Hello all,

I'm new here--greetings--and would like to ask the populace what it thinks the value of an excellent condition, unmolested, bone-stock 46,000-mile '84 244 Turbo w. AT is.

Pics: www.stebboy.cjb.net

Mind, I am not a collector, and have no real sentimental attachment to old Volvos, apart from respecting their durability and geeky character--I have an '85 240 DL now--but would think it would be a good, fun, daily driver/fast trip car. Meaning I'm going to drive it, and not store it--it will be well taken care of, but used as indicated. I don't believe it'll ever be collectable.

Spare wheel has never been used (note sticker!)--and car comes with near-complete IC kit, missing only the IC-intake manifold pipe. Only real paint flaw is some slight fading of clearcoat on part of the roof.

It's described as being a 3-sp. w. overdrive--is that what an AW-71 tranny is?

With IC installed, and IPD turbo cam+intake airflow mods if needed, could a feller expect around, say, 180 crank HP out of it? That would suffice.

Thanks for the input!

Kristian Soholm
Everett, WA

I think one thing you guys are wrong on is the future "collectablity" of the 240's. Not that they will be big bucks, but they will be retro cool, sought after, and I think bring more than they do today.

How many cars can you have fun driving, haul the family in comfort, fix yourself, and get decent mileage with? Plus, I have always thought the early turbos look great! In the next few years when all the 250k to 325k mile cars get crushed, that will really thin down the herd too.

Also, my '81 245 is only two years away from getting it's collector's plates!

You could have a real jem there. Depending on how it was stored or what part of the country it's from, you may need to do some things before it's up to it's potential. Rubber deteriorates with age and heat as much as mileage. Expect bushings to need replacement, or at least a close inspection. Depending on the color, it may or may not need repainting. MAACO is fine for a street car. Great sales in February.
No car responds to handling mods like the 240. Swaybars, strut braces, shocks won't break the bank but pay dividends in fun. An intercooled B21FT can produce 180-200 hp easily without affecting streetability at all. Check turbobricks.org for more info.
Don't expect to get your money back on a car like this but you will enjoy the ride. I'll never recoup what I put into my '83 Flathood but with only 38K mi on it, it's a ton of fun to own and drive.
One last thing, after intercooling, check the Turbobricks Staged power improvements. Stage 1 just calls for everything being up to factory spects. That may be more than enough. Too many folks throw expensive mods at a car that was just out of tune.

Skip
'93 850GLT
'83 242TI Flathood

Oh that car...

I've seen that one on eBay a bunch of times, plus in IPD's classifieds. From what I have heard the guy bought it for his son and the dumbass son wants a little rice rocket instead. Looks like a nice enough 240 Turbo. You really can't go wrong with that kind of mileage on the clock. You are right on the collectible issue - it's not a particulary rare car being a 4 door, automatic, no special options. My heart rate would go up if it was a 242GT, a Bertone or a Flathood Turbo of that condition and mileage.

It's not particularly fast out the gate either. Until you get the intercooler kit on it and turn up the boost, you will actually find it quite anemic for a turbocharged car. The IPD cam will do some good, you won't have to modify anything for it. You may want to think about a later-style intake down the road for a little more snap. 200 hp can be easily acheived with decent fuel economy and reliability.

You can try to wetsand that clearcoat spot with some 2000 grit.

That is indeed the old tried and true AW71 tranny. Not much that you can do to break one of those.

I would have a good solid look at the car before even putting a deposit down. It looks good, but beware what lurks on the underbody. All considering, it looks good. I would think that around 4-5K would be allright for that car. Again, you can't go wrong with the mileage.

Happy Bricking!!!'


--
Richard - '87 245 DL , '82 242 GLT - Half a million km between them!!!

Yes, that car looks familiar - and in cherry condition to boot. The value is whatever you are willing to pay, some folks would say not much since it is still a 20 year old car with no collectible value. However, I believe that since it is low mile and near mint, and could easily last another 10-12 years with average miles per year (10,000 say), it should have a good, not overly high price tag. Just for comparison, I offered $4000 for a near mint, low mile 1980 242 GT just two years ago, only to have someone from the owner's family say that they would not accept anything below $5000. They never did sell. I should add I have never spent more than $2000 on a used car, usually much less.....

Jay
84 245 GLTi 227k
88 740 GLE 180k