ethor
Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2013
- Location
- Eugene, Oregon
Hello one and all. I am starting this thread in hopes that I will get a bit more motivation to get several things done on my car prior to the IPD garage sale that is a little over a month away. I'll start off with a little back story...
Before I bought this car (86 244 for those of you not wanting to wait and find out at the end of the story) after a long string of car trades that I was slowly losing money on. I was fresh out of high school and was keen on making it big in the car scene. In the Fall I started going to college and kept trying to make a little money through trading and selling cars. I owned a total of 6 cars in 6 months and by the end of it, I had pretty much run out of money for both paying for cars and school tuition. I felt quite crappy about all this, so the day after I sold an 86 Cressida that was leaving me stranded everywhere I went if I let it cool down, I decided to go back to where I started. I bought the first 240 I could find.
I ended up with an 86 244 with a m46. I didn't put much thought into the purchase, I just wanted something I could drive without being scared of getting stuck wherever I was going and something I wouldn't want to try and sell or trade to make money. Because who in their right mind would want to trade for an old Volvo?
I was happy, my parents were happy, and all was right in the world.
I could tell right away that the front struts were pretty bad, the odometer didn't work, the speedo was spotty, and the air coming through the vents was foreshadowing that the blower motor was on its way out. So the first thing I did, being a sensible person, is I bought a roof rack (not terribly sensible). I proceeded to cut the springs and throw an obnoxious glasspack muffler on it.
Enough talking/typing. Here's some pictures...
Here's the car as it was when I bought it, plus the roof rack; completely stock.
Before long the blower motor crapped out and I quickly grew tired of driving around in winter weather with my windows down to keep things from fogging, so I threw a new motor in. At the same time, I ordered a new odo gear, and kaplenke coilover sleeves. I also bought (for a second time) some turbo gauges from the owner of my previous 244. Replacing the blower motor was a good learning experience... The odometer gear replacement didn't change anything, so I'm thinking the issue is with the speedo itself, but I don't yet have the need to fix the problem.
While I had the interior all apart, I decided to take the time to clean some stuff.
A little while later, I got some Dave Barton stuff...
I painted some stuff black, and at that point it was looking something like this:
Then Summer came and went and I was really busy with working so I did pretty much nothing to the car; except for driving it every day, of course. I felt the need to give the old thing some love. I called the Volvo shop that it used to frequent with previous owners and learned that the car hadn't been in for service for over a year.
Over this last Christmas break I did the head gasket, timing belt, radiator, and tail lights. I had a strong suspicion that the timing was off because often times it would feel like the engine was choking when I accelerated. My suspicions were correct:
I got it all back together and she started on the first turn of the key!
So I guess that's about where I'm at now. Sorry for such a long intro.
As for what I'd like before IPD this year, I feel like this is an attainable list for me:
- the rear brakes need new pads and rotors
- the alternator belt needs some tensioning
- I'd like to get all my lights working properly
I think I'll take the car to a shop for the brakes because I don't know if I want to be messing with something that has to do with the safety of the passengers...
Future plans beyond the next month that I would like to see come to fruition are:
- +T for a while, then explore bigger and higher, but reliable power output options
- Coilovers. I still have the adjuster sleeves sitting on the shelf
- wheels (undecided)
- bigger brakes, which may be a pipe dream
- sound system (I already have most of the necessary parts)
- e codes
- different turn signals
- eggcrate grill
This list has potential to change at any time, and it probably will have adjustments made as time goes on. I will be asking questions, and thank you in advance to anyone and everyone that gives input! I am open to anything.
Before I bought this car (86 244 for those of you not wanting to wait and find out at the end of the story) after a long string of car trades that I was slowly losing money on. I was fresh out of high school and was keen on making it big in the car scene. In the Fall I started going to college and kept trying to make a little money through trading and selling cars. I owned a total of 6 cars in 6 months and by the end of it, I had pretty much run out of money for both paying for cars and school tuition. I felt quite crappy about all this, so the day after I sold an 86 Cressida that was leaving me stranded everywhere I went if I let it cool down, I decided to go back to where I started. I bought the first 240 I could find.
I ended up with an 86 244 with a m46. I didn't put much thought into the purchase, I just wanted something I could drive without being scared of getting stuck wherever I was going and something I wouldn't want to try and sell or trade to make money. Because who in their right mind would want to trade for an old Volvo?
I was happy, my parents were happy, and all was right in the world.
I could tell right away that the front struts were pretty bad, the odometer didn't work, the speedo was spotty, and the air coming through the vents was foreshadowing that the blower motor was on its way out. So the first thing I did, being a sensible person, is I bought a roof rack (not terribly sensible). I proceeded to cut the springs and throw an obnoxious glasspack muffler on it.
Enough talking/typing. Here's some pictures...
Here's the car as it was when I bought it, plus the roof rack; completely stock.
Before long the blower motor crapped out and I quickly grew tired of driving around in winter weather with my windows down to keep things from fogging, so I threw a new motor in. At the same time, I ordered a new odo gear, and kaplenke coilover sleeves. I also bought (for a second time) some turbo gauges from the owner of my previous 244. Replacing the blower motor was a good learning experience... The odometer gear replacement didn't change anything, so I'm thinking the issue is with the speedo itself, but I don't yet have the need to fix the problem.
While I had the interior all apart, I decided to take the time to clean some stuff.
A little while later, I got some Dave Barton stuff...
I painted some stuff black, and at that point it was looking something like this:
Then Summer came and went and I was really busy with working so I did pretty much nothing to the car; except for driving it every day, of course. I felt the need to give the old thing some love. I called the Volvo shop that it used to frequent with previous owners and learned that the car hadn't been in for service for over a year.
Over this last Christmas break I did the head gasket, timing belt, radiator, and tail lights. I had a strong suspicion that the timing was off because often times it would feel like the engine was choking when I accelerated. My suspicions were correct:
I got it all back together and she started on the first turn of the key!
So I guess that's about where I'm at now. Sorry for such a long intro.
As for what I'd like before IPD this year, I feel like this is an attainable list for me:
- the rear brakes need new pads and rotors
- the alternator belt needs some tensioning
- I'd like to get all my lights working properly
I think I'll take the car to a shop for the brakes because I don't know if I want to be messing with something that has to do with the safety of the passengers...
Future plans beyond the next month that I would like to see come to fruition are:
- +T for a while, then explore bigger and higher, but reliable power output options
- Coilovers. I still have the adjuster sleeves sitting on the shelf
- wheels (undecided)
- bigger brakes, which may be a pipe dream
- sound system (I already have most of the necessary parts)
- e codes
- different turn signals
- eggcrate grill
This list has potential to change at any time, and it probably will have adjustments made as time goes on. I will be asking questions, and thank you in advance to anyone and everyone that gives input! I am open to anything.
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