This 1976 Volvo 240 wagon wears great colors and clean bodywork, despite the seller’s claims that it was neglected for years before taking it under their wing and bringing it back to life. Based on the description, it sounds as if the Volvo fell out of use to the point that the DMV registered it as non-op, which I’m sure the seller is using anecdotally to drive home how awesome it is that the Volvo fired up and drove without too much issue. Of course, these were from the era of overbuilt Volvos, so it’s not exactly surprising, either. Find the Volvo here on eBay with bids up to $5,700 and the reserve unmet.
The 70s were good for a lot of things, automotive colors among them. This Volvo is far from a sexy beast, but the paint colors help out quite a bit. The body looks super straight up and down the sides with no indications of door dings or other damage. The Volvo retains original mudflaps and wheels, which the seller notes are mounted on new white wall tires. All glass and bumpers look good, as does the original factory exhaust. The more you look at it, the more you realize the seller found a survivor when they pulled it out from wherever it had been hiding. Mileage is recorded as being 109,510.
The interior is a handsome combination of two tones of brown vinyl, reminding me more than a little of the Mark Cross-edition LeBaron we just featured. Despite not being marketed as a luxury vehicle, interior trimmings were of a high-grade across the Volvo lineup, and while safety was the predominant concern, that didn’t mean buyers didn’t want some upgraded seating surfaces and door panels. The paint work looks consistent across the various panels and extending into the door jambs, and aside from the map pockets being slightly baggy, there’s not much here to critique.
Despite running quite well despite sitting for sometime, the seller still made several repairs. These include the A/C system being retrofitted to R134A (and now blowing cold); new tires with white walls all around; all fluids drained and replaced; and going through the entire vacuum system to replace any damaged for non-functioning hoses and injectors. Overall, this appears to be a Volvo 240 that was loved before going into its early retirement, and that the seller has done a nice job of waking back up. The 240 is as classic as it gets for a European wagon, and the great factory colors pushes this one over the top.
It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!
Seriously, if this car was in a home with kids you could not escape giving it a name. Either they would love the oddball aspect of this orange on brown (yuck!) color scheme or it would be constantly derided for being ugly. I could learn to love the brown interior (I already like the orange exterior) but the lack of a manual trans means this one would never come home.
O, plus the fact that there are no headrests in the back seat. Seriously Volvo, how can you claim safety but not have headrests in the second row?
Dude, it was the 70’s. The government just mandated that manufacturers put headrests in the front seats a few years prior (1969). We lived life on the edge in those days and our parents didn’t even make us wear seat belts in those days (nor was it required)
I remember my dad ordered rear headrests as an option on our ‘80 244DL!
This would look real nice in my (fantasy) garage next to the green Javelin posted below- the automatic is a deal killer though for sure…
Looks nice enough, but the automatic transmission is a deal breaker. Those 1970’s European auto boxes were terrible making this one feel like having 60 hp on tap.
Yes – early trannys were nasty, but a later AW with overdrive is a bolt-in swap, as long as you get the front drive-shaft section and speedo cable with the used trans.
LS swap here I come! Seriously swapping in a V8 and manual trans would be having the ultimate sleeper! A little cliche but necessary.
Getting original Stepford Wives film vibes from this estate ! Lol. Very nice.
back in the day, a friend of mine had 3 of these at once.
sedan, coupe and wagon.
all orange.
Volvo made the nicest seats. I once saw a cop car with them transplanted in. I know they sure fit my back side well, though I never owned one.
GvsE
I had a 78 245 4speed back in the early 90s. Paid $800.00 for it with no brakes . I drove her for 4 years and had almost 300,000 miles on it when I sold it still running . Did almost nothing but routine matinence, looked at least as good as this one in safari yellow with brown interior Loved that car. The only compliant was the blower fan was dead so no heat or AC. was advised it was a common problem and a replacement was more than I paid for the car. So I just grinned and bared it. Wish I had kept that one