(Lack of) appeal of older Volvos (240)

  • Thread starter Thread starter robert.st-louis
  • Start date Start date
jg said:
New Volvos cost around double the price of a ford falcon here in Australia.
Is it the same there?
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omg, Ford Falcon.
We used to run those straight sixes in our hydroplanes back in the '60's
and '70's.
If you could find a clean, running Ford Falcon around here (Southern
California) it'd probably fetch a mint from a collector. (eccentric lot
that they are...*g*)
 
Clay said:
jg wrote: ...............
omg, Ford Falcon.
We used to run those straight sixes in our hydroplanes back in the '60's
and '70's.
If you could find a clean, running Ford Falcon around here (Southern
California) it'd probably fetch a mint from a collector. (eccentric lot
that they are...*g*)
Click to expand...

They might have morphed into something with a different name there (unless
they don't make fords any more in the US), but the ford falcon is still one
of the highest selling new cars in Australia.
 
Bill Bradley said:
Which is really horrible for a relatively underpowered car. Even worse
when you have the AW71 without the lock up torque converter or absolute
worst one of the 3 speed BW35 automatics.
Click to expand...

I had a B27 with BW55 in my '80 264GLE and converted it to straight LPG.
It was cheaper to run than on petrol, but still thirsty.

I pulled the B27 out when it started filling the sump with coolant... I
fitted a 350 chev, turbo hydramatic 350 auto and a 2.47:1 Ford 9" diff.
The economy is virtually the same as with the B27 but the perfomance is
somewhat better. :-)

I've now got an '88 240GL that the engine will be going into. I'm yet to
decide between a 5 or 6 speed manual or a 4L60 4-speed auto, but whichever
I go with, the alloy heads and manifold that will be going onto the engine
pretty much guarantee a significant improvement in efficiency.

I'll be curious to see if I can get better economy out of a 350 than most
seem to get from 4-cyl Volvo motors. :-)
 
jg said:
While I admit I haven't specifically gone looking for a motor, there is a
specialist volvo wrecker here (Perth Western Australia) and most others have
hardly any. They would have maybe 40 bodies & many in good cond., but sure
they have nowhere near that many motors or gearboxes which wouldn't leave
much to choose from in a specific model. Volvos here are invariably
advertised for wrecking with good bodies, but rarely good mechanicals. While
it's likely you would find a good motor here, it would probably not be as
cheap or easy to find as say a ford or toyota. And those last maybe 350,000
km well treated and a head gasket at half time. Might be a question of how
many new ones are sold, volvos are not real popular here... or cheap.
Click to expand...

Hello, jg.
Who that be? The Volvo wrecker in Perth? :)

m
Albany, WA
1981 244 GL
 
Which is really horrible for a relatively underpowered car. Even worse
when you have the AW71 without the lock up torque converter or absolute
worst one of the 3 speed BW35 automatics. If you have a 240 Turbos
you'll _never_ see 25mpg. I've owned seven 240s over the last 16 years
including sedans, wagons, manuals, autos, turbos and NA and they all got
lousy mileage. These days that's a serious knock to their
attractiveness. I wouldn't give up my '84 242Ti, but I'm glad I'm not
commuting with it.

Bill
Click to expand...

I get right about 25 mpg in my 240 Turbo on the highway, it's a manual and I
keep the tires inflated to max pressure and everything in good tune though.
 
244GL said:
Hello, jg.
Who that be? The Volvo wrecker in Perth? :)
Click to expand...
hi "country cousin". "volvo spares & repairs" Clapham St, Beckenham. They
also reckon they have shops in Perth, Joondalup & Oconnor but the phone
always answers at Beckenham. That's the only one I've been to, I suspect the
others are mechanics with some sort of connection.
 
jg said:
hi "country cousin". "volvo spares & repairs" Clapham St, Beckenham. They
also reckon they have shops in Perth, Joondalup & Oconnor but the phone
always answers at Beckenham. That's the only one I've been to, I suspect the
others are mechanics with some sort of connection.
Click to expand...

Thank you, jg. :)
I'll phone them later, or might just visit them next month.

m
 
e said:
Tim McNamara said:
My Pumpkin Orange144 is 31 years old. Nearly as old as I am. With the
exception of a slight paint fade on the fender is is in excellent condition.
I'm curious what that car says about me. Is it a "classic" or just an "old
car"? I used to never buy a car that was older than me. Then I wouldn't
buy a car that was older than my driver's license. Then the age cut off
changed to my wedding date. All rather random limitations. Now the only
rule I follow is that I will only buy a car for myself that is emissions
test exempt. That means that it must be pre-1975. Of course my wife drives
the one year old Hyundai...
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....and they say women know nothing about cars!
Click to expand...
 
Your Camry weighs 3800 pounds? I had no idea they were that heavy.
Click to expand...

The previous poster said that the Camry weighs about the same as a
240, which weighs 2900-3200 pounds, depending on the model (according
to the specifications listed in the owner's manual).
 
Steve said:
I drive my new to me 940 turbo wagon while the better 2/3 drives a 97 850 no
turbo.
We are both quite happy!
Click to expand...
A number of motor industry people have told me, and I'm inclined to agree,
the best kind of car to have is a new one.
 
that looks kind of like a dodge sebring, say an accord/camry/s60/mazda 6
class car. they run anywhere from the high teens to the high 20's in cost
in the US.
 
Michael Pardee said:
As an American, I can say that is a generalization. I prefer cars with at
least 80K miles on the odometer, and 100K is right in the sweet spot. Our
765T was an exception - it had only 60K. At 50K miles it is hard to tell how
the car has been treated; at 100K it is hard to hide.
Click to expand...

A good point. MIne came with a pretty complete set of maintenance
records from the previous owners, which was nice, in addition to
inspecting the car.
The last used car I bought was my daughter's '93 Honda Accord, at 163K
miles. It now has 210K and is still going strong. But the critical issue is
"who is going to do the maintenance?" Buying a high mileage car requires
enough savvy to know what to look for and a willingness to do maintenance
yourself. Most cars in that range are due for a timing belt change (in fact,
it is a common trigger for the sale) and having a shop do that increases the
cost sharply. Taking the car to a shop for brake jobs or drive axle changes
is also a tough row to hoe.
Click to expand...

You can do a lot of stuff yourself and save a lot of money. I have not
the time, tools or in many cases the skills, but there's enough
information available in books and on the Web to be able to do an awful
lot of stuff with pretty simple tools and relatively simple skills.
I am active in several other car groups, and this one has certainly the
highest expected level of DIY of any of them (although Honda comes close).
Click to expand...

I didn't know that about Honda owners. I've helped do a little DIY work
on a couple of them, and they weren't too bad to work on.
 
Steve said:
that looks kind of like a dodge sebring, say an accord/camry/s60/mazda 6
class car. they run anywhere from the high teens to the high 20's in cost
in the US.
Click to expand...

It's the "family" ford in Australia, 6 cyl, bigger than a camry or accord.
Isn't there an equivalent ford in the US? They start about $30000AUS...
$22000US.
 
Steve said:
that looks kind of like a dodge sebring, say an accord/camry/s60/mazda 6
class car. they run anywhere from the high teens to the high 20's in cost
in the US.
Click to expand...

If you're talking about a Falcon, they are about the same size as the late
model GTO, which is derived from the Holden Commodore. The Commodore and
Falcon are the "large" cars in the AU market. The Toyota Avalon and Mitsu
Magna (Diamante) are a little smaller but try to pretend to be direct
competitors.

Camry, etc. are a class smaller.
 
Tim McNamara said:
I didn't know that about Honda owners. I've helped do a little DIY work
on a couple of them, and they weren't too bad to work on.
Click to expand...

That may also be a factor in automobile longevity. Volvos, Hondas and
Toyotas are noted for long life and all are (mostly) easy to work on. In
contrast, the Nissan 300ZX I had developed scads of electrical intermittents
around the 130K mile range and doing anything meaningful with the car was
hopeless. For example, replacing the engine harness would have required
shelling out $2000 US for the part and probably several days work, since it
was integrated with the under-dash wiring. I also had to replace some
hydraulic lifters and was sure the Haynes manual was wrong about getting the
left valve cover off - it simply wouldn't clear the A/C bracket (which also
couldn't be removed when the engine was in the car). Eventually I discovered
the cover had to be turned exactly right and then knocked off with a mallet!

Mike
 
Well, I suppose there are a lot of good, solid older cars out there,
suited to shade-tree mechanic owners, but shunned by the rest of the
population. Volvo 240's, diesel Benz sedans, Toyota Cressidas, etc.
etc. I suppose that if I hadn't had my hands full of other cars the
last few years, I may have given VOlvo a try earlier. Glad I own a 240
now and am learning a lot from this site and others. One thing about
these great old cars, whatever the marque, is that the internet is a
wonderful source of information, advice and support, which makes
ownership and maintenance of these fine old cars a more satisfying and
rewarding experience. As long as a good supply or spare parts for them
exists, no reason to think of buying something newer, as fas as I'm
concerned. I don't need the speed and aerodynamic looks of modern cars
(which largely look the same anyway, almost featureless). Give me
something simple, solid, and that I can figure out and fix myself,
anyday! Maybe one day my kids will see it that way too, who knows
(they're not of age to drive yet, but I'd feel better to send them off
in a Volvo or Benz sedan, than the cheap compact cars buzzing all over
the roads... although in the end I know they'll probably refuse to be
seen driving these "ugly old cars" sigh...). Cheers, all.
 
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