1989 Volvo 240DL

[seth1991]

As you can see, she's been very well taken care of. It's been in my family longer than I have and now it's my car.
There are a couple of things that are issues. For one, it's incredibly slow acceleration-wise. I don't really want to do much engine wise as I have little experience and even littler amount of space to work on it. I do however want to do some exhaust work. Would there be any benefit as far exhaust-wise to taking off the mufflers and replacing them with straight pipes? I know this would be loud, but loud enough to get in trouble?
Second, the car is completely spot-less on the outside except for the yellowed headlights. What have any of you all done to correct this problem? I looked at replacing the plastics but $250 per headlights is a little too much for my budget.
Also, the odometer quit working. Is this even worth fixing? I haven't been able to pinpoint what exactly is the cause, but the speedometer and all other gauges still work so I'm ok with just the odometer not working.
Although I don't have the ability to see precisely what gas mileage I am getting, I have noticed it is pretty poor (10-15mpg range). Is this normal? It's not that big of a deal, however I was just wondering if there are any tips to getting better gas mileage as the engine is pretty much immaculate from the outside.

Thanks for looking and any help/suggestions!

[gear whine]

seriously, toothpaste. id use a gritty one, like arm and hammer with baking soda.
seriously, work it in and it works, i kid you not.

the only real gain you would get with exhaust on an n/a would b making a custom header, you can take off the mufflers but it prolly wont do much and it will b loud, try running straight pipes and no cat into one rear muffler.
id honestly get a better stock volvo cam and throw it in there, its really not that hard. find some dudes who live in VA and ask them help with the install, provide some burgers and beer for their effort.

****ing clean man!!!!

[DurableSwedish]

get one of the NoVA guys to help you +t that thing, they can probably do it in a day.

[GrandmaSideways]

Wow clean car.
Same color interior/exterior combo, & the sameyear as my 'project' 89', Snowplow. So named because it was hit by one.
Also more interesting is how both our cars have the badges on the wrong sides - Volvo should be on the left and '240_DL' on the right. Be curious to know what the build number on yours is.
Anyways, with snowplow the E.C.U. died on it, a common issue for the 561 E.C.U. The better replacement is a 951 E.C.U., and they can be had cheaply on eBay. I got mine for $50 plus shipping. Even cheaper on the for sale classifieds in here, as it's not too desirable. I popped it in my gold 89' to test it out and drive it around for the 30 day warranty period, and I kid you not, the 951 is A LOT more drivable. Better power off the line, feels a little 'perkier' - not more powerful and not any faster, but feels good. If you can find one, try it. Plus never hurts to have a spare ECU hanging around as a backup for a faulty 561 - limp home mode isn't fun. (ask me how I know)

Some things I recommend right off the bat is pulling off all that heat shielding from the exhaust manifold and headers under the car (rattles like crazy) and going into the airbox and yanking and binning the cold air circulation - it was a valve for very cold climates that would close off the intake in front of the radiator, and pull air right off the manifold (the silver tube connects to the bottom of the airbox, and that connects to the metal shield over the intake) - the problem is it gets stuck and then on a hot day you're only feeding hot air into the car - not good for it, and the only place it serves a purpose is in Scandinavian countries.

As for headlights, I took the easy route out and put on eCodes and a relay wiring kit. MUCH better. Not only will it not yellow because it's glass, but it has FAR superior light output. Those will run you about $250 though... I would try cleaning the headlights, http://www.mustangforums.com/m_30863..._1/key_/tm.htm is a place to start. If that isn't enough, just buy replacement LENSES, not the entire housing.

As for your poor economy, get a tune up? I have pretty crappy mileage, and I haven't looked into it yet, but I'm just running really rich.

[amargill19?]

my 89 used to be that clean...

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH another person my age................... Us Brickers are getting younger and younger.
My 740 is an 89 too. You're lucky, you have a M47, I'm stuck with my lame auto........ You have a nice car, just talk around on here and become known, and you will be helped with any problem. You might want to watch out though. Once you go brick you never go back (Or is it once you go black you never go back?)

[mr brick driver]

Hmm the m47 should get 33MPG on the interstate.

[Mr Yuck]

Odometer Repair Kit

Odometer Repair Tutorial

Alternatively, get yourself a GPS Navigation unit with an odometer ;)

[oldschoolvolvo]

nice looking 240! i like the color

[242teeI]

very clean, have fun with it.

[badvlvo]

Polishing out the headlights is easy. Some 800grit, 1000, and 1500, along with some polishing compuund and a bucket of water will be all you need. That's a really clean car, you are lucky.

Don't eliminate the mufflers, it will sound like ****. Also don't waste your money on a header for your car. Get a stock turbo exhaust from the cat to the bumper or get the ipd NA sport exhaust. It will be a little louder, flow better and won't get the attention of the cops. A VX cam or a D cam will keep your car as smooth as it is right now but boost the HP a bit. The K cam is a bit too much for a mostly stock car. Add a K&N filter and drill out the airbox and swap to an e-fan and you will have better mileage and more power without anyone noticing for inspection and be well under the cops radar.