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1970's & '80s Volvos

220 messages,  Last post on Jan 07, 2008 at 10:20 AM

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What is this discussion about? Volvo 240, Sedan

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#166 of 220 by jrosasmc Mar 26, 2003 (5:31 am)
I've discussed over in the Alfa Romeo board the value and/or significance of the last Spiders produced for the U.S., which were called "Commemorative Editions." It was mentioned that all they are were leftover '93 Spiders sold here as '94s, and that they're not worth significantly more because of the special badging and dashboard trim.   Volvo did something similar back in 1993, sending the last 1600 240s built from about Feb. to April over to the States as "240 Classics." These Volvos had special alloy wheels, body-colored trim and mirrors, wood trim, and a special dashboard plaque that told you what number of 1600 your car was, all too reminiscent of those so-called '94 Alfa Spiders. What bugs me is that these 240 Classics are being sold for ridiculously high prices, whether they're on Ebay or not. And I know that my own '93 Volvo (not a 240, but an 850) will bring about $5500 tops if I tried to sell it; people claim that you can get about $9000 for a clean 240 Classic. Any comments and/or reflections on this Volvo phenomenon?
#167 of 220 hmmm.... by ghulet Mar 26, 2003 (8:24 pm)
....I'm guessing anyone who would pay $9000 for any Volvo 240 either needs a psychiatric examination, or they think last-of-the-breed automatically means collectible (which, IMO, is highly doubtful in this case). You know how it is, people can ask whatever they want for anything, and in many cases, there's someone somewhere willing to pay it.
#168 of 220 by Mr_Shiftright HOST Mar 27, 2003 (7:53 am)
I suppose in an auction you can hype some foolish people into spending more than they should, but a few careless purchases certainly do not make the market.   If you pay $4,000 over book for a car with some decals and a few odd trim pieces, then it's YOUR turn to hype the car and get someone to pay $4,000 over book so you can break even. But the book value stays the same no matter if a few people over-pay.   Common sense dictates that you cannot intrinsically increase a car's value with $100 worth of add-ons. Especially when the car was not exactly everyone's "dream machine" to begin with.   At least the Bertone models had a different roof line, but here again it was just a tarted-up old Volvo, and a not very pretty one at that.   Now on the other hand there was the Volvo 123GT, which IS worth more because the GT equipment is significant and really worth having, like overdrive, special dash, and I believe other mods which I forget at the moment. So that car is worth double a run of the mill 122.
#169 of 220 yikes by ghulet Mar 28, 2003 (8:10 pm)
Last night I saw a pretty ratty, kelly green 244 wagon, I'm guessing late '70s (single round headlights, taillights not flush), containing the requisite young bohemians. The kicker was, this car had Montana plates (I'm in Chicago). I can't imagine driving a ratty old Volvo that far, though I guess it says something about its durability. Or maybe it just says something about the owners, I dunno.
#170 of 220 by Mr_Shiftright HOST Mar 30, 2003 (8:21 am)
Oh, they run and run those old Volvos---I mean if we took that car in for diagnostics there would probably be 125 things wrong with it, but the basic driveline in those cars can stagger along for ages--I'm sure by now it's noisy, wheezy, and thumps and bumps like a Third World percussion concert, but you rarely will see a catastrophic failure in these cars. You do have to be tolerant of a lot of basic faults, though. You aren't going to get the solid feel of an old German car.
#171 of 220 123 GT by amazon Apr 01, 2003 (10:16 am)
This car is also worth more because it's rare. The Tach, stromger engine, and mirrors are also included in the items special for this car. I want one....
#172 of 220 by Mr_Shiftright HOST Apr 01, 2003 (12:59 pm)
Me, too. It would be a great car to have--so easy to work on, attractive in a plain Swedish kind of way (pretty clean design) and even sorta fun to drive, good fuel economy, sturdy, lots of parts available except trim pieces. All in all, a real bargain in a very driveable "collectible" car.
#173 of 220 Shifty... by amazon Apr 01, 2003 (1:17 pm)
They seem to be pretty expensive, though. At least the asking proces are high. What do you think a mint 123GT should be worth in the Mid West?
#174 of 220 Also.. by amazon Apr 01, 2003 (1:20 pm)
How would the market react to modifications such as the ones we've been talking about? (bigger head, 2.2liter, bigger cam, etc.)   I saw a 121 with a B20E complete with the FI and all in Sweden not too long ago.
#175 of 220 16 valve heads by amazon Apr 01, 2003 (1:25 pm)
There were (very) few 16 valve DOHC aluminum heads made by Volvo and others in the mid 70's for the B20 engines. Now that would be cool!!! I remember having seen an article about a 121 with a Turbocharged, NOS, 16 valve B20. This car had a top speed of 180-190MPH, and the engine had 450 HP at 9000RPM.... It was dubbed the Midnight Blower, and would scare many vettes in Stockholm at the time. Replies to this message: allfader (Jun 07, 2006 8:39 am)

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