The weather has been a little hit and miss, I’d wanted to take my 5 year old and his best friend to a car wash, so they could sit in the rear facing seats as the rollers went over the car… but as it rained all day there didn’t seem much point!
Instead I finally got around to fitting my freshly ordered numberplates from RetroPlates. Nick at RetroPlates makes original font and original dealer plates for older cars, which really complete the look if you’re into geeky details. Often this is handy when you want to make your car even more original, for example having the original dealer logos from the supplying dealer on your number plates.
With my Volvo 850 TDI, I wanted to do something a bit different. There wasn’t really a decent connection for me with the supplying dealer, so I had an idea. During my time in Falmouth, Cornwall, I’d drive past the Ocean dealership in Penryn virtually every day. This has to be the car dealership with the best view in the country, and I’ve always loved the South West, having lived there on and off for 6 years. The only problem is that Ocean was never a Volvo showroom – it’s a BMW dealership!
I approached Nick and told him I wanted to do an Ocean Volvo Falmouth numberplate, and he was only too happy to oblige! So here we have it, the very first Volvo 850 GLT TDi supplied by a dealership that never existed. A geeky little easter egg that only a few people will ever actually notice. I can highly recommend Nick and RetroPlates. Let me know if you do something creative!
Still got of work to do on the exterior of this car, but most importantly the big bits are all done! It’s had new discs, pads, callipers, wishbones, drop links, track rods, tyres and a whole heap more. Full video on this car and the total restoration cost coming very soon.