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Georgia Car to North Carolina to Massachusetts.

MSGGrunt

New member
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Location
Western Massachusetts
Yes, this is my third build thread and to say I have been bitten by the Volvo bug is an understatement. These cars have a classic look, just the right size, end even my 18 year old stepdaughter thinks they are cool.

I like cars that are "different" than everything else on the road. When a lot of people were/are satisfied with Jeeps I was into Landcruisers FJ40/60/62/80/79, when I wanted sports cars I have had BMWs, one being a very rare 1987 M6 that is now with a new owner in Poland and more recently a true mid-engine Porsche Cayman S. I have an all wheel drive BMW E30 325iX that will probably end up being my Winter daily driver. I went through several W201 Mercedes 190s and W124 300E/E320s with a 1982 W126 300SD turbo diesel thrown in for good measure.

I WAS previously into the E24 and E30 BMWs and still have a E30 1990 325ix pushed into the corner of my garage waiting to have a 5-speed swap completed and a 85,000 mile 1986 325E that is going in for a total re-spray next week, but the Volvo 240s have changed me. They are just a bit bigger, easier to work on, parts are more readily available and often less expensive. Volvo parts cars seem to be more available locally on Craigslist with the older BMWs really going up in price.

My first taste in the Volvo realm was my maroon wagon I am lifting and turning into my "workhorse" vehicle. The second is the very clean, low miles car out of Texas that will be a fair-weather only car, then there is my third 240, which I will chronical here. This car a 1991 that I bought out of Ashville, NC with 254,000 miles. The car was originally sold in GA and then moved to NC.

The car was owned by an engineering professor at the University of NC Ashville and was impeccably maintained and hence why the higher miles (by some car standards) did not matter as much. There isn't a single bit of rust on it. The paint is a little faded, but I am sure some time with a buffer and cutting compound can bring it back to life.

The car has a new fuel tank, two new fuel pumps, Volvo converted AC, IPD front and rear sway bars, recent timing belt/water pump/belts and hoses. Solid exhaust system and recent brakes. It came with records of engine, transmission, rear axle, brake and coolant fluid changes.

Much like my Texas car I was "just browsing" when I saw this car on CL at a very reasonable price. I talked to the owner and made arrangements to fly down from Massachusetts to Ashville and take delivery of the car. I drove the car home the 800/900 miles without incident. Everything worked as it should.

So, what does it need? Mostly cosmetic stuff. Read on.
 

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When you live in an area of the country that uses salt on the roads in the Winter these are truly virtuous pictures.
 

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I am currently working on some cosmetic projects. The seats will be recovered in leather which I talked about in another thread. The carpets are very faded and I haven't been able to find a product locally, like SEM Colorcoat, that matches well, so I will probably enlist a carpet dying expert to have a "custom" matched dye mixed, remove the carpets and dye them. They are in excellent shape just faded from exposure to the sun. More to follow.
 

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The tan door panels are in kind of rough shape. The cardboard material under the covers is all deteriorated. I am sure water somehow has gotten to them over the years and I am on the hunt for solid replacements. Already found one locally for $20.00. If the vapor barrier underneath has been compromised I will re-seal the door and I was thinking of painting on a coat of poly urethane on the back of the cardboard just to try and provide and extra barrier to moisture. I thought it couldn't hurt.
 

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I scored an OEM "green" fog light switch. Now I just need to order a second set of fog lights. Sometimes it's the small things.....
 

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Tan has to be the hardest interior color to restore. The black in my wagon was a breeze compared to this. I am finding out that while you can find all of the plastic trim pieces new or reproduction, some of them, like the rear parcel shelf vents, the inner door handle trim pieces, and the rear passenger's side panel trim pieces are no longer available in tan. I also found there were variations in the color of the B pillar trim pieces, door pockets and rear seat belt covers, coming from different manufactures. My solution was a visit to my local body shop supply store who is able to custom match colors and put them in a spray can. This "paint" was mixed especially for plastic/vinyl whatever that means? I am not a body person, but this product has held up very well for me in my BMWs.

Color matching everything is not easy given that the car is over 25 years old and EVERYTHING has faded from its original shade, but I think they did a pretty good job. At least all of the interior trim will be the same color. The only thing that may vary slightly will be the new leather seat covers and any replacement door panels I source.
 

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The previous owner wrapped the AC hose in some aluminum backed insulation presumably to reduce heat soak into the hose/coolant in hopes of keeping the AC in the cabin colder. I figured it couldn't hurt and after giving the engine compartment a good cleaning I re-wrapped this hose in some header wrap that I had laying around in my garage.
 

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Another small project was trying to track down an annoying rattle that I heard the entire trip back from NC. I am not sure, but it seemed like the rear trunk panel may have been vibrating against the metal. My solution, install some foam between the two. I used 3M spray adhesive to secure the foam to the cardboard and hopefully this helps.
 

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A nice clean survivor. Enjoy. A few years ago I drove a friends 01 Boxster S that had the rare hardtop. I've always been a coupe car person and that car was a blast. Like having a boxster coupe before they made your car.
 
Thanks for posting the pictures of your results using SEM. I looked at each of the "Light Oak", "Camel" and "Palomino" and none of the three looked close to the unfaded section under my rear seat. The color of the carpets seems to have a unique golden color with maybe a hint of green in just to mess with you, but after seeing your results I am going to revisit trying the SEM Camel. I would like the color to be as close to the original color as possible, but what is more important to me is that everything is the SAME color/shade of tan. And in my dark blue car I would lean more towards a darker tan (Camel) than the lighter (Palomino).

In my past carpet projects I like to remove the carpet from the car and give it a very thorough cleaning with a degreaser and my power washer then let the carpet hang for a few days to completely dry. I figure who knows what substances may be on/in a carpet that could potentially cause one area not to take the dye as well as others. I have had great success with black and a dark blue in a BMW 325iC and Mercedes W124 E320.
 
The Cayman really is a great car and much easier to drive at speed than a 911. I even dare say it would be a better car, nostalgia set aside, than the 911 if Porsche didn't intentionally keep the Caymans slightly less powerful than the 911s so the 911 remains the flagship of the line-up. You just can't beat the balance of a true mid engine car. I would love a 914 as a fun little project car, but like all old things air cooled Porsche, even these bottom of the line-up cars are going way up in value.
 

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Interesting. By pure luck I acquired a 744 that spent most of it's life in NC and SoCal, it popped up at a local auto auction and I bought it before knowing it's heritage, it just looked extremely clean underneath. Paint is hammered but I plan on keeping that patina as long as practically possible.
 
It is well worth, to me anyway, paying the cost of a plane ticket or shipping to get a car from a no salt area. The paint on mine has some clear coat failure, but nothing bad. I tried my hand at buffing the hood yesterday and the dull paint came right back. It isn't show quality, but it shines nice and after a coat of wax will go a long way to prevent future deterioration. So I hope anyway.
 
Just to be clear the car in link isn't mine. Just something I found on Brickboard.com when looking into renewing my tan carpet. The results the wagon owner achieved are impressive.
 
To the OP, I think if you stay with one brand of paint, SEM , you should have most if not all of your trim turn out the same color or close to it. SEM camel color is as close as you're going to get without having something mixed at a paint store. Even hidden plastic parts and carpet sections fade. Just the way things are.
 
The SEM camel has been a perfect match on the hard plastic pieces. I have cleaned everything and painted all the pieces even if new just so everything matches. The Camel color on the carpets is a different story. The carpet took the color differently and the end result was a much darker, reddish color that I am not happy with. I will be sourcing another rear carpet piece and this time around I am going to try SEM's Palomino. This, hopefully, will end up lighter and a closer match to the rest of the interior.
 

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Very nice and clean 240!

I had lost hope of finding a clean 740 for a motor swap here in Quebec because they are almost all rusted out! But my luck turned when I saw one for sale on the CVQ (Club Volvo Quebec) 2 years ago for $4000 CAD. At the time though I didn't have the cash to pick it up and feared it would get snatched by another Volvo nut case! Well it stayed there for some months and then the price came down drastically because the owner was moving back to the States. I drove to Montreal to have a look and with $1000 in my back pocket. Turned out that it was a California car with absolutely NO rust! I offered $700 to the guy and he took the offer!

Needless to say that the car will never see another winter as long as I'm the owner. It stays in the garage from November to the end of April! :nod:

Will you be driving your 240 in the winter months?
 
OP, did you try brushing the carpet after the SEM paint to see if the pyle changes color?
 
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