[X] My Assistant

Is that still true for the more recent models?

It is not.

There's a 1966 p1800 with 5.23 million kilometers on it.

1980's 200 series will easily do it.

My '82 244 is on 109k



There's a 90's 740 GLE with over a million on the clock.

High mileage is still achievable in modern cars, but the amount of maintenance involved just isn't worth it.

Not unless you have at least over 100 grand kicking around to spend on it.

I don't need a car at the moment, i live in the city to study and public transport is good. My last car was a Volvo with 460k km, bought it for $1. Basically you get a free car (that hopefully still works until the equivalent of the MOT in my cunt runs out) and then pay to scrap it, the reason the owner lets it go for free is to not pay the scraping fee. It lasted 2 months, all i needed it for so it was worth it i guess. Obviously a death machine although it did have ABS so not as bad as one might think.

If this was a volvo 300/400 series, yes, death machine.

Otherwise, it is likely one of the safest cars available in the year of manufacture, if it's at least 25 years old or so. According to crash tests anyway.

Is that still true for the more recent models?

Not really. They can still be dependable, but as Mags said the maintenance for them costs so much more (which is helped by the proprietary software they use).

Most recent I can actually recommend in good conscience is the 900 series. Also, only the ones with four cylinder engines. Five or six cylinders is asking for trouble, especially if it's the V6 (rather than the inline 6). The inline 6 is basically the engine they used in front wheel drive models (not quite, but almost) - and it suffers all the other modern car problems the 850 model does. In the US, the last four cylinder rear wheel drive Volvos were the 940's in the 1995 model year; some other countries got them longer.

The delorean uses about the same V6 as most of the V6 volvos (except the latest), btw. Because it was basically the only motor they could buy off the shelf.

There's a pretty clean cut between the rear wheel drive volvos and front wheel drive ones.

It is not.

There's a 1966 p1800 with 5.23 million kilometers on it.

1980's 200 series will easily do it.

My '82 244 is on 109k

There's a 90's 740 GLE with over a million on the clock.

High mileage is still achievable in modern cars, but the amount of maintenance involved just isn't worth it.

Not unless you have at least over 100 grand kicking around to spend on it.

Oh, so you kept that after all? Nice.
Gotten the fuel system cleared up yet?

My '76 244 is at ~200 thousand miles (~325 thousand kilometers). So not quite as minty as yours. Actually feels more dependable than my 90s 200 series, though. Having a manual transmission also makes me trust it more (push starts are much easier).
[i.imgur.com] (IMG:[i.imgur.com] https://i.imgur.com/GfxlyS4g.jpg)

Regarding 80s models, '83 (maybe earlier) through sometime in '87(?) cars are plagued with an engine wiring harness where all the insulation decays off. If you fix that you're much of the way to a more dependable car. [www.prancingmoose.com] link.

I have a 90s 200 series wagon at about 300k miles (~580k kilometers) that I'm giving to a relative soon.

Got a different family member with a late 60's Volvo amason that has no-one-knows how many miles on it because the odometer's stuck.

Yeah the lower engine block is basically the same between an 1800 and a 200 series. Different cylinder head (aluminum instead of forged steel).

That 1800 had the engine swapped at around 2 million miles (3.2 million km), apparently it was "losing compression."

RWD volvos are my favorites. Probably because a lot of my earlier memories are from when I was riding in 200 and 700 series cars. And even 100 series.

(IMG:[i.imgur.com] https://i.imgur.com/pk6jYRp.jpg)

This post has been edited by dragontamer8740: Mar 21 2023, 19:58

High mileage is still achievable in modern cars, but the amount of maintenance involved just isn't worth it.

Not unless you have at least over 100 grand kicking around to spend on it.

Depends on the engine and if there are good engine builders nearby.


Though I looked up the price for your car and it can get freaking pricey. Damn. Maybe prices got fucked due to covid19.


For my car the price is the same... weird. I could get a stage three engine for cheaper than your OEM long block.

Depends on the engine and if there are good engine builders nearby.
Though I looked up the price for your car and it can get freaking pricey. Damn. Maybe prices got fucked due to covid19.
For my car the price is the same... weird. I could get a stage three engine for cheaper than your OEM long block.

Prices for a 1980-ish volvo 244?

Or that green Holden? Or some other car I don't know about?

Prices for a 1980-ish volvo 244?

[www.carsales.com.au] Around 10-15k for a nice one.

Or that green Holden? Or some other car I don't know about?

6-15k for a shitbox that needs a full resto.

[www.carsales.com.au] Anywhere from 35-100k for an original low kilometer car.

The only sad thing is that it's an automatic.

If they kept the original transmission in that car, it's a shame.

(I am not fond of the slushbox in my wagon).

Immaculate looking car otherwise, in most respects.

So they left the fusebox in the lefthand side of the car even on the RHD models? Interesting.

I have heard that RHD countries never got a turbo model. So that'd make doing those kinds of swaps even more appealing there, I bet.

Hearing those prices for an old essentially GM car makes me happier with my Swedish four-banger.
I guess it's because the Holden is a sort of muscle car?

[i.imgur.com] (IMG:[i.imgur.com] https://i.imgur.com/ebTqdUMg.jpg)
[i.imgur.com] (IMG:[i.imgur.com] https://i.imgur.com/rlvDfw2g.jpg)
[i.imgur.com] (IMG:[i.imgur.com] https://i.imgur.com/qdmqIHBg.jpg)
One in back is not mine. But it is another old volvo.

This post has been edited by dragontamer8740: Apr 6 2023, 21:52

The only sad thing is that it's an automatic.

It's not the original auto.

It was some big power handling application.

Kitted out T400 if I remember.

I have heard that RHD countries never got a turbo model. So that'd make doing those kinds of swaps even more appealing there, I bet.

We got turbos and the 242 in Oz.

Good luck finding one that hasn't done 300k though.

Hearing those prices for an old essentially GM car makes me happier with my Swedish four-banger.
I guess it's because the Holden is a sort of muscle car?

It's because the HQ Statesman is quite a rare car.

Cosmetically they're unique, and the HQ was the only model in 71-74 to come with a factory fitted small block Chev as an option.

Some absolute fuckstain convinced the government to ban them being a factory install later.

Very crisp Volvo btw.

It's because the HQ Statesman is quite a rare car.

Cosmetically they're unique, and the HQ was the only model in 71-74 to come with a factory fitted small block Chev as an option.

Some absolute fuckstain convinced the government to ban them being a factory install later.

Very crisp Volvo btw.

Thanks. I've replaced a lot in it, though. The dash is from a later year 262C (probably '77 or '78), so it's not "authentic" for a '76. The glovebox lock is wrong and there's no chrome trim on the dash for a 244 normally.

I think the corner lamps (for signalling) are from a non-north american spec car as well. I think the lenses we got were supposed to be a single color.

Lumbar support's busted in the drivers' seat so I'm going to have to take it apart. Also want to replace the foam. And the bottom fabric if I can find the right cover. They seem to be NLA.

I think the last owner used red RIT dye on the carpet to try to bring the red back into it; it was an american west coast car (not ON the coast, though, so it didn't get salted to hell) - so the inside has been baked.

Also, it burns oil. Enough that I have to top it off occasionally i I drive it frequently. I know I need to redo the seals but i don't really have the equipment to do that comfortably so I keep putting it off.

It's a happy looking car and it makes me happy. I hope I can keep it for most of my lifetime.

Regarding the statesman, what was the rationale behind banning the small block? Confusing.

This post has been edited by dragontamer8740: Apr 7 2023, 00:02

for the sake of not letting this thread disappear off the page, and due to general curiousity without reading the entire history of this threads. are you generally going the full restoration route with these old vehicles or just leaving them as is with functional fixes?
I havent had a car for a good while but I'm tempted to get back into it and the oldtimer (older thanl 40 years) laws in this country are pretty favorable over owning anything newer. no more checkups or road tax to pay on those.
before I've had a 2002 twingo and some horrible alfa romeo station. only ever did some quick bodges and regular maintenance to keep them running.

could I apply minimal effort to keep something from the 80s running as well. looking whats available its a lot of mercs and volkwagens from that era around here. the rust isnt usually that bad but its no always sunny climate

This post has been edited by cate_chan: Jun 30 2023, 21:20

for the sake of not letting this thread disappear off the page, and due to general curiousity without reading the entire history of this threads. are you generally going the full restoration route with these old vehicles or just leaving them as is with functional fixes?

When I had an 80s car, the goal was to get one that had relatively low mileage, decent paint work and no body rust. Then I could focus on functional fixes.

Getting harder to find cars without rust from that era though.

I think I can't afford to complete my build now.

Requires a transmission upgrade to be able to use the extra potential power. That costs about 10k I think.

Yikes.

That thing's fucking beautiful.

I was at the Volvo Museum in Sweden the other week. But I think the turbo you found looks better.
I actually get why some people in Europe and elsewhere buy american quad rectangular headlamps for their cars (even though Volvo never sold them with those there).
[postimg.cc] (IMG:[i.postimg.cc] https://i.postimg.cc/xdLqgjyK/IMG-20230707-102455-sm.jpg)

I never realized how dashing a black early-year 144 would look, though. My family had a white 145 with that same chrome and it looked ugly as sin by comparison (IMO... I still liked it, though. It was cute).
[postimg.cc] (IMG:[i.postimg.cc] https://i.postimg.cc/156Xcc08/IMG-20230707-101516-bl-sm.jpg)

This post has been edited by dragontamer8740: Jul 27 2023, 23:39

My theory on why older cars in good condition look better is the technique for the application on the paint.

I think clear coat has gotten better but they apply way less paint now so cars lack the look of depth or the mirror look that they used to have but on the flip side are the paint is less likely to get damaged.

My theory on why older cars in good condition look better is the technique for the application on the paint.

I think clear coat has gotten better but they apply way less paint now so cars lack the look of depth or the mirror look that they used to have but on the flip side are the paint is less likely to get damaged.

They also use much lamer colours nowadays, and different paint formulations.

They also use much lamer colours nowadays, and different paint formulations.

Yeah they don't seem to do the burgundy, dark green, purple, gold and some reds.

Occasionally they have the special edition reds, but fade is a problem with them if they are stored outside under the sun.

Newer cool colors with advanced pearl, highlights, color change etc seem to be exclusive to custom paint jobs which cost way too much.

Is that car missing its front bumper? What's the front look like?

Is that car missing its front bumper? What's the front look like?

Huh I didn't notice.

I was too busy looking at that fine rear end.

I didn't see a pic of the front.

Huh I didn't notice.

I was too busy looking at that fine rear end.

I didn't see a pic of the front.

Perhaps the ultimate "nice legs; shame about the face" moment.