240 General: What model ?

[Duncan R]

hello all,

Was thinking of buying an 850 estate, all those electronics are scaring me off! I think I have more chance of doing my own work on a 240 I would like to get a good 240 estate, can anyone recomend a paticular spec? Are any of the late ones fitted with aircon? What are they like on motorways ? I am not looking for performance but something that would sit nicely on a motorway on a long run. I probably wouldn't do more than about 10K miles max a year. Anyone thinking of selling theirs? I promise to take good care of it

Cheers

Duncan

[kev240]

You might find the 2.0 estate a little under powered, especially if doing a lot of motorway driving. You're best bet is to find a good 240GLT estate (2.3engine), or a very late 240SE with a 2.3 engine.
Air con was fitted as a factory option on the 240, but was expensive, and it is very hard to find a car fitted with this, the standard heater and ventillation system is good, and you can always use the after market aircon,the electric windows !
good Luck,
Kevin

[Velorum]

I agree with Kev - go for the 2.3, its much nicer to drive and can be more economic re fuel consumption. GLT's come up quite often on ebay and there are still some good ones around. They have the advantage of mechanical injection so no ECU/electrical gubbins to go wrong! No CAT either!

Spare parts are easy to obtain and there is a wealth of free advice right here!

[Duncan R]

Thanks Ian and kevin - does the T in GLT mean turbo? any issues with turbos as far as reliability? I like the idea of rear wheel drive as prop shafts seem easier to repair than FWD systems. Would a 2 litre sit happily at 80 MPH? most of the milage would be done on French autoroutes. Any real weak points on this model (looking at the tech section it seems not)

many thanks

[JIM C]

The T in GLT is for touring. It is not a turbo.

[JIM C]

This might be of interest.

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/prof_200.shtml

[Mike_Brace]

Originally Posted by Duncan R

Thanks Ian and kevin - does the T in GLT mean turbo? any issues with turbos as far as reliability? I like the idea of rear wheel drive as prop shafts seem easier to repair than FWD systems. Would a 2 litre sit happily at 80 MPH? most of the milage would be done on French autoroutes. Any real weak points on this model (looking at the tech section it seems not)

many thanks

I have both a GLT and a 2.0. The 2.0 will be receiving an upgrade to 2.3 shortly. I use the 2.0 a lot for towing my Volvo trailer which I take to France about once a year. The 2.0 will cruise happily at 80 (even with the trailer) on the autoroutes. There are two big differnces between the GLT and the 2.0. The GLT has a higher ratio rear axle which makes for more relaxed high speed cruising. To such an extent that it seems almost difficult to keep at only 70 in the UK - much happier sat at 80-85. The 2.0 is revving higher at any given speed and to make good progress requires the gearbosx to be worked. If speed is lost on an uphill the 2.0 needs a gearchange while the GLT will often pull away without. Saying that the 2.0 is still a good car and the reason for the change to 2.3 is that the bottom end is developing quite a rattle now and I have a low m ileage 2.3 block available.

Mike

[Alec Dawe]

Go for a 240 GLT or at least a 2.3 engine.
Some of the later engines had early forms of electronic fuel injection, the GLT's all had a very simple, reliable and robust purely mechanical fuel injection system. With a Haynes (GREEN) workshop manual, there's not that much you can't tackle as a half way competent DIYer on a 240GLT.
Like all 240's, watch for wet/rusty floors, rust inside the 'A' pillars, rusty rear wheel arches, and spare wheel wells, and the tailgate slam panels on estates.
I believe (and Mike will correct me if I'm wrong) you can still get repair panels for most weak points, but a rusty floor is a no no unless you are into major work. Look INSIDE the door sills as well, through the big plastic plugs under the carpet.
Engine spares are all easily available, and not particularly expensive now, only things getting hard to source are some interior trim bits.
My GLT saloon was very happy at, as Mike says, 80 to 85 on the motorway, and the extra torque of the 2.3 engines is a bonus.
Weak points, mainly the electrics can be troublesome, especially the big fuse box in the passenger side 'A' pillar, just by the footwell, the fuse holders can corrode, which gives high resistance, which overhaets the fuse holders, and makes them loose their 'springyness' but a good clean up, and a bit of bending, and a dose of WD40 to keep them clean usually solves most problems here.
The GLT 5 speed gearbox is nicer in my opinion than the 4 speed + overdrive boxes on some other 240's.
Keep a lookout for a nice 240GLT estate, and see if you can beat the other forum members to it! LOL

[chesters6]

can 5 speed gearboxes be plumbed straight into 4 speed version cars?
i cannot understand why a 4 speed box still existed in 1989? as with other things in my DL i'm confused at the thinking behind them ,overcomplicated engines plumbed into crappy 4 speed gearboxes is one.
luckily my present is rust free otherwise i would have sent it to the breakers by now except i have always wanted one which let me overlook the strange thinking behind them.
hopefully this month mine will go through its mot! its been sitting since we got it way back in the spring having nice ebayers supplying parts to replace the obviously mot fail bits
certainly costing far more than the 86 golf to get through its mot (£11)

[Mike_Brace]

The 5 speed will bolt straight on - the prop is different length though so you need front half prop as well.

Mike