Gul Yellow T-5R M251 TFC
Posts
Post 804938 by AndybTFC on 2016-09-06 21:10:02
Hey everyone, just thought I'd say hello, having become a member and also having just purchased my first ever T-5R. Having purchased it on Sunday morning I just couldn't wait to pick the car up, so cleared my diary for the day and went down South to collect the car today. Thoroughly enjoyed the fun trip back up the M1 and the car performed faultlessly all the way, really is a credit to its previous owners the condition it has been kept in.
So here's M251 TFC at the petrol station having had a tank full of Shells finest and then also safely back at its new home...
Post 804939 by AndybTFC on 2016-09-06 21:14:52
The previous owner did inform me when I purchased the car that it's first registered owner was Volvo Uk, after a little digging it turns out that M251 TFC was a press car and appeared in article for both 'Cars & Car Conversions' and 'MotorSport' magazine.
I'm still awaiting delivery of the 'Cars & Car Conversions' magazine but here is M251 in 'MotorSport' magazine from 1995....
Post 804942 by Doingitsideways on 2016-09-06 21:39:39
Welcome :)
That's an awesome find and truly excellent bit of heritage there!
I WILL have a Gul 854 one day.
It will be mine.
Oh yes, it will be mine...
Post 804947 by Ettienne on 2016-09-06 21:52:45
I think this used to be bone lorries old car, pics of it on voc, I have it back a few years ago before him.
From what I understand TFC reg denoted it was used by Volvo I.e press car etc
Post 804949 by AndybTFC on 2016-09-06 22:04:40
[QUOTE=Doingitsideways;804942]Welcome :)
That's an awesome find and truly excellent bit of heritage there!
I WILL have a Gul 854 one day.
It will be mine.
Oh yes, it will be mine...[/QUOTE]
Thanks, this one will be staying with me for a long long time, few little bits I want to get sorted out here and there but it'll staying as it is spec wise.
Post 804950 by AndybTFC on 2016-09-06 22:09:22
[QUOTE=Ettienne;804947]I think this used to be bone lorries old car, pics of it on voc, I have it back a few years ago before him.
From what I understand TFC reg denoted it was used by Volvo I.e press car etc[/QUOTE]
Yes it did, There's many pics of it floating around on various forums. Think I'm the tenth or eleventh owner of it.
Think you are right about TFC reg denoting it as used by Volvo, a gul estate with the plate M153 TFC also appears in a few magazine articles from back in 1995
Post 804953 by Doingitsideways on 2016-09-07 00:41:51
Hmm... Interesting.
I have a TFC on the fleet - a 460 CD, properly specced up from new too. Maybe explains it.
Also have a PFC - on the S70, also specced up.
Maybe both used to be staff cars or something.
Post 804956 by MoleT-5R on 2016-09-07 08:33:34
Welcome along and that is a very nice Gul you have there and as Steve mentioned it's Bonelorry's old car and there is a very nice thread on here by him of his ownership, the car seemed to have wanted for nothing in his ownership http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?51312-Bonelorry-s-854-T5-R-Manual-Creme-quot-Gul-quot-Yellow-project
Post 804959 by Wobbly Dave on 2016-09-07 09:21:51
Welcome to the club. That's a good find. Still have a soft spot for the Gul, as do most of us enthusiasts/old timers.
Enjoy the ride.
Post 804960 by martybelfastt5 on 2016-09-07 09:26:12
Great car that
Post 804972 by kmb on 2016-09-07 10:12:18
Lovely car, welcome to the forum :)
Post 804995 by AndybTFC on 2016-09-07 21:36:32
[QUOTE=MoleT-5R;804956]Welcome along and that is a very nice Gul you have there and as Steve mentioned it's Bonelorry's old car and there is a very nice thread on here by him of his ownership, the car seemed to have wanted for nothing in his ownership http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?51312-Bonelorry-s-854-T5-R-Manual-Creme-quot-Gul-quot-Yellow-project[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the link, that makes for very interesting reading. Shame the cars lost its original floor mats somewhere along the line since then. Guessing these are super rare to find?
Post 805005 by Shinsplintz 101 on 2016-09-07 23:31:41
They do come up on eBay occasionally - there are also some auto trimmers about who will make you up a new set for reasonable (ish) money. But you'd need to ask about. At the end of the day it's a bit of embroidered carpet - your just paying for the originality.
Cheers, Morgan
Ps as above - good car, well found. Enjoy!!
Post 805010 by MoleT-5R on 2016-09-08 00:28:42
[QUOTE=AndybTFC;804995]Thanks for the link, that makes for very interesting reading. Shame the cars lost its original floor mats somewhere along the line since then. Guessing these are super rare to find?[/QUOTE]
Shame that the mats have gone as they are a nice touch, does yours have the rear blind .?
Post 805011 by AndybTFC on 2016-09-08 01:57:33
[QUOTE=MoleT-5R;805010]Shame that the mats have gone as they are a nice touch, does yours have the rear blind .?[/QUOTE]
Yes it has the rear blind fitted.
I do seem to have a slight issue with the interior cover of the sunroof, it is a little reluctant to slide back and somewhat saggy. Not sure if this is just an age related 850 thing or if something is broken?
Post 805012 by AndybTFC on 2016-09-08 02:00:41
[QUOTE=Shinsplintz 101;805005]They do come up on eBay occasionally - there are also some auto trimmers about who will make you up a new set for reasonable (ish) money. But you'd need to ask about. At the end of the day it's a bit of embroidered carpet - your just paying for the originality.
Cheers, Morgan
Ps as above - good car, well found. Enjoy!![/QUOTE]
I shall have to keep an eye out for some on eBay, also need to find a replacement under bonnet sound insulation pad.
Post 805178 by AndybTFC on 2016-09-11 20:23:21
Well the second magazine from 1995 featuring M251 has turned up, it's a shockingly bad article and completely pointless but it's still good to see the pictures of the car from all those years ago.
Nearly a week of ownership with the car and the bug has bitten me badly with this one. As it's going to only be used In the summer months mainly the air con is going to have to be fixed, it just gets so warm inside. That's a job for over the winter and I can't say I'm overly impressed with its handling at present either. I know the front dampers were replaced a number of years ago but I'm unsure if the springs and rear dampers are still the 20+ year originals. So a change is on the cards there but that'll probably be next year now as the car will be put away over winter.
Hopefully going for a new cam belt kit this week too.
Post 805183 by p fandango on 2016-09-11 21:35:44
a Volvo v's A Cappuccino, i can see why they put them against each other lol
Post 818486 by Timo. on 2019-04-28 09:51:42
Nice........
What did you pay for it in 2016?
Post 818490 by kmb on 2019-04-28 21:00:17
Nice history and a lovely car :)
Post 820869 by Jay-Kay-Em on 2021-01-13 11:25:00
The power of google has brought me here via this registration mark and that very same BTCC brochure in my collection.
I was performing some research into Volvo press cars of the era.
Fabulous car by the way. Very jealous! Hope all is well.
I am restoring a Volvo 480 Turbo and I am doing some digging into its history.
My registration mark is M***SFC…. August 1994.
FC is the regional identifier for Oxford.
My car has an original history file and the opening PDI at 19 miles is not by a dealer. It is simply stamped “VOLVO CARS WHEATLEY OXON”
To the best of my knowledge there was never a Volvo dealer in Wheatley and I have done some enquiries in the town.
I have subsequently discovered a long since disappeared “Volvo PDI Centre” occupying Lye Hill quarry in Wheatley. This is now occupied by Walters Coaches. This centre would manage the import and delivery of Volvo internal cars; such as press cars, Volvo fleet cars, police cars and such like.
If you look through all magazines of the time, 1994, 5, 6 and 1997 many of the press cars had SFC, TFC or PFC marks.
It would mean a lot to my research if your car also displayed “VOLVO CARS WHEATLEY OXON” in its glovebox manual, service book or history file. Would it be possible to check?
One of my tasks is to make some original number plates in the pre-2001 font. This thread is invaluable to understanding what those plates looked like – plane jane apparently with just VOLVO in blue font at the bottom. I would imagine our original plates came out the same machine months apart.
Like I say if you could check any literature your car may have that would be awesome.
All the best
JKM
The car was then put away for the winter where it developed a further issue of not wanting to start after a few weeks of storage. After much head scratching this was traced as an electrical fault to the wiring loom to the main fuel injection relay.
I also took this opportunity to replace all engine sensors, coil, fuel pump and injection relay just to head off any future issues.
Next job was to source a spare set of titans, the car was wearing original spec Pirelli Asimmetrico tyres which I wanted to keep hold of but they were starting to get low on tread.
Although cosmetically they were rough they were in good shape so promptly sent off for a refurd and new rubber fitted along with new genuine Volvo centre caps. The originals were safely stored away and the new modern rubber made a massive difference to how the car felt on the road.
That took things up to summer 2017. The only other thing I did in relation to the car that year was to obtain copies of the original photos from when the car appeared in Motorsport magazine.
And fronts....
Made a massive difference to the car and it’s ability to stop.
That was pretty much it for 2018 although I did manage to get hold of the cars original floor mats again. Time constraints of work didn’t really allow for me to spend much time driving it or working on it and it did just shy of 500 miles for the year.
Next job on the list is to replace the hand brake cables, they’re showing their age and adjusted to the maximum now!
Other jobs to do this year is to replace the front screen as the replacement it had at some point in the past is not quite fitted high enough as the top screen rubber doesn’t meet with the roof properly. New upper and lower screen rubbers will be fitted at the same time and the side screen trims that run up and along the length of the roof. Again these parts are just starting to show their age.
In addition to that it’s about ready for a new radiator as it’s weeping from the usual area in the top corner.
I managed to add another little piece to the cars past history as a Volvo press car in the form of this Volvo 1995 BTCC marketing flyer, which included a picture of the car with one of the Volvo race cars!
