Who else around here also rocks a Volvo?
*raises hand*81 262c with a turbodiesel going under the hood

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1982 300sd from craigslist $800 greased on one tank with NO CONVERSION in the Hot Texas Sun. (currently dead & awaiting engine damage investigation and/or longblock swap)
new daily: '03 vw 5speed jetta tdi wagon. bagged&chipped

I was chasing manual transmission 240 wagons for almost 9 months before I ended up with a 'Benz instead. I'd still love to own one someday.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Just fyi, swapping a 240 to manual is EZ peasy.

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1982 300sd from craigslist $800 greased on one tank with NO CONVERSION in the Hot Texas Sun. (currently dead & awaiting engine damage investigation and/or longblock swap)
new daily: '03 vw 5speed jetta tdi wagon. bagged&chipped

Ooh, true... then I could get my tan cloth automatic rust-free red wagon and not care about the tranny...

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I own only because I needed a temporary wagen until Tram was physically able to get some issues addressed on the Mercedes, and that is what he recommended. At times regret going Volvo as isn't as logical or easy to work on as a Volkswagen or Mercedes, but now I have worked out most of the prior neglect, gets me from point to point. Lesson learned, don't buy anything when the seller says someone else will! Just let it go and find another.

The sad thing is, there is no community. No active forums, no locals, no meetings. Luckily, Mercedes has forums, but no active club or locals.

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Current fleet:

1985 Mercedes-Benz 280TE - Waiting for heart surgery.

1985 Mercedes-Benz 300TDT - Rear ended 23 September 2016 and now looking for a new home.

1979 Mercedes-Benz 300TD - Parted out.

1964 Volkswgen Beetle - Vater's since September 1968 and undergoing a restoration.

1971 Volkswagen Sunroof Squareback with F.I. - in need of full restoration.

1971 Volkswagen Squareback automatic with F.I. - Vacationing with her caretaker until he is in better health.

I've read fromtime to time that the Volvo diesels weren't that reliable.
Is that true from your experience? I know older gasser Volvos are tanks,
like our Benzes. My neighbor down the street has one with 400,000 plus,
and has had zero problems. It even has a turbo. Years ago I told him not
to buy it with 100,000 on a gasser turbo car, and he still gives me the
neener neener when he drives by and I'm out washing my 140,000 mile
Benz.

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85 300TD FED-Daily
84 300SD-Wife's
86 XJS-Sunday
66 GMC-Work- Given to my stepson
83 BMW Airhead- Given to my stepson

See the Volvo in My signature. I have owned the Volvo since 1992 and after the Engine Block was overhauled it has been way less work than the Mercedes.
It simply does not have the Rubber parts to deteriorated like the Mercedes does and I have had no issues with Bent Window Regulators and there is no Vacuum System to deal with.
I did have a short in My Electric Lock System for a while due to the Wire insulation in the a Door falling apart. But, all that did was sometimes cause a drain on the Battery.

On My Model no CV Boots to go bad.

If the Vacuum Pump fails it is not going to damage the Engine.

The Volvo is a simpler and more conventional Car more like a US Car from that time Period.

Volvo Diesels are rare around here; but if I had found another one I would not have bought the Mercedes.
I have only ever seen one in the Junk Yard. You are not going to find a used Volvo Diesel Engine very easily.

The weak link in the Volvo is the Throw Out Bearing and the Clutch does not seem go be strong enough. With the Flywheel resurfaced and a New Clutch and Plate it still slips too easily. I am thinking the Clutch is the same as the Gasser Clutch and simply does not deal with the Diesel Engine torque well.

However, the Interior is not as well made as the Mercedes is. On day My Glove Compartment cover just fell off. The Glue had given up holding it.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

turbobricks.com

d24t.com

the great thing about the volvo 4banger gas motor is that it's non-interference! even the turbo motor! snap a timing belt and you can be back on your way in 20 minutes if you have the part & tools in the trunk.

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1982 300sd from craigslist $800 greased on one tank with NO CONVERSION in the Hot Texas Sun. (currently dead & awaiting engine damage investigation and/or longblock swap)
new daily: '03 vw 5speed jetta tdi wagon. bagged&chipped

See! There is no forum for the non-turbo B230f... Can't tell you how long I fought a stupid engine code!

Well, learned something! I wasn't ever concerned, as someone changed it several years ago.

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Current fleet:

1985 Mercedes-Benz 280TE - Waiting for heart surgery.

1985 Mercedes-Benz 300TDT - Rear ended 23 September 2016 and now looking for a new home.

1979 Mercedes-Benz 300TD - Parted out.

1964 Volkswgen Beetle - Vater's since September 1968 and undergoing a restoration.

1971 Volkswagen Sunroof Squareback with F.I. - in need of full restoration.

1971 Volkswagen Squareback automatic with F.I. - Vacationing with her caretaker until he is in better health.

Unless you have a B234 16 valve. Must change belts religiously at 50k with those.

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'79 240D

Had an 89 240GL into which I swapped an M47 5spd until someone crashed into it, 96 850 wagon 5spd with well over 250k miles still running strong and a 94 960 wagon, the best highway car there is.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

Volvo didn't make a diesel way back then. They bought one from VW. 2.4L straight 6 same engine family as the 1.6L four cylinder so parts are (mostly) easy to find, but for the crank and cam, head, head gasket...etc. But, it was a common engine in Europe. VW put thousands of them in Transporters both turbo and non-turbo. I had, a 1986 740 GLE Turbo Diesel. It ran fine, but wasn't very quick, and no matter what I did with it, it was a dirty running engine. Floor it, and a blast of black smoke James Bond would be proud of was emitted from the tailpipe. Came in handy for tailgating drivers.

I used to have an '81 242, one of the best cars I've ever owned, the timing belt snapped on me and it was just a matter of putting in a new one... I actually cried (in my sleep) that night when I sold it. :'( Wasn't a diesel, but still... great cars.

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[/SIGPIC]~cirrusman

1983 Mercedes Benz 300SD - Wife calls him "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
[SIGPIC]




1983 Toyota Tercel (Tommy, The little Toyota that could)
1965 Ford F100 (Grandma Ford)
2005 Toyota Sienna (Elsa, Wife's ride)


Gone:
1988 Toyota Pickup
2004 Subaru Outback

1987 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
1986 Volvo 740 GL Station Wagon - Piece of junk.
1981 Volvo 242 DL 2 Door - Hated to see it go. R.I.P.
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT

My first car was a 244 Volvo. I still miss it

There has always been a fair amount of crossover between folks interested in Volvo and Mercedes. Quite a wave back in the 1990s when Volvo went down the FWD road and many people who had been Volvo stalwarts for years became disillusioned and jumped ship to Benz and BMW.

The Volvo diesel models were never sold in great numbers in Canada, except for some reason in our midwest. This resulted in them being seen as oddball cars even by the dealers, most of which never got comfortable working on them -- ditto most indie shops.

Many people said the 240 diesels were underpowered. I drove two and don't agree... anyone who said that never drove a US-spec B21f automatic (a particularly anemic 4-cyl. gas spec model).

The 240 was/is a terrific car for Canadian winters. One car magazine said it was the best RWD ever made, for driving in snow, and I agree. Even on my tank of a w116 I needed four winter tires to equal the Volvo's stability with only all-season tires in winter.

I am actually sniffing around for a 240 series to use as a winter car right now. Unfortunately they were the equal of old Mercedes for rust, so they aren't easy to find around here anymore.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22