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I am looking at a 200 series volvo, after owning a 760 turbo and an 850glt I thought I would my dtr a cheap safe vehicle. I know nothing about this series. What things sould I look for when I look at the car? The one I am looking at the owner indicates it is using oil because the rubber valve seals are gone. I have an older 4 cyl motor and transmission in my shed (given by a friend thinking I could use it as I had a volvo) with timing belt gone on it. Are all head's interchangable?
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I haven't had this issue with mine but I heard that many of the 200's rust under the car where the drivers seat bolts through.
With the car not mobile I don't know how to check but The Rear bushings are a pain to change, it would be nice knowing the car wasn't clunking with tired bushings.
There's nothing I can think i=of that you can't tinker with and fix if it's no good. Ahh, the heater fan!! If there's a battery in the car, test the Fan at different speeds and make sure it doesn't scream. That's a job that isn't fun.
If you can just swap the Head, that would be nice.
--
'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwr and two motorcycles: it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me
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My parents got me a 242 straight shift for my first car (which wasn't until I was 19). Well, I guess they made me pay for it, so I suppose I got it myself. Regardless, 8 years later I am more in love with it than I was before. A new stereo goes a long way it making the car 'cool.'
I don't work on it myself too much, and even so the 'car payments' have only recently exceeded 500$ a year.
I would say, if you can find a stick shift, go with that. That's what my brother (he got a 245) and I learned on and my experience is that the 200 series clutches are very forgiving and easy to learn on.
One warning however- when I was in highschool & college, girls that drove sweet older cars had all the guys' attention.
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My story is much like the others posted. We bought a Volvo "for" our daughter when she was two. She learned to drive on it, and I suspect she would still be driving it (19 years later) had she not plowed into a deer one evening on her way home. She hit the deer broadside at about 50 mph. She was fine, but the Volvo was totaled. Sure glad she was not in that Civic she wanted!! Following the deer incident, she was dying for a Contour, so we gave in and bought that (of course, I still had my 740 at the time). Unfortuneately, three weeks later, she hit a tree and totaled the Contour. So, NO CHOICE, another 240! Five years later, she is much more responsible, and we still have the second 240.
As a side benefit to a teenager driving a 240, there is the neatest little blade fuse just under the hood on the driver side wheelwell. Pop that sucker out, and the car ain't goin" nowhere. That is just something I point out to other Dad's!
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This does not answer your questions but is very topical. From the Sydney Morning Herald:
============================================
King of the road
May 21 2003
Take your hats off to the Volvo, says converted driver Jocelyn McGill.
I am the road user of most people's nightmares. Yes, I'm a P-plater. I'm female. I'm a blonde. I'm a Volvo driver. And of course, I'm from Canberra. If that doesn't scare you, well, I take my bowls hat off to you.
However, I'm not here to crack tired old jokes about hat-drivers, blondes, P-platers and Canberrans - or all of those things amalgamated into one scary package. I come bearing the tale of a Volvo-cynic who now knows why the car is the king of the road.
When my parents bought a gleaming brown 1980s Volvo station wagon with roof racks, I spluttered, whinged and moaned like any 16-year-old girl terrified of social humiliation.
I abused it, rolled my eyes at it, and wouldn't be driven in it. Why would I travel in something that is synonymous with slow and potentially dangerous hat-drivers?
Then I got my P-plates and my attitude began to change. Faced with the option of driving the Volvo or not driving at all, I had to embrace my greatest source of embarrassment.
Was it the springless driver's seat that tilted affectionately towards the door, the demister that made the car feel like a steam room, the smell of damp carpet, or the seatbelt light that flashed neurotically every time I started the car, that made me so contemptuous? Or maybe it was the delightful symphony of rattles, clanks and bangs.
But when I hit the road, I discovered the power that is the Volvo. At first I thought the petrol fumes that wafted in seductive waves from the back of the car were making me hallucinate, but it did seem that other cars were avoiding me - they were actually swerving to the other side of the road when I passed them.
Did other drivers really believe that I would cross the double unbrokens and smash into them? It was then that I realised why the Volvo is dubbed the safety car - it is impossible for any other car to be close enough to it to collide with it.
My love affair with the psychological king of the road had begun.
Sure, I was mocked by my friends and colleagues - even my family laughed whenever I volunteered to take it for a drive - but I no longer cared.
Because, when driving a Volvo, I could drive in any manner I liked . . . and get away with it.
In fact, I think my fellow road users would be disappointed if I didn't drive like I was the only vehicle on the road.
If I couldn't be bothered using my indicator, then I wouldn't. If I didn't slow down sufficiently before the corner, then I would take it on two wheels.
If I wanted to change lanes without warning, I would. And I could get away with it all, because I was a Volvo driver.
Occasionally, yes, I am subject to a blast from the horn or become the target of a middle finger, but I just smile, wave and keep on driving, content in the knowledge that the Volvo is the true king of the road.
[Readers are invited to apply wit to anything that makes the blood boil. Send 650 words, with contact details, to heckler@smh.com.au. Submissions may be edited and published on the internet.]
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Where are you located? I have a 1981 240 DL that is in beautiful condition for sale. I was just about to put an ad in the paper that says "Keep your teenager safe with this Volvo."
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Russman,if you are near TN, tell me. I have a son about to start driving!
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posted by
someone claiming to be Manolo
on
Tue May 27 12:31 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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So far as what to look for in a brick, just search this archive, you'll find a wealth of tips. The big concern is rust. That is one of the few things that is very tough for a do-it-yourselfer to take care of over the weekend. Not a problem if the car comes from the southwest US. BIG problem if the car comes from northeast US.
By the way, as much as I love bricks, if you don't plan on doing your own maintenance and repairs, you may not want to be looking at 10-20 year-old cars. Original owners with quarter-million mile bricks are still spending relatively little time/money per year on repairs. If you buy a used one, however, be ready to spend your weekends under it for a while, catching up on needed repairs.
By the way, if you hear of a nice clean brick with a stick shift in northern California, I have a 16-year-old daughter who needs a car also.
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We bought our 83 new "for" my daughter when she was born. I didn't like the looks of her in her little car seat in my wife's tinny old VW Rabbit, so got the 244 for its safety and reliability. 20 yrs later it's that same daughter's commute car for college, and I have first refusal on taking it back if she decides to go with something newer. We have a 940 which she has driven and always goes back to the 240 - she likes the manual trans and lighter handling. Neither she nor the Volvo have suffered a scratch in 2 yrs of SoCal freeway wars.
We bought a friend's 1981 244 for my son at age 17. He started off hating it, now has "pimped" it up a little with stereo and dark glass and plans to keep it. His friends have much newer cars which are falling apart.
They are, IMHO, the perfect car for teens to start their driving careers: slow, safe, reliable and totally uncool to their peers.
You want to get a decent deal for your money of course, but mainly you want safety and reliability for your kid, so if you are not comfortable with your own 240 expertise, take it to to a mechanic familiar with them.
--
Bob (81-244GL B21F, 83-244DL B23F, 94-944 B230FD)
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I bought my 1980 wagon brand new when younger daughter was just three months old. That car has been our family car, taken us many places, both daughters learned to drive in it (stick shift), it went to college with both of them. Younger daughter really fought driving it though, to her it was definitely not cool, it just screamed "mom car." However when she realized it was that car or nothing, she drove it, and has realized what a great car it is when you have to move furniture and stuff which you can do quite a lot inlate teens, early twenties. The old DL wagon is now my daily driver and I have spent the last couple of years restoring it mechanically and also the interior (thank heavens for ebay!). Last week it had a suspension upgrade done, Boge turbo shocks, turbo sway bars and upper chassis braces installed - what a pleasure to drive now! My older daughter is getting married this weekend, the car that will be taking her and her brand new husband from the church to the reception will be our younger 1992 Volvo wagon. It seems fitting considering what a part of her life the Volvo wagon has been.
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My parents bought our red 84 245 "for" me when I was born also. Each of my 3 other sisters were all brought home from the hospital in it. It was my first car, and I pimped it as well. I have moved onto an 86 745 gle though because the 84 was falling apart due to the service it performed for us for so many years. I am so sad that we have to let it go because of rust and other problems. I kinda wish I had a country home so I could park it in a final resting place in the grass in some corner somewhere and visit it every once in a while. I mean, the $300 or less we hope to get from it is worth keeping for the memories. Alas, we have no space.
-Nathan
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I sent my daughter to college in an '86 245 GL. After she finished, I got it back, still running great but with more rust. It's now my daily driver.
"... with timing belt gone on it. Are all head's interchangable?"
Interchanging heads depends on the two motors. Keep in mind, though, that a Volvo 4-cylinder motor built for North America (not including for the dual-cam B234F) does NO damage to the head or valves when the timing belt breaks. You merely replace the belt and, if needed, the tensioner and front seals, and drive away.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)
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