Hi folks. My days of 240 ownership are numbered. I've replaced my 1984 242T with a 98 S70 GLT (no laughing) and am trying to figure out what to do with the 242.

The main issue is that the 242 is not running. Last year it blew out the exhaust manifold gasket and broke an exhaust stud (successfully extracted). I drove it into the garage and decided I would put in the intercooler I have and change the timing belt at the same time, so I began disassembly. Winter rolled around (unheated garage), then a baby arrived, now I spend all my free time working on my 80 year old house. I am trying to decided between three options:

1. Donate the car to charity as is, have them tow it away
2. Sell it as is, have the new owner tow it away
3. Put it back together and sell it running.

I would donate it but I think the car has a lot of potential to someone looking for a good Volvo, and I would like to keep it in Volvo circles

Here is what the car has going for it
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1984 242 Turbo, 4sp Overdrive, only about 106K original miles. At the time of the blown gasket the car was my wife's almost daily driver.

Professionally rebuilt overdrive at about 80K.

All new rear suspension bushing last year, less than 500 miles on them, including poly torque rod bushings

Complete brake job less than 5K ago, including ATE power slot rotors in the front, Brembo rotors in the rear, IPD braided brake hoses, ATE master cylinder, pressure differential valve, Synthetic DOT4 fluid, and PBR Deluxe pads. Stops on a dime.

IPD turbo-size sway bars (I would take these off and sell but being a nice guy I gave away my original turbo bars when I put these on).

Did not burn oil (Mobil 1), and the turbo developed around 5 lbs of boost (non-intercooled). Based on the spin resistance and end play test, I would say the turbo is in excellent condition.

VDO Cockpit White center gauges (clock, oil pressure, volts, and graduated boost gauge). I also have the original Volvo gauges that came out.

Fairly new tires (BFG Comp T/As) in excellent shape. I really liked these tires on this car. Mounted on the Turbo rims, in moderate condition (need to be cleaned)

New bosch main fuel pump and accumulator, new volvo in-tank pump and hose.

A nice stereo with a high end sony CD head unit, a 10 disk changer in the trunk, 4 channel Sony amp, Alpine 6x9s in the rear and Pioneer seperate tweeters / mids in the doors. I would take this out if donating.

Here is what is wrong with the car
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Not running. It was running fine when then manifold gasket blew out and I disassembled it. I have taken off / out the turbo (still on the manifold), radiator, water pump, alternator, timing cover, oil cooler. I have not messed with the timing belt, so I know the cam timing is still fine. The cat has been removed and I don't have any reason to believe it is clogged (exhaust shop opinion as well). I have all the parts that came off.

Black leather interior is a large horiztonal tear in driver's seat and a popped seam in the rear. Both door pockets are cracked. Other than that the interior is clean and in good shape. Large plastic floor trays have been protecting the carpet for 18 years.

Boby and paint are fair. Some rust exists around the wheel wells and on the lower edge of the doors. It appears treatable at this point. The floors and trunk are clean. The p.o. siliconed the sunroof closed rather than replaced the seal. The is an inverse dent (comes out) on the hood that should be flatened and painted. Some of the paint looks great (doors, quarter panels), some is sun worn (trunk, roof).

Tailpipe and axel pipe need to be replaced.

Front end components could probably use some work.

What it needs to get running
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The car needs new exhaust manifold studs and nuts, as wells as studs and nuts from the wastegate to the cat. I have successfully removed all of the old studs.

New exhaust pipes (but cat is there and fine).

Some seals to put the oil cooler and turbo back on.

A few days worth of effort.

Parts that I have
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I have a ton of parts of this car, almost all new in the box, including:

1. New Bilstein struts for the front
2. Ball joints, tie rod ends, and front bushings.
3. Complete intercooler kit including almost all the small parts from Volvo
4. New water pump, timing belt, belt tensionor and seals, all belts and hoses, poly accessory bushings for when it goes back together. New thermostat and temp sender.
5. A new set of Bosch k-jet injectors and seals
6. new bosch o2 sensor

My options
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Given the above I think it is a nice car with lots of potential.

1. Charity donation: I am not sure this is the ideal car to donate to charity. I think I can have it towed away by the organization, but if you were receiving a charity car would you want a 1984 Volvo Turbo? Financially I figure the net would be $300 savings on my taxes and I would sell all the parts, including the stereo.

2. Fix it to sell it: Time is the issue here, and it is tough to come by for me. If I fix it I would put the intercooler on, since it would probably be worth more on the car than sold seperately. I would be tempted to put it back together with absolute minimum changes, which means no new timing belt since I don't want to risk screwing up the cam timing (existing belt looks good). I figure the net on the sale (after buying the remaining parts to fix) would probably be around $1,100 to $1,300.

3. Sell it as is: this is the option I am leaning towards. It is the least work for me and give the greatest potential to the new owner to do what they want with the car. I would sell off all the parts here or on ebay, or offer to the new owner for a good deal.

What do you think I should do? How much do you think the car in its current state is worth? How much do you think the car in a running state is worth? The car is in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Thanks for your advice,
Dave