Volvo RWD 444-544 Forum

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Steering wheel not aligned with seat? 444-544

posted by  ifurita143 on  Thu Jul 16 19:33 CST 2015
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I've been looking to buy a vintage car for some time and the PV544 was on my shortlist. One finally came up for sale in my area so I went to take a look.

The first thing I noticed after sitting in it was that the steering wheel wasn't quite in line with the seat - it was a couple inches closer to the center of the car.

I know driver ergonomics weren't as much of a priority in those days, but I was surprised that I hadn't found any mention of this detail in any descriptions of the car that I've read.

Any chance that it was just an idiosyncrasy of this car, or are they all like that?








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    Steering wheel not aligned with seat? 444-544

    posted by  planetman on  Thu Jul 16 20:44 CST 2015
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    last visit: Fri Oct 24 09:29 CST 2014
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    Volvo made them that way or to quote Bruce Hornsby,

    That's just the way it is.



    --
    Eric
    Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
    Torrance, CA 90502








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      Steering wheel not aligned with seat? 444-544

      posted by  ifurita143 on  Fri Jul 17 05:29 CST 2015
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      Thank you for confirming. I guess I'll have to look at one of the later models.








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        Steering wheel not aligned with seat? 444-544

        uid 15053's pic
        posted by  Dylan Berichon on  Fri Jul 17 16:26 CST 2015
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        last visit: Thu Oct 23 17:22 CST 2014
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        For what it's worth, I daily drive a 544 and I've never felt any discomfort as a result of the offset steering wheel.
        --
        http://dylans544.blogspot.com








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          Steering wheel not aligned with seat? 444-544

          posted by  derek uk on  Sat Jul 18 04:31 CST 2015
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          last visit: Fri Oct 24 12:33 CST 2014
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          After a very short while you won't notice it, especially if you drive it a lot. Winter driving in Sweden with thick sheepskin gloves means that a bit of extra clearance on the door side is useful. Off set pedals are what catch you out if you're not careful. I don't say the ones in the PV will do that, although being as two of them are floor mounted the feel is rather different.








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        Steering wheel not aligned with seat? 444-544

        posted by  phonemanjames on  Fri Jul 17 15:21 CST 2015
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        last visit: Thu Oct 23 20:02 CST 2014
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        It was part of their forward thinking on safety. For example, if you were involved in a high speed head on collision, and you were wearing your seat belt of course, your chest would not feel the full impact of the steering column as it came loose and center punched you in the heart. By having the off-set, it would only smack the crap out of your shoulder. Swede's were always thinkin...........






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