new Volvo Owner/1981 262C

[y-bot]

Howdy! My grandmother and great aunt just gave me the 1981 Volvo Bertone Coupe (262C) that my grandmother bought new. It's got 151,000 miles on it and has probably never left Oregon. It needs a heater core and the front driver's seat is pretty tattered. I've got a friend who seems willing to fix the heater core but what are my options for the seat? I know a good upholstery person, I just haven't talked to him yet. I don't have any pics but it looks like this one:

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/y_bot/image028.jpg

I haven't gone through all the paperwork yet but I believe the engine was rebuilt a couple of years ago and probably only a few thousand miles ago. I guess it's had a transmission leak for a long time. Anything else I should look out for? I've already got 2 cars, a 2004 Dodge Neon and a 1964 Ford Falcon so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it but I didn't want to see it given away to a stranger. If you've seen a car that looks like this in Gladstone, Oregon City, or Milwaukie in the past 28 years with a little old lady driving it this is it! Right now my plan is to get the heater core fixed, clean it up and see what I've got.

y-bot

[Ghaurok]

You should definitely keep it and keep it running.

[thebornotaku]

oh god... heater core. :rofl:

That's a massive job. It's almost as if Volvo designed the car completely around the damn thing.


What you've got, sir, is a quite rare and amazingly sexy Bertone.

You've got a few options for the seat. You can either grab one (or a set, so it doesn't look mismatched) from any other 2xx (which are cheap as hell in junkyards), or you can try and get the current one re-upholstered or find a new bertone seat. OR you can go aftermarket and get either a bucket or fit seats from another car into it.

If I had a Bertone, I'd either leave it all stock or go balls-out performance, but that's just me.

Anyways, very cool car. Hope you keep it.

[neptune]

If its the two-tone gold/bronze, it should have a tan interior, and since not that many people want a tan interior finding a seat shouldn't be too hard if you look long enough. Used Bertone seats are probably your best choice as reupholstering these seats is difficult and I've yet to see a good looking set of reupholstered seats. At best most places don't redo the decorative bands with stitching and it just looks odd.

The heater core is difficult, but can be done if you have time and space to disassemble most of the dash. Actually it isn't so much difficult as it is tedious and time consuming.

[y-bot]

It does indeed have tan interior. My great aunt got a quote of $1500 to replace the heater core. I asked the guy who has been doing a lot of work on my Falcon what he would charge and he said about $200. We'll see if that pans out. Is there a repair manual available that shows how to disassemble the dash? Thanks for all the help so far!

y-bot

[lysolvolvo]

a competent upholsterer can redo the seat no problem... it's just alot of work (and $) to re-fab the embellishments those crazy italians stitched together...may check with a furniture upholsterer instead of automotive, cause the handy work on those seats is closer in craftsmanship and approach/execution to fine furniture finishing. If i remember, when we redid the seats in uncle's 262, our guy had like 64 individual pieces cut and sewn together to match the original work.

how do you know the heater core is bad? c/b a problem with connections or plumbing from engine (maybe from rebuild)... you get what you pay for, unless your guy is giving you a really great deal, or he doesn't really understand the amount of work it takes to do the core... either way, if the car is in such good condition - please be careful with who works on it, you don't really want anywho screwing up dash pieces,brackets, etc... a fine RARE car you now have, congrats. Grandma had good taste.

[volvo 4 life]

Is that wood grain on the exterior of that car?

[y-bot]

Is that wood grain on the exterior of that car?

No it's just brown & gold paint.

[y-bot]

Fixed a bunch of stuff today with my mechanic friend. The heater core is fine. There was a vacuum line off that was making the defroster switch not work. Hopefully fixed the trunk leak, fixed the passenger door lock, speedo cable, reverse light and probably some other stuff. Tomorrow he's replacing some vacuum lines, valve cover gaskets and the transmission rear seal. Hopefully that will be it for awhile. I drove it yesterday and this morning and it drives great besides the transmission not going in to gear when it was cold. Hopefully that was just a symptom of the fluid being low and not something else.

y-bot

[drturbo]

Dude, sell the neon and throw a Tbricker party. Provide the food and the beer and I bet people will crawl outta the cracks and crevices to help you out.

[y-bot]

Dude, sell the neon and throw a Tbricker party. Provide the food and the beer and I bet people will crawl outta the cracks and crevices to help you out.

I'm pretty hesitant to sell a car that hasn't been in the shop with one problem in 5 years. I've got 60,000 miles on it and the only thing I've done to it besides regular maintenance is replacing a sensor and a switch myself. I'm not saying Neons are great cars or anything, I just got a really good one. I am considering selling my Falcon though. I just went through the pile of receipts that came with the Volvo and it's pretty scary how much has been spent on repairs. $300-$500 dozens of times and $2300 for am engine rebuild. Ouch! Hopefully after tomorrow the Volvo will be fairly sorted out mechanically. I can probably find some parts cars within a few blocks of my house. I just saw a Volvo 740 or 760 with a tow sticker on it around the corner. Lots of older Volvos here in the Sellwood area of Portland.

y-bot

[Sabonim]

apparently old volvo = many mostly inexpensive repairs
and new (850+) = fewer more costly repairs
that old one is nice and rare, much like the neon, if its fixed right, it will run till your kids die of old age

[McLovin]

apparently old volvo = many mostly inexpensive repairs
and new (850+) = fewer more costly repairs
that old one is nice and rare, much like the neon, if its fixed right, it will run till your kids die of old age

What? Did you just call a neon reliable? Or nice and rare?

Because it is surely neither.

[thebornotaku]

Anything, if properly maintained, will last until your kids die.

The question is how much you can sink into it.

****, I could keep a geo metro running to a million miles if I wanted to, but it'd be expensive and not worth it.

[manbeard]

Anything, if properly maintained, will last until your kids die.

The question is how much you can sink into it.

****, I could keep a geo metro running to a million miles if I wanted to, but it'd be expensive and not worth it.

it wouldn't be expensive at all. a buddy of mine has one thats got close to 400K miles, and the only thing he has to do to it is change the oil. 3 cyl ftw!

[Tenacious Todd]

Awesome man that is my cars twin exactly. Mine has 110K but anyway. That is cool there were so few 1981's made being the LAST year for the 200 series Bertone. Mine came with a tan interior but will be swapped out for black. Heater core is not that bad of a job of course depending on your skill level as well.

MY Bertone build (http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=69353)



http://www.pbase.com/turbo16psi/image/64407694.jpg

[driftbrick744]

^ baller status

[Bigbegum69]

cool man, enjoy it... heres mine


http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n71/bigbegum/2525650656_40b798efda_b.jpg

[Tenacious Todd]

:roll:
No fair thats no longer a VOLVO :rofl:

[thebornotaku]

it wouldn't be expensive at all. a buddy of mine has one thats got close to 400K miles, and the only thing he has to do to it is change the oil. 3 cyl ftw!

400k isn't even half-way there.

[Ursan]

Does it have an intact vinyl top? Check it for soft spots around the edges & where it blends into the rear quarter. Whenever I see them in junkyards, they all seem to be rotten there.

most excellent find though.

[y-bot]

I took the passenger door panel off today to lubricate the lock and window mechanisms. Everything works much better now. Someone had put two screws in to one of the armrest holes and it took me a long time to figure out what the problem was. The bottom of the door panel has been wet at some point and the little clip things don't stay in the rotten wood very well. I adjusted the lock on the trunk so you don't have to slam it so hard but now I think the trunk is up too high in the back. Any tricks on adjusting the trunk so it doesn't leak? The seal is newer and seems fine.

Here's some pics:

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/y_bot/Volvo/DSC05854.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/y_bot/Volvo/DSC05855.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/y_bot/Volvo/DSC05856.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/y_bot/Volvo/DSC05857.jpg
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/y_bot/Volvo/DSC05858.jpg

@Ursan - no vinyl top on mine

@Bigbegum69 - that car is T-U-F-F!

@Tenacious Todd - yep, our cars were exactly the same but yours is waaaay different now

@McLovin - my Neon is the most reliable car I've ever owned. I think I've put about $100 in to it besides regular maintenance in 5 years and 60,000+ miles. It's been in the shop exactly 0 times.

y-bot

[voca164e]

Boy there sure are a lot of Bertones on this board, that's pretty cool. Wish I had one.

[Ursan]

@Ursan - no vinyl top on mine

y-bot

Good deals. I've *almost* bought 2 or 3 of those but walked when the roofs felt mushy underneath.

I *hate* vinyl tops.

[kyote]

That is a clean old Bertone, looks tits without the vinyl top. And If you like Begums trunk you should see under the hood :-D

[RedLine T5R]

Very nice Bertone, good luck. Can you get into the truck by removing rear seat? If so, then loosen up the latch, shut trunk, have friend push trunk down to seat on gasket, tighten latch mounts from inside trunk, done.

[Sander]

Damn i like thos bertones! It saddens mee that there are so few of them here in Holland :-(

[y-bot]

Very nice Bertone, good luck. Can you get into the truck by removing rear seat? If so, then loosen up the latch, shut trunk, have friend push trunk down to seat on gasket, tighten latch mounts from inside trunk, done.

I haven't looked to see how the rear seat is held on. Thanks for the tip.

[CFL940]

Ugh... no offense but I hate these cars.. its like a buick 242.

[Vee_Que]

you can't get into the boot of a 2 series or 7 or 9 series sedan they only have a ski port. It should have a trunk relese in the glove box.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Group A]

We just installed a G80 for Toby and we washed it and took a couple pics since it was so nice out today.:

http://www.r-sportinternational.com/customers/toby/toby01.jpg

http://www.r-sportinternational.com/customers/toby/toby02.jpg

http://www.r-sportinternational.com/customers/toby/toby03.jpg

http://www.r-sportinternational.com/customers/toby/toby04.jpg

http://www.r-sportinternational.com/customers/toby/toby05.jpg

http://www.r-sportinternational.com/customers/toby/toby06.jpg

http://www.r-sportinternational.com/customers/toby/toby07.jpg

http://www.r-sportinternational.com/customers/toby/toby08.jpg

http://www.r-sportinternational.com/customers/toby/toby09.jpg

[amerbritcan]

oh my that's pretty.

[norcal505]

looks great.

[Group A]

Short iPhone video I took w/o thinking about it first. Should have put more effort into it and thought about what I was going to say first.
Um.... stumble stumble... ummmm....

<object width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lO-wq2SwWqo&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lO-wq2SwWqo&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object>

[mblue240]

A long brown Volvo could be so ugly, but I LOVE it!

[y-bot]

Short iPhone video I took w/o thinking about it first. Should have put more effort into it and thought about what I was going to say first.
Um.... stumble stumble... ummmm....

<object width="500" height="405"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lO-wq2SwWqo&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lO-wq2SwWqo&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="405"></embed></object>

Thanks again for all the work you guys at RSI did. I can't believe what a difference there is with the boost turned up. Hopefully I can control myself and not get in to too much trouble.

toby

[WeezilUSA]

Very cool... I used to not like these, but they are so funky and rare, I'm a fan now... and this color scheme is delightful!

[y-bot]

Very cool... I used to not like these, but they are so funky and rare, I'm a fan now... and this color scheme is delightful!

Thanks for the comments. I agree that it is a funky looking car but I like it.

[gj940]

I love the colors of your car, put in a bigger turbo and it's a winner!

[pinguin]

I need one someday...

[Sir Psycho]

Is that a straight exhaust?

[y-bot]

Is that a straight exhaust?

3" exhaust from the turbo back with a cat and a Magnaflow muffler I think.

[y-bot]

I love the colors of your car, put in a bigger turbo and it's a winner!

Maybe someday, I need to get used to it the way it is. It really moves from 20 mph to 80 mph in 2nd/3rd. Also, I don't want to break the rods and/or transmission.

[Group A]

When we were trying to figure out the idle issue, we installed a chipped ecu and it was considerably faster. Not to mention you could rev it to 7000rpm.

I think best bang for the buck right now would be chipped ecu, then intercooler, then larger turbo. But any of the 2 before mentioned additions would definitely put it into break transmission territory as it's at the edge of that now.
Butt dyno says 190-200rwhp/230-250tq. You should take it to the OVT dyno day and see how close I am. :)

I think it's brilliantly fun as is. Plenty fast enough and it drives so nice it's almost a sin.

[700volts]

I gotta' comment on how cool those red-lined virgos are! Finally saw them up close the other day.

[y-bot]

When we were trying to figure out the idle issue, we installed a chipped ecu and it was considerably faster. Not to mention you could rev it to 7000rpm.

I think best bang for the buck right now would be chipped ecu, then intercooler, then larger turbo. But any of the 2 before mentioned additions would definitely put it into break transmission territory as it's at the edge of that now.
Butt dyno says 190-200rwhp/230-250tq. You should take it to the OVT dyno day and see how close I am. :)

I think it's brilliantly fun as is. Plenty fast enough and it drives so nice it's almost a sin.

Yeah, it definitely doesn't need to be any faster right now. I bought an NPR intercooler awhile ago so I'll put that in someday.

I gotta' comment on how cool those red-lined virgos are! Finally saw them up close the other day.

Thanks, I stole the idea from this guy:

http://forums.turbobricks.com/showpost.php?p=2664438&postcount=2

[700volts]

.....I bought an NPR intercooler awhile ago so I'll put that in someday.

That's exactly what I would do next!

[Cris]

Ummmm, am I the only one who wants to hear about the Falcon ?????
V8 & 4sp ??

[kampman]

That is one classy Bertone. Love the exhaust note. :nod:

[y-bot]

Ummmm, am I the only one who wants to hear about the Falcon ?????
V8 & 4sp ??

200 ci straight 6 and a 2-speed automatic. It's gone and I don't really miss it. I love the way it looked but it wasn't fun to drive. Here are some pics:

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/y_bot/falcon/

[valvesprung]

Man I can't beleive how good those Virgos look on that color scheme...it really kind of boggles my mind...

I'd say some 35% window tint would really look nice

[holtzboy]

Gold/Beige Metallic and Anthracite works good

http://www.jacqui-of-all-trades.com/shane/volvo/moms/moms_244_2.jpg