Volvo 200 series

BrianD3

I thought i'd start a thread on these seeing as
1) there's mention of Volvos in the recent DAF thread
2) I know there is a member here who goes by the nick "V240GLT" or similar
3) A thread in the main forum about bad parking reminded me of the 200. Reason being if you have to leave a classic car on city streets where touch parking is practiced, a seventies 200 is probably the car that will survive best due to its massive bumpers

The 200 had a very long production run and I still see the odd late car but they're getting quite uncommon now. They are a characterful old barge and I think they probably resist rust a lot better than most seventies cars. I have seen one or two seventies survivors in the last year.

In the States they have a legendary reputation for longevity and solidity, they are very good but IMO the Americans go OTT in their praise.

junkyard

I have a Volvo 144 with the big bumpers, I remember taking out a VW Jetta back in the 90's, needless to say the Jetta was a write off. The only the damage to the Volvo was a cracked indicator light.:D

AsphaltRisin'

Always loved old volvos. I've been meaning to get one for ages but i never seem to have any money it's going to have to wait a bit longer. Had a loan of a lat 80s 240 saloon with leather and all electrics for 2 days and it was a lovely yoke.
Actually now that i think about it i noticed an add there in the buy and sell for a 240 drift car for sale with a 2.3 engine on twin webers i think it was.
I used to see lots of them but as one of ye lads said earlier they seem to be disappearing. There was one guy in limerick who'd always have 4 or 5 of them lying around his petrol station but that's closed down now and all the volvos are gone.

2cv

I think the best place to buy an old Volvo is Holland, rather than Sweden :-) Volvo's are plentiful in Holland and the climat is a bit milder than further up north :-)

Volvoboy

Ah the 200's that shape has been around since the 60's started with the 140 series, and finished in 1993, yea the last time i seen one was in ballybough been driven around as a taxi, yea the old volvo's are dying out at an alarming rate, people are happy to sit in thier plastic boxes, they'l never know what it like to drive a real car.



www.brickboard.com - Useful resourse site for all your Volvo needs.



-VB-

PaulK_CCI

2cv wrote:

I think the best place to buy an old Volvo is Holland, rather than Sweden :-) Volvo's are plentiful in Holland and the climat is a bit milder than further up north :-)

Actually, I don't quite aggree with this.

It's difficult to generalise, but overall the cars that have spent all their lives in Sweden are in better condition than original Dutch/German/Belgian cars. In Holland, like in the UK they gritt the roads with a salt/sand mixture to clear the ice, snow. In Sweden, they only do so in the Southern part of the country! Also, when the country is covered with snow from october until march, there is the common misconception that this must be bad for you car, BUT when it's freezing -15 or -20 degrees celcius, this equals to 'dry weather condition', so rust is not an issue until the temperature climbs up, and the ice starts to melt, and as we all know, it's the wet stuff that kills cars, not the dry frozen stuff...

What makes it confusing is that currently there's like 10/20 times more cars to chose from in the Netherlands. The Classic Car scene is so vivid, that over the years loads and loads of Swedish, Southern European, Swiss and US cars have been imported in the Netherlands that there is a better chance of finding a rustfree car in Holland than in Sweden.

2cv

And the fact that every second dutch person drives a Volvo :-)

Blue850

Theres a Volvo 164 for sale on the Buy and Sell at the moment , must be rare in this country

2cv

Must be rare everywhere else as well!!! How much is it going for?

Blue850

copy and paste
Volvo 164E 3.0. Munster Limerick €2700.00
Auto, full leather, e/w, p/s, very rare car, on ZV plate and taxed, nice classic, €2,700. 087-2337835

2cv

Not a bad price if it's in good condition :-) Especially if it's RHD....

8~)

I know that Limerick number... he's had that Volvo a year or two along with another one or two relatively rare Volvos (as well as one of my cars).

Last year when I was considering buying an everyday driver 30 year old car I drove both a Volvo 144 and a Mercedes W114 the same day. The Mercedes had way more miles, more use over the years and more rust, but in terms of styling and feeling of overall integrity there was no comparing them. The Volvo, unfortunately, was a disappointment. Pity, because I have always liked them and have happily owned a few more modern ones (740, 940, 850).

2cv

It's true that the Merc W114 is a prettier car... And mileage seems to have no impact whatsoever on old mercs :-) I once owned a 1983 Mercedes 200 (W123 model) with 193,000 mls on the clock and it never let me down. It started first time, EVERY time, on the button. If i can find a nice W123 (1976 or 1977) in the UK, I'd go for it :-)

Blue850

I'm thinking about buying a W123 as well, need something baby friendly ie big boot and rear belts can be fitted, although a Triumph 2000/2500 estate would shade it if I could get one, I have enough spares to make 2 Triumphs, anyway as soon as SSIA coughs up the hunt is on.

2cv

Blue850 wrote:

I'm thinking about buying a W123 as well, need something baby friendly ie big boot

If it's a W123 with a big boot you're after, go for the estate models, they've got a massive boot!!
:-)

3ps

my dad nearly bought a 200 series in the late 80's brand new but we were put off by the high fuel consumption on them.

2cv

Well, you don't buy a Mercedes and expect brilliant fuel economy.. :-)

having said that, my '83 200 wasn't too bad on fuel now...

8~)

I've had about 6 W123 estates and have one now. Can't recommend them highly enough.

2cv

I can only describe them as "bullet proof"...

2cv

I think we've gone a bit off topic here... Wasn't this thread intended for Volvo 200 series?

LOL

:-)

biko

Learnt to drive in one of these. Reverse slalom, start in steep incline etc. Great fun! Also the Braking in icy conditions.
It drives like a tank but is just as reliable. Constructed to run forever.

Blue850

An uncle had 2 245s. one he painted the rear side windows and taxed it commercial! and the other had twin carbs, he said if you could put Croagh Patrick in a trailer it would pull it, put you couldn't keep petrol in it, he had themabout 15-20 years ago but they're probably still sitting in his garden.

3ps

i was talking about volvo 240 fuel consumption!

was looking at a silver 240 estate I think. I remember thinking it was the coolest car going even though it was dated by that stage. jeez he might even have been looking at it in the early 90's!

v240gltse

hi ,

I'am a self confessed volvo nut but I particularly like the 240. In the past I've had 2 * 850 , 1 * 440 (not great ) and currently have an S80 and a 240.

You can see from my web-page a recent restore/jazz up project I carried out on a 1992 245 SE during last year

http://homepage.tinet.ie/~bpodonnell/brens240.htm

I sold that to a friend and bought myself a 1991 silver 240Gl as I must confess I prefer the saloon look. There is a meet on the 4th-feb in the bloomfield hotel in mullingar if anyone would like to view a wide variety of Volvo's your more than welcome.


Petrol consumption for such a heavy car is not that bad at approx 28mpg but depends on your style of driving I guess.


as they say "Volvo for Life"

regards

brendan

2cv

v240gltse wrote:

Petrol consumption for such a heavy car is not that bad at approx 28mpg but depends on your style of driving I guess.

Wow!! What kind of engine is in it? And what kind of weight are we talking about?

I get 26 mpg out of my BMW 525i (6 cylinder 24 valve) and i'm don't exactly go easy on the accelerator!!! Let's say I use quite a few of the 192 horses and she loves it!!!

I also get 35 mpg out of my E30 318i 8v but the best one would be my Citroen ZX diesel which returns nearly 50 mpg which is good for a 1.9 (and i don't go particularly easy on that one either!)

3ps

i have a vague recollection in my mind that I told my dad it would get sub 25mpg and he was apalled. Not exactly sure of the timing but I think we bought a Peugeot 605 2.0 instead. Lovely car in which I attempted to learn to drive and nearly killed myself.

8~)

My 740 had the B230 2.3 engine and did around 25-27 mpg. The 850 (2 litre 10 valve) did around 30 mpg. They're big cars - the fuel consumption is to be expected.

2cv

If i remember correctly, I got well over 35 mpg out of my Citroen CX 2.2. That's a big heavy car too... But i guess the aerodynamics have something to do with that :-)