Farewell to the DTPC, our 1983 Volvo 242 DL

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by CFlo

Those of you who have been following my posts on the Daily Turismo Project Car probably saw this coming, but the 242 is now happily living with a new owner and has been since October. Friend, regular DT reader, mechanical (rocket) engineer and Swedish-American certifiable Volvo nut Alex B. expressed interest in the car when he saw it for the first time. I wasn’t quite ready to sell – being in the middle of fixing a sticky right front brake caliper – but Alex needed a car, and it worked out for all parties involved.

That’s yours truly on the left, and proud new owner on the right. Rest assured the DTPC is now in capable hands. Alex is making progress on the car and has already swapped in a genuine Volvo R-Sport steering wheel to replace the giant rubbery nautical ship’s wheel that Volvo installed in this skiff car from the factory. The brakes have been thoroughly gone through, and he’s working on some custom suspension bits and homebrew widened 5-spoke alloy wheels to get the car sitting at a lower altitude and better prepared for carving up the mean streets of the South Bay LA area.

For a refresher on the Volvo, go back and check out all the previous posts in our Project Car section here. But if you want a quick recap of everything we did to the DTPC before handing it off, well then here you go:

  • New spark plugs, plug wires, dist. cap, rotor, plug wire routing clips
  • Replacement ’83 engine harness
  • Basic tuneup: oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter
  • New intake manifold gasket & injector o-rings
  • New late model upgrade in-tank fuel pump
  • New PCV valve / flame trap
  • New intake duct (between air filter & throttle body)
  • New power steering hoses & belt
  • All new vacuum hose except for brake booster hose
  • Upgraded to LH2.2 ECU & AMM from an ’86 244
  • Used water temp sender
  • Used exhaust studs & engine lift bracket
  • New right front brake hoses (first crack at fixing that sticky caliper)
  • Tan seats, front and rear, from ’90 244 – heated!
  • Repainted wheels, polished trim rings & hubcaps

Without getting down to the last cent, I believe we spent a grand total of about $2900 including transfer fees, smog tests, insurance, parts, shop labor, and so on to get this car to respectable condition. By respectable I mean it is running and driving pretty damn well…compared to its non-running state when we picked it up, anyways!

In the interest of sharing marketplace data with DT readership, Alex and I agreed on a sale price of $3000 for the car considering the almost perfect body, desirable 2-door / manual configuration, strong running B23F engine, and recent work done. So Wheeler Dealers style, we made a measly $100 profit not counting any of our own labor or time lost due to head- and/or ass-scratching. But the important thing is that we saved another durable and fun old RWD Volvo from becoming recycled into a Chinese washing machine and found it a new owner who enjoys it immensely.

Hopefully Alex won’t mind sharing with the class as work progresses on the (car formerly known as the) DTPC!

Now for us… it’s on to the next project car. Teaser!