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

Hi there! I'm new, and have been waiting for years to pick up a C303 in decent shape to work on and use as a daily driver (I will live 10 minutes from work soon).

Is there anything in particular I should look at while acquiring the vehicle? It has been well maintained, has about 31,000 miles on it, and a maintenance book filled out continuously from 1977 on.

Undercarriage looks good, no leaks, starts right up.

All thoughts appreciated, very excited to be here.

~R

[edit - mods sorry if this is the wrong area to post in, it is Volvo specific but neither engine nor electric]

Big bonus is the Alu/zinc bodies. I would have likely not been so happy with mine if it were a rust bucket. If the truck you are looking at is not Alu/zinc then I would consider passing unless it is uber cheap. Most everything else is just maintenance and some cash here and there for the odd item that breaks due to age.

Hi dokatd - thanks for the tip. It is coming directly out of Army surplus, and doesn't have any apparent body rot or staining, I'd have to guess it is alu-zinc. It's the radio truck variant, I hope that means it will have the heavier alternator.

Is there anything I need to look out for like wear and tear on CVs because of this portal gear? Anything in the personality of these C303s that are hot spots? I also figure I should have the seller pop the engine cover to look at the head gasket - but again, 30k miles makes me feel like I'm just being a pain in the butt.

30K miles is one thing, but age is another. Many 303's were "rebuilt" in the 90's. More often than not this included a new body that is easily identifiable. You really do want this newer body unless you are going for a true original truck. Also when they rebuilt them they rebuilt or replaced the engine tranny etc with serviceable units. So you could have a solid truck. But there is really no telling unless you see the truck yourself or have a knowledgeable person look it over for you. In regards to the engine you could request borescope images of each cylinder and a differential compression test but that's asking a lot from a typical seller.

My truck is not an alu-zinc body,but was in quite good shape. Rust free is easy to keep that way.

Your location? could make a big diff,as I am in AZ.
Mark

dokatd wrote:30K miles is one thing, but age is another. Many 303's were "rebuilt" in the 90's. More often than not this included a new body that is easily identifiable.

Oh interesting - any particular hallmarks stand out on the new body? It's solid green, no camo. Also looks really clean. It's a former radio truck. I'm curious as to whether the body is newer.

As for the condition, I know it starts right up, it isn't leaking, and the exhaust isn't blue.

M Wehrman wrote:My truck is not an alu-zinc body,but was in quite good shape. Rust free is easy to keep that way.

Your location? could make a big diff,as I am in AZ.
Mark

Hi M Wehrman, I'm in MA, USA, the vehicle is in Europe. I'm doing all the footwork.

I'm assuming that $15,000 complete for a vehicle with such low miles is going to be worthwhile. Even if I clean it up and refurb some of it I'd get that back if I ever had to sell.

Rocinante,
I'm on Martha's Vineyard with a C303 if you want to come take a look/go for a drive. Technically its MA. I don't go off island much.
Rick

Rocinante many Alu zincs were just the solid green "base" without camo, it sounds like yours is probably a newer Alu zinc type body truck that was part of the "refurb program".

A couple things to look for are....1- no wooden rub rails and 2- the older type bodies have a "foot hole" box type step to help with climbing on the roof, this is located on the drivers side behind the front door just below the rectangle window. Alu zinc bodies do not have this foot hole. Alu zinc newer body above. Older style original body.

There were some other goodies the "refurb Volvos" got. A modified air intake system being one, the older style intake system was prone to causing engine fires.

m15256 wrote:Rocinante,
I'm on Martha's Vineyard with a C303 if you want to come take a look/go for a drive. Technically its MA. I don't go off island much.
Rick

Wow Rick that is so cool of you (!) We're moving to NH this year, all the more reason for me to move on the C303.

If I can get out that way I'll give you a holler!

~R

one2many wrote:Rocinante many Alu zincs were just the solid green "base" without camo, it sounds like yours is probably a newer Alu zinc type body truck that was part of the "refurb program".
A couple things to look for are....1- no wooden rub rails and 2- the older type bodies have a "foot hole" box type step to help with climbing on the roof, this is located on the drivers side behind the front door just below the rectangle window. Alu zinc bodies do not have this foot hole.
[...]
There were some other goodies the "refurb Volvos" got. A modified air intake system being one, the older style intake system was prone to causing engine fires.

Rub rails - I don't know if they are wood. They are green like the truck.
FOOT HOLD! Well I didn't know what that was. So yeah there it is. I guess this is an older body? I haven't seen any marks on it in the photos, however.

Now I am curious.

~R

I'd never buy a stock body 303 without either a full inspection myself or have someone who knows 303's look at it first. Rust is the number one reason to avoid a 303 overall.

VinceAtReal4x4s wrote:I'd never buy a stock body 303 without either a full inspection myself or have someone who knows 303's look at it first. Rust is the number one reason to avoid a 303 overall.

Vince! Hi! Thanks so much for the reply. So it could be that they just slapped paint on it? It is coming directly out of service / storage.

Is it possible that the older model has an alu-zinc body?

Thanks,
~R

Not sure what you mean by the older model. ?

I have seen several in person in Sweden that came out of service with major problems so you can never tell. The paint they use could easily cover rust. Pics aren't going to help you much unless they are detailed. 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?

Vince is right about the rust. All of the C303's I have brought over now have been Alu/zinc. I wouldn't touch one otherwise. A radio body with original body is only worth maybe 5-8k US and that may be pushing it. I have been offered several but they just don't have the appeal to most people like the regular van body does.