I'm 19 years old, and I'm concearned about the number of smashed 240s that I see in the junk yard as well as the number that are just abused. Are these cars eventually going to become extinct? Then what will we drive? I'm not sure that I could get used to driveing a front wheel drive car.):

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the 850 as the replacement for a 240. Back in September I bought one to replace a rust bucket 245. '95 GLT Wagon, black, one owner, brought to the dealer for all services with records to prove it, 5ive speed, power everything, for five grand. The car handles awesome and has loads of power. Unfortunately the factory screwed up some how and put the engine in sideways. Because of this, the car has front wheel drive. Yea, so anyways, It is a nice car but I sold it yesterday for $5200 to a SAAB owner. I figure I did him a favor. And what am I driving now? '87 245 I got dirt cheap. Lots of miles, but zero rust(Southwest car), I got a bunch of parts in my garage, years of experience fixing the things, all of you to tell me how to do it, and so sue me already, I LIKE 240s!!!!!!!!!
--
It's Jim (in Hartford CT)

Eventually they will, yes. But as long as there are Volvo fans out there, there will be Volvos. After all (not that there's much comparison) last summer I saw four different Ford Model As tool through my little town of 1700 up here in the New England wilderness, and those were only made for 4-5 years, 70 years ago.

If interest in the car remains high, the parts will be made. Just look at the Ford Mustang. Most of the parts to keep the car pretty, and on the road are available. I am unsure about others but would suspect Camaro, Corvette etc, are the same. Just saw an MGA in mint condition today. Had one in the late 60's and had to send to England for parts. The owner of this car stated "no problem" getting anything he needed. I figure Bricks will be included down the road.(I sure hope so!)

Yes, I suppose so, but I suspect certain items for us "plain-Jane" fans might become hard to find. For example, a friend has a '67 Bel Air 4-door that needs rear quarter work. Patch-panels for a '67 Impala SS 2-door hardtop, no problem. Same for a Bel Air sedan? Who cares about those, right?

Of course, I realize that Volvos are largely similar over many models & years, that'll help... but it seems to me that only the 242 GT and such will end up gaining "collector/hobby" status...

But what do I know? Hope I'm wrong, I LIKE 4-doors and wagons.

I've thought about this a lot. I'm a big fan of the 240 and have figured that the usable lifetime of these cars will be determined by a few critical parts that have to remain in supply or circulation.

Up to now, the most likely candidate I have identified is the windshield. While it's possible to use a used windshield, WS's are a good example of a part that works better when replaced with new. I have a feeling that suppliers of new windshields are going to taper off in the next few years as the 240s on the road continue to drop. Probably a couple other parts in this category, though I'm not sure what they are.

This is one that may not be too hard... as noted there were over 3.5 million cars built, that took that windshield. The 91-up unit is only different in the trim rubber. I bet the glass shops will be able to get these for many years.
But the car HAS been out of production for 10 years now... so some stuff is going to be dropped in terms of "new" availability from the dealer. Part of what drives this is the insurance companies' increasing unwillingness to pay for repairs to damaged older vehicles. Few of these cars are worth over $5K, let alone $10K, so the price of repairing a significant crash is ever closer to the "total" mark- that means the fenders, hoods, door skins and quarter panels will start to be "obsoleted" by Volvo, and with luck, retired to parts warehouses, but more likely either bought (a few) by private parts suppliers, or simply put in the dumpster- yeah, they do that. Ask VW fans about all the rare "oval window" stuff that the dealers chucked in the 60's....
Anyway I expect it will be the little items that become impossible to get new... the door pockets, interior plastic, seat cushions and upholstery, a NOS uncracked dashboard (well, I can dream).
Some rubber bits and pieces will probably become tough to get sooner or later. I think the brake parts, other maintenance items will be available for a long time. The aftermarket support, at least from Bosch, Scan-Tech, or the Beck-Arnley's of the world seems to be decent now. hopefully that will continue, but you know most companies don't like to keep much stuff in inventory... so at some point it will probably be hard to get some things.
Still, there are so many of these cars out there still, that restoring one using used parts, or finding a parts car, will probably be feasible for quite some time. I can say for sure that there needs to be a critical mass of cars to support the mechanical skill base for them- witness the total absence of VW Beetles and Buses now in the rust belt- they're gone, and so are the techs who used to know how to work on them. As good, and simple as those cars are, they'er now "hobbyist" cars, owned mainly by enthusiasts or backyard mechanics.
Just my thoughts/all for now/dissenting opinions welcomed/concurrence too.
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 225K, 88 744GLE- 209K, 91 244 183K. Also responsible for the care and feeding of: 88 745GLE, 229K, 88 244GL, 146K, 87 244DL, 235K, 88 245DL, 236K

1. Cars for users--daily, all-weather drivers who want a dependable, durable, safe car they can run for hundreds of thousands of miles over many years.

2. Hobbyist and collector cars.

My impression is that the Brickboard is made up of people in the first category. Many of us take a hobbyist degree of interest in our cars, but that isn't the basis of the relationship. Brickers really DRIVE their cars.

Sure you can keep antique cars operable and licenseable for decades--like the other poster on this thread who mentioned seeing Model A's on the road. But I don't think that is what the average Brickboarder is after.

Sooner or later (maybe another ten years?) the Volvo 240 will be on its way out as a long-term driver's car. What then?

I've been watching for the downstream replacement for the 240 and I haven't seen it yet. My hopes are actually on some of the small/midsize SUV's. They seem to be evolving towards a concept more like a 240 wagon. Couple of them even offer a stick shift option.

Problem is, they're still gas hogs and ride hard and drive clumsy. And may not be very friendly to user maintenance.

Comments?

Doug Harvey

"Problem is, they're still gas hogs and ride hard and drive clumsy. And may not be very friendly to user maintenance."

Well the first part of that sounds like an unmodified 240:-) You also forgot butt ugly in the case of most SUVs (Stupid Usless Vehicles)
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245 200K+
'84-245T 190K+
'88-240 190K+
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com (Opens new window)

Keep in mind that the _average_ lifetime on the road of a Volvo
is something like 25 years. What else will I drive? I really like
the Subaru AWD wagons, and they have a great reputation for
durability and maintainability, and are fairly safe. The 700 and
900 series cars will be around for quite a while. Mazda
Miatas are also well-designed, sporty, simple cars for people who
are into that sort of thing (me) - I've driven several Miatae with
over 200,000 miles, and they drove almost like new cars.
.
-b.
.
'88 240DL 154,xxx miles "knock on woo^H^H^Hplastic ..."

You perhaps live in the "rust belt"? If you come to California - and I'm sure other sun belt areas are no different - you'll see a LOT of 240's tooling around the streets and highways in very nice condition. High mileage perhaps, but the mechanical parts can always be repaired or replaced. I'd say it will be another ten years at least before it starts getting tough to find a decent 240...and then it will be more a matter of what you are willing to pay, than non-availability.
--
Bob (81-244GL B21F, 83-244DL B23F, 94-944 B230FD plus grocery-getter Dodge minivan, MGB, and numerous old motorcycles)

I lived in the bay area for years and never "saw" a Volvo, then came to florida and bought a 240. When I went back to SF to visit I couldn't believe it. There were 240 Volvos EVERYWHERE! :-) I think eastbay was mecca for Volvos at some point. Usually, without much effort, I could spot 3 240's at any given intersection! It's just incredible. I think there will be 240's rolling around for a long long time.

I wish I saw a lot more 240s in junk yards..'love them parts.

OK, here's the deal..the 240 was one of the more popular car models ever made, There were more than 2.8 million 2-series variants produced over the 17 year production run. Going Back, there were another 700,000 140's (a VERY close relative)produced between 1967 and 1976. That's almost 4 million bricks total. Now, let's assume that only 20% of the 3.6 million built (mathematic license here) are still used in some condition or other....from 'junkers to garage queens'...that's still over 700,000 cars.

Plus, consider the fact that as these cars become rarer and more desireable by addicts like ourselves, the remaining supply is likely to be better cared-for, leading even further to the longevity of the 240 'fleet'.

...and we haven't even discussed the 700 and 900 series variants which are essentially 240's in a prettier package (some say), which most of us would also be wiling to own, but would at least provide a continuing source of parts for maintaining the world's supply of 240's...ALSO, Volvo is better than just about any other manufacturer at continuing to supply parts for older models...I still get a lot of 122 components at the dealer, and THAT car is almost 40 years old

Please don't worry.
-Dennis

'66 122
'83 242T
'89 244
'83 244 Classic

oh yeah...plus wife's Ford Windstar Minivan and a VW GTi SCCA racer

I just look at all those junked 240s as a chance to stock up on replacement parts for my bricks. A good number of them in the yards have near new lights, AMMs, and other "wear items" that I grab and stock up in the garage. The only time I lost an AMM in one of the cars I was back up and on the road in 5 minutes, just took a 007 off the shelf and put it in. I currently have a stock of spares to keep the cars going for years.
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245 200K+
'84-245T 190K+
'88-240 190K+
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com (Opens new window)

Dave:


Are you REALLY awake at 4:30 AM on a Saturday Morning?!

Heck been up for a while, I worked a 4:00 to 2:00 shift in a central plant out at the local lockup for ~6 years, now that I've been in management for a while I still wake up at 4:00. Way better than the 2:45 A.M. that it used to be. Sure do miss that huge flat floor and all the specialty tools that I had to use for important thigs like Volvo repair however.
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245 200K+
'84-245T 190K+
'88-240 190K+
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com (Opens new window)

you could always go to a lexus....or not....I think they'll be around for a good number of years. you've gotta figure, as the supply goes down, so do the numbers of people actually interested in owning them. we'll be ok for a good number of years, methinks.
nate gundy
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'86 240DL, 260K miles, M46, K cam, 25/21mm sways, working on my valve spring compressor website...