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

Trailer Hitch


I have lots of trailers. Some are light, 250 lbs with a 130 lb boat. Some are heavier--2000 lbs loaded. And I have another small trailer somewhere in between these sizes. I needed a trailer hitch. It installed in about 3 hours, and included a wiring harness. Wiring was a bit longer as I had to pull a power lead from the batter all the way back. While I was at it, I brought a second power lead back. I plan to put that into a distribution buss for any other options I might want in the back, like a cigarette power plug or a fan, or a second small battery. The hitch and wiring harness cost $210. Bringing the power forward was a problem at the firewall. I found a way though, shown in the pictures.

The springs shown on the right are progressive. I probably could have gotten by with the original springs. I found that in the sedan, with four people in the car, the trunk stuffed, and gear on the roof, and a few backs on people laps, that even with overload springs, I bottomed out a few times. So while I have not had the wagon loaded that heavy yet, I will at some point. The rear does sit higher and I had to adjust my headlights to compensate for that.

Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. UnknownNovember 27, 2013 at 11:04 AM

    Great description. I have a 240 wagon and I must say, I can not have passengers over 6 feet tall in my car. Even with the passenger seat all the way back, there is NO room for them. I am just over 5 feet tall so it's perfect. This is a little person car. The back seat has just enough room for someone under 5' 10 to sit in and not have their legs go completely numb. The cargo space is remarkable, however. With the seats down, car camping is easy and comfortable enough!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)