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

Hi everybody. New guy on the board here. I've had an obsession for the last few years over the C303 and C304 vehicles that I will hopefully feeding soon. I am starting to look into purchasing one of these vehicles to use as an expedition/overland camping unit. It seems that the above company in the thread title is no longer in business. They seem to be one of the only companies doing any Volvo importing into North America. Anyone have any info on them or anyone else? My second choice would be a 712K but I am a bit concerned with the lack of power and ability to hold highway speeds. Any input is welcome.

Shane

I would say your main concern about a 712K would be finding one....

As for the Volvo, www.classicunimogs.com will ship to Canada and they deal in Mogs and volvos, so check them out.

For Pinzie's, talk to Karl Portman at Pinzgaur Canada, he's your Canadian source.

tx Dave

Thanks for the reply Dave. Yeah, it looks like the 712K is a bit rare, but I see on the board here that a UK company has a fiberglass top kit available for the 712M if I decide to go with a Pinz. I'll check out the other companies you mentioned. I've have an e-mail into classicunimogs.com but have yet to here anything back.

I imagine with Classic you would have to put a 303 on order. They just sold a real nice one, which they offered to me for $9K (pretty reasonable).

I know there is a guy on this site right now looking to move a 712M converted to a hard top, $25K.

The site xtremevehicles.com that sold Volvo C303 vehicles in the past has not undergone any updates in more than a year--thus I doubt they are still in business. The Volvo vehicles come up for sale on occasion if you keep an eye out for them. There are not very many of them compared to Pinzgauers, so locating one with specific features could take you a long time. There is a spectacular one for sale currently that is already converted into an expo camper:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/s ... hp?t=55692

Keep in mind that parts availability for the Volvos is far more limited than for the Pinzgauers. This alone deters many people from buying them.

Cheers,
Greg

Check out Raawfab.com, he has some volvos for sale.

As far as anyone goes that has Volvos for sale, be very cautious about rust and transmission issues (you don't want to fix either) and get references from someone that they have sold to regarding legal stuff like title work, etc.

You'd think that someone doing Pinz or 303 stuff would come on here and introduce themselves and maybe participate a little. In fact I never understood when a dealer didn't do that kind of thing. Seems natural and good for business to me but I've been called crazy more than once.

Oh and claims that 303's cruise at 60mph isn't exactly true, by the way. 60, like in a Pinz, is really pushing it. Modifying them with other motors is a much more complex issue than anyone seems to understand so watch out for that stuff. Parts have always been the one main issue with the 303, and its a big one unfortunately. Otherwise it's a great 4x4 and obviously one of my favorites of all time next to the Pinz and 460 series Gwagens... but the last two have parts suppliers so they win out for me.

extreemexj:

Keep looking through the old posts. There was a fellow from Oman (Maybe Abu Dhabi?) who was selling three to four 712K's from their Army.

It was early last year sometime. He may still have them.

Here is another one:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/2188570370.html

Cheers,
Greg

I really appreciate the response everyone.

Vince, being that you have owned both, what is your personal preference between the Pinz and the Volvo, parts availability aside. From the videos I've watched it doesn't seem like the Pinz is as stable offroad due to less articulation offered by the independant suspension design. Being that I am looking at this for an expedition type vehicle, I would also like something that I could actually maintain 65mph on the highway (with some minor mods) so I don't get run over by an 18-wheeler. Also, it would need to deal with the extreme cold Canadian winters for some snowmobile excursions. It can stay -30C here for weeks on end.

Vince will be able to provide more detail than I, however I can tell you that my stock Volvo was able to reach and maintain 65 without issues. Both Vince and Mark Wehrman should be able to comment in detail on the Volvo-Pinzgauer comparisons. As for low temperatures, these vehicles are from Sweden and made for the Swedish military. I'm fairly certain that they are designed to handle cold weather well. Since I am in Southern California, I am not subjecting mine to cold weather. Vince had his in a colder climate (? Virginia) and should be able to comment on this. From what I heard, though, Vince now is enjoying warmer weather these days somewhere out West

Cheers,
Greg

I forgot to mention that Jim Malloy can also offer some insights on the Volvo-Pinz comparisons.

Cheers,
Greg

It's cold here tonight, and blowing like an S.O.B. As much as I love Pinzgauers, it's worth mentioning three words: Hot-Water Heat.

I'm not saying it's a deal maker/breaker, but it'd be nice.

undysworld wrote:It's cold here tonight, and blowing like an S.O.B. As much as I love Pinzgauers, it's worth mentioning three words: Hot-Water Heat.

I'm not saying it's a deal maker/breaker, but it'd be nice.

And your point is? my Pinz has water heating

I can't help it if you can't afford a radiator.

it's worth mentioning three words: Hot-Water Heat

you forgot "Web-asto Heater"

We don't need no stinkin water!