Got the diesel home -- pics -- D24T content

[v8volvo]

Well, it's here. Quite a day yesterday, 10 hours on the road. Got up to Bangor, ME around 2:30pm on the bus, where the PO met me with the car. Was on the road back down by 3:30, hit Boston around 8pm after a quick stop for dinner and at the New Hampshire State Liquor Outlet (right at a rest stop -- no sales tax! ).

The car was such a delight on the road coming home. I just set the cruise at 75, turned up the oldschool Alpine, and sat back in the pristine leather and let the miles go by with the D24 humming away up there. I don't understand why people rag on these engines. It is such a sweet running motor, amazingly smooth and quiet. It has the definition of turbo lag -- total dog till the boost comes up -- but on the highway it's a jet. Sounds like one too. What a great long distance cruiser. Also I had forgotten that Volvo makes the best seats in the world. Ah its good to be back....

The car definitely is not perfect. Hell it's 24 years old and is pushing 200k, I don't blame it. I am gonna go totally through it over the next couple weeks: valve adjustment, some new seals and hoses and gaskets, set injection timing, replace injectors and more....

Blower motor is noisy. It sounds like it's right behind the glovebox. Easy fix?

Also it really needs a clutch cable. Anyone know if that is the same part on the diesels and on the gassers? I would assume so, it's just a M46 with a different bellhousing... AutohausAZ shows a clutch cable with a metal casing, but the one one there now has rubber. Which is the stock kind, or better kind?

Well enough said, you want to see pics. It was dark when I got back last night and crap weather today so just some quick stuff for now, more later.

Some shots from the road coming down I-95 last night. My first time in Maine, still lots of snow up there but very nice. Pretty landscape and lots of trees.






The car today... gotta love Boston in the springtime...


Interior is CLEAN...


When was the last time you saw an old 740 with door and seat pockets that looked like these??


Here it is... the great D24T in all its glory.




Enjoy... more coming once the weather is better.

[volvorod85]

Damn clean 700, I did like my 760 when I had it and everything was right.....too bad it wasnt often enough, enjoy it ....looks like a nice driver!

Mark

[Vol242vo]

That interior is beautiful!

[77volvo245]

I just replace my clutch cable on my 240 diesel. Mine broke while I was in second gear and drove 3 miles to school that way. I think the cable different by length compare to the gasoline 240. Im not sure about the 700 series.

[v8volvo]

Originally Posted by 77volvo245

I just replace my clutch cable on my 240 diesel. Mine broke while I was in second gear and drove 3 miles to school that way. I think the cable different by length compare to the gasoline 240. Im not sure about the 700 series.

Yeah mine feels like it might go at any time... it is maxed out on the adjustment range and still the pedal doesn't come all the way up, clutch engagement is really close to the floor.

Thanks for the comments!

[Raz]

You are either a very small man, or you let a girl drive your car.

I know I couldn't fit in your car with the seat that close to the steering wheel

Awesome car, clean that engine, add intercooler and boost!

[dieselboy]

i want one.

[340GL]

factoid: the D24 is the world's smallest 6-cyl diesel engine to be put into a production car*



*according to wikipedia . No idea if this is actually correct

Love how clean the car looks. big +1.

[v8volvo]

Originally Posted by Raz

You are either a very small man, or you let a girl drive your car.

I know I couldn't fit in your car with the seat that close to the steering wheel

Awesome car, clean that engine, add intercooler and boost!

?? Well I'm 5'11"... guess I just like being a little closer up. With the messed up clutch cable you really gotta get the pedal all the way to the floor.

I don't remember where I read this, but I think when the D24T first came out in '83 it was also the world's fastest diesel car. Might still have been in '85 when this was built, though I dunno, by then the BMW 524td was out too and that might've been a little quicker. Who knows though, that car was only automatic and this is a stick..

[NONo443]

That car looks to be in great shape (for it's age), nice find.

[Eli]

In 1981 Volkswagon put a D24T in this thing and they hit 110mph, which didn't break the record.






Congratulations man, your car looks fantastic. I really love that engine too, it's so smooth. and it really is a highway cruiser.

Sounds like it's in great hands.

[badvlvo]

Nice car. I would love to find one that clean out here with the manual trans.

[Cojones]

Looks very clean. I like the black carpets! Sweet.

[Clay]

Originally Posted by Raz

You are either a very small man, or you let a girl drive your car.

I know I couldn't fit in your car with the seat that close to the steering wheel

You should see mine!


That interior is INCREDIBLY clean!

[944GLE]

Very nice find man, saw it on craigslist about a month ago very clean

[cuaz64]

hrrrr.....I'm very jealous now...You have a really nice car.

[speedn_j]

what kind of mpg's did you get on the way home?

[Fivehundred]

Nice looking car, though the fascination with D24s is rather inexplicable

[colgate41]

Very nice! How much did you pay?

[v8volvo]

Originally Posted by speedn_j

what kind of mpg's did you get on the way home?

Dunno haven't checked yet. 250 miles was about 2/3 tank, whatever that means.

I paid $3k. Pretty steep for an old wagon with a little New England rust, it woulda been half that or less if it were a gasser I'm sure... but given how rare the diesels are I wasn't gonna protest much.

That's right, I saw the article about the speed record car... I was thinking more about diesels you could buy for the street lol. I def think this Volvo is faster than an equivalent Benz TD from the same year. BMW not so sure.

The D24 master, Tom Bryant, says automatic D24Ts are faster than manuals. Hard to believe but he cites some good reasons.... guess the torque converter does a better job of letting revs and boost build fast, etc, plus the autos have a deeper rearend. I bet if you went all-out and did a clutch dump launch the stick would still pull away but I can see how the auto might "feel" more peppy in less extreme driving. I want to run a race sometime, ZF vs M46 D24t, and see what happens.

[Slobodan]

nice find man.
about the Auto tranny's on those diesels - I love the ZF -22. and I am not an automatic loving guy. I have driven several D24T's with auto and stick and can honestly say that I still perfer the stick. however, the auto D24T setup was faster. D24T with Lock up torque converter kicks some ass.

[volvo 4 life]

You like the ZF-22? I've heard nothing but bad things about them. How are they for handling power?

[DNAsEqUeNcE]

Holset/no WG for the fun of it

[740Weapon]

Originally Posted by v8volvo

Dunno haven't checked yet. 250 miles was about 2/3 tank, whatever that means.

I paid $3k.

That means your getting gasser fuel mileage. FYI my 16 valve 740 gets about 24 mpg combined.

IDK what your plans are with the car, but if they were economy, you got owned.

[v8volvo]

Originally Posted by 740Weapon

That means your getting gasser fuel mileage. FYI my 16 valve 740 gets about 24 mpg combined.

IDK what your plans are with the car, but if they were economy, you got owned.

It's a guess, I have no idea how much it actually used. Just a shot in the dark based on the gauge. Also discovered the valve lash and pump timing are way, way off. Turns out the cold start device is jammed in the full cold position, so it is getting huge advance all the time. Very bad for MPG as well as the pistons and rings...

I'll have a much better read on how it does mpg-wise once I get it all dialed in right and do an actual calculation. But to be honest mpg isn't the ultimate goal here... if it was I woulda stuck with VW diesels, my Rabbit gets 48mpg on the road. I just wanted a six-cylinder diesel, I like the way they run and sound. Plus WVO is somewhere in the future once everything else is taken care of. The Rabbit gets amazing mileage but is loud and slow and would be deadly in a crash. The Volvo is fast (relatively), smooth, comfy, and safe, and can still run on free fuel. 30 mpg on free fuel is still free.