Hi All, While I was putting the head back on my 85 240 Ti in 30 degree weather I was wondering how many older seniors are still working on there Volvo's? Being 56 I still love working on my car,But it takes me a little longer to go out there an tackle a job.My wife thinks im crazy and my 31 year old son has no idea whats under a hood;so to keep my sanity, I thought are there any more like me out there??? Charlie

Charlie,

Turned 52 a couple of months ago--about the same time my 16 year old son and I finished work on the 83 244Ti we've been building for him. We did shocks/struts/bars/rear axle/new trans/cooling system/etc.

The turbo was my 3rd "major." First was the 83 245 5.0 I built for my bride back in 95 (she still loves that car). That was followed by an 83 245 diesel-to-b230f swap for my oldest son in 99 (that car was from up norht--it rusted away last winter).

Seems like about every 4 years I get the itch to do something big to a Volvo. It's a good hobby--helps me to think along "disciplined" lines--almost an exercise in rationality. That's more than I can say for the day to day . . .

As my late father used to say, enjoy getting older--it beats the heck out of the alternative . . .

Best regards,

Steve A-

Your father's comment reminds me of an oldie-but-a goodie:

Tourist says to the old-timer, "Have you lived here your whole life?"

Old-timer says, "Not yet."

Hadn't heard that before--or the "chestnut" somebody posted earlier: Better to be over the hill than under it . . . .

Best Regards,

Steve A- (still on the right side of the grass)

Charlie,

At 30 years of age I am just starting my first major Volvo rebuild (my '82 242 GLT w/121,000 km). I figure it will take me a couple of years to erradicate every trace of rust, along with new wiring where needed, new bushings and complete suspension and brake upgrades. I'm the kind of guy that goes nuts with idle hands. There always has to be a project there to keep me occupied. If this one takes me a couple of years, so will the next one and the one after that and the one after that one too. By the time I hit 50, there should be at least 10 or so old 240's out there as results of my handiwork. No plans on slowing down there...

I wonder what the market would be for premium restored old 240's in the NE part of North America in about 10 years...

Happy Bricking All!!!

Richard

87 245 DL 371,000 km
82 242 GLT 121,000 km

Hey GUYS!!!
Your not the only ones that still work on your own vehicles! When I was a teen, my boyfriend told me that "if a girl's gonna own a car - she'd better know how to work on it!" GOD BLESS HIM!! He taught me everything from engine and trani repair to body work and painting. There isn't much I can't figure out (especially since I found Brickboard - THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!)

I try to do as much work as I can on my cars, including my '85 245DL Wagon. I often think it would be much easier to do maintenance and repairs if my husband would go fishing! It may take me longer, but he makes things much more complicated than they need to be.

Just replaced the Air Flow Meter and now it runs better than ever, until it gets below 1/2 tank. Next project is the fuel pump and filter. I would not have known the problem if not for great people here at Brickboard! Thanks a million!

Enjoy the weather up there - we need some of that moisture here in Southern Colorado!
Janalynn

I seriously thought that I was entering into a zone where I was an elder (at 50)and was one of a dying breed. Reading all the replies, I now feel quite young again! I too like to do my own work when I can, and get that feeling of accomplishment when through. What a great group of folks to be associated with!!
Looking forward to my next fifty. I like that reply that said 'keep at it until they pry the wrench from your cold dead fingers'. AMEN and AMEN.
randy b

"over the hill", isn't that the name of a popular show on tv? It is a shame that we can't convince anymore of the younger generation to pay attention to the analog cars...if I hear one more honda trying to do what one of my old turbos can do (without any effort) I'm gonna have a heart attack! I'm only 52!
I have discovered that doing anything to a 240 is easier than trying to change the spark plug wires on a later model ford pickup.
Keep up the good work all!

I'm 18... Does that count for anything?

heh heh heh...

Oh well, I've been told I'm really 45 in mind.

I hope to still be driving my '80 245 when I am in my late 60's... By then, the car will be over 70 years old.

It counts for a lot. You'll have to carry the torch when the rest of us are gone.
--
'80 DL 2 dr

In the case of most teens? Not much. But judging from everything I've read since signing up here in late Oct., you've got a lot more on the ball than most teens. I'm 27, I remember how it is. I think it's pretty cool you're into 8-tracks, too. I have a fondness for vinyl, myself. Most of the kids I grew up with didn't even know what a record is. It's also a good sign IMO that you've devoted yourself to a vehicle older than you are. A well-engineered, sensible vehicle, no less. There are way too many Hondas, with those stupid "coffee can" exhausts that make 'em sound like dirtbikes, around as it is. And most of those guys probably can't check their own oil.
"I've been told I'm really 45 in mind." I always got that sort of thing too... of course now my body's starting to catch up. Take it as a compliment.

I don't know how these "old guys" (just kidding) see it, but "meeting" a teen like you restores my faith a little.

Matt

I know almost every mm of my 85 245:Ti . The engine is OEM but I've replaced lots of other stuff and hope to repair the heater blower motor when I stop being lazy. I am 53 in So.California though, no snow here.. Happy Holidays..
--
john,,1985, 245:Ti, 251k mi..so.california

We are here. Have been working on my own cars since 1970 and not ready to quit yet.First car was Simca "Mille"(1000)that I got at 15 (1970) before I was able to even get a drivers license. I worked as a mechanic, mostly on European imports from 1973 until 1988 when I had to "retire" to a less physically demanding job. I hate to have ANYONE do anything to any of my familys' vehicles. Don't like to go behind and fix someone elses screwups. Last major screwup was when wife took '87 Toyota 4WD snowmobile for tire replacement. Idiot torqued two front wheel studs off. Not a fun job to fix. Been looking into tire machine.
It might take me three(four....) times as long to do something but I have backup vehicles that allow me to do stuff at my own pace. I try to plan ahead and keep a rigorous preventive maintenance schedule. I have had ONE new car, that lasted a year until I rolled it. "Junkers since '74"!!! Have your wife take a look here and see that there ARE others that prefer not to let "Joe Blow" work on our stuff. If you are crazy then we all are. My wife has no problem with my garage time, especially when I point out how much MONEY stays in our bank account. She really appreciates how she can depend on what she and our children drive. I have her a "new" 1987 744(240K)sitting in garage, that I spent most of summer refitting. Keep at it until they pry that wrench from your cold dead hand!

I was 66 when I put the V8 in my '80 GLE by myself. That was back in '96. Ah, sweet memories!

Currently crawling around under an '85 240ti for motor mounts, speedo seal, rear exhaust, etc.

Crawling's not bad. It's the getting back up that brings out the special words (as Mr. Foster says).

Guess I'll quit when I can't crawl.
--
Bruce Young,
'93 940-NA (current)
'80 GLE V8 (Sold 5/03)
'83 Turbo 245
'76 244 (lasted only 255,000 miles)
73 142 (98K)
'71 144 (track modified--crusher bound)
New 144 from '67 to '78
Used '62 122 from '63 to '67

Dear Mr. Young,

I currently have a 79 264GL and was curious as to any insight you may have regarding the V8 Conversion you did on your 80 GLE. I was thinking this is where my 264GL will be heading in the future but I never have actually seen one or spoken to anyone that has driven/owned on of these setup's. I was pondering the usual things like, is it worth it, how hard was it, and overall satisfaction once everything was done? Any info on your past expierance regarding the conversion would be helpful. Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

--
Nickvjr

1979 264GL B27F 120,850

Features Added:

Central Locking System, Post 81 Dash W/ Oil Temp & Ambient Temp Gauge In Celcius, Oil Pressure, Volts

Next Project:

Add Cruise Control & BW55 Swap To A M46

Hello Julio,

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, but the email response isn't/wasn't working. So I just found your post today. (BTW, "Bruce" is OK. I still think they mean my Dad when I see "Mr. Young".)

As to the V8, the short version is, Yes it was worth it, there were "challenges", and the overall satisfaction was, "Glad I did it". Gave me a real sense of accomplishment that never faded.

I put in Ford 5.0 HO from an '89 Mustang, using the Ford AOD A/T (3 speed + O/D). It was snug. The front driveshaft was cut to 13" as I recall.

I went with Ross Converse's "kit". He started doing these conversion around 1990. But I felt he came up short in a few areas At the time, I think he was having trouble keeping up with demand. (He was also doing Turn-Key conversions for celebs like Paul Newman & David Letterman).

Basically, his kit fell short of my expectations, based on the promises in his polished brochure ("brochure" is a French word meaning Bullshit, folded). But a lot could have changed since '95-'96.

I'd suggest getting the J.T.R book, "Volvo 200 Series V-8 Conversion Manual" if you can find one. I don't see it in the current Ipd catalog. It's all Chevie, but I wish I'd seen it before I did the Ford. Not that I'd have changed anything, but it just has a lot of good info. Try www.jagsthatrun.com

There's probably lots of current stuff on the V8 forum too. Questions are always welcome, and thanks for your interest.

Bruce

--
Bruce Young,
'93 940-NA (current)
'80 GLE V8 (Sold 5/03)
'83 Turbo 245
'76 244 (lasted only 255,000 miles)
73 142 (98K)
'71 144 (track modified--crusher bound)
New 144 from '67 to '78
Used '62 122 from '63 to '67

That is admirable.
Better to be over the hill than under it.
--
'80 DL 2 dr

Older senior at 56???????????

Geez, I'm a young 59... and will be under my '740 this week for a new exhaust and one of my (3) 240s for ball joints.....
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

Hi Don, I didn't realize I wrote older senior I guess I just felt that way after 6 hrs. of bone chilling weather under the hood.Im happy to see all the replies I got and that like me you all seem to injoy working on your Volvo's.Thanks to the Brickboard and for all the help you guy's have given me. Charlie

I guess all the snow will make it easy for you to slide in and out as you are doing the work. Just kidding, but I had a friend who changed the oil pump on his chevy blazer out in the weather last winter. Took him 1 and 1/2 days with a little bad luck and many warming breaks.

Dan

His first bit of bad luck must have been not having anybody there to talk him out of buying a Chevy in the first place! :)

I gave up working on cars years ago - Then I had teen-agers. Simple things like oil changes when multiplied by 3 or 4 become quite expensive. I found the brickboard and have been doing most of the work on my cars myself ever since. I still take them to a good indie shop when major work needs to be done. Like the rear main seal on the 850.

It is much easier working on a car when you aren't dependent on it to get to work the next morning. This aspect helps me understand why so many here have more cars than drivers in the house. I think I will be joining their ranks soon. This will make the work even more enjoyable.

I don't know what a senior is anymore, but the age goes up with each passing year. I have now passed "OLD" three times. First there was 30..... then 40 then.......... I guess it never ends.

Dan

Don't consider either you or I (50 in May) an "older senior" but I'm still cranking on the Bricks even though I could well afford to pay someone at this point in my life. The Bricks are getting faster every year and going around corners better also ;-)
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245 200K+
'84-245T 190K+
'88-240 190K+
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com (Opens new window)

Charlie! Dude! 56? Older senior??! I'm 51, and that ain't "older senior," is it??!! Heck with that AAPR stuff! Join VCOA!

Just kidding . . . I hope you are, too! Yep, I do a bunch of work on my cars. I enjoy it, so, of course, it is more a hobby than a necessity, but I also know I have saved thousands over the years by doing my own work whenever possible.

My 15 year old son is also getting into the mechanic mode. His dream is to own his own indepedent Volvo shop. That's a good thing because when I am really an OLDER SENIOR -- 85 maybe -- then he can keep my antique 240's on the road for me!

It goes both ways. I will turn 30 next week (a small but notable hill) and most of my older friends who call themselves gearheads really don't know what's going on under the hood. Every time I put a wrench on the Volvo, I feel like I'm crossing a frontier which was skipped by an entire generation of my elders. I have a neighbor who is in his 70s and he knows how to rebuild engines. My grandfather used to go to junkyards and build printing presses out of parts he found lying around. But my own father never worked on cars, and neither did any other folks in my midst from the prior generation.

From what I observe, the trend alternates by generation. With that in mind, I regretfully expect my children to not know (or be interested in) how to work on cars. That doesn't mean I won't try, though.

I think I am very lucky--I tell my wife that the more I work on the Volvo, the more I love it, and she gets excited and echoes my passion about the car. I remember when we first got the Volvo, I had to work pretty hard to get her into the habit of using the trip odometer to keep track of the number of miles traveled on a tank of gas. I couched my argument on the grounds that changes in mileage may help us anticipate engine problems before they become really expensive or critical. At first it was a real struggle, but I felt pretty smug when she told me last month that she pays close attention to that odometer now, and uses does the same thing on her motorcycle. She told me recently that the motorcycle wasn't getting such good mileage anymore, and I found a split vacuum line in the carb which when repaired made everything good again.

It makes me think carefully about why people buy cars. I have a friend who bought a BMW a few years ago and only recently found out that the car had been wrecked prior to her owning it. Since she bought it from the dealer, it stands to reason that the dealer should have informed her of the prior damage to the car, but that never happened. Fast forward to this month, when by virtue of litigious threats, the dealer has agreed to replace her BMW with a brand new car of her choice from the lot. This particular dealer's brands include BMW, Range Rover and Nissan. When she told me she was thinking about getting the Range Rover, I could hardly keep my eyes from rolling, and when I presented some fairly objective data to her showing how much the Rover would cost in maintenance over the first five years, she seemed to close her mind to me completely, as if to simply ignore the truth. I even tried to talk her into simply selling the Rover after acquiring it, and buying a different car, but still she didn't see my logic. Oh well.

My grandfather (God rest his soul) was born in 1894, and was an automobile mechanic of the first generation. He once told me a story about one of the first cars in his town coming into the shop with a thrown rod. Back then you didn't replace the short block, you fixed what you had. He spent all day welding a piece of steel plate over the hole, polishing out the journal, and replacing the rod. When he was done, he took a drove aroung the block, and pulled back up to the shop with a feeling of satisfaction. Just then, it threw a rod in another cylinder.

I was born on grandpa's 71st birthday, and I'm now 38. I work on my own cars for a few reasons. First, if I do the work, I know what goes into the job, and I'll have only myself to blame if it's not right. Second, there's not a shop in my little town that'll touch a Volvo, which means a trip of either 35 or 65 miles to get something done to the brick. It ain't gonna happen.

Finally, and most importantly, I'm just cheap. I don't have much money, and don't feel like throwing what little I do have away for labor I can do myself.

I've often told my wife that at some point I'll just have to buy a new car and never work on my own stuff again. She tells me I'm full of crap, she's probably right. I figure I'll be like my grandpa, who until he totalled his 1963 Plymouth Belvedere in 1981, would take a little time every day listening to the engine, making adjustments and repairs when necessary. I learned a lot from him.
--
1991 245, 61k miles, looking for a 5 speed 92-93 245 cheap.