{"id":6539,"date":"2020-05-27T21:13:36","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T21:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.co.uk\/magazine\/?p=6539"},"modified":"2024-09-12T10:20:41","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T09:20:41","slug":"1987-volvo-240-project-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1987-volvo-240-project-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"1987 Volvo 240 – Project Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s project of choice comes from a place close to the heart of Car & Classic. Keen readers will remember that last year, our Editor and Rich Scott took a Volvo 240<\/a> from here in the UK, over to Gothenburg in Sweden, and then back again in five days. The old Volvo racked up over 3,000 more miles in the process and not once did it skip a beat. It was a formidable friend for our adventure, and ever since, the Volvo 240 has been in our head. It\u2019s not a sexy car, not by any stretch, but then again, it\u2019s not trying to be. The Volvo 240 is a car, it\u2019s built to be used, to get you where you want to go and to get you there safely and comfortably, and it does that with aplomb. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Volvo 240 is also an extremely hardy old machine. You could, for example, buy and restore this one and then use it every day. And it would, come rain or shine, never let you down. It is a classic by virtue of age, that\u2019s all. Ignore that age – and you should – and you\u2019re left with a car that\u2019s now cool, that is pretty safe and that will happily be used to rack up the miles. Not many classics can boast such usability, but the Volvo does. Back in the day, they were deeply uncool, but the years have been kind and now they have gone the other way. Buy an old 240 and run it about, and it\u2019ll be seen as a cool, classy old car. And who doesn\u2019t like to be cool and classy? <\/span><\/p>\n

What is it? <\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

What we have here is a 1987 Volvo 240 2.0 GL<\/a> in silver with a \u2018not broken in yet\u2019 128,000 miles on the clock. A traditional three-box saloon, it\u2019s about as \u2018Volvo\u2019 as Volvos come. GL trim level means it’s got some nice stuff, like electric windows (fancy), an AM\/FM radio and even an electric aerial. You also get chrome trim on the doors and the GL had better trim options, including velour. Such opulence. Oh, and of course there are the \u2018GL and up\u2019 headlight wash\/wipers – how very fancy indeed.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Volvo,<\/a><\/p>\n

This car has the later 1,986cc four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. Power is sent to the rear wheels, but you\u2019re not going to be auditioning for the next <\/span>Tokyo Drift <\/span><\/i>movie any time soon – it only has 118bhp. But that doesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019s not about power, speed or handling, which is good, because the Volvo 240 doesn\u2019t have much of any. However, it does have charm and rugged dependability on its side. And while it might not be the most powerful or exciting car to drive, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s bad. We had no complaints over our three thousand mile journey. We were comfy, it was quiet, there is plenty of space and it munches the miles with a pleasing keenness. We even kept it over 30mpg. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why is it a project? <\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

This old E-plate 240 has fallen on hard times and as such, the rust has taken hold in places. Or at least, that seems to be the main concern. The seller has done a great deal of work to it already, including new auxiliary belts and a new timing belt. In fact, he goes on to say the car has loads of service history, which is good. Another positive is the interior, which the seller states is free from any damage or rips, though does all need putting back together. He\u2019s repaired the often troublesome central locking, he\u2019s fitted a new electric aerial and the car comes with a load of spares that the owner has acquired over the years. It\u2019s a running, driving car. However\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Volvo,<\/a><\/p>\n

The big issue here is that this old girl needs a tickle with the sparkly spanner. There are whopping great holes in the sills, the rear arches look like they came off the Titanic and the rear doors (while not structural) are on their way out, too. Happily though, there is a vast and supportive aftermarket for the 240, so replacement panels are available. As such, you\u2019ll just need to cut out the old rust and weld in the new panels. It\u2019s going to be a fair wedge of work, make no mistake, but it\u2019ll be worth it. Once solid, this 240 has many, many more years left to give. <\/span><\/p>\n

Five things to look for?<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

1) Rust<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

There is the rust we can see, but what about the rut we can\u2019t see? The boot floor can go, as can rear sills, the rear floors, rear screen surround and so on. The inner wings, firewall and front floors need checking, too. <\/span><\/p>\n

2) Trim<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The car looks to be in bits, so you need to make sure that everything is still with the car. Parts are easy enough to find, but it would be good to know what you need from the off. <\/span><\/p>\n

3) Transmission<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The four-speed in this model is pretty bulletproof. However, it still warrants checking, as neglect can kill them. It should still shift without too much slip, and it should bite drive and reverse with a noticeable shunt. <\/span><\/p>\n

4) Service History<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

If it\u2019s there, have a look through it. You might discover that this is a car that has lived a life wanting for nothing, or you might notice things that need to be addressed. <\/span><\/p>\n

5) Steering<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

It\u2019s not exactly the most direct and sharp steering in the world, but even so, it should go where you point it. The suspension and steering setup can get bent out of shape after years of use and clonking curbs, which, not to perpetuate stereotypes, you can well imagine a Volvo doing. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Volvo,<\/a><\/p>\n

What should you do with it? <\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The world is very much your oyster here, given this Volvo 240<\/a> is just \u00a31,000. You could simply weld it up, put it back together and then use it as a cool, old daily driver. You could give it the works and go for a full restoration, though given that values for these are still low, that might not be advisable just yet. <\/span>
\n<\/span>You could of course go completely mad. Lower it, fit bigger wheels, a turbocharged engine and a roll cage. You might think we\u2019re being daft by saying that, but the 240 was a successful touring car and it\u2019s <\/span>still<\/span><\/i> a popular rally car. You are just a turbocharger away from motorsport greatness. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s project of choice comes from a place close to the heart of Car & Classic. Keen readers will remember that last year, our Editor and Rich Scott took…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":6540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[322],"tags":[1268,15,2046,110,963,13,2047,693,11,14,325,108,1096,16,216,1266],"yoast_head":"\n1987 Volvo 240 - Project Profile - Car & Classic Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Trust us when we say that old Volvos will be the next big thing, which is why you should pounce on this \u00a31,000 Volvo 240 GL.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carandclassic.com\/magazine\/1987-volvo-240-project-profile\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"1987 Volvo 240 - 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