MadMaxwell
New member
Ive been researching what kind of offroad vehicle to get for over a year now. I considered vans, unimogs and pinzgauers but stumbled across the Volvo C303 on the web about 6 months ago, and have wanted one ever since. They are basically the bigger brother to the pinz, but smaller than the unimogs and a lot more friendly on the wallet than both. Mechanically, it is similar in performance to what the unimogs are capable of, with hydraulic lockers on the fly, front or rear drive, low and hi range. It differs in size and that it uses a volvo straight 6 cylinder engine, the B30, which is a lot easier to find parts for in the states than pinz or unimog. Basically, the entire vehicle can be taken apart with a 12 piece metric toolset, all the panels are flat, so replacing or fabrication is a LOT less work.
Well, I found the one I wanted in Canada about 3 hours north of where I live in WA state. After much hemming and hawing and more research, I finally got the Volvo and she made it home from Vancouver to Gig Harbor (203 miles) without a hitch! She rattles, she leaks, she squeeks and she needs some serious TLC, but I am in love love love. Mechanically she is extremely sound and looks like shes been gone over and well tended to, though the body needs to be blasted down to the metal at some point soon and all the bondo and rust dealt with, though I have the compressor and shop, welding tools to do it. She has a new home, and I couldnt be happier with my decision to get it. There is no end to the people who stare, point, stop and want to know what it is, etc. I love this thing!
I know I made the right choice when this is the reaction of the former owner, Dave. Great guy and gave me a great price. He included a set of older doors and glass, extra doghouse and a shovel and pick up top.
Getting across the border was made much easier by doing my homework and having the EPA and DOT forms filled out ahead of time; after about 20 minutes, we got through without having to pay a dime! All the border cops wanted to know what the hell it was. lol
The first thing I need to do is deal with the leaks around the front windows and from the swamp cooler on the roof. Next I will be replacing the seats with corbeau baja XRS suspension seats. I also intend on doing the 123 ignition system and a change over to power steering. The mechanical fan squeeks badly, but it just needs a tension adjustment. Not sure if I want to switch to an electric dual fan and new radiator or not yet. Interior needs a major cleaning and then I will slowly redo the interior in back to convert to full camper mode so I can start trekking with it!
The cab is decked out like the space shuttle, with a serious array of switches and buttons added by the owner to control the various lights outside for the top, front, sides. It has a remote controlled spotlight up top controlled by a joystick in the center console. There is a backup cam which needs to be replaced (the screen is shot). The stereo deck needs to be replaced, the 10" LCD screen works and will switch from DVD player to the PC he had in it (which I will replace with my own. A keyboard goes in the glove box, all the wiring is run off the inverter.
There are 3 batteries, 2 are auxilliary to run all the various stuff, and there is a cutoff switch for the main battery so when you are camping you dont drain it via the assorted electronics, fridge, swamp cooler, etc. There is a setup for solar panels which is wired into the inverter and diverts to the batteries to charge them, though the panels are gone. I am considering the options for converting this thing to full electric power using the new lithium polymer batteries, the technology for electric conversion has changed considerably in just the last 2 years and it is much more feasable and reasonable to do the conversion now than it ever was. Its still a lot of work, and not something I can consider until the rest of the work gets done, but its definately something which would make this even more unique.
My girlfriend actually bought this for me as a gift, I think shes a keeper! Though I am concerned that I just entered into some sort of indentured servitude.
In the end, its a 1977 vehicle, with all the perks and drawbacks of its age, which is a big part of why I got it. Im looking forward to spending time and showing this rare and beautiful truck the love it needs to keep on breaking trails for the next decade or so. The hard work its going to take will only make it that much more worthwhile when I take it out and get lots of stares, questions and comments or when I am sleeping in it out in the middle of nowhere, sure that I can get where I am going and home again thanks to the amazing Swedish engineers who made this crazy thing.
I look forward to posting lots of info and pics on this as I progress! I am a happy camper.
-Mad Maxwell
Well, I found the one I wanted in Canada about 3 hours north of where I live in WA state. After much hemming and hawing and more research, I finally got the Volvo and she made it home from Vancouver to Gig Harbor (203 miles) without a hitch! She rattles, she leaks, she squeeks and she needs some serious TLC, but I am in love love love. Mechanically she is extremely sound and looks like shes been gone over and well tended to, though the body needs to be blasted down to the metal at some point soon and all the bondo and rust dealt with, though I have the compressor and shop, welding tools to do it. She has a new home, and I couldnt be happier with my decision to get it. There is no end to the people who stare, point, stop and want to know what it is, etc. I love this thing!
I know I made the right choice when this is the reaction of the former owner, Dave. Great guy and gave me a great price. He included a set of older doors and glass, extra doghouse and a shovel and pick up top.
Getting across the border was made much easier by doing my homework and having the EPA and DOT forms filled out ahead of time; after about 20 minutes, we got through without having to pay a dime! All the border cops wanted to know what the hell it was. lol
The first thing I need to do is deal with the leaks around the front windows and from the swamp cooler on the roof. Next I will be replacing the seats with corbeau baja XRS suspension seats. I also intend on doing the 123 ignition system and a change over to power steering. The mechanical fan squeeks badly, but it just needs a tension adjustment. Not sure if I want to switch to an electric dual fan and new radiator or not yet. Interior needs a major cleaning and then I will slowly redo the interior in back to convert to full camper mode so I can start trekking with it!
The cab is decked out like the space shuttle, with a serious array of switches and buttons added by the owner to control the various lights outside for the top, front, sides. It has a remote controlled spotlight up top controlled by a joystick in the center console. There is a backup cam which needs to be replaced (the screen is shot). The stereo deck needs to be replaced, the 10" LCD screen works and will switch from DVD player to the PC he had in it (which I will replace with my own. A keyboard goes in the glove box, all the wiring is run off the inverter.
There are 3 batteries, 2 are auxilliary to run all the various stuff, and there is a cutoff switch for the main battery so when you are camping you dont drain it via the assorted electronics, fridge, swamp cooler, etc. There is a setup for solar panels which is wired into the inverter and diverts to the batteries to charge them, though the panels are gone. I am considering the options for converting this thing to full electric power using the new lithium polymer batteries, the technology for electric conversion has changed considerably in just the last 2 years and it is much more feasable and reasonable to do the conversion now than it ever was. Its still a lot of work, and not something I can consider until the rest of the work gets done, but its definately something which would make this even more unique.
My girlfriend actually bought this for me as a gift, I think shes a keeper! Though I am concerned that I just entered into some sort of indentured servitude.
In the end, its a 1977 vehicle, with all the perks and drawbacks of its age, which is a big part of why I got it. Im looking forward to spending time and showing this rare and beautiful truck the love it needs to keep on breaking trails for the next decade or so. The hard work its going to take will only make it that much more worthwhile when I take it out and get lots of stares, questions and comments or when I am sleeping in it out in the middle of nowhere, sure that I can get where I am going and home again thanks to the amazing Swedish engineers who made this crazy thing.
I look forward to posting lots of info and pics on this as I progress! I am a happy camper.
-Mad Maxwell
