Volvo 240t info

Trying to find info about a 1984 volvo 240t. Found one for sale, but don't know much about volvos. I've briefly been to turbobricks but wanted info that was alittle less biased, more grassroots-focused. Seller says the car needs the gas tank cleaned and re-installed and a new fuel pump. Has approx. 70k and a new wiring harness. Any thoughts???

I played with Volvos for a bit... my favorite was a 242GT (normally aspirated turbo predecessor) but I had a couple of 240 turbos as well.

Add an intercooler and tweak the boost a bit an you could haver a real animal. The suspension is basic but very competent for a live axle. The little stuff (switchgear, windows, etc) is troublesome, but the basic package is pretty solid.

I would only consider it if it was a manual trans... the automatics didn't do so well in these cars. The turbo was not watercooled and subject to coking of the bearing... I would assume a turbo in the near future.

I would also assume more effort on getting the fuel system sorted... though I've not had to mess with that on one of these.

Good luck! Bill

Thanks Bill. I looked at it on Fri, and its the 4sp manual( w/ overdrive ) model. Also has the stock intercooler. The title seems to not have been to the current owner from the previous owner, so I'm waiting to hear back from our DMV for a possible solution. Outside of that, I'm not really hooked on the body style ( and the possibility of driving a heavy, solid car ), and hadn't really decided to get rid of my current project yet. I've got a few days to decide. I've been using the time to do research. Any other info you may have would be appreciated. Thanks.

Will

I don't think I realized they ever put the intercooler into the 240 body... but then the newest I owned was an 83 and I bought 740 series stuff to intercool them.

That may mean you have a water cooled turbo as well... I know the changeover was somewhere around there.

Turbobricks is likely your best source... I think I'd ask about the fuel system issues in some detail and let the guys that have more experience give you a better idea of what you may be up against.

(Assuming that the car still has K-Jetronic, you may be in for cleaning or possibly rebuilding the fuel distributor... that often gives the same symptoms as a contaminated tank/ weak fuel pump. Never did this with a 240, but had to rebuild one in my UrQuattro)

Good luck! Bill

Well, the current owner has the tank in the trunk right now. I have felt the inside, and it has alot of hard, flaky stuff on the inside. Enough that I can rub my finger inside of the tank and grab several flakes. I have found a new tank for around $170( incl. shipping ), as opposed to $300 to have it cleaned and etched locally. The intercooler may have been added later, I'm not sure. The reason why the current guy has the car is b/c the first guy messed up a harness swap. It has since been replaced, so that shouldn't be a problem. How would you describe the way this car handles( w/ the stock turbo, 4sp manual tranny, I/C, 70k miles .... ), and how would you compare it to....say a mk2 golf gti?

I guess the bottom line is that I'm looking for an e30 on a budget. And I don't want to have to drop $5k in suspension parts to get it.

Hard to compare to a Golf... completely different IMO...but on smooth surfaces the handling is similar to an (non M3) E30. Ride is not as good and on rougher surfaces (real world, not track) the E30 is more competant. As much as I like them, I'd be more likely to pick an E30 over one...

Bill

Just as an update, I decided to pass on the volvo. The NC DMV makes the title issues more headache and expense than its worth to me in order to turn this into a daily. It's in great shape so I almost hate to recommend this but it would make a good Challange car. The seller seems to be a decent guy also. I'll post the link in the classifieds. Thanks for everyones help and input.

Will