Elvis (originally from Memphis) the '76 DL has been doing a good job of keeping the grass from growing for over 2 years now. 
I have the head, manifolds, turbo, a few other sundries from a turbo 940, and a couple Megasquirts to choose from, but too little time, and too little space to work on it...
irish44j said:Knurled. said:Probably because you can't put the fuel cell in the trunk of a wagon without isolating it.
Or maybe they just hoard the wagons for service vehicles.
stage rally doesn't require fuel cell in this country, or in most other countries that I'm aware of. Some people do them for various reasons, but I don't think that would be the reason for the lack of Volvo wagons...
Must be the service vehicle thing :)
Maybe, but it also appears that a cheap slap it together build over there would be a top tier car in the US.
there's a few of these on craigslist for about 1500 bucks...
Not that much difference in weight between the 242, 244 and 245 when similarly optioned.
In reply to MichaelYount :
Even my highly-optioned 245 isn't that heavy. With airbag, heated seats, heated power mirrors, power windows, AC, and a turbo setup installed, mine came in just under 3000 lb, and only 52% front.
If anyone is interested I have both rear 242 windows (free).
Also I'll be parting out my V8 wagon. It's was a Converse conversion. Bilstiens, ipd sways, Corbeau seat brackets. Also have a 4 eye square heaslight and 2 round headlight front ends and a flat hood, turbo five spoke and 740 turbo twist wheels. Some wheel adapters etc.
Stampie gave me a great deal on a 88 (I think) wagon that I'd be happy to pass along to a challenger. Complete but non running non turbo auto. Body is pretty clean as the original plan was to swap my 5.0 over or go LS. Plans changed since I just picked up an RX8 to LS.
Not much difference in weight (swing or otherwise) between 242, 244 and 245 if they're optioned similarly.
In reply to Greg Voth :
I know a guy that'd be interested in adding some suspension bits to his parts pile.
I picked Elvis up for $750 with a burnt valve, from a guy that really needed it gone. Goal is to make it a Challenge car eventually, with turbo parts, head, and Meagsquirt, I'm just a little over $1K, so I've still got some budget room. 
In reply to Greg Voth :
What size sway bars are they? What year is it, specifically does it have the old or new style tailgate glass?
Matthew Kennedy said:In reply to MichaelYount :
Even my highly-optioned 245 isn't that heavy. With airbag, heated seats, heated power mirrors, power windows, AC, and a turbo setup installed, mine came in just under 3000 lb, and only 52% front.
Well, I've never seen one that light. Mine (lightly optioned 242) with V8, 8.8" rear, T5z, A/C, power steering was 3036 with about 3/4 tank of fuel and the spare/jack removed from the trunk. That put it about 53.5/46.5 front/rear. Oh - fiberglass "Commando" bumpers on mine that knocked probably 50 lbs. off, and battery in the back.
Seems most of the sedans/wagons that have actually been on corner scales come in around 3100-3350 lbs. depending on how they're optioned.
In reply to Matthew Kennedy :
The rusty one I am parting out is an 84. It has the flush mount later rear hatch that I picked up to replace the rusty original hatch. Also have four rust free manual window doors to replace the rusty doors that were on the car.
The sways I would have to measure. The front is the ipd v8 drop version.
The 240DL was one of my favorite patrol cars. Compared to the Dodge Diplomats and Ford Crown Vics at the time, the Volvo would accelerate just a tad slower but handled better and had better brakes.
In New England, you have to look for rust in the driver's side rear floor pan. The carpets are lined with a waterproof material. If, or when, the A/C drains back up, they flood the driver's side floor pans. You foot pressure on the front forces the water to the rear, where it happily sits and converts steel into iron oxide. You don't notice the leak because of the waterproofing, though you may get a musty smell. I've seen cracks running across the floor behind the driver's seat because of it.
Some cars in the mid-80's have alignment issues with the rear ends. The tooling for the rear dated back to the 67 140 models, and was getting pretty tired by the 80's. The Swedes didn't want to spend the money replacing tooling on a car that was supposed to be replaced by the newer 740 models. The 740 was a good car, but different and had a different fan base. Ironically, the 240 continued after it's replacement was discontinued.
In reply to bigdaddylee82 :
awww..... ya'll look good together!
Kinda off, but I've been flogging a nice enough S40, T5 with the M66 for a while now, makes me think of a porky 510, but I had at least as much fun in the 740T I bought from my in-laws about 20 years ago. It was great fun to get the drop on 5 liter Mustangs with that car. The wtf looks were priceless. Now that I'm recognized as the neighborhood old fart, a 240 may be in the works.......
Surprised i never posted last time around. The Volvo 240 is in my opinion one of the best car designs ever.
My old one:
Always wanted to try a Volvo 240 and an 88 fell in my lap a couple years ago. Four door, respectable paint, no rust, front seat foam shot (as usual), stick and unknown mileage. As a bonus - wouldn't start. Got it started - corroded grounds - spent weeks cleaning it up inside and out. Replaced bunches of bushings, cam, water pump, wheels, tires....... Drove it for six months and was ready for it to go. Sorry - one of the most boring cars I have owned. I respect their durability and reliability given minimal maintenance but too anemic for me. My son wanted to pull the red block and replace with a v8. No thanks. Maybe a future owner can.
That's ultimately the reason i got rid of mine. It was a great car that really needed a drivetrain swap to be the total package, and i wasn't interested in doing it. I traded it for a CRX, an Eclipse, and a Dynasty (yes 3 cars). I drove the CRX for 7k miles and ended up with two more CRXs after, drove the Eclipse for a while, sold it to a close friend and am coming back around to turbo it in the near future with some parts we just picked up, and the Dynasty has an engine swap and a bunch of suspension stuff, full stereo etc. Sometimes i regret the trade but i can't deny the 'mileage' I and my friends have gotten out of the 3 cars i got for it.
Here for the pop out rear windows and overdrive switch!
Dont forget about the hand crank sunroof!
My love for Volvo wagons is showing itself; I picked the lede image for this article when I updated it last year.
What can I say, I'm drawn to solid, slow European cars.
I always thought Volvos were boring cars until I saw Bill Malek's rally car take off at the start of a stage.........wow that thing was fast.
As for the article, loved it except "welded diff". Welded diffs suck, don't suck as much as one wheel drive but they still suck. Eat cup a noodles for a month and buy a proper limited slip.
A V8 swap in one makes total sense.
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