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I own a 1980 Volvo 245. I originally found it abandoned in a shopping center parking lot; rust around the windows, battery stuck in the back seat, and the driver's door refusing to open. After discovering it belonged to a local shop owner, I made my big offer; $700. They accepted, and on a rainy night in Janurary 2001, I drove it home. Since then, I've done numerous repairs, and in those projects following the purchase, the time and sweat have become a labor of love. I've managed to create a car I'm fond of, despite its age and flaws, that will hopefully serve me for many years. Here's a list of what I've done so far.

- Complete head gasket replacement with head rebuild, timing belt, and complete seal replacement.

- Replaced automatic transmission with an M46 manual transmission.

- New blower motor, in-tank fuel pump, complete wiring harness, new distributor and battery.

- Replaced rear carpet, new leather seats, various cosmetic repairs.

- New Blaupunkt CD stereo, 4" Pioneer speakers, 12" subwoofer

Throughout the 3 years, I've only been left stranded once, and only because of user error (leaving the oil cap off on the freeway is not a good idea!). Despite its age, I'm always amazed at the duribility and engineering that went into these cars, so much so that I believe they represent a unique moment in manufacturing history. Users of my favorite Volvo forum, Brickboard.com agree with me. Here's what they had to say about the Volvo 240 series.

"The 200 series was pretty unique in car manufacturing history, a product straddling a paradigm shift."

"It was mechanically a very traditional and simple design (proven technology, no suprises), overengineered in an olde worlde manner (check the weight). The materials used were first-rate (Swedish steel) and the build quality good (if not Toyota standard). Not that different from a Russian car of the same vintage in design, but in materials and workmanship. Fuel injection and engine management were new world, but you may have noticed that the electronics was not as good as the mechanical bits. First among the car makers, no-compomise passenger safety was designed into the car (passenger cell surrounded by crumple zones: the new paradigm)."

"Production costs did not matter (very olde worlde!), hence the design was not compromised to make it robot-buildable. Happy teams of Swedish workers built each car from sratch, pushed along on a rolling platform: no stress or RSI caused by conveyor-belt two-motion work all day. Broke Volvo financially, too, resulting in the Ford buyout. The new models are cheap-to-build FWD."

"Truly, the steel unibody construction, with the built in roll cage, four welds per structural inch, each of which, in theory, can support the entire weight of the car, steel intrusion bars in the doors(they look like pipe bumpers), collapsing steering wheel (folds away from the driver), motor mounts and trans mounts that break away and allow the engine and transmission to slide under the car, away from the passengers, a two-piece driveshaft, again, so that upon impact the driveshaft does not find it's way into the passenger compartment, crumple zones designed to absorb the energy forces of a crash instead of passing these forces along to the passengers, a frontal body seam engineered in such a way that the design allows for the transfer of these energy forces under the car, not through the car (Volvo drove a car off of a 100 foot high embankment nose first, the windshield didn't even crack), need I go on?"

"Okay, how about the cast iron alloy block in which the original machining can still be seen after 200K miles, everything in this motor is top quality from the Mahle pistons to the Elring gaskets, everything is reinforced, balanced, and perfected. Combine it with an ultra-reliable (at least for the most part) Bosch fuel and ignition system, an AsianWarner transmission (Toyota trannys do last forever), and an indestructible Dana rearend (Jeep, built to take you there), and well gee, you have a classic example of "rolling iron", exactly what the logo stands for..."

If my research during the past few years has taught me anything, its that this discontinued 240 series has gathered a fanatical following. They are seen as safe, well-engineered, reliable cars with highly availible parts and a swath of knowledge floating around the internet.

And finally, I'd like to include some recent photos I took. When you manage to get over the color, it can be quite an attractive car!

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