New Love

trashy · Post by **trashy** » 22 Jan 2011, 21:06

I just joined the board and thought that I would drop a line to say "hi".

I am the proud owner of a "new to me" 1990 240 DL. I bought it for a couple of reasons, the first one being transportation for my son. I also thought that it would be a fun project car to restore. I consider myself to be a hacker of sorts - that being someone that likes to build/fix things (not to be confused with a computer cracker).

This one is going to take some work and a little bit of money, but in the end I think it will be well worth my investment. I haven't had the chance to take any pictures yet, but will do so soon. Some of the "interesting characteristics" of this car are as follows.

Overall the body is in pretty good shape... aside from what looks like bullet holes in the driver's side.

Most of the holes were wrongly and cheaply filled with some kind of filler, but should be easy enough to repair.

The interior is in decent shape, though the sun roof leaked and therefor caused some mold spots.

The car runs pretty good, but probably needs some mechanical work. I have already ordered a Bentley repair manual and some sunroof seals. Some of the other things wrong with it:

1. Radio stays on after the car is turned off
2. Wipers do not work
3. AC blower seems to run low, even if it is switched off
4, It's missing the overhead dome light assembly
5. Has a weird vibration at less than 40 mph (kind of like a lump in a tire)

Overall I would say it's in fair to pretty good shape. It is drivable. For the money that I spent on it ($1200) I figure that if I put another $1000 - $2000 into it I'll have a nice car to drive around town.

I plan to take some photos and document my restoration in hopes that someone else may learn from it. I have been reading this forum the past couple of days and have been doing a lot of research on these cars. I really look forward to sharing my experience with the restoration, and welcome any suggestions, tips or advice.

Post by **jimmy57** » 22 Jan 2011, 21:11

1. Is it an aftermarket, non-volvo branded radio? Sounds like somebody changed the power supply.
2. 240's are known for those old version Euro fuses inside by driver's door to get corroded on ends and to crack where mteal conductor wraps around the end of the ceramic body.
3. normal on that year model, fan runs continuously
4. pic n pull, it's fun to scrounge there.
5.tell us more about the vibration

Welcome!!

lummert · Post by **lummert** » 22 Jan 2011, 22:11

Most aftermarket radios can be turned off by holding in the power button until it turns off. I learned this from reading a couple of manuals. This feature is needed for some European cars that have the radio wired directly to the fusebox without going through the ignition switch. VW and Audi used to build them that way.

trashy · Post by **trashy** » 23 Jan 2011, 04:52

jimmy57 wrote:1. Is it an aftermarket, non-volvo branded radio? Sounds like somebody changed the power supply.
2. 240's are known for those old version Euro fuses inside by driver's door to get corroded on ends and to crack where mteal conductor wraps around the end of the ceramic body.
3. normal on that year model, fan runs continuously
4. pic n pull, it's fun to scrounge there.
5.tell us more about the vibration

Welcome!!

Thanks for the replies.

1. It is an after market radio. For now I just remove the faceplate to turn it off. I can't seem to figure out where/how the power button works on it.

2. Yeah, I pulled the fuse out last night to have a look at it. It does have some slight corrosion, but checks good. I may go through and give them all a cleaning and begin my troubleshooting from there.

3, Good to know regarding the fan.

4, I'm planning on visiting a couple of junkyards in the area this week.

5. The vibration kind of feels like there is a flat spot or lump on a tire. It's most noticeable between about 30mph and 40mph. I think it's coming from the right hand side. I haven't taken a close look at the tires yet.

Post by **jimmy57** » 23 Jan 2011, 10:06

I bet an investigation behind the radio will reveal they hooked the key on power lead to the constant power lead. If you are lucky there is a book for the radio in the car or wire legend is on the radio. A lot of replacement radios have little tags on the wires.
If all else fails the model number off label will get a hit on google for wiring for radio.

trashy · Post by **trashy** » 24 Jan 2011, 03:22

I had a chance to look closer at a few things yesterday. The fuse was bad for the wipers, so I got them working.

The vibration is kind of a mystery to me. It seems most apparent between about 35 mph and 45 mph. It kind of "smooths out" a bit above and below those speeds. I'm not sure if it's suspension related or something else. I wonder if a warped rotor or bad bearings could cause it?