245 for $225?

A friend has a 245 that's been sitting since 2001 beside his house. He has had
it running lately, but it has an intermittent no-start problem. He said it
could be the fuel pump, but that he can hear it running.

He wants the car out of there so he can move a shed in, and wants $225 for it.
I think I'm gonna go for it and get it running, then maybe have Maaco spray it,
reupholster the driver's seat and either drive it or make a little money on it.

It's got 280K on it, which for a Volvo is not that unheard of. It's a 4-speed
with A/C. He said it gets 28 mpg. Nice with the current gas prices, but I
think the power level will be disappointing, since everything else I own is a
V-8 or a V-6 w/200 hp. Maybe fewer fuel stops will appease my horsepower
withdrawal.

It'll be my first Volvo. I didn't look it over seriously when I saw it, but
now I'm thinking it could be useful and/or profitable, so I'm gonna check it
out more closely tomorrow morning.

KennyH

Horsepower is cheaper than therapy.

 

Check the fuel pump fuses - if they seem to be in the sockets but spin
easily, pull them out, tighten the flexible end of the socket and refit
them.

Check the fuel pump tachometric relay. This is a 6-pin unit under the
left side of the dashboard - sometimes they are not plugged in properly,
and sometimes they operate intermittently.

These problems are fairly common and *very* easily fixed.

Drop a V8 in it. Easy conversion for Chev or Ford Windsor...

 

I'll try those fixes to start with. I did buy it for $200, and the body is
real straight, with just a touch of rust in front of the spare tire well on the
RR fender.

Gas mileage. It's not gonna be a hot rod, although I am a Chevy guy. I've got
an '85 Z28 if I want to look cool and go fast.

I need to put some pro-gun bumper stickers on it so people don't think I'm a
bleeding heart Democrat......
KennyH

Horsepower is cheaper than therapy.

 

Oh, yeah. It turns out that it's an '81, not a '78.

The problem is that it tries to start, and actually stumbles at idle for a
couple of seconds before it dies. After it dies, I can hear the fuel pump run
a few seconds.

As my wife was pulling me home, I stuck it in 4th and let the clutch out with
the key on to see if I could get something to happen, and I could smell raw
fuel, but it didn't try to run.


KennyH

Horsepower is cheaper than therapy.

 

Just don't sip a latte while driving it. You'll be fine. The Bubbas
whon't shoot at you. Much.

 

They won't pull out in front of you, either.


Gary