Volvo 240 Series

Introduction

Over the decades since the first Volvo ever hit the road, there have been many differing opinions about them - and arguably the car that courted the most debate was the 240 series. The line "They're Boxy, But Safe" gained popularity and in doing so, many people started to have highly exaggerated ideas as to just how well the Volvo could stand up to a severe accident. Race driver Alan Jones once described his wife as being such a bad driver that he had been forced to buy her a Volvo for her own protection. He probably wouldn't get away with that line today, but that it was said at all goes some way to describing how people felt about the 240 Series.

For those fortunate enough to travel to Sweden, it soon became evident that, while the Volvo may have had some good safety credentials, the 240 Series was pretty much the Swedish Holden. Numerically Volvo enjoyed sales penetration in the 1970s and 1980s in their home country as did Holden here in Australia. But even though it was well built and did most things capably, the Volvo was basically not a lot better in most ways than any Commodore or Falcon. In some ways, such as in straight out long term ruggedness, the local cars were in fact superior.

Some people thought the Volvo was a top quality European car in line with the Mercedes and BMW. Once again this view was not completely wrong, just exaggerated. Although the Volvo was well built, it did not come up to the exceptional quality standards of the much higher priced German cars. Perceptions aside, the 240 series cars were family friendly, offering a lot of space and comfort in a moderately sized body. While the Volvo 240 was stronger than average, it was always going to be badly bent in a big accident because the laws of physics cared little for badge on the front of a car.

Primary vs. Secondary Safety

In the early 1960s there was no doubt that the Volvo company was well ahead of every other car company in the world, with the possible exception of Mercedes Benz, in the subject of how to make cars protect their occupants in an accident. But by the early 1980s this safety lead had been cut down. Other manufacturers had started to take safety seriously, and started building cars which were almost as good as those of the Swedish manufacturer.

Not that the other car makers created safer cars out of the goodness of their corporate hearts; they frequently did it simply because the governments of the world forced them to make safer cars whether they liked it or not. The Australian Government also played their part in forcing better safety regulations upon manufacturers. Australian Design Rules had come in for a hell of a lot criticism over the years, but during the 1970s and 1980s ever stricter legislation ensured that cars sold here were pretty much as safe as a Volvo. One example from the late 1970s was the provision of a safety cell for the passengers and dual circuit brakes.

The only real drawback to the Volvo was the relatively high purchase price of the car and the high cost of repairs and maintenance. The Volvo was reliable enough, but the cost of running the car could cause real financial troubles when something unexpected went wrong. During the reign of the 240 series it remained a comparatively rare European car - however there were a substantial number of Volvo dealers in Australia. Fuel consumption on the 240 series four cylinder Volvos was pretty reasonable considering the size of the car - about 13 to 14 litres per 100 kilometres in suburban use and about 11 to 12 litres per hundred in the country.

Prior to about 1970 the Volvo marketing people concentrated primarily on secondary safety; the ability of the car to protect its occupants during an accident. But from then on a lot more emphasis was put on primary safety: the ability of the car to avoid the accident in the first place. This emphasis on car dynamics took the Volvo from its position of being a rather dull and functional machine and placed it back to its earlier position as a sporty family car. Not quite the halcyon days when Volvo's were rallying with great success in Australia - but a little more driver involvement than the whitegoods-on-wheels they had almost become.

The 240 Series

In March 1975 the 240 series Volvos replaced the Volvo 140 series cars. Although the new cars looked similar to the older ones, there were really a lot of important improvements including more efficient engines. Initially the cars were sold at three levels, a base DL version available in sedan form with the choice of two or four doors and as a five door wagon. Next up came the more luxurious GL which among other features had leather seats, and finally, the GL Executive which had air conditioning and a tachometer as standard equipment. The Executive did not come in station wagon form.

"2" meaning series 2, the "4" meaning a four cylinder engine and the final number indicating the number of doors, including the loading door on the wagon. The most noticeable feature of the 240 series cars - the daytime safety lights - were introduced 12 months into the car's life in March 1976 (and not at the time that the car was first released in this country). The two door sedan which had never been particularly popular, was taken off the market in 1976. A bargain priced Volvo station wagon was introduced in July 1977 - it being thinly disguised as a four door panel van. The rear doors were not fitted with quality trim and, of course, there was no back seat. Some clever owners got in on the price savings and subsequently converted these Volvo 245 2SL into wagons by the addition of a rear seat, seat belts etc.

In March 1981 the 2.3-litre engine becomes standard on all except the DL series which retained the old 2.1-litre engine breathing through a carburettor (everything else except the DL used fuel injection). Although the capacity difference between 2.1 and 2.3-litre did not seem all that great, the difference in performance was noticeable - and all road testers of the time recommended stumping up for the extra capacity. In February 1983 a change in the naming system meant that all 240 series cars were simply named 240 without the final digit being used to indicate the number of doors. So the range became the 240 DL, 240 GL, and 240 GLE (as the GL Executive became known in 1979). It made no difference whether the vehicle was a sedan or a wagon - it was, from February 1983, simply a Volvo 240.

Problems with the 240 Series

The 240 series Volvos were very reliable and had no common problems. Engines and gearboxes tended to be a bit harsh and noisy even when new, but if they appeared to be too bad, you needed to be very cautious before buying one. Sloppy manual gearboxes or automatic transmissions which were slow to engage reverse gear from neutral were due for expensive repairs. was is very seldom a problem in Volvos because northern European winters quickly eat cars which do not receive proper rust protection in the factory. But to be on the safe side, check the bottom edges of the doors and all body seams.

Also see: Volvo Car Reviews | Volvo Color Codes | Volvo Specifications | The History of Volvo (USA Edition)