History of the Volvo 340 (Daf 77)

During the 1960’s Daf had plans to develop a larger car. Some sketches and mock-ups were made by Daf and Michelotti. There were 3 models being developed: the Daf P200, P300, P400 and P500 (one of the projects was sold to BL and has led to the Triumph Dolomite). None of them went into production at Daf but when these projects were cancelled the P900-project was started in the end of the 1960s.

Some sketches of the Daf P300 and P500, some elements were used in the P900

The P900 should be a new midsize car which should share some components with the yet to be introduced Daf 66. The new car also should have the variomatic transmission.

The first sketches of the P900 were presented in January 1970, containing several saloon, hatchback, coupé and estate-models. In 1971 four scale models were produced, designed by Michelotti, Bertone and De Vries. The models were identified as A, B, C and D. The employees of Daf choose the D-model (designed by John de Vries) as best design and after a windtunnel-test (where the D-model performed much better) the other designs were dropped.

A sketch of the P900 by John de Vries

Due the oil crisis and economical crisis Daf needed a partner to produce the car. Several manufacturers were contacted for developing the P900 together. Daf talked to Ford, General Motors and Peugeot but they were not interested. Volkswagen was interested but they saw the P900 as a entry-level Audi. Also Chrysler liked the idea for a joint-venture but BMW showed serious interest. BMW had plans for building the BMW 2002 Touring in Born and even began making some modifications at the P900-design (like moving the transmission, change the engine etc). But some of the board members of Daf didn’t want to work with BMW (in the meantime BMW said they couldn’t produce the engine Daf wanted for the P900) and wanted to contact Volvo again (Volvo was also contacted but thought a joint-venture was too expensive).

The Daf P900 prototype, designed by John de Vries

Renault had some good news in 1972: the 1.1 litre and 1.3 litre engines which was fitted in the Daf 66 could be upgraded to a 1.4 litre engine, just the engine Daf was looking for! Volvo was now really interested in Daf because Volvo didn’t need to develop a new smaller engine for a smaller car. In September 1972 it was announced Volvo should take a 33% share in Daf Car B.V. starting from 1973 (the share should be increased to 75% in 1975).

The clay scale model of the Daf P900-car (Daf 77) in the Daf Museum in Eindhoven

The front of the scale model. This car should become the Daf 77 but became the Volvo 343

Daf itself had some doubts about the P900: the design of John de Vries was good, but there were some doubts about the size (should it be bigger or shorter), the model (saloon, hatchback or estate), a external designer etc etc. Daf asked Trevor Fiore to come up with some ideas and designs for the P900 car. Fiore presented a modern sporty model. When this design was finished Volvo took the share in Daf and were asked what their thoughts were of the project. Jan Wilsgaard (chief designer of Volvo) had to choose between the design of De Vries or the design of Fiore. Wilsgaard wasn’t really happy with both designs because both of them should be modified a lot. But he choose the design of De Vries, which should have some details of the Fiore-design. Wilsgaard wanted to change more things but the project was far advanced so there was no room for big changes (except bigger bumpers, a new grille and some minor modifications). Daf also choose for the De Vries-design (its design was more timeless and gave better results in the windtunnel) and wanted to call the car the Daf 77 but because Volvo increased their share in 1975 (and also renamed the Daf 66 to Volvo 66) the new car was named the Volvo 343: the thirth Volvo-series developed since the Amazon, with 4 cilinders and 3 doors. The Volvo 343 was equipped with a 4-cilinder Renault 1.397cc (1.4 litre 70bhp, called the B14) engine and Variomatic transmission (CVT). The performance wasn’t great but a bigger engine couldn’t be fit under the hood.

The Daf 77 prototype

The Volvo 343 (designed by John de Vries, not Michelotti or Fiore) was presented to the press on February 19 1976 in Gothenburg (Sweden) and presented to the public at the Geneva Autosalon in March 1976. At the beginning the design of the car (especially the back of the car) wasn’t very popular but soon other manufacturers like Ford (Escort) and Alfa Romeo (the Alfa 33) adopted this design.

The Volvo 343, the first model of the 300-series

The first years the car wasn’t really succesful: the press and public wanted also a manual gearbox (instead of the noisy automatic CVT gearbox) and a better performing engine. But the car had also a very poor quality which couldn’t meet up the Volvo standards. The heating system was bad, the rear seat wasn’t good, the car was noisy and the cold start was terrible, dashboard problems, most cars had leakage problems and of course the poor performance. It is said the car went too early on sale and needed another year of development.

Most of the problems were solved within a year, but the high rear seat couldn’t be changed because the Variomatic took a lot of space. New rubbers were used to solve the leaking problems, the dashboard was slightly changed and new rubbers and components were used at the transmission. Also the seats were improved and had a deeper type of cushions and a better backrest. The 343 was much better and quieter than before! One year later (August 1978, MY1979) the manual gearbox was available (the same gearbox as the 240-series had: the M45 four-speed gearbox) and the sales were increasing.

In 1979 the Volvo 345 was introduced, a five-door version of the 340-series. It became available since ModelYear 1980. A commercial van (called the 340 Van) was also introduced in 1982, with blinded rear windows. A four-door saloon was introduced in 1983. The diesel-engine (1.6 litre, also made by Renault) was introduced in 1984 and the 1.7 litre engine of Renault was available one year later (only with a manual gearbox).

The Volvo 345 Van

The 300-series was not only produced in Born (The Netherlands) but also in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) since 1985. Because importing cars at such long distances was a problem and there were some import regulations Volvo decided to open a small factory in Kuala Lumper where the cars has been sent as kits (called the “Completely Knocked Down” parts) and should be put together in Malaysia. The 300-series were sold in Europe, Australia, some Asian countries, but not in the USA.

A Volvo 360 assembled in the Malaysian plant

In some countries (like The Netherlands) the 360 is very popular for racing and rallysport. At Zandvoort (the Netherlands) the Volvo 360 Geen Modena (“Not a Ferrari Modena”) Cup is a big competition with only Volvo 360’s. In Britain the 360 can be seen in the rallycross-scene and all over the world the Volvo 360 is used in drifting competitions.

Production of the 340 ended in 1991, but some overstock-models were sold in 1992.

History of the Volvo 360!!

In 1983 Volvo introduced the Volvo 360. They had find out a way to fit a B19-engine in the small motor compartment of the 300-series. The spare wheel was put in the trunk instead of under the hood. The 360 didn’t match the names Volvo was using for his cars but it indicated it was a different car than the 340. However: there are some 300-series with a B19-engine sold as a 340 in the Netherlands. The 360 was available with a B19A (carburator) or B19E (fuel injection) engine. The powerful engine was a real turn-on at the pretty light car. The performance was excellent and the car was very luxurious. In 1985 the B19-engines were replaced by the B200-engines (B200K and B200 with Bosch LE-Jetronic system). The 360 was very popular in race- and rallysport and even has its own 360-Cup in the Netherlands at the Zandvoort Circuit.

Read more: http://www.volvotips.com/index.php/340-360/history-340-360/#ixzz5ozGuHPF7