Ethical Volvo 240 dilema...

Hey folks,

So I have a dilemma...

Last fall the 240 (85, 4 door) got hit while parked (punk in a one day new to him STi failed to navigate a corner on dry pavement). It took it pretty bad, has a bent a piller, door, and fender broken windshield, broken virgo wheel.

It's still not running right after last fall's bizarre issues, but it drives.

I'm close to having the Justy ready to be back on stage (John, still need to get you suspension measurements, but if we make bear we'll be running what we have). However I had thought of using the 240 as the next weapon.

Here's the situation, the 240 was a fun street car. No engine work, but it had upside down Bilsteins in the front, standard Bils shocks in the rear, IDP sway bars, Virgos, clean brakes. Glass E-codes from Europe with the twin reflectors (H1's) (sorry John but they do throw good light!)

Now it's bent...

I have little place to store it (none) right now. Still living in urban core with no decent shop space yet, the car is parked at my bosses... I need to move it soon.

Do I

A: tow car 8 hours to parents farm where it will sit and rot in a dry shed until I can get to it... listen to my parents complain about it...

B: Strip suspension and bits and keep them

C: strip suspension, bits and sell them

D: Offer the car up to someone? but it's bent and so... really only worth the suspension.

Argh, it was a fun car, I'm sort of emotionally attached to it (in a "I want to beat you more" way)

Thoughts?

Matt

I'd cut my losses, and fund other things. 240's are cheap, buy another one when you have the space to store/work on it.

Strip + Go get the free 242 shell in Portland + assemble over a weekend.

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formulaphoto
Strip + Go get the free 242 shell in Portland + assemble over a weekend.

Yeah he even knows where the Ford Asylum is since he used to live just up the road

hmmm

Yes I'm leaning towards the cut losses, but I do live in the rust belt, and this is a hand selected Seattle car from a few years ago. Tin worm free... I can straighten all by a bit of the inner rocker with a BFH....

Points taken.

Under consideration.

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Mad Matt F
hmmm

Yes I'm leaning towards the cut losses, but I do live in the rust belt, and this is a hand selected Seattle car from a few years ago. Tin worm free... I can straighten all by a bit of the inner rocker with a BFH....

Points taken.

Under consideration.

YEAH! Waitasecond!!!!, you're asking and we're blabbering without seeing any piccies, thats boule-sheeeet.
Post some piccies..
I've seen guy do the "OMG!! My CAR IS RUINED!" for a minor dent in the floor, and I've seen guys---just a week ago, with a few pieces of rusty flake things I might have swept up and tossed but they say "I gots me a near mint 1976 Nowigotcha GXZXL 1300 and I want to rebuild it and rally!"

Piccies.

Yes, silly me should have posted piccies...

It is totally fixable, in fact day of I got it pretty close by using service area techniques... jacking up the car and putting a jack stand under the open door, then lower the car onto the door and beat on the A piller... door opens and closes now.

I guess I'm just trying sort out if the shell is worth holding on to for at least a year... Argh I need a farm...

So John I have both!, the rusty 1988 nowigotcha that should have been swept up with the sandblaster shavings, and the rust free rally shell with a boo boo... not boo boo kitty.

Me

Note though, while it doesn't look that bad, it got hit hard... the firewall to front inner fender, upper strut mount area (whatever it's called) has a few popped welds! The broken wheel was the curb side where it got hammered into the curb.

The rocker took it hard too, that's the worst part, cause it will need to be pulled or really beaten...

The windshield is broken up in the lower corner, no biggie though

Matt

The way I look at it, that car is a self-contained, mobile, weatherproof volvo 240 spare parts unit. It keeps all those small parts well organized.

http://www.rustrepair.com/parts_page.htm?r=rr&p=sm-volvo-volvo.67

$50 for a new rocker panel.

I thought you said there was damage? That'll buff right out. Junker door, junker fender a tree and a come along and you are in business.
Seriously though, remember its a cheap car. If you must keep it Rattlecan it for the time being and drive it, or if you can get what you paid for it sell it. If there is one thing my father taught me that didn't stick its that cars are not investments and they dont feel emotion. Sell it for $800 and buy another $500 one with a straight body. (if you are desperate for the suspenion go to the junker pull some used pieces and swap em)
I only say this cause it doesn't sound like you have storage options. It's not worth pissing your folks off for a couple hundred dollar car.

No room to store it means no room to store it.
Don't be a hoarder.

strip it, sell the crap you don't want, sell the rest for scrap, and buy another one.

A pillar is shoved in, can be fixed but likely better off scrapping it and get a better shell later.

I still have my stock suspension laying around in the garage if you want to keep the bilsteins and try to sell the car as running.

I would also probably be interested in the bilsteins in exhange of the old suspension and some $... Just so you have an easy way of selling them if that's the way you want to go.

---

Francois