Project Flying Moose 78' Volvo 242

[Wraith]

I've been a lurker for way too long but didn't have any worthy projects but I think this one fits the pro touring bill.So I locked a deal on a 1978 Volvo 242 DL, yellow over brown, 117K on odo, 4 speed with overdrive back in July. I have always liked these car (I have a penchant for boxy cars). They are a rear wheel drive car that weigh under 3000lbs for a base car with a wheelbase an inch longer than a Mustang fox body, lots of reason to love that.

Originally I thought it needed a stickerectomy and some minor maintenance but it ended up needing so much more which dashed my hopes of doing all the minor work and leaving the engine swap for later.





The bad, back seat looks this nice too


But wait!


The ugly. Duct tape is a bad idea to seal a sunroof. Luckily there is no rust through.




Got it home and gave it a wash


Next up I ordered a buttload of parts, including every suspension bushing, shocks, rotors, bearings, struts, you know, everything that you would normally do to decrease your bank account while not adding value to your car.

Among other parts procured from the local pik-n-pull, a new sunroof panel, sunroof crank, and a 22mm front sway bar to replace the 18mm that was stock. The sunroof panel was just "while I'm there" but after taking my old one out I found a rust through, so it was a good pick. Also had to go back and get the tracks as mine were shot.

Bad sunroof



Actual roof is good but sunroof track is fooked too.




Picked up a pair of Recaro seats from a Volkswagen GTI to replace the ultra-worn original seats along with front strut bags and rear convoluted bags.

[Wraith]

Even with all this little stuff I had been avoiding the real reason it was off the road, the oil leak. I think if it idled enough than you would have to pour oil in it. The seller had told me this but I was optimistic that I could throw a rear main in and drive it. Unfortunately the clutch was wasted and I didn’t want to put any money in the original engine and transmission so out it came for the engine swap a little early and ahead of schedule.

Out with the old four cylinder.



And Craigslist netted a 5.3/4L60E combo on the cheap


And shopping Mustang parts on the net picked these new 17x9 SC replicas up for cheap. With the mock up I decided on a redrill for the rear axles and adapters for the front and for tires I went with Falken 235/45 for the front and 255/45 for the rear.


Redrill with 3” ARP studs



I haven’t decided on a final body color so the engine bay got a friendly coat of satin black



Then came this fiasco in December



The crossmember needed a notch


But it didn’t change this, the truck intake won’t clear the hood, soooo



Which brings us to the new year and this project

[Wraith]

And as it sits now

[RobertGP]

Nice !

[sokoloka]

If you don't mind me asking - how much did the car set you back originally?
I've always imagined one of these with a 5.0 fox body drivetrain would be fun as hell to drive.

[Olav]

Here in Norway here is a lot of Volvo's 200 series vith CSB. Haven't seen with LS motor yet. The CSB is almost a bolt in. There was several people selling engine mount adapers. A friend of mine had a 142 with a 355 but that was a lot of work to get into th engine bay. CSB fits better than the Ford 5.0. A friend of mine and I built a 240 with a 355 dynoed to 420 HP and a Toyota Supra 5 speed gearbox, with the 4 syl rear 4.11 it was really easy to lose grip.
I recomend you to get a 1031 rearaxle from a wagon. Its easy to identify because of some cast ears on the housing. It's much stronger.

Nice build....

[wellis77]

Nice and different. I like it a lot!

[andrewb70]

Nice build...I have a soft spot for those old Volvos and I have no idea why...

Andrew

[Tig]

Nice, this is going to be good.






Subd

[Wraith]

If you don't mind me asking - how much did the car set you back originally?

Purchase price was $1100 which at the time was a bargain, I couldn't find a 242 to save my life and those I did were in sad shape, one was a gT and had the quarter panel taped on and bondoed over. This one had been in the same family for 14 years and had been taken pretty good care of but was 99% rust free and accident free which was a requirement. Typically you can find more of the 242's on the coasts but the midwest didn't like them for some reason.

[Kenova]

Nice build...I have a soft spot for those old Volvos and I have no idea why...

Andrew

I think it's the boxy shape.
I'm more partial to the early/mid '60s myself.

Ken

[65falkone]

Totally different car but I had a similar cross member in the way problem... I also initially notched it. I then had to go to a bit of a more severe clearance strategy. It worked well and all fits nicely now without having to customize the oil pan/pick-up.

[Mr. Anderson]

YES! Love these Volvos. Would love to have a wagon...

[the dan]

nice!

[instro84]

i like!

[Wraith]

Project of the week finished, early even! Marked all the wires and de-pinned the entire harness into spaghetti.

This:


Into this:





All this to re-route the ECM inside the car and tuck as much wiring as possible, I love the "how does it run" looks you get with hidden wires.

[dusterbd13]

needs a lot less backspacing, and a lot more box flares.

otherwise, i totally approve.

need to find one of those "cheap 5.3 auto" setups for my truck. if you dont mind, how much did you pay for that?

and what did you say those recaro's came in stock? they look mighty comfy for a daily...

michael

[Wraith]

needs a lot less backspacing, and a lot more box flares.

otherwise, i totally approve.

need to find one of those "cheap 5.3 auto" setups for my truck. if you dont mind, how much did you pay for that?

and what did you say those recaro's came in stock? they look mighty comfy for a daily...

michael

Originally I wanted a DTM style/touring car build but the body is just too nice to cut up. Here is a pic of ET-3 in the back, again, too much cutting just to keep it from rubbing, these have small wheel openings and the body rolls under dramatically.


Do I dare say I paid $450 for the engine/trans/harness?

The Recaros are from a Volkswagen Jetta GLI or GTI, years 87-92. They are comfy but pricey to rebuild the foam and recover, I sold them yesterday and threw this in for a test fit, Procar ralleye. I like the vintage look, goes with the car.

[xsuperjoex]

This has some serious potential. Love what I'm seeing.

[Wraith]

And since I have ADD.....

Bought this mint ride today



1991 244 Automatic with 138k miles.

From PO:
Original northern VA car purchased by me in '07 with 101,900 miles.

Since I have owned it:

9 trans fluid drain/re-fill (I don't like to shock old transmissions with a flush)
7 PS fluid evacuation/re-fill
New wires, plugs, cap, rotor
AC converted to R134a by Christian Brothers Automotive (103,000 miles)
Cooling system flush, new overflow bottle and cap
Bled brakes
Rear diff with Mobil 1 75-90
IPD overload coils
Center arm rest added
Cleaned flame trap
Replaced struts and ball joints (111,000 miles)
New A/C condenser (131,000 miles)
14 oil changes (less than 3k per change...I know...I change my oil too often)

At 132,800 miles:
New timing belt, tensioner, water pump
New accessory belts
New fan clutch
Lower radiator hose
New shifter bushings
Motor mounts
Transmission mount
New electric pusher fan
The car was still getting 30mpg on the highway. About 25 around town. Did not use oil between changes


Buuuuttttt



If you notice in the last pics, the door to fender and fender to hood gaps, they are all sort of out of whack, it is truly a shame, it is nicer in real life than in pics. From eyballing it I think it may need a frame pull and along with an entire front clip it makes it not worth fixing but an excellent donor...

My decision to do this?!? Even with $1K laying around the list of parts would barely be scratched to finish the V8 swap and get it driving, so the plan is a drivetrain-ectomy along with the dash, this makes mine a driver so I can finish other points of the car while I finish the collection of needed V8 swap parts.

Also, I can see if I even like the way it drives before I dump enough money in it to have bought something fast in the first place.