Hey folks, I joined the forums to get some more knowledge on the 242 gt I'm looking to buy. It's a 1980 with the b21 engine and a couple mods (different suspension, lowered, sway bars). All in all the body is solid other then a small hole in the rear inner fender and it needs paint. The car starts, runs and drives but the guy hasn't had it on the road for 2-3 years because of family/baby.

I was looking for some info on what to look for before I purchase it. I read that the blower fans tend to go, overdrive stops working, wiring is ****ty and other electrical issues. I'm just nervous since he hasn't had it road legal for so long. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you
Keith

 

well, its 35 years old at this point in time. anything rubber that hasn't been replaced in the past 10 years probably needs replacing again.

its K-Jet continuous injection, which fewer and fewer people know how to work with.

1980 is *before* the years of flakey wiring, although at 35 years, anything could be flakey.

the M46 4-speed + electric overdrive manual transmissions are pretty rock solid. the OD unit is a Lycoming J unit, same as used on many british cars in the 1970s. the electrical control system for it is pretty darn simple.

i personally tend to shy away from cars with lowered/sport suspension as their is a higher probability of them having been driven hard and put away wet.

 

I thought in the 240s the flaky wiring harness was 1980-87? I know when I purchased my 80' 242 the harness was toast and needed rebuilt.

Anyway, as pierce mentioned, be prepared to have fun with K-Jet. Very few mechanics anymore have any idea how to work with it. Vacuum leaks kill it, and finding parts (such as the fuel distributor) is nearly impossible outside of eBay. And as with any 240, if it is still stocked with the old ceramic fuses replace them all, or you'll have nothing but problems.

The good news is, the b21 and tranny are bullet-proof if not abused. You should be relatively maintenance free after you give the car a HEALTHY tune-up.

 

replace all your old tin fuses with real european copper/brass ceramic fuses. you can find them on ebay, often sold as Mercedes W123 W124 fuses (the w123 and W124 are the early and later family of 300E and 300D cars). one of those kits is usually enough fuses for 2-3 240's. clean the fuse holder contacts with a soft pink pencil eraser

 

Great, Thanks guys. Im sure ill be on here quite often looking for info haha. I was looking for a bmw model 2002 and I somehow came across the 242 and at first I thought "wow that is ugly" but the more I look at it, the more I want it. Are the body panels mostly the same as a regular 240? If I inspect the harness I should be able to tell if its starting to deteriorate? I think I will give the car a good tune up/replace anything that is needed, then strip the interior and check for rust, fix the body and get it painted. How do those overdrives work? If it was idling in the yard in 4th gear, If I hit the switch would I hear it engage?


Thanks again
Keith

 

the rear quarter panels and doors are unique to the 2-doors. the front fenders should be interchagnable with 4-doors of the same general vintage, but post 1985(?) and pre-1985 (again, ?) have some differences. also there are flathood and coffin-hood 240's, which have different fenders, hoods, lights, and grills. early 240's have different bumpers than later ones, also different tail lights. everything from circa 1985 forward is pretty much interchangable.

the earliest 240's had B20, B21 engines, these were pushrod inline 4s with overhead valves and rocker arms. the B23 and B230 were SOHC (except the B234 found on some 740/940 cars was DOHC and rather a different beast entirely). the earliest 240's were K-Jet fuel injection, this was followed by LH electronic injection, which went from LH II to LH 2.2 to LH 2.4 over a few years, where all bricks 1989+ are LH2.4 (except for some 740s that are regina injection).

there were several different ignition systems used on the earlier 240s, 1989+ are all bosch ezk116.