So I've had a rear-ended 83 244 sitting in the driveway for about 6 months now. Originally I was just going to part it out. Recently I met a guy who does metal fabrication (mostly bobbers and trikes) and have been learning some welding skills as well as helping him with custom wiring on the bikes he builds. He is willing to help me with any projects I want to build. After thinking about it, I had a vision of the 83 as a small flatbed type truck. I think this is a great solution to keep another brick on the road since the front end of the vehicle was in near perfect condition before and after the wreck, plus the B23F engine is still running great with only 170k on it.

I have looked around and have not found anyone who has chopped a 240 into a flatbed, only the wagon to pickup conversions. First off, if you know of an existing conversion to flatbed, please let me know.

For the Cab:
Looking at what I have, I have decided to use the two rear passenger doors as the back of the cab. End to end, the doors will just about span the width of the vehicle. This will help keep the 240 styling as well as prevent the need for custom glass and a great deal of fabrication. As a bonus I expect I'll still be able to roll them down for extra ventilation. The down side being a ~8 inch blind spot dead center.

For the Bed:
My main concern is going to be the framing and support for the bed. I'm planning on removing the crushed rear fenders and probably the wheel wells. Then use the existing structure over the axle to build from. I'll probably brace off of the original 'frame' rails too. I just need to get enough height so that the bed clears the tires (roughly the height of the top of the wheel wells) and possibly higher. I expect to end up with a 6'x6' square bed with little or no bumper (maybe like the tractor trailers have to prevent a vehicle from sliding under). Visually like any converted pickup to flatbed.

The Suspension:
I don't expect to be hauling anything too heavy. Probably just the occasional large appliance, furniture, lumber etc. The door sticker says maximum loading is just under 1000 lbs. I may consider towing too, but nothing more than another vehicle or small pop-up camper. My guess is that GVW wont change much (subtract rear end parts, add framing and bed) so I wont gain any extra loading ability. I'll probably drop in my old wagon springs and add some spacers to give it a few more inches ride height (so it looks like a truck too). Other than that I don't know what else I can do to beef up what is already there.

My call to the brickboard:
What should be my main concerns with rear suspension for loading/towing beyond what Volvo engineers may have planned for?
My other concern is safety, so suggestions in that arena would also be appreciated.
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'82 245 B21F-MPG (LH 1.0) 192k, '83 244 B23F (LH 2.0) 164k