I got a 2 door 1980 Volvo for free!

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Return of the Krugen
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Huntsville, Alabama.
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LEGION138
I was talking to a neighbor who has been living next to my grandmothers house where I was raised since I was a kid about the 1980 2 door Volvo he has sitting in his backyard a few days ago and asked him what he wanted for it and he paused and then said for you...just take it:tup: From what I have heard 2 doors are rare to find, but I really don't know anything about Volvo's history so I'm not sure about that being true or not. It is in great condition though. The only problem is the engine is locked up, but that doesn't matter to me because I would pull the stock engine out and swap in a 5.0 Ford engine and a T5 trans in it anyways. The conversion is easy and from what I have read if I get the rear end from a turbo wagon it will hold up to the stock power of the 302, which is around 275 (stock with basic bolt ons). One of my mates is a welder so he said he will be able to do me decent cage, and the welding will come in handy with whatever I decide to do about the suspension. If anyone has any experience or advice etc. with Volvo's feel free to chime in and give me some advice/tips:tup:
 
Hmm.. a 242, is it? You could easily get similar performance from Volvo's own 2.3l turbo, especially if you find the engine and drivetrain from 740 turbo..
 
I'm not sure if its a 242 or not, I know nothing of Volvo's and haven't looked at any of the badges on it really close yet, but the body and interior is in great shape. I can get a 5.0 for about 500 bucks with the T5 trans and in good running condition, I can't get the Volvo engine for that cheap. And then there is the lack of torque issue I have with smaller engines, I love my torque :) As soon as I get back over to the house I will take a few pics with my phone and look at the badges and post all that up.
 
Lack of torque? Reasonably cheap mods of B230 turbo sees 350bhp and 370lbs/ft of torque easily.
 
www.grmotorsports.com

These guys will be able to help you out, and if they don't know, they know someone who does. Sign up on the forums, post some pics, and ask some questions.

Cool score! Free cars don't suck.
 
breakpoint
From what I have heard 2 doors are rare to find, but I really don't know anything about Volvo's history so I'm not sure about that being true or not. It is in great condition though.
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They are rare, it's the least produced version by far. And if it's indeed in great condition you should (speaking as a Volvo enthusiast here) leave the engine swap idea alone, sell the car for somebody as a restoration project and profit. With the money you could buy a four door 244, most of which are basically worthless at the moment. Even without its engine the 242 is worth at least two fully working 244s and you'd make a big favour to the historical value of the car. Nobody cares if you do the swap for a well worn 244 but a good 242 is a bit of a different story. Or if you decide to do it, at least pull it off well.
 
Greycap
They are rare, it's the least produced version by far. And if it's indeed in great condition you should (speaking as a Volvo enthusiast here) leave the engine swap idea alone, sell the car for somebody as a restoration project and profit.
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I see your point, but this is really tough to do with a car that was given to you for sentimental reasons. I wouldn't feel bad about modifying the car, but I would about immediately selling something someone had given me.
 
Duke
I see your point, but this is really tough to do with a car that was given to you for sentimental reasons. I wouldn't feel bad about modifying the car, but I would about immediately selling something someone had given me.
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This.

It *may* "damage" the perceived value of the vehicle but if I'm not mistaken, everything that would be "hacked up" would be easily sourced from a 244 donor vehicle if restoration to factory specs is wanted.
 
I don't want to sell it because I have known the guy since I was a kid and him giving it to me like that is great, if I were to sell it then I would look like I didn't appreciate him giving it to me at all. I'm not about to go hacking anything up either, the swap is straight forward and nothing like the frame or firewall is even touched, so the original motor could be put right back in down the road. Who knows, I might find another motor for it or rebuild what it has and just decide to drive it like it is, I really won't know until its sitting in my driveway and I have a job though. After poking it, sitting in it, cleaning it up well....then I will stand back and decide its for sure fate :)
 
Scrap the 5.0 idea and find an LS1. ;)

You're in Huntsville, after all! There are probably 30 different LS-swapped cars within a 15 mile radius of you.
 
I can get an LS1 from my sisters husband for 1,300 with the 6 speed, but its harder to swap in the sbc motors because of the dist location and all. It would just be easier to go with a 302, that's a extremely common swap for Volvo's for a reason.
 
Hasn't been too useless to me, I was wanting to know if the 2 doors were in fact that rare and was told yes, sounds pretty useful. Now I will be going by my grandmothers old house tomorrow morning after probation and I will walk next door and take a few pics of it, the hood is a little dented but he has another hood to go with it to fix that, other than that the body is straight as hell.
 
Why not invest money in it, restore it yourself and sell it in a few years? Would be a good project I recon, plus if you sell it down the road it won't be like selling it a month after it was given to you.

Oh, and of course you would still profit from it.
 
I don't mind selling it on down the road, but taking it now and just selling it would be a huge slap to the guys face. I just don't know how much I could get for a 1980 model, it doesn't seem like it would be worth a ton just being a 1980. I have had numerous cars over the years, a 69 Nova, a 70 Nova, a 70 Chevelle, all of these cars were in great condition and were sold easy because of the years and conditions they were in. But a 1980 Volvo? Maybe its just because I was raised here in the states and the cars I had are "classic american muscle" so I don't really see a 1980 Volvo as being worth anything, but to someone I guess it might be maybe. These are the things Im looking to get out of this thread, is it actually worth over let's say, 2k here in the states? Or if I restored it to just a wonderful condition would it sell for 5K? I have no clue, because like I said, It's a Volvo.
 
Is it this car?

242GT_US.jpg


Because if it is, it's closely related to one of the most mythical touring cars of the eighties, the 240 Turbos that crushed all competition in Group A
 
Free is as good as it gets. Congrats.
 
Hun200kmh
Is it this car?

242GT_US.jpg


Because if it is, it's closely related to one of the most mythical touring cars of the eighties, the 240 Turbos that crushed all competition in Group A
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That is it exactly, even the same color!
 
I'm not sure if its a 242 GT, but it looks just like that even the color. I will take some pics tomorrow when I go over there and find out for sure then.
 
oooooh got dang, not only were you given a free car, you were given a free COOL car!!! Even as Duke said that free cars are cool, cool free cars are awesome. I'd rock that thing daly if it had been given to me... and I'd indeed go straight for the 302 swap. Of course, check out and see if it is not a rare GT or something like that, but still, if you dont have to cut up anything to install a V8, heck, what are you waiting. I'm with you on the torque thing (:
 
Very very very very nice.

A big 10-4 on the not selling it. We had a Nissan Sunny that had been with us for years and we loved it. My dad gave it to a friend of the family because it had sentimental value and he sold it right away. We weren't particularly happy with that.
 
Hah, free car, awesome!

Don't go the 5.0 route, and ESPECIALLY not that damned Chevrolet. Nothing wrong with either, but the latter, in particular, is rather uncreative.

If you're gonna V8 it, go Mopar instead.
 
Jim Prower
Hah, free car, awesome!

Don't go the 5.0 route, and ESPECIALLY not that damned Chevrolet. Nothing wrong with either, but the latter, in particular, is rather uncreative.

If you're gonna V8 it, go Mopar instead.
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I want it to be reliable:sly:
 
B230FT from a 93+ turbo volvo, 12 psi of boost, lower it and have fun.

Post up on turbobricks.com, they'll love this story.
 
I looked into the engines and it seems they have oiling problems before 1994 so If I do go that way I would have to find one after that year. I know it might sound odd, but doing that swap would be allot harder for me to do because I know allot about american motors and nothing about import engines. I can fab anything to fit a sbc or sbf, but when it comes to motors like B230FT, I would be so lost and digging into the internet just to gain an inch in the swap. The only import engine I know allot about is the 4G3T engine that came in the first gen DSM's, I had a hand full of them. And of course that wouldn't help me here, they were FWD cars. That engine is what turned my mind on smaller engines with turbo's for sure, before I got my first GSX I always had V8's and dismissed smaller liter engines like that. The GSX couldn't keep up with my Chevelle, but it would launch past it until at least 40mph, and it did that fast.


EDIT: I just looked more into that engine and just to get it to what a stock 5.0 or 5.7 would put out hp and torque wise would cost a good bit of money. Money will play the largest part into the swap, I can build a 302 with 400 hp with about 1,200 dollars worth of money, it would take allot more than that to get an import engine running that. Now, if I could find one already built that was a decent price then I would go with it, or if the engine that is in the car can be fixed and is a decent engine then I will look into that also. The guy says the engine is locked up, he's not a car guy so it might not be destroyed, there still might be hope for the engine that is in there right now.
 
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Could you post any accurate info about the car?
 
Leonidae@MFT
Could you post any accurate info about the car?
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I posted everything I knew about the car, It is about 15 miles from my house and I don't have the money to just drive about just to post info, sorry. I went by there today and took these pictures like I said I would earlier in the thread. I have posted all the info on it so I don't know what your going on about, it's a 1980 2 door Volvo 240 GT. I made this thread to learn more about it since I have never dealt with Volvo's because its not a typical car that is modded here in the states. Here's the pictures I took today, the quality isn't the best because I had to use my phone because I wasn't about to take my Nikon D80 with me because I had to go to probation and I have a busted out window in my Xterra and the doors don't lock, and of course its probation so everyone there is a crim:dunce: What exactly does that emblem mean on the grill? I'm a complete noob with Volvo's like I said, so any information on this car is greatly appreciated, thanks to those who have actually done so and posted info and all already, it has helped allot.

2010-09-10132427.jpg

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2010-09-10132538.jpg

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Check this:

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php/topic/118199-volvo-242-gt/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_200_Series

... Incremental improvements were made almost every year of the production run. One of the major improvements was the introduction of the oxygen sensor in 1976 (1977 models), which Volvo called Lambda Sond and developed in conjunction with Bosch. It added a feedback loop to the K-Jetronic fuel injection system already in use, which allowed fine-tuning of the air and fuel mixture and therefore produced superior emissions, drivability and fuel economy.
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The badge is original, keep it there:

070271_pf.jpg

(you can see it also in the wiki page)


I found another GT's engine pictured here:

http://www.vandsautodismantlers.com/new_arrivals/070271.html

And a regular one is pictured in the wikipedia page. No idea what the red number (yours is 848) mean.

Anyway, good luck if you decide to do a full restoration job, it seems you got yourself a nice, not very common, car. :)
 
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