CLNSC3
HalfDork
10/1/12 5:57 a.m.
I was looking for a DD that's more fuel efficient than my Jeep and I came across a nice Volvo 240. I went first thing this morning and bought it before anybody else could as I have always had a thing for these things!
The car is an 89 Volvo 240, it an auto but thats not a big deal considering how clean it is. Car has been well taken care of with 106,000 original miles and has had a ton of service within the last couple years including timing belt,etc. Also still had the original owners manual,window sticker,etc. I paid about 1,000 for it, which A LOT less than other comparable cars in the area.
The paint is great, the interior is not so great. A lot of the little plastic pieces are busted, but the way it looks this is probably very common. So hopefully piece by piece I can find unbroken interior parts and get that looking as good as the outside.
I must say that although this car has no power and blown shocks, I love driving it. I cannot explain why but its a great experience!
The "plan" with this car is just to pain all exterior trim and clean the hell out of it And make the inside look as good as the outside. I just plan on maintaining it and putting gas in it. But honestly I have pondering some suspension mods and thinking about swaps. But my BMW is more than enough project for me, so I will just fix little things and let me girlfriend drive it for now, maybe something cool later. But I have been considering just cleaning things up and flipping it. I got a good deal so if I could triple my money I'd be a happy camper!
It needs some new shocks so I have been thinking I may as well go aftermarket. But suspension is a gateway mod for me and I know it!
That being said I'd like to try and keep this thing as cheap as possible but I at least want to improve the handling,
Here are some pics I took as soon as I got it home:
I like those style of Volvos also. Good score.
A lot of car for a very nice price
Ian F
PowerDork
10/1/12 7:11 a.m.
If you can clean it up and get the correct hub caps, tripling your money is not out of the question. A friend of mine sold a 240 with issues for not much less than what you paid.
NGTD
Dork
10/1/12 8:37 a.m.
Broken interior bits in 240's are common.
B230FT from a 740 and a T5, decent set of wheels, suspension and you have yourself a fun ride.
iPD is your friend for aftermarket suspension bits. Sway bars, bilsteins, new springs, and you're set.
Beautiful 240. One in that condition would sell for $5000 easy in the rust belt. Broken interior trim or not.
I understand an LS1 fits in the engine bay. 
N Sperlo wrote:
amg_rx7 wrote:
I understand an LS1 fits in the engine bay.
So does a 302.
the 302 is the one that looks like it should have come from the factory...
anyway... nice buy... i'd love a 240 at some point... from what I understand the chassis is a much better platform vs the 700's... but I like my grandpa car (what turbobricks calls the 700/900's) :)
Q: Did those ever come with tilt steering? I almost bought one, but then I realized I couldn't adjust either the seat or the steering to fit me.
It was a Blue four door, mostly like that one.
CLNSC3
HalfDork
10/5/12 4:42 a.m.
Thanks for the feedback! Like I REALLY need any help convincing myself that modding it is smart,haha. But if it doesn't get sold it will be most definitely get modded. No 302 in this one, my e30 is getting one. Life is too short and there are too many cool engine out there for 33% of my cars to have a 5.0.
I am thinking turbo volvo engine, springs/struts/sways and some little things here and there. I actually have an ipd skid plate for it I have been toying with the idea of installing. I will likely get most parts from IPD, I have heard good things and they are about ten miles from my house!
I've thought that a turbo 5 (whiteblock) would be great fun in one of these. Or maybe the Yamaha v8 out of an xc90!
I doubt the inline 6 white block would fit very well, it's a pretty long engine.
CLNSC3 wrote:
I am thinking turbo volvo engine, springs/struts/sways and some little things here and there. I actually have an ipd skid plate for it I have been toying with the idea of installing. I will likely get most parts from IPD, I have heard good things and they are about ten miles from my house!
I'm not fluent in 200's... but I think by then they where full on EFI right?... if it's got lh2.4 jetronics in it there is no real reason to swap to a turbo engine... goto turbobricks and look around for info for "b230f+T" the +T is the adding turbo bit...
if you've got the right ignition box you can order chips from thelostartof for pretty cheap and be ready for some decent boost, the higher c/r of the b230f engine will be better off boost and make more power on.... as I understand it about the worst part is working out a good oil return from the turbo
CLNSC3
HalfDork
10/11/12 11:03 p.m.
Painted the wheels that came on the car, all 3 different kinds. Looks much better than before! Also painted and installed the ipd skid plate and added a grm sticker to it like the rest of the cars in my fleet.
Looks a lot better already! Sweet STi a couple of vehicles over.
From past experience the quickest and easiest way to vastly improve how a car handles is to install Koni shocks. I would see about a set of Koni Yellows (sports). If they are made it should transform the handling. Yes they are a little bit pricey compared to other options but in my book you are getting what you pay for. Next would be a set of Iboc progressive springs at all 4 corners to lower it a bit. Again they can be a bit more $$$$ but still a really great option. I don't know where I would go for sway bars but I would see about some sort of adjustable units so you can fine tune them.
I would then step up to a slightly larger rim (keeping them steel and keeping the stock hub caps) that could take a larger wider tire with a slightly lower profile. Next would be to step up to some slightly better brake pads at all 4 corners.
