(Lack of) appeal of older Volvos (240)

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*)

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

m
Albany, WA
1981 244 GL

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

m

 

089 451 1444
26 Clapham

 

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).

 

US Ford Falcon:
http://www.falconregistry.com/slideshow/nats/1.jpg

AUS Ford Falcon:
http://www.webwombat.com.au/motoring/news_reports/images/xr6t2.JPG

 

Yeah that's right, we had the US model (called XW, XY...) about the same
time Mustangs came out. The Australian photo is fairly recent, what do they
sell in US now which corresponds to that one?

 

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.

 

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.

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 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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.