Volvo 245 turbo intercooler. Hauls groceries, hauls ass.

Description

Selling my 1983 Volvo 245 turbo with 1984 motor and turbo/intercooler.

Note that the vehicle history report flags my replacement of the original 1983 motor with the rebuilt 1984 motor—the old motor went to the recycler, which is flagged as a major issue but is actually a good thing! If you have any questions about the car, I'm happy to go into more details.

I've owned this beautiful car for the last 17 years in Portland Oregon, only driving it ~55k miles in that time and parking it in a garage for 85% of the time. Now my daughters need more rides to gymnastics and swimming and soccer, and my clutch-pressing knee has developed a persistent ache; so I have to switch to an automatic before I develop a long-term injury.

This is one of the finest 240 turbo wagons you'll see these days. It's a couple trim pieces and a driver's seat away from show ready. It's a few PSI of boost and a set of tires away from track ready. Choose your own adventure!

Here's what's not perfect on this 33-year old car:

• Leaks a little oil, like all 240 turbos. The belly pan will keep your driveway clean.
• Driver's seat isn't in great shape. The foam is good, but there are a couple tears in the leather. (See pic)
• A scratch in the paint behind the passenger-side rear fender. Another chip on the front driver's side fender. (See pics). Sale includes the correct paint pen to touch them up.
• The catalytic converter has an intermittent rattle. The rattle isn't very loud, and the cat still cleans the exhaust.
• Some jerk stole my front-bumper trim a few weeks ago, so I've had to replace it with sub-optimal pieces. You'll probably want to track down at least two nicer pieces.
• Not much life left on the tires. Maybe 25% tread at this point.
• Driver's seatbelt has some fraying.(See pic) Easy replacement if you're handy with a spanner.
• AC is not currently working. It has been converted to take R-134a refrigerant, so it's cheap and easy to recharge it (I don't need AC in Portland).
• No stereo or door-mounted speakers. I removed them when I swapped out the interior and never replaced them.
• Rear power windows don't work consistently. This is common in these cars, and is usually due to oxidation on the window switches.
• Odometer is broken and not original. I replaced the original odometer with a zeroed-out odometer when I installed the '84 motor in 1999, and it stopped turning about 6 months ago at 50,000 miles. I wish I hadn't swapped it out back then, but I'm not BSing about the mileage--I could have replaced it with any old odometer when it stopped, but I kept the broken one in there.

Here are some of the terrific things about it:

• flat hood (from the '75-80 model years)
• painted in 1999, with super-shiny VW "silver arrow" paint (including engine bay). I removed all the badges back then, but I still have them if you want them.
• almost no rust, even before I had it painted, with the exception of one little spot by the tailgate latch (see pic)
• no dents, not even little dings
• OEM black door and tailgate handles (from the '92 model year)
• clean turbo rims
• OEM Euro-style front turn signals
• black leather interior
• almost crack-free dashboard (see pic)
• Volvo rubber floor and cargo mats
• 1984 B21FT engine, rebuilt in 1995 by the previous owner of the '84, installed into the '83 in 1999. (The '83 motor and tranny went to a recycling facility, which you will see on the title report.)
• turbo/intercooler (I've always run stock boost and high-octane gas--no detonation in 17 years).
• around 200k miles on the motor, 80k since engine rebuild, 55k since I bought it. I'm happy to give more details of how I'm estimating the mileage.
• oil changes every 6 months/3000 miles, synthetic oil for 80% of those.
• 3" mandrel-bent exhaust from turbo back with high-flow muffler. Exhaust was fabricated/installed by MVP Volvo in 2000. Beautiful exhaust note.
• easily passes DEQ in Oregon
• upgraded engine wiring harness (replaced 1999), including at the firewall
• silicone vacuum hoses.
• M46 4-speed manual transmission w/ electronic overdrive (OD switch moved to the dash)
• Centerforce clutch (installed 1999)
• '93 rear differential (replaced 2015)
• IPD sway-bars, Eibach lowering springs, Bilstein shocks, IPD poly bushings
• brand new distributor cap and rotor, plugs and wires
• brand new intake manifold gasket
• includes a couple big cardboard boxes of spare parts if you want them, mostly interior bits

This car is cheap to insure, cheap to maintain, fun to drive, and priceless to own. Insurance is less than $500/year. You can buy quality used parts from just about any Volvo shop or wrecking yard. You will love passing cars on the freeway under boost, and it handles responsively thanks to the upgraded suspension bits. Other Volvo drivers will smile and give you the thumbs-up as they pass. You will love this car!