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I have an opportunity to buy a'76 265. The body is all original and in fantastic condition. Expectedly, it has a broken camshaft. I can get new camshafts through the dealer. Is it worth pulling the engine and rebuilding it to keep it original?
Dean
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I've read these responses with interest. As I recall, the 164 was a great car and the straight 6 was very durable. The 164 was last offered in USA in 1975. Why did Volvo use the dubious V6 in the 265? From the photo, it looks like the engine bay would have been long enough for the straight 6. Frankly, I've never understood the infatuation throughout the car industry with V6s, but that's just me.
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The original PRV V-6 was a joint venture engine that hoped to solve a bunch of problems simultaneously for Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo. As you can imagine when you get French and Swedish engineering involved in the early days of CAD, there were some issues that came to the fore. Suffice to say that a B30 powered 265 would be a real kick, perhaps with three Weber DCOE 45's and a suitable custom ground cam? Hm? Swedish Family Truckster in the making here? Probably not, but a fun mind adventure nonetheless.
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Hello,
I've done it. Every peer told me how foolhardy I was, and some said it couldn't be done.
Now I was 22 at the time, so you've got to take that into account.
My advice to you is if you've got some time and money, your expectations will be exacted with the finest edge of excellence.
Replace the engine with a 1983 B23F or a 1995 B230L.
Good Luck!!!
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Don't bother even attempting to rebuild that engine, it was a prototype with one fatal flaw when it hit production! You guessed it, head lubrication failure due to a badly designed and leaky chain tensioner! If I may be so bold, the B27 was Volvo's worst decision, even worse than the very first B230F engines that had three piece crank shaft thrust bearings!
If you want to restore this "perfect" ride and install a "kinda reliable" B27, call someone who restores DeLoreans as those cars received the "fixed" B27 engines. I suspect they can be had for cheap but don't forget to check for Cocaine packets before you install it!
jorrell
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92 245 278K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!
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John DeLorean didn't actually produce automobiles. He manufactured snowmobiles...
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I wouldn't go so far as to say to run from it. Run from it if you intend to use it as a everyday driver. At whatever the price there are better later model 245s out there for use as a workhorse.
As a collector 240, you could do worse than to invest time and money into a '76 265. It's unlikely a '76 265 will ever be worth too much as a collector car so you might as well make it suit you. If originality is important to you then by all means fix the V6. You may also decide it's easier to patch up what's already under the hood rather than replacing it and all other systems. If I were taking on such a challenge, I'd be looking at that V6 and it's FI system as a 33 year old ticking time bomb and a thirsty one at that. I'd start searching for a complete late model 240 to use as a donor.
Best of luck and let us know if you take the plunge.
-Will
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854 - 244 - Mini
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I took another look at it today. The front seats are not original (or at least not the original covers) but are in excellent shape. There are very few spots of surface rust in a door sill and below the rear glass. I would think they are easily fixable. The engine is dead, and the owner tells me the transmission was on it's way out when the engine went. So it needs a new engine and transmission.
Here's a link to some pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/drcooledge/sets/72157621959117300/
So what's it worth as it is?
-- Dean
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If you really want a 240 wagon there are lots of them, later years, four cylinder red blocks, around. Do not walk, run like hell, from that 265. There is nothing you can do for it, and it's waiting to ruin the life of the next owner.
And yes, I know what I'm talking about. I've rebuilt those engines, in the distant past, for customers who could not be convinced that it was not worth the time, money, and effort. And a few anecdotal stories about "my uncle had one and he couldn't kill it with a fence post" are not worth listening to.
Just get a later 245 and be happy.
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Good advice. It's hard to resist all that chrome, though.
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Don't feel bad about passing on it. One of my customers had a 1980 (Canadian market) 264GL, and even I thought it was a nice car. Gold, alloys, perfect black leather, every power option, and they all worked too. Like sitting in a living room. Then he needed a water pump.....end of love affair.
That one has steel wheels, and vinyl, and straight enamel paint.
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Haha, my mother had that same car but '79 and steel wheels. Tinted windows and all. Yes, the water pump is ridiculous. I recall water went in/out of it via no less than five places.
Mom's 264 met a terrible end. Engine caught while she was driving down the road. Not the best experience. Luckily she was able to coast to a stop at the crest of a hill. A fire department was another couple hundred yards down the road.
-Will
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854 - 244 - Mini
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Somebody save this car.
I prefer the lack of lover door and rocker trim and the slim stainless trim of the early 240s over all others. It's even the quintessential early 240 color, TAN!
Looks great in whitewalls. Black interior? Cloth, leather?
-Will
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854 - 244 - Mini
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Actually, it's white with blue cloth (or, if I recall correctly, a cloth/vinyl combination). All original down to the radio.
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I would cost a lot to rebuild or replace with a hard to find "newer" version. Installing a 4 cyl B230T would be a reasonable option, so long as you also include a 4 speed tranny. But the weight differential would leave the front end too light for the beefed up suspension.
A better option would be to replace the engine/tranny with a small block V8.
In either case, it will be expensive.
Klaus
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The more I learn, the more I forget. So why learn?
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Pass on it.That made in France motor is a money pit.
Bill
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Bill- pass on the car or the engine?
Dean
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A late-model b230 is a bolt-in but major conversion.Use all the newer stuff,including the tank and pumps.Some inst. panel rewiring is required.
The suspension is the same,just use the lighter 240 springs.I have,in years past,done several 265 and diesel conversions.
A '93-'95 940 turbo & intercooled b230FT is a really nice conversion,a little more work,same MPG and way more power.Either way,go for it,the'76 is a really classy car.
Bill
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If the OP has the facility, time, money, and talent to do a B230 or B23 swap, that is great. I don't think rebuilding the PRV V-6 is worthwhile.
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Of course Volvo's 4 Cyl is the longest lived, but if you want to stick with the PRV I'd suggest a late model version as it was updated for longevity (even fire crank, harder cams). My first Volvo, an '87 780 had just under 300K on the clock before burning a valve going up a sharp grade outside of Vegas in mid August. Other than that never had any issues with it.
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