- The Blue Bess Scrapbook -

January - December 2026

Now into Feb 26 and the accidental omission of the bump stop rubber under the top strut cup has been rectified by dismantling it and popping said item over the shock absorber rod. The rubber gaiter has also been attached to the top strut cup, albeit only with a cable tie because I could not find a big enough jubilee clip, unfortunately. I *think* it will be alright!

Anyway the strut has been refitted to Blue Bess and various nuts and bolts recycled and tightened-up to the correct torque with thread-lock used for good measure, too.

However, I am struggling with obtaining the correct sway bar link due to a confusion over which is the left- and right-hand side of the car. Needless to say, I am sure it will be sorted out in the end.

After sorting out the correct sway bar or drop link, we are going back together again.

 

For reference, the two part numbers for the sway bar from Born Built Beauts are shown below, hopefully to avoid similar confusion in future.

So we attempt to replace the brake caliper but could not compress the piston back in again to fit newer pads so that one has gone off to the spares shop to be refurbished again, or even replaced - who knows what the future holds for us?

On the other side, the caliper is removed and tested to see if that one is OK and indeed it is, so it is refitted with newer pads as the old ones were down to the last mm of material. The back plate is a bit rusty but I think it will hold for another year or two, partly because I do not fancy replacing it with another 11" pizza pan at the moment, as that would mean splitting the hub. Anyway better pads are fitted and various things coated with waxoyl and copper grease is applied in the usual places so now we are just waiting for the replacement unit on the other side.




The bleed nipples on both calipers have not seized-up or snapped-off and the brake disks on both sides clean up reasonably well with a wire brush and some emery paper, so what could be better?

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The footnote that says it all... It's a classic: The Volvo 300 series from the Independent on Sunday, 16th May 2004, page 41.

Volvo's first attempt at a small car was the 300 series, unleashed on an unsuspecting public in 1978 (it actually started life as a Dutch-built DAF which, on reflection, should have given us ample warning). With looks that only Ernest Borgnine's mother could love; lethal pendulous rear-wheel-drive handling; feeble engines that sounded like dying cows when revved; and dipsomaniacal thirst, about the only positive you can say for the 343/340/360 was that they lasted forever (although most owner's undoubtedly ended up wishing that they didn't).

These days, judging by the websites dedicated to them, there are an awful lot of sick people around who actually rather like them. "The first time I drove it I couldn't stop laughing at how much guesswork is involved with steering," writes one owner.

Another has managed to convince himself of the brighter side to 340 ownership: "Due to its truly, deeply unfashionable nature, a 340 will never get stolen, vandalised or stopped by the police." Quite.