I just picked up a 1980 242 DL, but it has the grill with built in fog lights and the steering wheel says GT. However the back of the car says DL. How can I tell which car it is???
Thanks in advance..

Mechanically, US cars got the same engine and M46 4spd+OD trans as a regular model DL. However, larger sway bars were fitted, along with gas shocks and struts, and alloy wheels. The 1980 came with 15" wheels called Virgos, also referred to as "Turbo" wheels because all the 240GLT/Turbo models had them. They were actually fitted to the 1980 GT first.

IF the car is genuine, it would be silver, with a black and orange stripe kit from hood to trunk running down the side of the body. The grille would be silver as well. Of course it's 25 years old and probably repainted, so that may or may not still exist. Is it silver in the door jambs and under the hood?

Other items include under hood strut-to-firewall braces, the orange-striped interior (Though 1980s were more subtle, more black instead of orange if I remember), front fender "242GT" badges and the single thing that's impossible to fake: flat spare tire wells in the trunk. These cars can't fit a standard spare if they're genuine. They got a reduced size inflatable spare like a late-60s Camaro. The car was like, 1% more aerodynamic or something with flat metal there instead of the curved spare tire holders.

Enjoy!
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar!

At one time my son had a '79GT at the same time I drove a '80GT. The '80 was more cosmetic by comparison. The '80 had the GT grill and fog lights, the Virgo wheels and the GT interior. However, it lacked the strut braces and inflatable spare. The wheel wells were present in the '80 and it had a regular, compact spare. The 242GT badges were missing from the front fender and the badging o the trunk was a largt GT in the same place that the later TURBO badge occurred. We ended up converting the '80 into a ProRally car and installed the flat trunk panels to replace the wheel wells. They are still available from dealers. Nice part about the GT's is that you can install the R Sport instrument panel. Nice touch.

Skip
'93 850GLT
'83 242TI Flathood

Didn't all the GT's also come with vented front rotors? My '80 has them.
Randy

Yes they did. Only the DL came with solid rotors.

Yep...

For a while there was a brown DL on eBay that someone was trying to pass off as a GT because it had a GT steering wheel.

242 GT's were built 78 to 80 in relatively small numbers, no enough to make them scarce. It was essentially an appearance and suspension package. Same B21F engine with M46 manual gearbox as in all in North American 240's. They were all silver with the exception of a couple hundred black ones that made it into Canada in 1980. They all had black and orange stripes on the hood, sides and trunk lids. They all had black curdoroy interiors with orange stripes and the smaller diameter steering wheel with the GT badge. They all had the 2 round headlight setup with the 2 square fog lights inset into the grille. Depending on the year, you got different variations on wheels, springs, shocks, sway bars and tie bars on the frame. Overall a nice package, and in original or nicely restored condition, a more desirable 240 for sure.

Yours is likely a DL, someone is more likely to slap a GT badge on than a DL badge.
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Happy Bricking!!! - Richard - '95 855T 307k, '87 245 DL 405k, '82 242 GLT 121k - Volvo's are alive and well in Brampton!!!