THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

VinceAtReal4x4s wrote:Not sure what you mean by the older model. ?
[...]
Where are you?

I'm in Massachusetts. According to the photos above, being that the C303 I am considering has a foot hold next to the door, it is the "older" non-refurbed model.


Thanks,
~R

VinceAtReal4x4s wrote:Not sure what you mean by the older model. ?
You need to see behind the fuse area where rust shows up around the windshield, for example, as well as under the floor trim, rear corners, etc.
Where are you?

Ok cool - the seller has been very good about pics, and I have probably 20 now. I have seen the roof, under all the wheel wells, the undercarriage (no dripping / leaking), the top of the motor, etc, suspensions, leaf springs, etc.
Those leaf springs look a bit rusty of course, and she leans a bit to the driver's side which I understand is standard wear and tear. There is some superficial rust here and there on the components underneath, touch on the rims, touch on the undercarriage, nothing a metal brush wouldn't solve.

Questions!

1 - The fuse area - is it inside up under the dashboard at the windshield I should look at?

The bed area in the back looks ok, nothing worse than a 10 year old pickup, and nothing rust wise that has gone through, no bubbling paint etc.

2 - I can ask to look under the floor mats in the "back seat" area, otherwise it's looked pretty decent. Are there other trouble areas I may have missed?

3 - Can I share some of the photos with you guys so you can see the undercarriage?

I will follow up with the dealer, I think in the first emails he said it was alu-zinc. I'll look. Of course I will ask for that on paper!

I threw together a montage of all the under-neath shots, and then did screen grabs of the front left and back right to provide more data.
I made the montage so as not to take up so much bandwidth for the site. Apologies in advance!

So, as I said, most of the rust looks superficial on the underside components, and not body related. That might be a really rusty oil pan(?) ,8 that could be cleaned up but might need replacing. I see some controller arm, perhaps steering related - images 4,8 - that has some rust as well on the end. The bolts look newish. Hubs look to have some superficial rust as well.

Engine (5,6) looks like it could use a steam cleaning. While not apparently leaking, it looks "damp" enough to maybe consider a head gasket if it has dried out over 40 years, I don't know how these vehicle wear. There is a maintenance log. I am positive it is not in English.

Leaf springs - images 3,4, 7,8, - rusty and look a bit nasty. Would want to replace. Same with the shocks. I am hoping some of these elements are standard size, or perhaps have cousins in other vehicles.

I also see wire ties (?!) going across the rear axel/dif (7) and don't know what that's about. Also what might be a new brake line (its shiny) arcing up over the top.


Any thoughts appreciated!

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...front springs are little bit to low. They need some work to bring them back in shape an a new paint and grease.
It has the seldom and expensive 3 piece manifold with the watercooled aloy intake.

TH also offers a alu/zinc C303, just 1700€ more. But here the front springs are dead.
But you don´t need much work on the body, only new paintjob.

Anyway, on both cars you need a minimum of 3-5K€ (Parts) + time to fix the technical problems you will have. So far my experiences working now on the second Volvo I have.

Those pics aren't really what you need to see. It can't be said enough that rust in the wrong places on these can turn a $12K truck into a $3K truck instantly. He needs to take the cover off the fuses, use a flash and take pics so you can see the windshield frame as much as possible. The rubber trim is easy to lift up to get pics of the floor area... the extreme lower rear corners- Bottom of the doors- Under the seats- the floor around the back seat brackets.

Shocks are easy to find, new springs are not.

VinceAtReal4x4s wrote:Those pics aren't really what you need to see. I can't state enough that rust in the wrong places on these trucks can turn a $12K truck into a $3K truck instantly. He needs to take the cover off the fuses, use a flash and take pics so you can see the windshield frame as much as possible. The rubber trim is easy to lift up to get pics of the floor area... the extreme lower rear corners- Bottom of the doors- Under the seats- the floor around the back seat brackets.

Awesome - thanks for all this Vince - like I said the guy's been pretty forthcoming, I will ask him for the additional pics when he gets back to me on the alu-zinc body question.


Thanks again,
~R

Uli-RT wrote:.
TH also offers a alu/zinc C303, just 1700€ more.

Hi Uli-RT - thanks for the reply - yeah I was looking at that C303 at TH, but it has over 100,000 km on it versus the 51,000 on the unit I posted here.

I think what I am getting is -

The unit I posted is not worth it if it is not Alu-Zinc, but this unit with over 100,000 kilometers is a better buy because it has the Alu-Zinc, and the mileage difference doesn't matter?

Thanks again, this is incredibly helpful.
~R

...as Vince says. But even then you can´t see all off the rusty parts.
If you buy a steel body you first should do this:
http://www.c303.de/c303-forum/index.php ... 45;start=0

So I would prefer an aluzinc body. Without reckoning on the mileage.
But anyway, there will be a lot work to do. Except you will use it only for offroad.

Because in Europe its hard to find offroad you mostly drive on paved roads. So everything at the car should be in good condition to be calm and quiet.
So I put in new bearings to all wheelcarriers, diffs, PTO and auxbox and bougth new propellershafts.
Needed new brakes and springs at the front axle and a lot of other parts.
Its much quiter than before.
The cylinderhead gets hardened valveseats for the use with unleaded fuel and LPG.
Adjustable nozzles for the carbs ....
...and so on.
There is a lot of money and time running into that project.

If you look for aluzinc at TH he should charge the car with a good pair of used frontsprings.
Between sping and rubber buffer should be a minimum of 5cm space. If they have contact with the spring its to late...

...did TH send you a compression diagramm of the engine.
Most of the C303 are running to fat; up to 11% CO. Maximum should be 3,5%.
May be you should open the engine, to clean the engine inside und put some new pistonrings in.
Depends on the wear of the cilinders.
But if the compression is ok, that should be no problem.

Sorry to ask such a silly question but in case my fantasy of owning a c303 moves forward what is TH that everyone seems to think has c303s?

First post, just a lurker for the last few months. Love the truck and the site.

Ben

Are those wipers on the side windows?

Not wipers but rubber straps for holding the "black out" board over the window so that sniper in the distance doesn't spot you.

Although some do still have headlight wipers.

I bought a C303 from this dealer 2 years ago. Great to deal with. Good luck.

Hi Uli-RT! Thanks for all this. Very helpful stuff here.

Uli-RT wrote: ...as Vince says. But even then you can´t see all off the rusty parts.

Yeah this pretty much settled it, I am going to try to go for the Alu-zinc body, I’m convinced.

Uli-RT wrote: http://www.c303.de/c303-forum/index.php ... 45;start=0

Wow what a great tear-down! Thanks for this. I’d been to c303.de before but not in the forums.

Uli-RT wrote: There is a lot of money and time running into that project.

Right, I’m expecting it, just hoping it will be a daily driver and I can work on it on weekends.

Uli-RT wrote: If you look for aluzinc at TH he should charge the car with a good pair of used frontsprings.
Between sping and rubber buffer should be a minimum of 5cm space. If they have contact with the spring its to late...

Will TH normally do this work for you when you buy? This earlier Alu-zinc model I am looking at now seems to be sitting “upright” and doesn’t have the lean of the other c303. I have asked for photos of the undercarriage and wheel wells, etc.

Uli-RT wrote: ...did TH send you a compression diagramm of the engine.

I’m asking right now (!), thanks for the advice. I’m wondering about the details in the maintenance book, and what has been done in 60,000 miles. It looks really well documented, will need to look at translating.

More soon,
~R

Hi Ben,

bdgWesternMass wrote:Sorry to ask such a silly question but in case my fantasy of owning a c303 moves forward what is TH that everyone seems to think has c303s?

Hey better to ask a question than not!
terhorst4x4 in the Netherlands.

~R