Thanks for your input guys. I was thinking about the pick-up truck thing, and have wondered about adapter plates to put those engines in other vehicles. I might just start cutting the body parts off to make a pick-up turch and see what happens. If I put wagon springs on it I could actually haul some weight with it, right? Any idea how much?

I'm in Virginia. I picked up an '89 245 with what is assumed to be a shot auto trans for parts. Everything else, except a rear driver's side door hinge rust/freeze issue is OK. I don't intend to put it back on the road, but it seems too good to be parted out. I've offered it to my local indy shop (to save as a loaner) in exchange for a bunch of parts I might need, but their plate may be full already. Someone would have to be nearby for anything to make sense.

Plenty of possibilities---if the rear suspension is intact (not bent in the crash) so that the car can be driven as is, you could turn it into a pickup truck---cut away the rear part of the roof, weld the back doors shut, use diamond plate or plain sheet metal to make the inside of the bed etc. I have seen several attempts at this, with varying degrees of success.

If the body shell is too badly distorted to make a pickup, how about a roadster? There is a book called "How To Build Your Own Low Cost Sports Car" published in England by Haynes. It has detailed instructions on how to make something that resembles a Lotus Super 7, with your choice of RWD powertrain and suspension. To do this, you would probably need to find a 140 front end, as a strut front suspension is not suitable for such a project. Also, it would be a lot more fun with a manual transmission. (you didn't say which you have)

The "tractors" you've seen are usually made of 445 or P210 wagons, which have a separate chassis, that can easily be shortened. Their popularity is due to a peculiarity of the law in Sweden, which allows 14 year olds to drive farm machinery, (you have to be 16 for a car) and with appropriate modifications, these qualify.

If all this is too much for you, you could just buy another 240 and strip the damaged one for parts. If Volvos are common in your area, you might get lucky and be able to pick one up for cheap that needs something you have on yours.

If nothing else, you should sell it to someone who wants the parts---it sounds like it's much to good to become scrap metal and end up as part of a highrise building in China.

Build a dune buggy. Go to http://www.kennedyeng.com/ They sell engine to VW transaxle adapters. I know they make an adapter for the B18/20/21. Call and aske them about the B230F. Then all you need is a bus transaxle.

-Brian