I saw this nice 1980 Volvo 244 for sale. They want $1600 for it. Am I asking for trouble buying a Volvo this old? What should I look for? Its had only 3 owners and the interior looks really nice as does the body. I was looking for a 1990's 240 or 740 but this one caught my eye. How does the 240 compare to the 740 and 940? How is the a/c in these cars? I live in Phoenix AZ and it is 110 degrees right now. Thanks.

 

I'm not even sure a 1980 CAME with factory air conditioning. anything older than about 1995 came with R12 A/C so has to be converted to R134a (or maintained with unobtanium black market R12, which no A/C shop will install)

a 1980 will be a CIS aka K-Jet car, rather than the electronic LH injection uses on later versions. its probably a B21 2.1L engine, rather than the B23F and B230F used on later cars, but the B21 is really the same rugged 'redblock' engine, just smaller displacement.. CIS is just fine as long as nothing goes wrong, but finding people who know how to fix them if they go south is getting harder and harder. If its an automatic, its probably the older BW55 or something 3-speed (no overdrive). if its a stick, its probably the M46 4-speed plus electric overdrive.

 

1980 may or may not have A/C, working, well that's the question... Rebuilding a long dormant system is costly. All US sold cars have R134 beginning in 1993. Licensed A/C shops sell R12 but the cost is prohibitively expensive, like $70 a pound, and up. There are refrigerants that can be mixed with R12 such as Freeze12, Envirosafe, etc. and are available on the market for the needs of the DIY.