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.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Blown Engine

I have not posted in a while because I blew the motor in my Volvo 240.  So I searched around and found a used motor in a wrecked 240 wagon, also a 1992 model, and bought it for $425 which included some trim, a drink holder, a spare headlight bulb, tail lamp, and a few other parts.

I have the motor in now and it is running great.  It has all new gaskets, a new clutch kit, and all new seals.  Unfortunately, I have some sort of bearing noise now.  It might be the rear end.  I will find out soon.  It is difficult to tell where the noise is coming from so I will need some help to figure that out.

Other problems to be resolved are some wiring issues.  My turn signals stopped working and when my lights are on, the dash instruments short out.  Hopefully, I'll have all these remaining issues cleared up in the next month.
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