1987 5-Speed Volvo 240 DL 4 Door Sedan

Description

Up for sale is my rare 5-speed 1987 Volvo 240 DL, which has only been owned by my father and myself. This is the same car that brought me home from the hospital over 29 years ago, so there’s definitely some sentimental value here to say the least! I’m selling my baby because I’m saving for a house and because I hardly drive the car anymore (a ’05 TDI Jetta is my daily driver these days). It’s just not economical for me to own 2 cars in this season of life and I can’t say this Volvo fits my definition of a “Sunday car.”

This car has been very well maintained over the past 30 years and I literally have all the records to prove it. It starts immediately and it runs as well as shifts smoothly. The interior is in immaculate condition as the car has been garage kept for almost its entire life. When I didn’t have the car in a garage, I was religious about keeping a cover on it.

While this Volvo has around 300K on the body, I swapped in a newer BF 230 engine from a ’90 Volvo wagon with only about 145K miles not even 2 years ago. The original engine suffered catastrophic failure when a broken valve spring fell into the combustion chamber, cracking the cylinder head and breaking the timing belt. Since swapping in the newer engine (and with it the new gaskets, seals, timing belt, & more) the Volvo runs like a new machine and I think it has even more power than before! It’s worth noting that I also had a new clutch and harmonic balancer installed with the engine swap.

The AC system was converted from R12 to the more environmentally friendly R134 back in 2010. The odometer intermittently didn’t work for approximately 10,000 miles, but I fixed it in 2015 and it has worked to this day. This vehicle also has IPD sway bars and a performance camshaft as well as a performance exhaust for some added horsepower. The tires have about 50K on them but there’s still some life left on the treads as I’ve diligently rotated and aligned them. The suspension only has about 80,000 miles on it.

The Volvo does have a couple small rust spots and 3 cracks in the dash (see pics). Over the years the rust has hardly progressed (probably due to the car being kept in a garage) and I’ve used some gasket maker on a spot by the windshield to keep that rust from spreading (see pic).

For full disclosure, I took this car to my mechanic just a month ago and found out that it needs about $1,000 worth of work. The rear wheel bearings, engine mounts, and bypass idler adjuster all need to be replaced or repaired. The cruise control doesn’t work due to the clutch cable and the AC doesn’t work because of some compromised wiring, even though that system is relatively new.

Since this Volvo requires an expensive repair, I am definitely willing to negotiate on price but please make a serious offer. To experience all that this Volvo has to offer you really need to see it in person and take it for a test drive! I live an hour or less from Philadelphia, Newark, Trenton, and Atlantic City airports, so I am more than happy to pick up prospective buyers from outside my area at one of those locations. Feel free to reach out with any questions about this vehicle as it’s been in my family since day 1.

I am including a car cover (not pictured), a 240 Service Manual, a windshield visor (with a case), 4 Mann Filters, and a few other accessories with the purchase of this Volvo.