic in the late 80's but in the end stayed loyal to BL with a succession of Metro' VDP's and a Maestro VDP then Rover 213SE, 216GSi and then a 400 Saloon. 400 was written off in 2010, replaced with a first generation Focus Ghia Saloon which I still have now. Rare now especially in saloon form, maybe a review there for you.
Cheers Simon :) It's interesting to hear that a fair few older American cars have this kind of folding mechanism. I've never seen it on any European cars other than DAFs.
A great video, thank you so much! I had to laugh at your use of the term “elastic” for the Variomatic transmission. Back in the day people referred to those belts as rubber bands. Interesting to hear you say saloon cars were for people suspicious of practicality, myself I’ve always like saloon cars rather than hatchback on many, but not all cars. The dashboard on the DAF cars was not that bad a fit when new, but that plastic has changed shape with age and now of course looks awful. Your comments on the gearbox being a positive feel for the era are interesting.. A slick gear-change and crisp positive feel of the clutch make a massive difference when driving a manual car, in the last week I’ve been driving a Polo with a really sweet gearbox and clutch and also a Citroen with a mushy gearbox and clutch and despite the Citroen being by far the more comfortable and well equipped and quiet car, the Polo with its crisp gear changes is a pleasure to drive. The best clutch/gearbox I’ve ever used was in a Suzuki SJ413, the Japanese version. The worst have all been French cars (but I still love French cars)
It was actually ment to be DAF 77 when Volvo too it over and it became Volvo 343. I have had three of them. 1,3L (down sized for tax reasons) 1,4L and 2,0L GLT.
A very interesting piece Ed. I remember DAF morphing the car business into Volvo as a child but until you mentioned it I didn't realise just how long these cars were in production. It just goes to show how much DAF got it right from the outset. OK as you mention build and finish were both sub par initially but this goes to show that at least some manufacturers from the era learned from mistakes and fixed them.
Thanks Anthony :) Volvo were the masters of continuously improving their products. That's how their cars remained feeling current despite their basic age!
Ed, another stunning top quality video from you! You really have gotten so far with your channel! I hope there will be some friendly insurance company who will insure you so you can actually drive the cars. Do you think this will happen soon? Maybe try Adrian Flux 😉
Thanks Frank, that’s very kind of you, as ever! As for insurance, I have approached two companies, which shall remain nameless. One ignored me, the other kindly rejected.
Great video. DAF Club Nederland once had a get together in the 1980s where former DAF head engineer V.d.Brugghen talked about his time at DAF. He told us then that the car would never have been called the DAF 77, as by '78 it would have sounded like an old model. So it would probably have been the DAF 88 had Volvo not stepped in. It actually happened to me once whent I drove a Volvo 66 they thought 66 was the model year, not the model.
I had a 1980 345 which I bought as a cheap and solid refuge from the world's most unreliable Astra/Kadett. I didn't even fit into it properly (head against the roof) but I bought it anyway; I was desperate. The Renault engine revved as hard as you could make it and the car was unbreakable. I have a soft spot for this model because despite being decidedly uncool for someone in their twenties, it dug me out of an automotive hole and so will forever be regarded as a little hero.
We had a program in the Netherlands that was called 'achteruitrijden' (driving in reverse). It was racing, but was done backwards. No need telling that the DAF's variomatic ruled. It was as quick going backwards than it was going forwards. Later they made another class, for not DAF cars, because the DAF always would win. Which DAF was the question.
LOL! I remember seeing videos of these races! Not sure about other Daf/Volvos, but my 33 had a strong self-centring effect on the steering going forward, but the opposite when going in reverse! If the wheels were anything but dead-ahead when reversing, they tended to go towards full lock. Scary when you weren't expecting it!!!
Thanks for a really interesting video. I loved the 1984 360 GLT I owned from about 1987. It looked great, was really comfortable, solid and easily ate up the miles when I commuted regularly from Sussex to Scotland. It was a bit special compared with the Escorts of the day. It was fairly expensive at the time, but worth it IMHO. It was sadly underrated by the motoring press (because despite the weight distribution it didn’t handle like a 944 or Alfa GTV!)
I had a Volvo 340 but trying to remember which model. I have a feeling it was a 1.7 and it was a manual. I remember it feeling fairly substantial, decent safety for the time and the seats were typically Volvo so very comfortable even after hours on the motorway.
as a child of the 70s and a mechanic of the 80s I remember the 33, 44, 66 & latterly the 300 being the stalwart teachers car. all querky until the 300 was properly Volvoised. they were a genuine alternative in their sectors to much of the rubbish being produced here in the UK. the 'elastic band' transmission was always the butt of jokes as much because of the way it would suddenly render the car useless upon breaking and the complete ignorance of those asked to fix it. as can be seen in your video here, moving the steering wheel to the right side of the car was a massive leap forward by Volvo ;-)
If you ever want a third installment on the Daf story, you're more than welcome to pop over to the Netherlands and have a go in my completely original top of the line 1988 360 GLT, with the updated design, updated interior (with leather seats, electric windows and all that stuff) and the 2L redblock engine as well as a 5-speed manual.
Great video. DAF Club Nederland once had a get together in the 1980s where former DAF head engineer V.d.Brugghen talked about his time at DAF. He told us then that the car would never have been called the DAF 77, as by '78 it would have sounded like an old model. So it would probably have been the DAF 88 had Volvo not stepped in. It actually happened to me once when I drove a Volvo 66 they thought 66 was the model year, not the model. If you see pictures of Michelotti designing the DAF B-body you quite often see V.d.Brugghen in the picture as well. The engineer wrote about his time at DAF in three volumes that were printed in smal volumes and are probably quite rare by now. If you ever have the chance, go visit the DAF Museum in Eindhoven. At the moment they have a temporary exhibition on cars designed by Michelotti, I believe until the end of March 22. Well worth a visit. They also have the Williams F1 car with cvt on permanent exhibition.
Thanks Ronald :) I'll have to see if I can find some of his writings! Also, the DAF Museum is on my hitlist. I'll probably end up there within the next two years.
@@TwinCam The writings will be hard to find and will be in Dutch. But willing to help with translation. Let me know when you're around if you want to do an item on my Méhari and/or 306 Convertible.
So many memories as I learned to drive in my mums W reg 345 and pass my test in it. Can you do the Chrysler Alpine, my first car…….if they’re any left as the tended to rust but we’re great to drive, especially down country roads fast. 😜
A young Tony Bastable in the making, perhaps? As a fellow car nut since I was still in my single digits of years lived on this planet, and someone who had lofty aspirations of becoming an automotive or heavy transport designer (never happened, though I did pursue/receive a Uni degree in Industrial Design, with a particular passion for Design History), I've been viewing your videos for some time now; really appreciating the examinations of models that were either more or completely unfamiliar to those of us here across the pond, as well as your sharing of assorted promotional literature, i.e. brochures/catalogues - but (inexplicably) rarely comment on your posts. I vaguely remember coming across references to/articles on these Volvos years ago, during some of my endless reading of auto publications back then - but you've certainly provided new information, or even reminded me of what I may have forgotten from my own "study sessions" of times past, when life was considerably less complicated personally, than it's become. Having viewed a number of vintage episodes/clips of "Drive-In" and "Wheels" since they've been uploaded to RU-vid, as with the late Mr. B., I also appreciate your enthusiasm, the amount of information you provide, and your presentation style. Keep up the great work! Many thanks, from a Yank in the Pacific Northwest (USA).
Well done, Ed! I've long been curious about the 3 series Volvos. Any other review has been interesting but focused on a single example. This history of the model is really very good and thorough. Although I normally gravitate to fancier examples, there is something about that gold 2 door that I find very endearing. The final ones, I have to admit, really do look like a very different car. Brilliantly explained. As an aside, the front seats folding like that on the 2 door is an OLD idea. That started, I believe in the 1940s, although it may have been earlier, on Ford, GM, and Chrysler products in North America. If my memory is working properly, I think the oldest car I have seen with seat backs to fold that way was a 1941 Ford Special Deluxe Convertible. Thinking about the fun you could have with one of these 3 series, seeing as the Red Block fits, imagine the fun of a 2.3 litre block fitted with the Penta Marine crankshaft giving 2.5 litres, with an overbore to 2.6 litres, and fitted with the 16 valve DOHC head, with a stout transaxle in the back. Say the 5 speed from a Porsche 924S. That could be much fun indeed.
A marvellous piece of automotive history Ed...well done. Sion has a nice, quirky collection of unusual cars. I never thought that my little beige 66 would be so popular! It is one of your most viewed videos...lol. Who would have thought? Keep the DAF flag flying!
I really get nostalgic seeing this:) I remember the Tacho showed 376.oookm before my Dad trade it for the 440. And we as a family had so much memorable holidays or day trips with this 343 and it never failed. Awww what a great cars this was:)) The 440 i really hated later cause when we were at netherlands coast in a hot summer we had to push it by hand from Roermond to Mönchengladbach cause its Lambda sond gave up to work! But it had one good side tough when we arrived at Wassenberg we were allowed to drink a beer with the age of 15 cause the barmaiden said: "These boys can not be hold hydrated and by strenght 💪with only water all the way". First beer in my Life i will always remember and never forget xD
I had a red H plate 340 GL 1.7 Catalyser in 2003 and had it for a couple of years. I had to replace the fuel tank as it had rusted but it was dead easy to replace. Also, when I took my driving license in Sweden in the early 1980s, we had to go on a race track, as part of the compulsory moose test and driving and manoeuvre on wet and slippery roads, the car of choice at the track were a bunch of 340s due to its excellent road handling. If you spun the car you did a perfect 360 and just continued 😃 straight on. Great fun! All I did with my red 340 was to change the rear shocks to yellow bilstein and the car became a different car to drive. Gave it away to some friends as I changed to a newer car. The 340 apparently got scrapped not long after Which surprised me as there was nothing wrong with it.. anyways, thank you for the video. 👍
The first to come out with the CVT, to which Subaru put into its Justy in the 1980's. And I drove a Justy CVT, I liked it! Sadly, we never got the 300 series in the US. Brilliant review, thank you!
Very interesting, and exceptionality well researched as always. I remember the early 300s on the roads - they were very much a car bought by sensible, cost conscious drivers who wanted a durable, long lasting car. The later 360 GLT models always got rave reviews in the motoring press at the time - and to my eyes look very nice indeed. I once owned the car that replaced the 300, the 440 - another Dutch built Volvo - sadly (my Dad had Swedish built Volvos) you could definitely tell the difference in quality between a Dutch car and a Swedish one……..
Another excellent video there, Ed. I particularly thought the two-cars-at-once approach quirky, but a good contrast nonetheless. I do have other comments, but I'll message you about those later.
I highly recomend a visit in the DAF Museum in the Netherlands. They build a F1 Renault Prototype with Variomatic. It was verry fast. Formula 1 imesiatly banned it.
I have a 33 that I hope to get on the road this year after some welding. The great grand daddy of them all! Strange to think that we still view CVT to be state of the art now so it was just too far ahead in the seventies. I see a few 340s in the hands of the skidding modifier crowd but not in variomatic format I imagine but it is however fun to see! The cvt version is however like a limited slip diff and would be great for skidding.
