Heya,

A fellow aussie. Wow that 245 van was extremely rare when it was new, it is like hens teeth now.

Being a one owner/one family car is very cool but it sounds like the car has done a lot of miles, and am I correct in assuming the car went through a long period where it wasn't really cared for or serviced properly? (as this seems to be so common)

If it has gone through a period like (and possibly even if it hasn't) then it will most likely need extensive repairs to most systems in the car, as you have mentioned the engine needs rebuilding but so may the tranny etc etc but it sounds like you have started to get on top of these problems.

The next area is body/paint, is the body and paint in good condition or have they seen better days? If the car needs rust repairs and a complete repaint it makes it even harder to keep.

One thing I can tell you for certain is that you shouldn't even think about changing the motor and trans if you are keeping the car for sentimental reasons and also for its rarity. It is a lot more work swapping engines than is usually thought and there is always something that doesn't go quite to plan. Plus once the motor and trans is changed (even if you keep the originals) you will feel a lot less sentimental attachment to the car. And for every car that has its original motor and trans removed I bet that 1 in 1000 has it rebuilt and put back in.

If money is not so plentiful at the moment and you are using the car for everyday transport, then I hazard to guess that the car will get driven into the ground and scrapped anyway, my suggestion is to buy another car that you are not attached to and drive it into the ground and store your 245van until you can afford to rebuild it properly, but make sure it is stored indoors/undercover, possibly put it on club rego (which is a lot lot less than full rego) so that it doesn't just sit and seize up and you can go to a few volvo car club outings as I am sure a 245 van would be an uncommon sight to even the most devoted volvo freak (I have seen a lot of volvo's on the road and I have never seen a 245 van).

That 245 van is so rare in Australia, I don't know how many came here but I guess it is less than 500. And since most would have been used and abused as work cars then there would be almost none left.

Daz

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'69 model (delivered in '68) B20/auto 142, keep the mods coming!