There’s sometimes a “barn find-like” aura around an unfinished project. The sense that you’re getting a shot at buying a car that’s been hidden away for years because it’s been in pieces for quite some time can get the juices flowing in such a way that you take on a fairly needy project. This 1983 Volvo 240 (245) Turbo Wagon has been laid up since 2012, after the seller drove it from California to New Hampshire. It is a rust-free California car that runs and drives but will need some final assembly. Find it here on craigslist for $6,500 or the option to trade for a 3/4 ton pickup.
With the dust blown off of it, we see what you love to see on a genuine California car: rust-free body panels that also appear to be laser-straight with exceptional shut lines. The curious thing is just how this Volvo has been disassembled: why did the rear glass over the cargo bay need to come out? Generally speaking, if you don’t have to pull glass, you don’t want to. The seller never elaborates on what his plans were for removing parts from the Volvo in the first place, such as a glass-out repsray or replacing worn-out weather stripping. The steel wheels are fine but I’d rather see a set of OEM Virgos on here.
Again, more evidence of how rust-free this Volvo is with a look underneath the carpeting and insulation. The rear hatch has also been removed along with the glass; the body panel itself is in primer. The one downside to the California sun is that it can sometimes strip away otherwise decent paint, so perhaps the seller was trying to address some faded panels without having to repaint the whole car. The only work he notes as having done recently is to replace the in-tank fuel pump and floor pump to get the Volvo to fire back up, two components that are prone to failure when a car sits unused.
These turbo wagons really did make a “sleeper”-type car available to the masses. A wagon with a turbocharged engine and a stick? It was unheard of. But a legacy was born with these early turbo wagons, one that has earned Volvo a massive following among enthusiasts and a seat at the table at any Radwood gathering. While the modern-day Volvo may seem like a completely different company than the one that built this car (and in many ways, it is), this 240 Turbo Wagon serves as a reminder to how innovative they were in the early 80s. This wagon deserves to be put back together and used, but I have a feeling the asking price will delay its return to glory.
Interesting car to be subject of a restoration. One note: The proper way to do any repaint is to take out any fixed windows with rubber seals. Chances of finding rust are almost 100 percent.
Well worth the price in my opinion, if it is as good as it is claimed to be. Wouldn’t mind it one bit. Turbo and a stick!
I had 3 of these 240 wagons in succession, 2 w/ stick, before I stepped up to Mercedes w124 wagons. Currently working on merc #3.
If there is anything that would put me back in a 240 wagon driver’s seat it would be this.
You need to be careful with Volvos. It looks like it’s worth it in the context of today’s crazy car prices. But once things settle, you’ll learn that Volvo enthusiasts tend to be, to put it charitably, frugal.
Before the pandemic, a mint condition 240 Turbo wagon would sell for this, or less. I mean, these are cool wagons, no doubt. But just don’t go into it thinking you’re going to have a great investment on your hands.
Yeah, how odd. Clearly they painted it and then never put it back together. Even so, why go through the trouble of removing the rear glass. And why would a CA car need to be painted. The point of going through all the trouble of buying one there and driving it back would be to avoid major work like that.
Believe it or not, these are gaining value (what isn’t I guess), thanks in part to the deep pocketed, more money than brains crowd on BAT.
I don’t believe the 1983 models came from the factory with the intercooler kit, and this one has it, so that’s good.
First wash in 20 years.
Well, this are tractors but solid and durable. A quick search
showed the intercooler is from factory. I think it was an
option as also by SAAB. Some had it some not.
To start, questionable repaint & rear hatch not painted-probably had a light hit in the rear.
No interior photos?
Just love the sellers ad as well, gives you an insight into his personality, “this could be your last chance to own one” -Um no just do a quick Google search plenty out there and always available in NON-project cars.
Even if you paid more for a well maintained car it would be worth it.
He will be lucky if he gets half that, and that’s assuming a good interior
I have a $300 760 turbo brick wagon. I bought it for a winter beater for one northern Ohio winter. That was six years ago. It won’t die. The floors are gone and the right suspension isn’t attached to anything solid. I have been looking for another. They are hard to find. I wish this one was closer and cheaper. In the top 10 cars that I have ever had.
Love the old rear-drive Volvos — currently have a pristine ’82 242 powered by an LS3 V8. Unless the one in this article gets completely cleaned up – I think the price point is, to put it simply, high. Too many unknowns to be asking that much. But – you never know….
Saabs were intercooled from the factory from 1985 on. If they were turbocharged, they were intercooled.
Not 100% correct. Intercooler kits were sold over the counter for the early GLT. If memory serves 84 was the first year made available. My 83 didn’t have the intercooler.
Sorry I can think of a lot better projects to drop $6,500 on
When these came out Car and Driver or Road and Track rated them the fastest car . . . compared to something. Yes they were sleepers. I had a ’90 turbo wagon and the manual still advised letting it idle for a few seconds before shutting it down.
https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/pdf/brochures/IMP-240GLT-Turbo.pdf
Way to much money for a volvo wagon. I picked up a 1986 245 for seven hundred dollars. Granted I did have to put a battery in it, and the drive shaft bearing. There’s a bunch of these things around, and they are rare at u pull it places. Because people love these grocery getters. And keep them in the family.
I’ve had a 78 and 84 245. Non turbo. Both 4 speeds. Great cars. I loved em. Favorite was the 78 , the 4 round head lamps and safari yellow
One last thing. Didn’t think Volvos could rust. Seriously , never seen a rusty Volvo.
Seriously — just as with every other car — plenty of rusty Volvos out there.
Some Volvos are known for rust , and the 240 is one of them . The worst was probably the P1800 . When they went to the front drive 850 platform they seemed to have remedied that issue
How much for the dog?