D?j? Vu Mid-Blue - 1989 Volvo 245 DL

Once the itch hits again, my recommendation would be: find the best you can afford; find something not sold between 1985 and 1990.

Sorry you're having bad luck with this one. If you decide to get rid of it I'd definitely keep anything good on it, within reason, if you plan in finding another one. Having some good injectors, a power stage, alternator, fuel pump relay, coil, cap and rotor takes up almost no space and can go a long way in keeping a different one on the road.

They're not all winners no matter how hard we try to make them be. I had a Mk2 Jetta that was exactly the same way. As hard as I tried I just couldn't get it to be reliable. Then my next one I put 50k miles on in 2 years.

You're making me second guess selling my commuter Jetta to daily my 240. Of course I always have the Land Rover to fall back on

Thank you everybody for the encouragement.

Selling the car is not a done deal. In fact, I felt like a bad dad for letting it sit in the driveway with extinguisher dust all over it. lol I'm not totally against the idea of letting it sit so that I can tear it down and build it into something very different. I just know that now is a very bad time for me to take on a project like that. I have a wedding in November, a two-car garage, five cars, one long-term storage space, a plan to leave this house in the next five years, and a fiance trying to get into grad school. Money, time, and logistics are all against me.

I figure that if the new distributor, plug wires, and whatever else I need to get the car running doesn't magically help my MPG problem, the car will be for sale immediately. If it finally runs better than ever, I may decide to keep it and redo everything nicely. We'll see.

It's fine either way. I have my hands full with two cars. I have learned to be leery of LH 2.2 cars in general as some of the most critical components have some fatal flaws. It's definitely fixable, but to what end and is it ever worth the effort?

If of the five cars, this is the one that gives you the fizz the least, cull it.

Harlard said:

It's fine either way. I have my hands full with two cars. I have learned to be leery of LH 2.2 cars in general as some of the most critical components have some fatal flaws. It's definitely fixable, but to what end and is it ever worth the effort?

If of the five cars, this is the one that gives you the fizz the least, cull it.

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This one is 2.4, but if I keep it around I'll probably go with Microsquirt. That's not until a set of haphazardly placed dominoes happen to knock each other over though. We'll see.

The new distributor is on my door step. The car's fate is in god's hands now.

Of course the 240 would wait until it was in dire straits to finally reveal it's big secret. How on earth did this thing ever run?!


So that's the spark? Where did the fuel come from?

Shoddy

Since I'm no longer relying on this car to get anybody to work, I ignored my sloppiness and took my time repairing these obvious issues nicely.


I don't have any pictures of the comparison. You wouldn't be able to see it anyway, but the new FPR was made in a way which allows the oring to roll instead of squeezing into the ID of the fuel rail. I installed the old FPR since it worked fine, but this is another classic case of nobody making nice parts for Volvo anymore.

...moment of truth!

She runs without leaks! Very smoothly too.


I even fixed the second (and final!) leak in the cruise control system. The hose to the actuator was barely engaged on the nipple causing intermittent leaks. It works like a dream now.


So what am I supposed to do now?!

This little ***HOLE lights itself on fire, makes me buy a brand new car, and four days later it's taking me to work like it never had any problems.

My fiance and I are both torn on the subject. Before any of this happened the plan was originally to buy a Rav4 to replace the C30. Then I would split my daily driving between the 240 and Camaro. The C30 has a much better record in terms of reliability than both of those cars combined. However, at 199k miles, how long can I expect that record to continue? The difference ends up being that I just fix the 240 and Camaro whenever it's convenient, and everything works out. When the C30 "acts up" I ALWAYS have to order parts online. It also tends to throw a tantrum to the point where it needs to be towed and won't let me drive it anywhere until it's fixed. Sure, I will have the Camaro to pick up the slack, but will it be ready when push comes to shove? I also have no desire to keep the C30. It's an appliance to me, and I already have a car payment. If it dies, I really don't want a second payment.

On the other hand, the 240, while very simple to fix, ALWAYS needs to be fixed. Something is always wrong or quickly corroding. The fire scared the crap out of us which was why the knee-jerk reaction was to get rid of this thing. I think we would both regret doing that within a month or two though. We love this car. It just doesn't seem to fill the duties we had assigned it. I need to remember that it hasn't left us stranded yet, but each long trip we have taken in this thing since last year's Smokey Mountain adventure has been increasingly stressful. The stress defeats the point of a "fun adventure car". It's also part of chasing that roadkill dream...

Dang.

I can talk in circles all day long, but there's only one thing for certain. I can't make a decision until the Camaro is drivable. Until then, I need to split the daily duties between the two Volvos. As much as I don't NEED another project, I knew from the start that we were buying a 240 to eventually slam it and boost it or swap it. I will change my mind a million times before things get serious. Even then, I probably won't know what the correct decision is. As of now though, I think I need to stick with my gut, watch the C30 hit 200k, shed a quick tear, sell it, and never look back. The 240 is part of the family like an old dog. No, it doesn't do much. It's not good for a whole lot either, but we've been through too much to put him down. There's a chance that it can keep kicking with this new distributor long enough for us to move into that massive garage I need to restore all my cars and keep the daily's mint. I have less faith in the C30 doing the same.

One more defense for the 240. I'm prepared if this sort of thing ever comes up again.

volvowagoon said:

One more defense for the 240. I'm prepared if this sort of thing ever comes up again.

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Nothing wrong with playing it safe. A buddy of mine had something happen while he was driving. Somehow a fire started in engine bay and he had to pull over. It didn't do a lot of damage but would of been nice to be prepared.

white855T said:

Nothing wrong with playing it safe. A buddy of mine had something happen while he was driving. Somehow a fire started in engine bay and he had to pull over. It didn't do a lot of damage but would of been nice to be prepared.

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Word. I learned this the hard way in 2011. See post #1. Unfortunately the fire I had on Monday is my second car fire. Extinguishers are cheap. Cars and houses are not!

It's always the same with projects, isn't it? The moment you decide you're DONE with its bullsh*t and you're gonna get rid of it they start driving like they should've all along. Just keep up the threat of kicking this car out and it'll last..

reiernumans said:

It's always the same with projects, isn't it? The moment you decide you're DONE with its bullsh*t and you're gonna get rid of it they start driving like they should've all along. Just keep up the threat of kicking this car out and it'll last..

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This is so true! There seem to be fewer and fewer people like myself who name their cars and talk about them as if they have a personality, but I think a lot of it has to do with more people driving newer stuff that doesn't act this way. They'll never understand this kind of "interaction" between man and failing machine. I can list my excuses, but I really only name cars because I'm bat**** crazy.

FYI The car is unofficially for sale if anybody wants it. It's rough around the edges, but it runs and drives flawlessly. I'm posting in FS yet because I don't know how to price it. I also don't care to be bombarded with messages when I'm so reluctant to get rid of it.

I love this car to death. 240s and turbobricks have taught me more about wrenching than anything else, but Buicks and 3800s stole my heart first. I can't have three unreliable toys. If the 240 continues to treat me right until the Camaro is trustworthy, I will do some more repairs and list it for a higher price than what I'm currently thinking. If nobody wants it after that and it's still going strong, I'll do a serpentine conversion, condenser upgrade, and tinted windows. Reliability and comfort were always what I had in mind for this thing, and I just never got it. I also lost focus for a little while, so getting back on track (plus some better luck) might be what I've needed all along. Until I figure that out, a sign will be taped to the back window.

I listed the car on FB marketplace last night for $3500 as soon as I replaced the pads, rotors, and wheel bearings. Somebody is actually coming to check it out tonight! I never thought it would happen so fast. This market is wild. If it goes, I know I'm going to miss it. I know it's the right thing to do though. One thing I won't miss is the constant struggle to reach Stage 0. Having my time and space back will be much appreciated.

volvowagoon said:

I listed the car on FB marketplace last night for $3500 as soon as I replaced the pads, rotors, and wheel bearings. Somebody is actually coming to check it out tonight! I never thought it would happen so fast. This market is wild. If it goes, I know I'm going to miss it. I know it's the right thing to do though. One thing I won't miss is the constant struggle to reach Stage 0. Having my time and space back will be much appreciated.

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Just read this whole thread. The ending hurts to read, but I?m glad you found an out and are taking it.

Also this is the first thread on TB to sell me a fire extinguisher.

This market is INSANE.

Our beloved 240 was already gone before I could list it on tbricks, and we got a whopping $3200. At first, I was celebrating. After a couple hours, a dark cloud came over me. Not so deep down, I was expecting (hoping) that the car would not sell as long as it was listed at that price. I would eventually sell my C30 instead because its disposable in my eyes.

It's a big chapter to be concluded so abruptly, but I know it was the right decision. While it feels like I just gave my favorite dog up for adoption, I know that I'm unable to give the 240 the care it deserves or even enjoy it as much as possible. I hope that the new owner gives the car a lot of care and road time.

Here it is before leaving the house for the final time.


And my final picture before saying good bye.

sheepbleat said:

Just read this whole thread. The ending hurts to read, but I’m glad you found an out and are taking it.

Also this is the first thread on TB to sell me a fire extinguisher.

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Thanks for reading! I'm happy to help other brickers. I think it's becoming increasingly important as classic car owners to be prepared and mindful of our cars' needs. I partially blame the technological era we live in for my complacency. I've essentially done nothing but change oil and belts on my C30s engine for the last 160k miles and it runs like new. Parts like the PCV and sensors were as easy as R&R. Nothing else. My '02 Camaro has endured of abuse from modifications that were attached like Legos and accepted by the ECM with relatively simple programming.

The modern techniques for manufacturing have improved so much that hot rodding and even just maintaining older cars (as I know it) is becoming a dying trade. Swapping parts on the 240 was very rarely as easy as JUST swapping parts. It often involved a lot of rust remediation, cleaning, painting, shimming, and adjusting just to make the new part work and last as long as the part it replaced. Even with all this extra attention to detail, the car went up in flames. I'm not saying that car fires are inevitable if you have old stuff, but it's getting easier and easier to say "it's fine" as we get more used to modern technology.

TLDR: Cars aren't built the way they used to be. Honestly though, that's a good thing. Be safe!

Onwards and upwards!