Thread: Should I buy a Volvo?

My son has a pre 84, 244 that can show a clean pair of heels to any V8 from the same era.
It's high maintenance thanks to the high state of tune and manner of driving.

I have a Barra that would slot nicely into that Ovlov.

Reminds me of the night I was coming home from work about ten at night after a late shift and I'm sitting at a set of lights on a 3 lane main road.
There was a noticeable V8 burble coming from an HSV Commodore and a similar noise from a car in the kerb lane which I couldn't make out what it was, overlying the V8's was a supercharger whine coming from something. The lights duly changed to green and an old faded 264 Volvo just launched leaving the HSV and everything else in its wake.
The same thing happened at the next two sets of lights and the HSV quietly turned off down a side street rather than getting hosed again.
A few days later I bumped into the same 264 at a local mechanical workshop, the owner proudly explaining that nothing could keep up with the blown V8 and the old Volvo made an excellent sleeper!
He did comment though that keeping it straight was a bit of a problem with only one front wheel on the deck due to the torque twisting the car.

Originally Posted by Tins

I have a Barra that would slot nicely into that Ovlov.

He slotted a Clevo into one of his earlier projects.
It was abandoned when he decided the engineering would be too hard.
The engine is an pre-accepted mod, not requiring individual engineering, but he reckoned if he was going to go to trouble of fitting the V8, it would need roller rockers and that would need the brake master cylinder remote mounted and modifications between the steering wheel and box.

Originally Posted by oka374

Reminds me of the night I was coming home from work about ten at night after a late shift and I'm sitting at a set of lights on a 3 lane main road.
There was a noticeable V8 burble coming from an HSV Commodore and a similar noise from a car in the kerb lane which I couldn't make out what it was, overlying the V8's was a supercharger whine coming from something. The lights duly changed to green and an old faded 264 Volvo just launched leaving the HSV and everything else in its wake.
The same thing happened at the next two sets of lights and the HSV quietly turned off down a side street rather than getting hosed again.
A few days later I bumped into the same 264 at a local mechanical workshop, the owner proudly explaining that nothing could keep up with the blown V8 and the old Volvo made an excellent sleeper!
He did comment though that keeping it straight was a bit of a problem with only one front wheel on the deck due to the torque twisting the car.

Benjamin has replaced the windscreen numerous times, they seem to crack vertically up the centre.

Originally Posted by oka374

Reminds me of the night I was coming home from work about ten at night after a late shift and I'm sitting at a set of lights on a 3 lane main road.
There was a noticeable V8 burble coming from an HSV Commodore and a similar noise from a car in the kerb lane which I couldn't make out what it was, overlying the V8's was a supercharger whine coming from something. The lights duly changed to green and an old faded 264 Volvo just launched leaving the HSV and everything else in its wake.
The same thing happened at the next two sets of lights and the HSV quietly turned off down a side street rather than getting hosed again.
A few days later I bumped into the same 264 at a local mechanical workshop, the owner proudly explaining that nothing could keep up with the blown V8 and the old Volvo made an excellent sleeper!
He did comment though that keeping it straight was a bit of a problem with only one front wheel on the deck due to the torque twisting the car.

Sort of what we want from a turbo Barra. Minus the burble. Obviously. An Ovlov or a similar vintage Benz, cos they are both so strong.

I was a Volvo nut too 😳. Owned 3 x 240s and 2 x 740s before I went to the D2. And wife had an s40 also a great car.

Great cars but I’m pretty sure with the early 00,s the V70s the auto transmission was a rare point of failure ( unlike the 850/V70s up to 1999).

So check with your local Volvo guru or ring Voldat in Melbourne.

A bloke I used to work for about 20 years ago had a son who was just getting his licence and as the kid was renowned for pushing things there was much discussion about what car to buy him.
I put my 2 bobs worth in that a 240 Volvo would be pretty good as they were very strong had great brakes and went ok. after a bit of searching we found a suitable car and the kid was really chuffed. Took him about a month before he wrapped it around a large gum tree and walked away with bruises and minor cuts from broken glass. The impact was just forward of the A pillar on the drivers side and it took the towie quite a bit of effort to pull it off the tree, the towie also commented that if it had been most vehicles the kid would have been dead or seriously injured.
I actually drove it after we replaced a tyre and wheel and it still started and ran but was bent enough to make it crab down the road and every door and window still worked except the drivers door which was jammed shut, there were no panel gaps on the drivers side!