A Cult Car

This is a blog on refurbishing a Volvo 240 Wagon-- a cult car that is legendary for its durability. The 5 speeds manual transmission in particular gets great fuel economy, 32.5 mpg is attainable at speeds of 60 mph. Both the sedan and the wagon have plenty of rear leg and head room, even for tall people. Additionally, a tall person can sleep in the back--it is 77" long if the rear seat bottom is removed.

Thick sheet metal make it durable--so is the motor. Volvo took a V8 truck engine cut in half, to make this 4 cylinder engine. It has bearings and rods are designed for much heavy loads and this makes the engine nearly impossible to kill. People can get literally a million miles between rebuilds with regular oil changes and normal preventative maintenance.

The 5 speeds cars are fun to drive. Their durability means it is a smart economic choice to put money into them--they will last indefinitely if maintained. Parts are cheap. They are easy and simple to work on. Police just don't ever pull them over. It is because they like to stay at legal freeway speeds and purr along at 60 mph--so police expect them to be driven slowly. Finally, they are safe--built around a full roll cage. These are the reasons why there are so many are still on the road today.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

First things first


The parking brake didn't work among other things. I ordered new rotors for the brakes, all the way around, new brake pads and all new wheel bearings. Sea Dog made some funny noises driving home, I was a bit worried about the back end. After repairing the brakes that sound went away. While I was in there, I decided to replace the rear shocks, and also most of the rear bushings. There were four I could not do, as they were too hard to remove and were in good shape. Next I went to the front end and replaced the front rotors and pads, and inspected the bushings, which seemed to be ok.

I replaced two broken visor clips--right. I accidentally ordered the sedan version and had to return those and get them replaced with the correct ones. $10 plus an extra $3 for shipping the wrong ones back.

While replacing the shocks I also replaced the rear springs with overload springs and new bumper stops. I plan to trailer some with this car, and wanted the extra carrying capacity and I wanted to increase the maximum tongue weight. The car is rated for 3300 lbs towing--which is very high for a four cylinder car, and 200 lbs tongue weight. The new springs add, I'm told, 300 lbs carrying capacity. So I should be able to carry any tongue weight that a 3300 lb trailer might have. I ordered a trailer hitch rated for 3500 lbs and 350 tongue weight.

I dropped the wagon off at the body shop to fix the hole in the back and to repair/repaint the front quarter panel, and replace one hood hinge that was broken. The cost was around $1200 for everything, and now Sea Dog was looking presentable.

The steering felt a little funny at full lock on either side, so I decided to replace the front struts as well, along with some associated parts to (see picture for cracked upper strut seat) . I was a bit worried that the car rolled a lot and replacing all the shocks eliminated that problem. The steering issue is still there and I trying to figure out what the problem is. I will be putting new tires on it, and will wait a bit until I have a front end alignment with new tires--that might fix the problem. I also put on a new clutch pedal pad $3.00.

While awaiting these parts I ordered a new headlight for the drivers side and two turn signal buckets off eBay. Shown installed in top picture.


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