Interior Overhaul - '85 Volvo 240DL

I have a 1985 Volvo 240DL. The car is in great shape on the outside, and the
engine is clean and rebuilt. However, the interior has seen it's share of
wear and tear. The dash is cracked, the seat cushions are GONE, the fabric
and carpets and most of the moldings are simply beyond salvage. I'm going to
replace the interior a bit at a time, including all of the dash and door
moldings.

The question that i have is this: What am I looking to spend doing this?
Pretty much the entire interior, from ceiling to floor, needs to be ripped
out and redone. Does it save me much money replacing the moldings myself, or
would it just be better to take it and get the entire interior redone? For
the seats, would I be better getting reupholstery or finding a salvage yard
and buying the new seats there? And does anyone have a really GOOD reliable
site or three for purchasing these parts?

I love my Volvo, and I plan on keeping it for a while. It's going to make a
fine project car, and I plan on doing some later engine customization to
punch up her power. But when it comes to interior design, I'm not so
similarly inclined.

-Christian-

 

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Christian,
I've done 2 complete interior makeovers, a 244 and a 245, both were
color changes to get rid of the tan interiors and switch to black. If you
have a pick and pull or two around you there is a chance you can find all
the pieces if you go a couple of times a week and are persistant. I kept
track of cost on the 245, the total was ~$350 to completely replace every
piece in the car including an uncracked dash and a nice set of mint leather
seats. It took a lot of looking, San Diego is home to 3 pick and pulls with
5-10 240s per week coming through them. Some times you'll get lucky, I was
there as a mint '82 264 came in with only 90K on it, I grabbed the dash,
seats, a few plastic parts and door panels off it for $125. When I was
doing the wagon I had to pick a piece here and there as none came in with a
complete good interior. Having it done or buying the parts retail would be
very expensive I would imagine.
Good luck
Dave Shannon
(Spring Valley CA)
1988 240 DL 18X,XXX
1985 240 Ti 20X,XXX
1984 245 DL 20X,XXX
1984 245T 19X,XXX
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
http://www.homestead.com/volvo2/

 

Depends where you go, I've found virtually an entire interior at a pull a
part yard for about $250, some places of course cost much more.

 

Go to a salvage yard, see if they have a wreck with a great interior,
in the color scheme you want, and offer them a few hundred dollars
to let you strip just the interior. That would be least expensive, and
get you all the little bits and pieces you want.


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