The Last Undiscovered Classic? Here’s Why This Volvo 242 Is a Great Buy!
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In this video we take a detailed look at an undiscovered classic, the Volvo 242!
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#volvo #turbo
I had a 1971 142E with a 4 speed manual. Love that era of Volvo. Great review... and trip down memory lane.
Finally some who gets cars on the TFL channels
Nice clean 242
I never see 2 doors, nevermind the gt... Rare.
Someone loved that car.
I had a 1980 GT (no longer 242 at that point). The seats were amazing and the corduroy material was pretty grippy. We got 11 people in there one time. I had a sunroof and the black roof with the sunroof was totally cool. That car was hard to kill. It wasn’t that fast even back then, but it was great in so many ways. Overdrive only worked in 4th gear. I drove it all over New England for 5 years and had 100K miles on it when my sister ran it into a bridge in upstate NY visiting her boyfriend. My sister walked away with just bruising, but the GT was beyond repair. Even in death, the GT was amazing as it saved my sister’s life. My friends still talk about that car. I’ve had a lot of “better” cars since then, but none that I ever loved quite so much.
Nice video of a rare classic Brendan! Thanks for bringing these blasts from our past to TH-cam and TFL.
Great cars. Had several 240s and loved them all! Wagons were the best.
I haven't seen one of these "in the flesh" in over 30 years. That car is in shockingly good condition. Normally the stripes look terrible after many decades of UV exposure. Just one thing, the OD should work ONLY in 5th gear. If it engages in other gears, you need to check the 4th gear sensor. Otherwise the OD could stay engaged when you try to g backwards. That will shred the OD. Amazing find.
I had the black 1983 242 Turbo automatic. It had a dealer installed boost kit also. Super fast and I loved it
I always liked the overall styling of the 200 series. That GT is amazing. I have never seen one of those. If only that had a decent turbo charger, it would have been even better.
The GLT superceded the GT, and then the TURBO model came into production.
GT is very rare
I had a friend that converted the 4 cyl to a Ford 5.0 V8. Made his own motor mounts. The 5 speed and the engine was a perfect fit.
That is a beautiful car indeed. There is one thing on the outside that is not stock. GT came with model specific 14 inch alloys. The ones on this car are the 15x6 Virgos that came standard in GLT and TURBO.
The electric overdrive only engaged in 4th gear. It was standard on GT, optional on other models that were built with the 4 speed manual. Your Crown Victoria has roughly 22.5 cubic feet of trunk space. The Volvo is about 1.5 cubic feet smaller, so pretty close.
My 240 is a DL wagon. 76.6 cubic feet of cargo capacity. At 622,000 kilometers, or a little over 390,000 miles, the car runs like brand new. I will never willingly give it up.
My second car was an other special version. The 1980 Volvo GLT. It didn't say 244 or 264 anywhere on the car or even in the sales brochure. In essence it was a 244 with the 2.7l v6 from a 264 with 141hp, with blackout trim and slightly firmer suspension. They also made a version of the GLT in -80 with a 4 cylinder B21 tuned to 140hp.
The reason for this "sporty 264" was as a reply to SAAB 900 turbo, and before Volvo released their own Turbo in -81.
Cool car! Thanks Brendan! Where I grew up, you only saw these types of cars in magazines. You and Tommy do a great job! Keep up the awesome work!! Always bringing back memories!
Damn! That thing brings me back memories! My brother used to own one of those in 1981! Just a couple of years old it was! What a great looking classic!👌😎👍
Thumbs up for a `true` Volvo!
You just had to drive one of these cars to appreciate what a wonderful driving experience these cars gave. Comfort, `sporty feel`, stability and economy is what I had in my mine, back in 1988.
That is precisely what I get in my 1990 DL wagon. It did a short 125 mile trip today with absolutely no issue whatsoever.
The overdrive is supposed to turn on only in 4th. Your sensor in the gearbox is broken if its engages in any gear. You can also break your overdrive if you use it in other gears.
The first car I purchased by myself was a Volvo 240 DL 4 speed with overdrive. I loved that car.
saw a volvo of this era /size totally sacrifice itself in a major hit in front of our school. all the kids walked away. amazing engineering to see the results in person
Thanks, Brendon, What Happened to Volvo? Up until the mid-90s they were great/reliable cars. Cars of my teachers/professors, wagons with a stick shift, and nearly bought an 87-89 wagon (well used 10 years later).
Ford bought volvo in 96 I believe
Fuel injection started in 1972 in the 140 series cars. First with Bosch D-Jetronic - which was actually more modern than the Bosch K-Jetronic that came out in 1974.
That 242 GT is rad! If it weren’t already so clean I’d be tempted to add a turbo to it. But modding such a clean car would be a shame.
yeah the K-jet made more power but time proved it to be less efficient so it fell out of favor, the GT with it's 138/140HP depending on cam and higher intake rams and compression must have been a fun one back then, got a 93 244 with the B230fx engine (better flowing head and vx cam's) rated at 136hp that i am NA tuning and it's not a monster in today's picture but still a fun car
This car is perfect! It's even the right size for almost anyone. The Dash and centre stack are exactly as things should be.
They offered the 240 as a 2-door, 4-door, and wagon. The 240 fits most people's lifestyles. Unless you live somewhere snowy because the RWD sucks or you need to tow or go offroad. But as far as cars go, it fits the bill.
@@palebeachbum the 240 is one of the best winter cars out there. Mine has been through 33 winters and I live in the snow belt of Ontario, Canada. It has been through whatever life throws at it. Good winter tires make the difference. Arthur has never been stuck.
@@palebeachbum It was built first and foremost for Sweden and Swedish conditions, i.e rather cold and snowy, almost 600000 sold in country over the years, sure, it's rwd but we have proper winter tyres on our cars and they work great. I'm pretty sure all regular ass rwd cars are pretty bad off road ;)
@@PowerslideSWE The 240 is just a lengthened 140 from the 60s. RWD was the standard back then.
Keep up the good work! Always enjoy the TFLclassics videos.
That black plastic thing on the rear window is called "chicken stairs" in the land where volvo is native and I want one for my volvo 240 too, but they are hard to find these days
Best car ever!!! You can’t destroy them, good engine, good gearbox and for the time a good set of brakes!!!! I drove rally’s in Europa with a turbo and my das when I was young had the same as in the video for five years and i wish hè never sold that car!!!! From the Netherlands to austria and then go skiing!!! Good video and with a good pair of koni or bilstein shoks a good handling, Greetz from the Netherlands , ramon
Well this is your best review yet, this was my first Volvo, best one i owned from 1980-2010, the wheels are period correct but they weren't available until 1979 when they came stock that year, i still have a set i have for summer wheels for my 1989 240DL and just make the car look great, my 1978 was over 300k miles when i sold it, it still rode and drove nicely had 2 other Volvos plus it needed a ton of body work, the overdrive on the shifter knob only worked in 4th gear from 50 mph if used at slower speeds they could and would jam up and then you had to fix it, by finding a good bumpy road and switch it off/on several times and that would fix it for you, my best buddy was a Volvo Tech back in the day, these cars were 10 years ahead of anything built or offered in North America at the time and had a drivers heated seat as standard equipment then, there was no switch for it , it was thermostatically controlled built into the seat itself, you could get one for the passenger seat as a dealer installed option, all options for these car were dealer installed by Volvo techs, that is how Volvo did most of the options for these cars right down to the A/C and cruise controls added cruise, side window deflectors and the passenger heated seat option , i couldn't afford the A/C, it always got 37 mpg highway, i never had to replace anything in the fuel injection system, just the filter which was under the hood on the drivers side which took about 5-10 minutes with 2 17mm wrenches and your done, you say it was lacking power in the mountains, Volvo had an adjustment for any car they sold in mountainous areas like Colorado or British Columbia that could be done that took about 1 hour and it did make a drivable difference so the sea level driving performance was not lost, the turbos that came out in the 80's were a more fun to drive and you'd easily get speeding tickets, I got 2 one drive to and from our airport , the judge let me off on one, lucky me, I miss that car, best Volvo i owned to date ❤
Chris (the 242 GT owner) here…Bob, amazing feedback. I’ve had very little issues with the car other the the cold start injector being a little wonky. The overdrive works as it should thankfully. I do have the original GT wheels for the car but much prefer the 15” Virgos that came on the ‘79-‘80 models. This car is a little more responsive and peppy than a standard 240 but still not quick by any stretch of the imagination. I do have a 240 Intercooled Turbo that has considerably more pep. Thanks again for the knowledge and the kind reply.
That car is so sick! Love everything about it. Those stripes top it all off. The yellow script gauges! 2 door stick!
One of my all time faves. The 242GT is a true European classic from the 70s. I would love to own one some day, is it for sale?
Those were great little cars. I almost bought one couple years ago I wish I did. I have a 2007 Volvo V 70 R. Sleeper wagon.
Purchased a brand new Volvo 242 DL SRO (Sun Roof Overdrive) in 1980 for $11,300. This was in Pennsylvania where it had “more” power. Four speed with electric overdrive, sunroof, dark green exterior, beige cloth interior, optional fog lights in the grill (but a black grill not that silly silver one). I never liked silver cars, and especially this one with all the goofy stripes. IPD 1” sway bars front and rear, Bilstein shocks along with 16”x8.5” later model optional wheels made it a joy to drive…
117K miles and eighteen years later I sold it for $6K, I wish I had it now.
this is so cool,never seen this version in Indonesia
My brothers family had a 245 wagon and that thing was indestructible.
I am not as familiar with classic Volvo's at all, but this one is beautiful. Seems like it would be a fun car to have even today.
Hot take: I owned a '75 242GL that I loved dearly. Besides having the superior B21F OHC instead of my 75's B20 pushrod, the GT was a cheesy dress-up package on a dog slow car. I owned an '83 242GLT non-intercooler that was a much better, understated car, and a 1984 244GLT intercooler, which was a decent Q-ship for the time. But this thing with all its tarted up graphics and red and black everywhere? For what this car can do? It's. . .a bit much. It is nostalgic. Thanks for filming it.
I haven't seen one of those in a long time. I always liked the lines of those 2 door Volvos.
Had a 1976 242 DL 3 speed automatic. It still used regular leaded gasoline. The 2.1 in the 242DL was also fuel injected, but only had 102 horsepower. If any car ever needed a 4th gear, that car did. At 70+ MPH, the engine was roaring. For your car, the overdrive button is only "meant" to work when you are in 4th gear. Looks like they hacked it, or it's broken.
I hated my '74 142 because it only had the 4-speed manual. If it had had the overdrive on it I may have kept it for longer than a year. I opted for a '77 264 with the automatic because I didn't want a "roaring' 4 cylinder just in front of me.
I remember kicking myself after not buying one that was $500 on Craigslist about 10 years ago. I wavered back and forth for 5 days on the prospect of buying it. On the fifth day, I called the seller back to buy it, only to find that it had sold the day before. It was in good condition inside and out and was only minus an engine.
in sweden that GT would be a -78 In -79 it got a 2,3 liter engine with 141hp i believe, with a strong pull between about 3000-4000 rpm and a stiffened chassie. chassie in -78 i have no clue
Holy crap that is the most amazing Volvo 200 I've ever seen! Don't think we ever got it in Europe which is a shame.
My father bought a 1979 244DL in 1981 as our family car and we had it until 1996. BCV 49V - I can still remember the reg lol. It was a wonderful 1970s brown 🤣
Europe got 242GTs with the real 405 head and K cam, more power than north American ones
Nice. I learned to drive on a 242 GT.
I saved one of these stuck on a peninsula on Lake Champlain im Vermont, totally was flooded, im still working on it but one day I hope to drive it around. Interior was mint though!
Stunning!!! Super jealous!!!
Great cars. I,m from Sweden, and grew up with these cars. The headlights are not original, they are at little bit too small. Overall that car is very nice!
We got the 7” rounds while Europe got the 8”, I believe.
Had a 1980 242dl dark brown. We named it doo doo brown. It was a tank!
Not a Volvo guy at all but that is a really cool car, thanks for showing it to us!
This is amazing!!!! Hadn't seen one of these before. Ok ok, didn't know it even existed 😅. Too cool!
When I was 6 in 1982 this is how I drew a car because back then the cars looked like a brick on wheels, but what a nice brick it still is
Like every VW driver in the late 80's and early 90's, those driving lamps in the grill were all the fashion at the time.
Hello made aftermarket grill, sold tens of thousands of them.
Love it. Being at altitude, this thing is crying for a Volvo in-line 5 turbo motor swap
The 242GT also had an optional limited slip diff, which is somewhat unusual.
Such a nice car! Got character up the wazoo!
So great! Wish I had one. Very fine specimen.
Omg what a classic, beautiful
I want a 240 series turbo so bad!
Thank you for a really good video! Approved!
Known during the golden era of Group.A Australian touring cars as the "Flying Brick" !
i love seing the volvo 200 series getting recognised as an undescovered classic
That flathood is a rare beast
OK, I'm learning, even as I approach my sixth decade. That GT was not called cool in my memory, back in the day, until now. Almost sounds as if what was "retro" is now "cool". Vovlo was using the Mecedes developed crumple zones in their vehicles then and was one of the few compamies that did. Which leads me to your safety excitement. Collapsible steering columns, I think, had been legislated by then. I know from head on experience that my 1981 Olds Cutlass had the same engine going under the car safety feature. I was doing 60mph or so and the guy who entered the highway from the exit ramp was doing at least 30mph to our head on collision. The engine movement was probaly the crumple zone that saved us. Not just Volvo but they most likely got there first.
I love the buy or bust series.
I’m not sure how these are “undiscovered”. There are basically none for sale in the US and they start at $18-$20k and go up from there.
This is true. And there weren’t many to begin with. I only know of one other in Colorado.
The 7 series Volvo actually soldiered is as the 9 series till 1998. The 9 series was the 7 series with revamped front and rear end sheet metal.
❤️ TFLClassics!
I’d never say this is “undiscovered”. People have “discovered” them 10-12 years ago as being awesome cars before and after a build
I think he was speaking specifically about the 2 door GT, regular 4 doors are pretty common these days.
@@damilolaakanni Common? There is exactly 1 for sale on Autotrader within 500 miles of me. A 1987 240 DL wagon with 86k miles and they want an absurd $20k for it.
Nize car that .
My daily driver 92 240 ..
White with blue interior .. automatic . ❤ Volvos
Was never a Volvo fan but damn that things cool 👍
Perfect car, congratulations, how did you manage to get the plastic deflector on the rear window? Do you have an article number?:D
Better yet it does not have the sunroof. Are you sure the overdrive works on all forward gears? Mine only worked in 4th.
Model number 242, the middle number says how many cylinders it got.
Had a GT steering wheel in my 244GL '82 back in 1994. To me as an 18yr old if felt like the steering wheel of a Ferrari.
Happy Saturday everyone ✌️ have a good day
So v. kuel. l love those 242 Volvos. Drove a 240 Volvo for years, then switched to a v70... now 21 years old.
Ur a W Brendan!!!!!
I just love the 200 series specially the 245, the perfect car for work.
My first car was a 242 I'm saving up for another one I love older volvo cars.
Looks cooler than it performs. Try to find a 90s S90 Royal or a BMW L7
That trunk size looks like today’s some pick up cargo bed.
yes, Yes, YES!!! Go Prancing Moose!!!
Beautiful!!
Best car I ever owned was a ‘91 940 GLE. It was a tank.
Like seeing a 70s vehicle, it would be nice to see more 60, 70 and 80s. Hopefully some American cars
It's hard for me to wrap my head around $15k-$20k being reasonable for one of these. About 10yrs ago you could buy one exactly like this for $5k in great condition and relatively low miles. I almost bought one, but instead opted for a used 1994 940 Turbo sedan in great shape with 94k miles for $2k. Previously, I bought a 1985 240 DL sedan that was also in amazing condition with 134k miles for $2,500. It blows my mind how expensive these classic RWD red block Volvos have become. Prices seem 3-4 times higher than they were a decade ago. I sold them too soon!
Reply
Chris (owner) here…you’re absolutely right. Like a lot of cars these days, they were dirt cheap not too long ago. This car actually sold about 11 years ago for $600! Crazy to think. You can still get a decent 240 for less than 5k, but the more rare versions, nice clean wagons and the turbos (I have an ‘84 Intercooled Turbo) have gone up considerably. They are still a bargain relative to other “classic” cars in my opinion. Thanks for the feedback!
These 240's (and 140's) has never been forgotten here in Norway, at least not in rural areas close to Sweden where every 3rd teen have a restored or modified version. But none come with those truly bulbous and ugly US bumpers, unless the teen is a true nut case.
soo cool... wish it was a wagon though
Immediately my first thought
Ya, still cool tho.
the GTs were all coupes. plenty of flat hood wagons out there
Well good news, there’s waaaaay more wagon 240’s than coupes. So hop on craigslist and pick yourself a turbo brick on the cheap!
Wagons are overrated imo, don’t get me wrong, they are cool but I think they r way to hyped
I turbo LS swapped my 242. 😊
If the overdrive can be used in any gear, then does that make it an eight speed transmission?
I had a friend who had a Volvo 242. It was a nice very roomy car.
Anyone knows what those headlights are? Looking to upgrade mine for something of that kind.
The overdrive is only supposed to work in 4th gear though.
Very nice! 🤠
thoroughly discovered if you know anything about volvos or are somewhat in the community
7:10... not any gear you want only 4th. There should be solenoids preventing use in Anything but 4th because use in 1st or reverse would severely damage the overdrive
He just spoke wrong. It’s obviously just in 4th. I know this because it’s my car. Brendon is more an old car enthusiast than old Volvo expert.
Awesome!
In the movie with Russell Crowe. Called unhinged. The woman being chased by Russell Crowe and her son were bitching about that type of Volvo!!
She was bitching about how she didn’t have a new car!!
Her “smart” son was bitching about her not having a new car!!
The overdrive lowers the Rpm about 700. and it only works in 4 gear.
We know what you're thinking. Another mid-seventies brick. But think about it for a moment. A brick is only slow if you don't throw it right. And does a hollowed-out, turbo-charged brick really sound like it's that difficult to throw? That's the spirit. Batter up.
oh, the Volvo 242 is cool? Whoa, nobody knew, huh. Wait a minute, I have 5 of them stashed away and I paid $2100 for all of them combined!
And one of them is a '78 GT.
Well, you’re gonna do well then. Good ROI. Smart investment.
I want !
peope like to talk beef on gm interiors but these plastics are just about as plain . but still classy in a way . like a casio watch
Just send it to Norway, I will take care of it
Totally Rad car!!!! Damn it Volvo this is was cool was not what you make now