120L
Hi
I'm after some information on 244s in Australia.
I'm really interested in the round headlight cars.
Which years were they available?
Which engines were they fitted with and were they carburettor or fuel injected?
Did they come with overdrive?
Did they have tachometers?
Power steering?
Air conditioning?
Are manual cars scare these days?
Regards
Alan
carnut222
I’m sure somebody here will provide info. Also the Volvo Club of Vic 240 register captain Mark Hoffmann probably has some info. You can contact him thru the website or I think he’s on here as well. Duncan and Angus are probably going to be on top of it! :)
ramrod
DL usually round headlight, B21A carb or can be B21E with k-jet injection
GL has rectangular TV screen headlights
Air conditioning and power steering are options
Years available 1975-1982 then changed to 240 badge
Tachometer optional but can be added
Manual is rare, probably 20 in every 100
Automatic is 3 speed with no overdrive
Manual can be 4 speed or 4 speed with electric overdrive
What else?
120L
Carnut222 & ramrod
Thanks for your replies.
ramrod you answered just about all the questions. How hard would it be to get a good 1975 to 1982 GL or DL in manual?
I'll let you know what I'm thinking about.
My ultimate car is the 242GT but I have a budget of about $3 to $4k once my garage is built next year. Not enough for a good unmolested 242.
Next best thing a the same series Volvo in manual?
Carburettors give less power but also less expensive to fix?
Cams can be changed to give more performance, this can be done at a later stage, likewise with alloys.
If I'm way off the mark please let me know.
Regards
Alan
carnut222
ramrod;c-144840 wroteDL usually round headlight, B21A carb or can be B21E with k-jet injection
GL has rectangular TV screen headlights
Air conditioning and power steering are options
Years available 1975-1982 then changed to 240 badge
Tachometer optional but can be added
Manual is rare, probably 20 in every 100
Automatic is 3 speed with no overdrive
Manual can be 4 speed or 4 speed with electric overdrive
What else?
That’s the 2nd time in 2 days I’ve heard the term “TV screen” headlights. For some reason I thought the square DL ones were the “TV screen” as they’re closer to an early TV screen aspect ratio. Of course now with flat screens the aspect ratio is closer to the large rectangular GL lights. FWIW.
Angus242164
Round headlights were found on all '75-'78 models, with the grille and headlight surrounds changing design for '78.
'79 DL's had square headlights, GL's in that year got rectangular headlights and the narrower grille to match. For '80, DL and GL both got the same rectangular lights/narrow grille.
For '79-'80, the newly added GLE trim level had square headlights, with foglights in the grille.
For '75-'77, DL and GL both got the B21E engine with K-Jet fuel injection. This continued for the GL up to '80. The DL went to the B21A single SU carby engine for '78-'80, with an air pump for emissions for '78 only.
The M40 manual gearbox was used for '75 only, carried over from the 140 models, then replaced by the stronger M45 from '76 onwards. Manual GL's in '80 often had an M46 with overdrive, but some kept the M45. I don't think the M46 was available in Australia prior to that, except on the 242GT, if it was, it was a very rare option.
The BW55 auto was available on both trim levels from '75-'77, typically most DL's were manual, and most GL's auto. DL's from '78-'80 were only available in manual, as far as I've seen.
GL's from '79-'80 were almost always auto, the few manuals were usually M46's.
Tachometer was standard on GL's, optional on DL.
AC was optional on DL and GL in the first few years, often fitted to GL's, but less common on DL. It may have become standard on the GL at some point.
PS was as above. AC was often fitted without PS, but never the other way around on Australian delivered cars, as far as I've seen, even though the hardware existed to do it.
There was also a model in '76-'77 called the 244GL Executive. It was simply badged 244GL, but had metallic paint, leather seats, front centre armrest and alloy wheels, in addition to the usual GL options.
ramrod
My 79 244GL didn't actually come with a tach, oh well
ramrod
120L;c-144842 wroteCarnut222 & ramrod
Thanks for your replies.
ramrod you answered just about all the questions. How hard would it be to get a good 1975 to 1982 GL or DL in manual?
I'll let you know what I'm thinking about.
My ultimate car is the 242GT but I have a budget of about $3 to $4k once my garage is built next year. Not enough for a good unmolested 242.
Next best thing a the same series Volvo in manual?
Carburettors give less power but also less expensive to fix?
Cams can be changed to give more performance, this can be done at a later stage, likewise with alloys.
If I'm way off the mark please let me know.
Regards
Alan
You should be able to find an original rust free 244 in great condition for that much. GT's much less so, due to how rare they are and expect to pay between $5,000-$10,000, if you can find one.
Your selection will be based on a car by car basis, not so much the trim level, specifications or engines. If you're lucky enough to find one that meets with your expectations, jump on it. They're getting harder and harder to come by
120L
ramrod
Many thanks.
From what you've told me if a see a good manual 244 I'll grab it as soon as possible. I'm a little constrained for space for the next year but I hope there won't be too many changes in the number of cars available in that time.
Regards
Alan
jlfents
Angus242164
Sounds like tacho might not have been standard on GL's in all years, but rather a popular option.
The grille and headlight surrounds pictured in the link are only found on '78 models in Australia, on DL and GL.
In North America, I think that setup was standard on '78-'80 DL's. Their GL's had quad round lights at that time.
Spac
Angus' first post is easily the most accurate, but I dispute the intake stuff:
I have seen far too many carb'd early DLs to think that they all were retrofitted.
Particularly considering the absence of any sign of electric fuel pump and/or wiring.
My understanding is that all 1975 DLs were factory fitted with a 1.75" CD Stromberg carb, and that the carb was the default for a DL at least until the end of 1976.
At least some of the later DLs were fitted with SU carbs, possibly all of them (making the Strombergs on the earlier cars more likely to be factory fitted).
FWIW, the factory carb cars and 75 model K-jet cars didn't have a lift pump fitted inside the fuel tank. 1976+ K-jet cars had a lift pump in the tank.
Spac
And we should never underestimate the amount of parts-swapping that happened at the dealers that would never happen now ("You like this blue, but you want an automatic sir?
No problem! Come back at the end of the week!").
And also, the round headlight cars are all 40+ years old now, and lots of parts have been swapped to keep them going!
Angus242164
I have a 100% original early 1975 244DL which is a factory B21E, complete with the '75 only oddities like fuel filter and fuel system relays mounted to a galvanized steel plate on the firewall.
I also had a '76 244DL at one time with a factory B21E, and my '77 245L is also factory B21E.
I haven't personally seen a 244 or 245 DL from before '78 with a carby engine, except for a couple of UK imports.
The '75 242DL's all had B21A's with the Stromberg CD175, and M40 gearbox, but I didn't mention those as the original post was asking about 244's.
The lift pump on injected cars started with the '77 model year I'm pretty sure.
120L
242 DL That interesting!
Were such cars brought into Australia?
ramrod
Yes they were
only in 1975 and 1976
120L
Must be rare as I've never seen one
ramrod
You're not alone, they are rarer than GT's it's just that GT's are more prestigious therefore you see more of them and they were kept in better condition and rescued where the DL's were rusted, crashed or scrapped so how many exist today I would say double digits
Angus242164
1975 model year only, but they didn't sell as well as hoped, and Volvo discontinued them after the first year. Most likely they were still selling the stock well into '76 due to the slow sales.
It's hard to say how many were sold here, maybe a couple of hundred at a guess.
120L
Angus
You can contact me on 0435 139 106 or email me at
alan.skofic@transport.nsw.gov.au
Regards
Alan