hi !
I have 1988 244GL but yesterday I saw 264GLE - wow !!!! it was very nice car !!!!
B27, full electro, AC, I wish that car, but my friends in Russia say that B27 very capricious and very expensive in maintance...;(
so I dont know - is it good deal or not....
what you say ?

I bought a similarly priced '79 265 earlier this year. It has 90,000 miles. The interior and exterior are immaculate and it runs like a dream. I knew about the V6's reputation ahead of time so I was wary, but this has maintenance records clear to the beginning and it shows.

That being said, it has been hard to find parts, except at the dealer, and I don't find many fans (admirers) of the B27. It is much more difficult to work on also, compared to my '74 142. My mom bought a 262 Bertone that she loves, but the engine has been swapped for the 4 cylinder, which I guess is not unusual, so no help for me there.

Maybe 260 owners need our own support group and/or counseling!

A lot of these crybabies have never even owned one.
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80 262C Coupe- (FSO black, M46, original) 82 244GLT- (auto)

If the price was FREE, it might be a good deal. For $1250 you can buy a better car. The older V6 engine is not a good engine. Probably only as good as the typical American car engine: 100,000 miles and throw it away. It was not up to Volvo's standards.
Even with thousands of Volvos on the road around here, you can not find a shop willing to work on a V6 car. Nobody wants to do any kind of work on them. Stick with the 4-cylinder, and you will be much happier.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 234K, '82 245T/M46-182K, '89 244DL/AW70- 212K Not too distant past: 86 244DL 215K, 87 244DL 239K, 88 744GLE 233K, 88 244GL 147K, 91 244 183K

Thanks for your advices !!!!
I decide stay with my 244 car...

"100,000 miles and throw it away"- I strongly disagree. These motors can go a long, long way if they get some regular maintenance in the hands of a skilled mechanic.

"Nobody wants to do any kind of work on them." Totally the truth, very few Volvo mechanics will even TOUCH this setup. Getting hard to find parts, too.


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80 262C Coupe- (FSO black, M46, original) 82 244GLT- (auto)

Well I have rebuilt the B27 and B28 engines, and I have got better things to do now. Yes, they have impressive crankshaft-piston-rod assemblies, very tough. The ports and combustion chambers are also impressive. The chain drives, tensioners, and oil feeds are junk. The intake manifolds are junk. The crank has to be tough to withstand the odd firing impulses imposed by the 90 degree six cylinder arrangement. Inexcusable. No amount of maintenance will get around the head gasket failure rate. Overheat the thing once, and the oil passages plug. They are a gas gobbling stone of an engine, rough, underpowered, ugly looking and sounding. The French deserved them, Volvo didn't.
As to the small block Chev, I have seen them abused in school buses for distances the most molly-coddled B27 could only dream of. American iron V8's rule the world. I think only the Lexus V-8 can compare, but you could buy ten mouse motors for the price of one Lexus engine.

"No amount of maintenance will get around the head gasket failure rate."

Whatever, Boss. If you know so much about these motors, then you'd know that the headgasket isnt the source of the water leaks that plague these engines and clog them up. I fixed my water leaks before they had the chance to do that. It's called paying attention to what's going on and then not neglecting it.

"They are a gas gobbling stone of an engine, rough, underpowered, ugly looking and sounding."

Yeah, if there's something wrong with it, or it's out of tune. My closest friend told me that I had "the smoothest idling V6 he's ever ridden in" (76 265), and my Coupe will flat out burn rubber. Finding people to work on them who ACTUALLY know what they're doing is one of the biggest challenges of owning these cars. I learned a lot of what i know from an old coot who worked at a Mercedes/Volvo dealership until 1988, when he retired. Far as looks go, that's your opinion and I'll respect that.

"As to the small block Chev," come on, that's nowhere close to a fair comparison. Look at what happens when GM builds ALUMINUM motors and then say something to me about it. Overheat one of those and it'll be more warped than my sense of humor.
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80 262C Coupe- (FSO black, M46, original) 82 244GLT- (auto)

You obviously like these engines, and have had little trouble with them. That's good. However, advising others to purchase them is another matter altogether. I won't do that, as it borders on unprofessional in my business, and my customers trust me to guide them away from cars (and engines) that may not give good reliable service without excessive (or more than usual) maintenance and repairs. Perhaps we are arguing from two different perspectives.

You didnt read my other posts, obviously. Go back and look what i wrote.

http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=869383

I'm just tired of hearing people who have NEVER OWNED a V6 bash them or spread misinformation. Answer just this one question: I have personally owned ___ cars with B27/B28 engines. If you answered "zero", then to me you're just another one of those people who sees the aftermath of neglect and summarily judges what the norm is from that. I am speaking from personal ownership experience and others have, too. Yes, I know there are lemons, yes the motor is wayyy more complicated than the fourbanger and requires more maintenance, and yes I have had to do some "fun" repairs I wouldnt have had to do had there been a four cylinder under the hood. BUT there ARE v6 cars out there that have been looked after and properly maintained, and even now still run great. The whole point of this forum is to help those cars STAY on the road and SHARE good information, rather than just talk a bunch of smack about something it appears to me that you don't too much about.
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80 262C Coupe- (FSO black, M46, original) 82 244GLT- (auto)

I guess that you haven't been reading my posts. I work on the engines, for those unfortunate people who bought the cars thinking they would be reliable. The only one I ever owned had thrown a timing chain, but had a great body, so I converted it to a B21F and sold the car to a customer, who couldn't be happier with it.
Like I said before, I am glad you like these engines. Someone has to I suppose.
Now I know that soon you will find some other means to slag me personally. Already you have branded many on this topic whiners, bashers, judgemental, and smack talkers, in addition to condescending terms like "Boss". My comments are strictly about the PRV odd fire V-6. It's a terrible engine, and people vote with their feet don't they? They avoid them and with good reason.
Winston Churchill said "A fanatic is someone who won't change his mind, and won't change the subject".....I'm off to anther thread, thanks.

If you're not VERY familiar with this family of motor (PRV-6), I would not recommend that you get involved with this car. However, if you do:

1)Check for water in the oil, or evidence of it in the past. It should look clear amber or dark brown (depending on when changed last), but not cloudy or muddy. Past water shows up as tan crystalline crust inside the oil filler neck.

2)Listen for loud clicking or knocking noises coming from the valvetrain. The seller will often say the car needs a valve adjustment, when in actuality it has excessive wear on the cam or followers.

If the car starts and runs normally, idles smooth, you can drive it at freeway speeds for twenty minutes or so without it overheating, you're handy with tools and repairs, and you have junkyards around with lots of parts, CONGRATULATIONS you've just discovered plutonium by accident. These cars will run practically forever with the proper maintenance and repairs, but parts are getting harder to come by.
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80 262C Coupe- (FSO black, M46, original) 82 244GLT- (auto)

I checking oil - its clear and I not find any water traces in oil and cap...
but !!! the start engine in hot not easy - I need 5-6 attempts while it start, seller say that is from not original fuel pump , he say that this pump not make needed pressure....

Quite possible. This car has two fuel pumps, one in-tank and the other under the car.
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80 262C Coupe- (FSO black, M46, original) 82 244GLT- (auto)

If you do a search in the archives on B27 or V6, you should get lots of information which would help you. As I understand it, the B27 had poor lubrication up to the camshafts and these had to be replaced too often. This meant taking off the heads or cutting holes in the firewall to pull the camshafts off that direction. Supposedly the last year or two of that engine was improved. There may be other maintenance issues also.

It's too bad the engine was such a problem, it would have been nice to have the extra power. I imagine that 264 GLE looks very nice!

Hey, if the body is in good condition and the car runs right good. How much can you get it for.
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92 240 2.3 L with a Borla! 103,000 Miles and More!!Go Team Grimace!!

The seller ask 1250$ for it...but fuel pump need to be replaced, as it not original and start engine not easy ;)

Capricious is not a strong enough word to describe the V-6. Junk is a better word. Stick with the car you have now.