http://www.applefritter.com/node/6905
(Don't know how to put pics in threads anymore...)
Delivered last Tuesday- my new 1983 Volvo 240GL Tour Series. 152300 kilometres; exterior and interior both in pristine condition.
Features:
B23E engine- 2.3 litre, fuel-injected inline 4 cylinder. Despite primitive technology it pounds out a smooth 100kW @ 5500rpm, and 190Nm of torque @ 4500rpm using 98 octane premium unleaded. Makes surprisingly light work of pushing the 1800kg behemoth around, and the angry bark it produces at over 4000rpm is music to one's ears.
3-speed auto transmission- does the job. Better than even a 6-speed manual, if you ask me- I'm not a manual driver; I'd rather the car drive me, not so much the other way around. Silky smooth and has a very quick, useful kickdown.
15" genuine Volvo alloy wheels/4-wheel disc brakes/GoodYear Regatta tyres- all excellent quality; great ride, great handling, good stopping distance(now that I'm used to the extra braking distance required by a car weighing about twice as much as what I previously drove).
Plush interior with automatically heated front seats- nicer to hang around in than my lounge room!
Late-model econo-cheapo tape deck/AM/FM tuner and 4 original Volvo speakers- garbage, all being replaced this week.
Air conditioning, power steering, electric radio antenna, push-button boot release, oil pressure/oil temperature/fuel usage gauges, tachometer; height/angle/firmness-adjustable driver and passenger seats; illuminated boot(trunk)/engine bay/glovebox/rear ashtray; rear centre armrest; drink tray/vanity mirror built into glovebox door; tinted windows.
I absolutely love this car. It's the best darn thing I've ever driven or rode in, let alone owned! Being able to see acres of steel sticking out in every direction really makes me feel safe, too, and helps with parking(no more guessing how far out the bonnet goes!).
The best part is how flawless it is mechanically. Not a thing wrong. Probably drives just as well as it did when it left the factory! And it really doesn't look a day over 5 years old, if that.
So what y'all think?
One problem though... The steering wheel is on the wrong side!
Interesting that despite the metric measurements for mileage and engine specs, references to the "boot" and "bonnet", and a "centre armrest", it still has 15" wheels on it.
Yup...no idea what's the deal with that. These crazy Australians...;)
Well done!
but on your car that's not the case it should be sound...
That is sure a nice looking Volvo! I had a lesser 340 GLT with the B200E engine (the little brother of the B230) and it was indistructible! Couln't say that about the body though
Congrats
Nice, looks like & sounds it's in great shape. The only problem i see is that the steering wheel is on the wrong side. Im just kidding, looks great. I love old cars.
Old car?!?! A 1983 anything isn't an old car. I wouldn't consider any car to be old when I can remember the year it was introduced, and I remember 1983 very well.
Does that make me old?
It does if you live in places that use a lot of road salt during the winter.
It's amazing for me to see a 1983 car in such good shape that isn't someone's collectible or show car.
I agree. Aound here, it's fairly uncommon to see anything older than 1985 and almost as unlikely for anything older than 1990. Cruddy Missouri roads and temp cycling and salt in the winter...
From my perspective, 1983 is kinda old for a car. I wasn't even alive in 1983, (i was born in '85). There's nothing wrong with saying that a car is old, as i said, i like old cars. I drive a 1986 model year.
To me any car that is younger than 5 years old seems "new" to me. Cars that are 10-5 years old seem to me to be "older new cars". Cars that are 15-10 years old seem "older cars". Cars older than say 1989 or so seem "old" because in a lot of respects a 1991 model of a toyota can look somewhat like a fairly new one but a 86 cressida looks quite old compared to a newer one.
Car companies really switched styles of cars in the late 80s when Ford came out with their Taurus and then everyone started going to composite headlights and the bubble look. A 87 Chevy Monte Carlo looks really dated but a 91 Chevy Corsica doesn't look nearly as dated because the Corsica follows the bubble/aero looks that are still common today.
I look at it this way, when I got my license, I always wanted certain cars (I really wanted a brand new 85 Lincoln Mark VII LS with the mustang engine) but as time went on, that car seemed to get older and older to the point where it was no longer desirable like it was back then. Thats how I gauge old. That Lincoln just seems old and dated now.
Its like clothing styles. Leggings and big hair which seemed so cool for the woman back in 85 look so dated and old nowadays.
Thats not to say that an "old" car is not desirable, I would love to get my hands on a 87 Mercedes 300 or 450 class because I love the styling and they are fairly affordable to buy (but quite expensive to maintain).
I'm now facing the consequences of buying a car which was previously owned by do-it-yerself mechanics.
List of new problems at a touch over 160,000kms:
*Dead in-tank fuel pump
*Intermittently non-working "other" fuel pump
*Engine so severely out of tune it screams like a banshee and vibrates like holy heck, not to mention being sluggish as hell
*Failed bushings all over the freakin' place
*Several dead globes(easily fixable)
*Broken glove compartment latch
*Broken interior light
*Broken lumbar support/foam in driver's seat
*Broken left tail light- literally just fell apart!
*Faulty idle controller
*Really dodgy transmission... hangs on to gears far too long- possibly needs kickdown cable adjusted?
*Broken bonnet opener mechanism
*Rust in driver and front passenger's doors
*Surface rust creeping up in chips in paintwork
*Dead air conditioner- I mean really dead!
*Noisy heater blower- sounds on the way out, bloody expensive to replace
*Steering out of alignment
*Left steering arm requires replacement
*Reverse lights non-functional
*Parcel shelf broken free of fasteners and just sitting there looking pretty.
You don't need to know the size of the quote I got to repair all this.
Why don't people like manuals anymore? All of mine are manuals. 3 spd manual in my 65' Stang, 5 spd in my Mercedes, and a 6 spd in my WRX STI. Manuals (in my opinion) give you more control over your car. But they can be a @$$ to shift in a Mercedes!
Thanks, word03!
As much as I think on occasion that I bought a lemon back in 2000 from CarMax - a '93 Chevy Corsica - it has nothing on yours!
After replacing:
5 alternators (mostly my fault)
2 starters (mostly from oil)
right drive axle
power steering pump
master cylinder
heater core
All mine does now is leak oil and have a non-fuctioning A/C. I can live with that....
My sisters 94 Subaru Legacy is a lemon and has never had any of the problems.Hmmmm.......
i thought this was standard for all old volvos.
When I got mine, it was as smooth as silk and had a nice quiet purrr to it.
By the way, being 3 am and all when I posted the problems, I forgot a few.
*Half-broken electric antenna- only goes down 2/3 of the way and the cutoffs don't work- motor keeps pushing up even when it's as high as it goes, same when going down.
*Intermittent setting on wipers useless
*Windscreen washer/wiper thing broken... looks like the pump is gone, doesn't even make any noise
*Just last Thursday went to get all 8 disc pads replaced, and found out the rotors were completely fscked. Cost me $490 for 4 new rotors plus $203.50 for new pads.
Once I get all this stuff fixed, the car will be as I got it again... what a thing to look forward to!
Word03 realizes the dream... (Well, okay, perhaps not the dream... but the dream car)
Realizes the car is a lemon... The dream is shattered...
Finds new hope and realizes, "Dude, I got a Volvo!"
This could be a bestseller.
I love my big beefy lemon.
Sure it sucks now, but it won't eventually.
Right?
Right?
What happens next to make this a nightmare is me getting fired at work, and not receiving my tax refund- instead, having to pay the government money to make up for lost taxes. Which would involve selling the Volvo, which I couldn't do for a fair price because of all the issues, which I'd need the tax refund I was no longer getting in order to fix.
...yeah, that would suck.