This car wasn’t found in a barn and it isn’t even dusty. But, it’s unique, it’s a two-door, it has a manual transmission not to mention a turbo, and it looks nice. It’s a 1983 Volvo 242 Turbo and it can be found in Clackamas, Oregon. It’s listed on eBay with bids of over $3,200 but the reserve isn’t met.
Most of us think of Volvo and we think, staid, safe, solid, practical, reliable, tough, solid, somewhat-boring, four-doors, also ABBA, herring, IKEA, meatballs.. wait, that’s Sweden in general. This Volvo is anything but boring. I’m usually a fan of OEM wheels but I have to look deep within my soul and admit that I really like the look of these shoes on this car.
This looks like a really nice car. Is it perfect? No, but none of us are and neither are our vehicles unless they’re in a padded trailer heading for Pebble Beach every August. The seller mentions that this Volvo has been resprayed at some point and there are a few nicks and the paint on the hood is starting to get weird (my words, not theirs).
The interior looks nice. Those front seats look more comfortable than almost any car seat that I’ve ever owned. The dash looks good and I’m assuming that the dash pad may be there to cover up a crack or two but I could be wrong. The “242” was a Volvo 240 with 2 doors and I don’t see too many two-door Volvos and rarely if ever do I see a turbo model. And, this one has a manual transmission. The boxes keep getting checked with this one.
As if a person needed another huge box checked, check out this engine! Holy IKEA fish paste in a tube, Batman! Nice. The battery hold-down is really the only thing that I would spiff up under that sweet bonnet. This crazy train is powered by a B21FT inline-four that was “built by M&B with receipts.” An amazing amount of time and money has been spent on this car, “M46 trans with Overdrive, Newer Engine harness, RSI Wiseco pistons, Ported head, Larger cosworth turbo, Forge boost controller, Walbro intank pump, IPD cam gear, IPD torque rods, IPD pan hard bar, IPD sway Bars 25mm Front 22mm Rear, IPD Strut tower brace, bilstein HD shocks, Centerforce clutch, Lightened flat flywheel, Bronze shifter bushings”. Have any of you owned a Volvo Turbo?
they are OEM wheels, just late model Volvo 850 R turbo wheels.
They Aren’t OEM wheels they are replica pegasus wheels made by IPD for RWD cars..
They are aftermarket wheels styled after the S60R/V70R wheels.
I’m pretty sure the 850R wheels were 7 spoke. These look like T5R wheels, but the embossed “R” logo rules that out. Best guess (based on some internet poking around) is OEM wheels from an S60/V70.
The V70R (and S60R) had the embossed R but would the stud pattern fit? I have no idea so either these wheels or aftermarket copies but definitely the V70R (S60R) which had the design.
Had a 1984 Volvo 740 Turbo wagon, loved that car. A little engine but when the turbo kicked your head would snap back and that thing would fly! An absolute joy to drive!
Yes, this looks like a decent car from afar. You don’t see many 2 door 240’s because they were dropped in 1985. You mention the seats looking comfortable, and they live up to their looks. Just the other day I sat in a 20 year old Volvo with 361k at the Pick a Part used car sales lot. A real Goldilocks moment.
I love it!
I bid but i have a turboed 5 speed 240 wagon thats half finished and that fills my meager garage.
Im interested in sale price because right now its a bargain!
If anyone has any questions or wants to see the video of it running with the high idle issue I’ve added my number to the eBay listing feel free to text me
In 1980 I bought a 242 SRO. Not a GT and one year before the Turbo came about. One of my all time favorite rides. I owned a series of 245’s (trading every 2 years) for my wife and kids. Loved those Bricks.
Finally, when 240’s ended, got a 745. It was only “ok”.
Lost interest in Volvo’s with the 850 and front wheel drive…
In about ‘80-82 Car&Driver or (Road&Track ?) had an ongoing 242 project “BlueMax” upgrading it with factory competition parts. Impressive results for the time…
I have driven one of these many times and they are really nice cars with some good pick up. As I recall, there was some annoying turbo lag but what else is new in turbo cars of that era? I like the 240 series a lot, worked on many of them; simple engines with some tricks you need to know about to keep them purring. Keep this full of synthetic oil and you should not have any problems with the turbo oil lines clogging up, otherwise let it idle for a minute before you shut it down to cool things off.
My daily is a ’92 240 wagon, 4spd w/overdrive with 287k and hasn’t missed a step yet.
300,000 miles. That’s 12 times around the world. No thanks.
always liked the Swedes. Love their cars.
Saw a perfect one of these two weeks ago, but can´t remember how long ago the one before that was.
Great cars, now look small. Had good competition history in ETCC touring car championship. Off the radar so probably a reliable bargain if you can find them.
But no to 80s cars with 21st century wheels. Actually, I hate the Hot Wheels look on new cars too. Modern day codpieces, just as functional/necessary in most cases.
I just got my first Volvo last week. A 2010 S80 and love it.
Sold on Volvo and these old ones look great.
I was 25 and had one of these 1982 242 Turbo 4-speed with OD, sunroof, Light Blue…one of the best cars I ever owned, I would give a Saab 900 turbo a run for their money. Put a little over 175,000 miles on it, burned up 2 turbos and trailered a 19′ boat from Ft Lauderdale to Rochester, NY……Great car!!!
I think the wheels are knock of S60R/V70R wheels from IPD. There is a slight geometric difference at the spoke to hub transition. (Former Flash Green S60R owner here, with Atalanta interior too 😁)
I have owned three. One 1983 5 speed 245 Turbo with an Intercooler and two 1995 850 Turbo station wagons. I regret selling the 245 but at the time the cost of replacing things was beyond my budget. I bought the 850s brand new out of the factory in Sweden. I sold one in 2006 and I still have the other with 300K miles on it. I’m currently debating if I should rebuild the engine and get another 300K out of it. All were great cars and fun to drive. What do you all think about the idea of rebuilding the motor? Where is B&M?
An interesting factoid about the 240 series – there was a span of about 2 years where NO ONE anywhere on this planet died in one, and the 240 had been in production for several years at the time.
Other than the turbo issues mentioned above, they were known for having electrical problems with corrosion in the fuse box area, and some of the wiring on some years had a tendency to have the insulation go bad. That may be why the new engine wiring harness was mentioned in the ad. All in all, they were about the safest car that didn’t come with an airbag, and they would often exceed 300K with no major issues. I never cared for the automatics ( Borg Warner ? ) . Even without the turbo, they were a decent performing sedan.
Couple years ago, I was visiting a friend in Boulder CO. We were coming out of the mountains down Canyon Rd. We came upon an accident involving a 240 and a mini van. Don’t know the details but I do know that the 240 was coming down hill, speed limit was 45, no tire rubber on the road, and it had run head on into the rock face wall of the canyon. From the front of the front doors nothing was visible. It was all crushed into the crevices of the canyon. From that point back, you couldn’t tell anything had happened. Two young Ladies standing by the car, didn’t see a scratch on them, and they were both yacking away on their phones.
yes, 240/740 last of the great. Had the 240 waggy (?’83?) that was far superior to my 850 waggy (5 cyl, may B turbo, I 4get). Owned them 1 after the other for a 35 yr stint. Great seats (as said above) kept em & placed in another rig, right sized wagons!
I like to see well looked after 240 series cars. I’ve had an 81′ 242, an 85′ 245, an 88′ 245 and am currently driving an 88′ 244 sedan. 88′ and newer cars used a different wiring supplier and didn’t suffer from the cracked insulation problem. All these have a “flame trap” that will gunk up if not cleaned regularly. Or just use synthetic oil and don’t worry about it. My 242 was the nicest handling car of the bunch. Still miss that one. The current 88′ is pushing 300k miles and is going strong.
Turbos don’t use the flame trap. The fitting is there, but it’s empty. If you put a flame trap in a turbo red block, you’ll start to blow the oil seals out.
Reserve has been met…
What’s kind if sad is that the original turbo wheels for an ’85 were SO much better looking than these! (We had the ’85 turbo wagon with overdrive, in light metallic blue with black leather, an ’85 turbo four door with sunroof, in black with black leather. As I recall the only chrome on it was the diagonal Volvo emblem on the grille. Both were terrific cars.)
My 1st really nice car … ’84 Volvo 245 GLT turbo wagon. Many fancy vehicles since then, but I kick myself regularly for parting ways with that car; my all-time favorite! If I could roll back the hands of time …