Hey all, I'm new to this forum, so take it easy on me.
My names Patrick, and i'm 17. I have a part-time job and inheritance has blessed? me with a 1987 Volvo 240dl wagon. This thing is vintage, it has maybe 225,000+ miles on it. I don't know for sure, because the mile counter has actually stopped at 190,000 miles.
Thiscar is old, and its junky. Not a lot of power with a messy exterior with a few dents here and there. Eventually i'll post some pictures so everyone can see what project i'm dealing with.
I am tired of taking cra* for my car, I want to make it a great car again and live up to its full volvo potential. I understand 100% this project will NOT be cheap and will cost a good deal of money. It would just be smarter to buy aused car, and fix that one up. Unfortunately, this is not an optionfor me and I HAVE to keep this car.
So for this project,I ask you all for help and ideas. I willfollow this with a listof problems and symptoms andI would like suggestions to fix it. Its an old car, but it has plenty more life in it andi'd like all of your help to make itgreat again.

1. The look:
Its a dark navy blue volvo. People don't like it, I don't understand why. I think if it was fixed up and maybe had a nice looking body kit put on it, it would befine. As long as I was happy with the appearance, I wouldn't care what other people think, but the carundoubtebly has some flaws. The paint is scratched in a few spots and I have one or two dents in some rough spots. There is a dent onthe front right next to the headlight. Is there any way to get this fixed? Also, anyone know of anyspare part sites (not being a junkyard)?I'm missing a few minor components, the door bumper on one door and a little piece to the left of my bumper. How can I make a 20 year old paint job shine again? I've tried wax (turtle wax) but that mostly just makes it in 2 days form white spots all over the car. Is there any kind of spray I can put on that will make it glossy again?

The Roof:
5 years ago or so, when my older brother was the owner of the car, some little kids were jumping on the roof. The roof is now concaved in. I can pop it out by hitting it in from the inside, but usually when I hit 60 or so in the car the air going over the roof pushes it back in. Any ideas on how to fix this? I presume a roll bar or something in the roof is bent or broken.

The Wipers: My front wipers work only on high speed. I could just buy a new motor, but this is expensive. From what i've read, I need a new wiper control module, anyone have any idea where I can get this part? The wipers work on full speed, but hardly work on a lower speed.

The Headlights: The headlights suck, i'm probably just going to replace them with some nice halogen lights. Their simply too dim and I have a great deal of trouble seeing on the road.

The Brakes: The brakes SQEEEEEEEAK. I either need new drums or new pads. Is there a way to tell which one I need? Or do I just have to take it to a mechanic to let them determine.

The body: Does anyone know of any nice body kits for a 240dl wagon? I want something that looks really styl-ish.

The Mile counter:
My mile counter is broken. Its frozen at 190,000 miles. Is there a cord I can jiggle or re-solder to hopefully make it start working again, or is it fried?

The speedometer: The speedometer is uncalibrated, its 5 miles over what i'm really doing. Do I need to get this calibrated?

The Power: This car has a fair amount of power - a good kick when you push it into overdrive, but I want something witha little more. Is there anyway I can get some more ponies out of this thing? I realize this is the expensive part with some extensive work. Hit me hard on ths one, give me all your ideas.

Thanks for all your help guys, it really means a lot to me. I want a nice car, and I think I can really do it with this one, no matter how old it is.
Cheers, Patrick

 

I don't know what you have against junkyards, but that's the place for you and your project-otherwise you'll end up spending way more that this heap is worth. And even with junkyards you need to go to the "pull your own part" type to get a deal. Hopefully there's one in your area. Sounds like you need a cheap paint job, but I wouldn't bother with that. Your roof, well, that's tough one, no experience with that... gotta work that more, support bars may be...Wiper motor and lights? JUNKYARD! Ditto for the speedo. The squeeky brakes you'll need to check, probably good quality pads will take care of that. You can check/change them yourself IF you have any basic auto knowledge. As far as more power, well, you have a $500 car now and regardless how much you "invest", it'll be, may be. a $1,000 car. Do the math!

 

hi,about your paintwork.try and buy some autoglym paint restorer, this will cut the paint back just enough to revive it. then apply autoglym resin polish to give it a nice glossy shine.there are other brands on the market that do a similar job to autoglym if you cant get the forementioned product. good luck with your project.

 

just stash it in ur shed/garage or backyard with car cover over it since you must keep it, and drive another car, like a ford LTD

 

You'll have to take a hammer and pin to your roof. And it's going to require you removing the ceiling to get to bare metal. Since there's little chance of the roof looking any worse than it does, I'd suggest you do it yourself. Big hammer + a block of wood = straightish roof. After that, you'll probably need a new paint job anyway. I hate Macco....their paint jobs suck. BUT...they are cheap. The only way to get a halfway decent paint job from Macco is to sand the clear coat off the car yourself and prime the body yourself. We can give you pointers for that if your interested but it'll be a lengthy post so I'll hold off.

As for the mechanical parts you need...junk yard my friend. Actually, there's a guy in Wisconsin that pulls Volvo parts still in good condition...I'll try to find the name because he should probably be stickied in the volvo resource guild in the general volvo forum. Brake pads are cheap and REALLY easy to change out your self. Drums can be a little intimidating at first but if you just look at them and study them....you'll eventually understand them. Your breaking problem probably stops with the pads though. The back brakes only do 10-15% of stopping. The wipers sound like you need the new motor...it's wearing out and eventually won't work period. Don't quote me on this, but if it were the module, the wipers would either work or not work...I don't think there's an in between. Besides which....the module isn't were I'd go if it were as simple as that. I'd start at the fuse panel. They corrode and need replaceing when they get too old...or a good steel wooling.

Body kits......well, anything for a 240 is going to be EXPENSIVE....but check out the Volvo Resource Guild in the general Volvo forum....TONS of valuable links and the last time I checked....Volvo Forums has the most extensive list. Aside from that, if you just spend time in here reading the posts, you'll be a Volvo novice in no time.