Farewell to My 1990 Volvo 240 DL
My ownership experience with this car has had many highs and lows.
“Never again,” is what I said the last time I sold a Volvo 240. But like an idiot, I’m selling another one. I love these cars. The simplicity of the design matched with the overbuilt and under-stressed engine makes the Volvo 240 a legend. OK, so why am I selling another one of these cars? I’ll get into that, but first some history.
How I got here
My first Volvo 240 was a 1993 sedan. The car had been restored by a doctor who bought the car for his 16-year-old daughter. As all old cars do, it broke, he couldn’t figure it out and punted the car to CarMax for $100. I bought the car in South Carolina, drove it for 18 months, fixed more stuff, and sold it at the beginning of 2021.
Looking back, that’s the car I should have kept and stopped with. Imagine the money I would have saved and the headaches I could have avoided.
I purchased a 2006 Volvo S60 shortly after selling my 240 and I hated it. The car was ugly, had a horrible turning radius, and was just boring. That’s when I found my current 240 listed on Facebook marketplace for $3,500, which is what I paid for my S60.
I went to see the car and liked it. The seller replaced the timing belt, water pump, and fuel pump. I didn’t see any rust and it looked like a fun project. I offered to trade him my S60 for it and he agreed.
The transformation of my 240
I finally had another Volvo 240 except this time, I had a worse version of my last one for roughly the same price (again, I never said I was smart). Immediately, I discovered my new 240 was far from sorted. Here’s the list of issues it had:
Hard to start
Bad tires
Old brake pads and rotors
The front suspension was worn out
The interior was in rough shape
The paint was scratched and faded
No air conditioning
I started with the hard starting issue. After pouring over countless YouTube videos and forums, I discovered my issue wasn’t fuel-related but temperature related. The engine coolant sensor was probably bad, which meant it was sending a faulty signal to the car’s computer. After finding the part and fighting to get it replaced, the car started up with zero hesitation.
That was a huge moment for me. I had never actually been able to troubleshoot and fix an issue like that on a car before. Emboldened with my newfound ability to fix cars, I decided to rebuild the front suspension.
This turned out to be much more work than I had anticipated. I took my time and researched how to disassemble everything and put it back together. The best part was buying tools I had wanted but couldn’t justify.
Once all of the parts arrived, I got to work, but I quickly overwhelmed myself. Working on cars isn’t easy if you’ve never done it. You can surpass your knowledge and skills quickly. That’s why it helps to have mechanic friends who can give you guidance and encouragement.
With the front end taken apart, I began the process of reassembling everything with new parts. Once I followed the steps and worked my way through problems I began making great progress. That was until I had to replace the struts.
If you’ve never compressed car springs then you’ve never really lived. Car springs are meant to support the weight of a 3,000+ pound vehicle. If a compressed spring goes off, it could seriously injure or kill you. It’s no joke.
In order to remove the strut cartridges on a Volvo 240, you have to remove the springs. I purchased two sets of spring compressors to ensure I had a contingency. I took my time compressing the springs with delicate and equal turns of the four compression screws. Eventually, I was able to replace the struts and remount the springs.
I don’t ever want to compress springs again.
Once the front end was fixed, I then replaced the brake pads and rotors. This is a straightforward job that’s actually enjoyable. I was able to do the entire job in one night.
From there, I got the car aligned and installed new tires. My Volvo was sorted…well almost. I really should have stopped here and just enjoyed the car but I had to keep going.
Air conditioning is a must in Georgia. The summers here are brutal, damn near unbearable. I enlisted the services of my friend Jonathan to do the AC conversion work since I don’t have any of the tools. He accomplished the work in a few days, I handed him $1,200 and was on my way.
I really, really should have stopped putting money into this car here. But no, I pressed forward like an idiot.
I swore I was done but then I found a 1992 240 sedan in a guy’s backyard during my lunchtime walk. What a sad sack of a car this thing was. It sat in the weeds with the front passenger door opened and four flat tires. I asked around and eventually met the owner and made a deal. I paid $500 for this car and my friend Brian helped me tow it away.
Ok, so why did I need another Volvo 240? Because the interior of my current project 240 wasn’t great and the 1992 car had a mint interior.
I gutted the 1992 car’s interior and swapped out my 1990 car’s interior with it. The swap took me about a week but the results were stunning. I now had a black over black 240 with lots of goodies like OEM rubber floor mats and a cup holder armrest (a rare luxury for a Volvo 240).
I ended up selling the 1992 Volvo to my friend for what I paid for it, which means I got a mint interior for free. Finally some headway!
And did I stop there? No, not in the least. Because now my 240 was sorted, which meant I could start doing upgrades. I continued to spend more money and time on the car than I had initially planned. I put IPD front and rear sway bars on the car, along with a sports exhaust. These upgrades made the car better to drive with a subtle increase in power.
I then started detailing the tired paint. I cut, polished, and ceramic-coated the entire car. The process took about 15 hours. The final result was stunning. The car was transformed.
Since I finished my list of projects, I’ve driven the car to dozens of car shows. I’ve put more than 6,000 miles on the car. My kids love riding in the back. It’s their favorite car by far. They tell me to sell my 911 and keep the Volvo.
And what am I doing? I’m selling the Volvo.
I debated selling this car for a long time. I did not make this decision quickly nor did I take it lightly. As the saying goes, I’ve put my blood, sweat, and tears into this car. My ownership experience has had many highs and lows. I’ve had moments of bliss and utter frustration. And none of those reasons contributed to my final decision.
I decided to sell my beloved 240 because owning a vintage car isn’t congruent with my life. I have more responsibilities now than I did five years ago. I need a safer car that can fit my kids. That's the simple explanation. What a lot of classic car owners won’t tell you is that old cars require lots of tinkering—regardless of how well they run. I love to tinker but I don’t have the time for it anymore.
Owning a modern car that can safely accommodate my kids is where I’m at right now. I’ll get another vintage car when the time is right. But for now, I’m making the grown-up decision to let the car go to somebody who will enjoy it.
With that said, I’m proud to offer my 1990 Volvo 240 DL on Bring a Trailer in a no-reserve auction. Whoever pays the most at the end of the seven-day auction gets to take the car home. I’m confident that my car will go to a new owner who will love it and maintain it as well as I did.
So long old Volvo.
Farewell to My 1990 Volvo 240 DL
It was the luckiest 1990 Volvo 240 DL to ever live. You were a great Volvo foster parent. Now it’s time to spread its pistons and accelerate into the great Lappland in the sky.