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Planning on buying a 240 this summer, any advice?

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Old Apr 28th, 2021, 21:52   #1
venomtail
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Cool Planning on buying a 240 this summer, any advice?

I am planning on buying a 240 Estate this summer, most likely mainland Europe due to much lower prices and if I plan on road trips to Europe anyway, right hand drive will be most suitable.

However I know little on the 240 models, so was wondering if there's some important things to look out for, specifially for a 240 model, ideally looking for the older, first generation models with the rounded headlights and straight bonnet.

Hopefully this can become my project car. Already have all sorts of plans for it and tasteful upgrades.
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Old Apr 29th, 2021, 03:09   #2
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The big thing to look out for is rust. Mechanical problems are easier to deal with than rust. If you look at this thread https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=312429 you'll get a good idea of where 240s tend to rust. The thread will also give you a good idea of what it takes to repair it. Estates rust under the tailgate too.

Good luck -- a well sorted 240 estate is a very practical and comfortable not quite classic car.
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Old Apr 29th, 2021, 03:55   #3
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I would not have thought that importing a pre-1979 LHD 245 would be either a cheap or easy solution. This thread of a project car that came from Italy might give you an idea:

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=303961

As was said above, the biggest problem would probably be rust - mainly the rear wheel arches, sills, boot floors, around the windscreen and the tailgate on estates. I’m not trying to put you off - I think my 244 is lovely - but 40 year old car projects are not for the feint hearted, particularly if you don’t know much about these cars.

You will notice that prices for pre-1981 cars are 50-100% higher than for the later cars, this is because they can be MoT and tax exempt in the UK. Unless you are prepared to pay a premium for an historic car, I’d suggest a younger car might be more suitable, particularly if you plan long touring trips.

Good fortune.
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Old Apr 29th, 2021, 09:44   #4
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As Othen said, look for a car that's as young as possible; ideally you want a 2.3 Fuel injected model (B230E engine code) without the catalytic converter, and manual box.

Rust is definitely your enemy: mechanical bits can be easily and relatively quickly replaced/repaired but rust removal and replacemnt is time- and money-consuming,plus the car will be undrivable while the rust is being dealt with.

There are a few threads covering this exercise so spending some time reading them will give you some pointers.
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Old Apr 30th, 2021, 07:20   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by venomtail View Post
I am planning on buying a 240 Estate this summer, most likely mainland Europe due to much lower prices and if I plan on road trips to Europe anyway, right hand drive will be most suitable.

However I know little on the 240 models, so was wondering if there's some important things to look out for, specifially for a 240 model, ideally looking for the older, first generation models with the rounded headlights and straight bonnet.

Hopefully this can become my project car. Already have all sorts of plans for it and tasteful upgrades.
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Originally Posted by loki_the_glt View Post
As Othen said, look for a car that's as young as possible; ideally you want a 2.3 Fuel injected model (B230E engine code) without the catalytic converter, and manual box.

Rust is definitely your enemy: mechanical bits can be easily and relatively quickly replaced/repaired but rust removal and replacemnt is time- and money-consuming,plus the car will be undrivable while the rust is being dealt with.

There are a few threads covering this exercise so spending some time reading them will give you some pointers.
With respect Venomtail, I think Loki is right and this type of motor car would suit your needs far better than a pre-79 one:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184787836...MAAOSwfCNggxbU

... This will be far cheaper than an historic car, far more efficient, much better for touring trips to Europe, easier to get spares for, seems to have been well looked after and so on (this is just an example I found on eBay, I'm not selling the car!).

Good fortune.

Alan
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Old May 1st, 2021, 00:55   #6
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As said rust is the enemy.

I had a 1989 240GLT for 10 years and 8 as only daily driver car.

The B230E is a great engine and mine was Automatic. A good combo for me. I added 72,000 miles on my 240 and very reliable and very trouble free. Sold at 234,000 miles and have a 940 now.

Highly rate a late 240.

James.
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Old May 1st, 2021, 03:38   #7
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I agree with what's been said by others: newer is better when it comes to 240s. From about 1989 they had better rust protection, and the Bosch LH fuel injection systems are robust. The KE-jet injection on some models is also very good as long as you take care of air leaks in the intake and injector seals. It's my understanding that if the injection electronics fail on these they default back to operating as mechanical K-jet and run normally, if less efficiently.

The problem with 240s is that they have become too expensive to buy. They are no longer a cheap answer to comfortable and reliable motoring. For that it's best to look elsewhere -- Toyota and Mazda estates from the early to mid 2000s perhaps.

For a vintage yet still somewhat practical Volvo driving experience I like 140 series Volvos up to 1972. An ideal setup for these is a B20B motor, M41 manual, and an upgrade to modern electronic ignition. But good examples don't come cheap and are uncommon.
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Old May 1st, 2021, 07:20   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by venomtail View Post
I am planning on buying a 240 Estate this summer, most likely mainland Europe due to much lower prices and if I plan on road trips to Europe anyway, right hand drive will be most suitable.

However I know little on the 240 models, so was wondering if there's some important things to look out for, specifially for a 240 model, ideally looking for the older, first generation models with the rounded headlights and straight bonnet.

Hopefully this can become my project car. Already have all sorts of plans for it and tasteful upgrades.
There have been some really sensible comments above Venomtail.

You have something of a dichotomy: if you want a car that is good for long overseas touring trips then the latest car you can find (an early 90s car) would be best; on the other hand if you want a project car with round headlamps then it would have to be a pre-1980 motor.

My car is a 1980 244 (the RB), I love it to bits but I wouldn't want to take it on a 2,000 mile touring holiday - it is reliable enough but low geared, quite thirsty (25 MPG) and has few of the safety and comfort features of the later cars - one of my other cars would always be better for that. The RB is an excellent project car though: modern and reliable enough to drive on the roads but providing just enough challenges to be interesting. It has a carburettor, manual choke, 3 speed auto gearbox and the only electronic item is the quartz clock. These are all good things from the perspective of maintaining a 41 year old car, but bad things from a long touring holiday vista.

As others have pointed out, later cars would be much more suitable to your needs, be much less prone to rust, be more efficient, easier to maintain, safer and more comfortable. Very good later cars can be purchased for £2,000 to £3,000 whereas even a middling historic car will cost over £5,000.

It is up to you, but you probably can't satisfy both your requirements with one car (and I really wouldn't think importing a LHD car would be sensible at all).

I hope we hear from you again Venomtail.

Alan
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Old May 1st, 2021, 12:20   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DW42 View Post
The KE-jet injection on some models is also very good as long as you take care of air leaks in the intake and injector seals. It's my understanding that if the injection electronics fail on these they default back to operating as mechanical K-jet and run normally, if less efficiently.
The only KE-Jetronic models we got here in the UK were those with catalytic converters and Lambda sensors and the electronics simply controls the mixture a bit tighter than the basic K-Jet system does all by itself. In simple terms, if the electronics sees a voltage rise from the Lambda sensor, it decreases the control pressure on the injection to reduce the CO, conversely if the Lambda voltage is too low, it increases the control pressure to increase the CO - this is all set round a basic setting that was "optimal" on the day it was set.

As such, you're spot-on that if the electronics fail on a KE-Jetronic, the system then operates as a normal K-Jet but it's not really a practical solution having electronic control of a mechanical device to alter the mixture, yes it works fine for ages then when it fails.......






Quote:
Originally Posted by Othen View Post
There have been some really sensible comments above Venomtail.

You have something of a dichotomy: if you want a car that is good for long overseas touring trips then the latest car you can find (an early 90s car) would be best; on the other hand if you want a project car with round headlamps then it would have to be a pre-1980 motor.

My car is a 1980 244 (the RB), I love it to bits but I wouldn't want to take it on a 2,000 mile touring holiday - it is reliable enough but low geared, quite thirsty (25 MPG) and has few of the safety and comfort features of the later cars - one of my other cars would always be better for that. The RB is an excellent project car though: modern and reliable enough to drive on the roads but providing just enough challenges to be interesting. It has a carburettor, manual choke, 3 speed auto gearbox and the only electronic item is the quartz clock. These are all good things from the perspective of maintaining a 41 year old car, but bad things from a long touring holiday vista.

As others have pointed out, later cars would be much more suitable to your needs, be much less prone to rust, be more efficient, easier to maintain, safer and more comfortable. Very good later cars can be purchased for £2,000 to £3,000 whereas even a middling historic car will cost over £5,000.

It is up to you, but you probably can't satisfy both your requirements with one car (and I really wouldn't think importing a LHD car would be sensible at all).

I hope we hear from you again Venomtail.

Alan
Nicely summed up Alan! I agree about the later cars but if the OP wants to go classic then i would avoid anything with EFi, particularly those with LambdaSond as that brings a whole different level of home servicing into the mix. Very few people left "in the trade" that understand the early Bosch injection systems, these days if they can't plug an OBD-II reader into it they're banjaxed and basically tell the victim ................ errrrrrrrrrrrrr, customer that the ECU has failed and the car needs to be scrapped.

The K-Jetronic system is devoid of electronics (except the ignition which is separate) unless as explained above, it has a Lambda sensor and cat on it.

Properly set up, it's as good as the comparable EFi system and on my previous 740GLEs (K-Jet) i've often heard the MoT tester mutter something along the lines of "I can't see a cat but it must have one somewhere to be that clean!" while doing the emissions test.
None of my real Volvos have had a cat on thankfully (wouldn't have bought them if they had! ) so my advice (FWIW) to the OP if he wants a 240 for touring is go for a post 86 240GLE with K-Jet and 4-speed (4th is overdrive) auto box which will bring the benefits of electronic ignition, depending on which model exactly it is also likely to have PAS, electric windows and perhaps central locking plus maybe a few other modern touches without getting into the realms of the early EFi stuff that had a couple of troublesome years around 1990-92 on the 240, 740 and 940 with ECU problems being more common on those years than any other time.
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Old May 1st, 2021, 13:02   #10
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I don't think that I would be quite so quick to dismiss a 245 as a viable touring car. True, a heavily laden 2.0 auto may struggle a little when mixing it with modern machinery on the Autobahns and Autoroutes, but all variants should be fine on 'ordinary' roads. Although we do prefer autos, our '83 2.3 MOD GLT was a near perfect car for this purpose.

We have toured extensively in Scandinavia and Northern Europe, in period, in 1, 2 and 7 series cars and all were well capable of the task. Other than to quickly reach a specific destination, we eschewed major roads, using instead more minor routes in order to better appreciate the area that we were visiting.

In Sweden, not unnaturally, the 245 is in it's element. Distances between towns are such that a comfortable cruising speed of 90 Km/H can be maintained almost indefinitely, resulting in a car that averaged 23 MPG at home returning 30+ on it's home turf.

If 'venomtail' is in fact already considering sourcing a car in mainland Europe, I would suggest that he looks closely at Sweden as well. Prices for 'running restoration' project cars do not yet appear there to have reached the levels that they now command in the UK. I have no idea, however, regarding the ease or cost of bringing one to the UK, which would obviously have to be added to the purchase cost. As noted earlier by Alan, the practicalities of such a venture would merit very careful consideration before proceeding.

On a purely practical note, we found the 60/40 split rear seat of the 7 series cars an incredibly useful improvement over the arrangement on the 2 series. That is not to take anything away from the 2 series, but it does make the 7 a much more versatile car, particularly on tour!

Regards, John.
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