| Dave's Favorite 240s |
Return to Main Page UPDATED: August 24, 2010
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Used Volvos for your Teen DriversIf you had to guess, what age-group of drivers is most likely to smash the family car? That's easy… law enforcement knows it . . . your insurance company knows it . . . I'm sure you do too. Your 16 year old driver! Compared with adult drivers, teen drivers have much higher crash rates, even when teens drive much less than adults. Based on crashes of all severities, a 16 to 19 year old is four times as likely to crash his or her car compared to a driver 20 and older. The risk is highest for 16 year olds.
So, as a responsible parent, is it possible to crash-proof your kids? Should you run out and buy the biggest land-yacht you can find to protect them? Do you keep them from driving a car at all? Having raised four kids and having dealt with this issue several times over, I've learned some things. I've been a Volvonut for a long time and I've owned more than 10 of them. I'll share some ideas with you.
The photo above is what was left of my first 240 after a crash involving one of my kids. More in a bit... but most people have heard about how Volvos have been safe cars for a long time. Volvo has employed a lot of well-educated engineers, who have come up with a some great safety features. Here are just a few important safety features that were introduced by Volvo over the years: 1944 - Laminated windscreen, 1959 - Three-point seat belts, 1960 - Padded instrument panel, 1966 - Twin-circuit triangular braking system, 1966 - Crumple zones, 1967 - Seat belts in the rear, 1968 - Head restraints in front, 1969 - Three-point inertia-reel seat belts in the front, 1972 - Three-point seat belts in the rear, 1972 - Child-proof door locks, 1973 - Energy-absorbing steering columns, 1974 - Energy-absorbing bumpers, 1974 - Gas tanks relocated forward for enhanced safety, 1984 - Anti-locking brakes, 1986 - Brake lights placed at eye level, 1986 - Three-point seat belt in the middle of the rear seat, 2002 - ROPS (Roll-Over Protection System) for their SUV (XC90), 2006 - Proximity collision warning with automated brake support, 2007 - Lane Departure Warning, 2009 - City Safety: Automatically stops at speeds below 19 mph if obstruction is detected (XC60), 2010 - Pedestrian Detection with auto braking (S60).
So is safety a chief concern in your decision? Are there other factors involved when trying to pick out a car for a young driver? Of course there are... economics will play a part too. But first, a little more about safety….
Does BIG equal Safe?
When it comes time to decide on a car for your teen, what factors will you use? Your decision might be based on several needs, such as Safety, Reliability, Economy, Safety, and Safety. But your teen might have his or her own ideas. Their goal might be, for instance; Style, Power, Music, Style and Style. Who wins? Well, you of course, since you're the one with the car.
Should we consider that a larger vehicle just might make the difference in a collision between serious injury or walking away unhurt? Between life and death? Will a little extra metal make the difference? Should you consider a car that isn't so small that your kids will automatically lose if they get into a crash, especially if they get t-boned by a larger vehicle. Hopefully, your decision isn't based on mere cost. But if crash-test ratings will be something you'll consider, keep this in mind.... Very small cars are being awarded very high crash-test scores. How is this possible? It's possible because those compact cars you see with "five star" ratings are only being judged in how well they protect your kids in a crash with a similar sized vehicle.
Keeping the above information in mind, you might be interested in what the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has to offer. They publish some interesting test results that might be useful. Their data can give you an idea of the saftey ratings of most cars and trucks, as well as projected insurance losses relative to inury or damage for most makes and models (this last one is key to your insurance costs). This data, however, may be more relative to newer cars, since most of the easy to find data at IIHS is for cars made in approximately the last 6 to 12 years, not so much for older cars.
If you're thinking you should just go BIG and get an SUV, it may not be such a good idea for a teen driver either. Even if an SUV shows a lower fatality rating, such a vehicle might be quite a handful to an inexperienced driver in an emergency situation. Most SUVs are required to carry a label (usually on the visor) warning that "abrupt maneuvers should be avoided" or a catastrophic roll-over might happen. In other words, don't turn too sharply.
A Volvo SUV might be an exception, since from their beginning, Volvo SUVs have been equipped with Volvo's Roll Stability Control. The RSC uses a sophisticated gyro sensor to identify a potential rollover situation. If the RSC senses such an event, it becomes active and literally takes control of the gas and brakes, applying them in such a way to avert a rollover and keep you driving straight. But maybe you're super-human and you think you can maintain control just as well. I'm here to tell you that unless you've figured out how to apply your brakes so that any one of your four wheels can brake independently of the others, you won't be able to do what this system can. I've seen it in action during severe testing and it works amazingly well.
Is Safe Boring?
Many drivers think safe means boring. This will be especially true for young, trendy drivers who already know everything. The idea of a Volvo as a first car was not even close to the top of any list my teens had in mind. So, will a Volvo be a boring car for a teen? Maybe, but here's economics lesson #1.... Safe cars are NOT boring to insurance companies who base their rates, in a large part, on the safety features of the car you drive. But can there be that much difference in real-world auto insurance prices? When I was looking for insurance quotes for my new teen drivers, I found some interesing things. Newer vehicles generally cost a lot more to insure than older ones. This is partly because it's more expensive to fix them when they crash. The differences can be surprising. For older Volvos in particular, I have found auto insurance rates to be much, much less. Often more than 50% less, when compared to a new car.
As boring as Volvos might seem to some (mostly I think to those who don't own one), you might be pleasantly surprised to know there is quite a following that is growing among younger drivers, a following I rarely saw when I was pushing old 240s on my kids. The internet is full of places where Volvos are getting great reviews by younger people, so if you go the same route as I did, you might have an easier sell.
Pleasant Side-Effects: Valuable Lessons in Responsibility and Maturity:
Since auto insurance prices can be so significant, especially for a young driver, I tried an idea that I though might help. As each teen approached that magical driving age, I sat them down and told them I would buy them (or hand down) a very nice used Volvo. This gift, I explained, came with a couple of conditions. One such condition was that they would learn to pay a bill. They would know well in advance that their portion of paying for a car was the monthly insurance bill (having it billed monthly made it easier to understand than a few times per year). Each teen readily agreed (maybe because getting a car was all they could see in their starry eyes). This agreement was reinforced with the understanding that I was counting on them to be fiscally responsible and that a default in their insurance payment would definitely result in their car being parked. They also understood that if they became an irresponsible driver and smashed the car, the increase in insurance premiums would directly affect their finances.
I found this agreement worked quite well. And as they grew older, I found they had developed other positive attributes, such as an increased sense of fiscal responsibility and learning to plan ahead. These were lessons in maturity, which I found were putting them years ahead of their friends who weren't made responsible for things like insurance bills.
Making an Impression in their Mushy Little Brains:
There are lots of stories about teaching kids to drive. One I like to share is how I made them "earn" the "privilege" of driving FORWARD. That's right. Once they had a learner's permit in hand, my kids spent a considerable amount of time driving in reverse. Not on the streets, though. I would take them to empty parking lots and carefully instruct them on reverse driving techniques, explaining how most low-speed accidents happened while backing. I made them pay attention by finding obstacles they had to maneuvered around or by directing them to back into parking spaces, while staying evenly between the lines and stopping just shy of the bump-stops. After a few days of backing everywhere they went, they were better at it than most experienced drivers.
Speed Kills:
Common sense tells us that when cars go too fast, crashes tend to go up. Here's a question to ponder: If your teen's car is better handling than others, or more powerful, or generally more capable of dealing with risky maneuvers without losing control, will that encourage your kids to take even more risks? I'm not sure if there's an easy answer, but I do believe some restraint needs to be administered to achieve a good balance between, for instance; a rocket ship and a slug-mobile. Since I already knew Volvos had pretty good handling from the start and I believed in good handling and good brakes, I always liked making them better for my teens by adding larger anti-sway bars, sport springs, high-performance shocks and better brake pads from places like iPd. As for the speed and power department... I like that too, but I'm no idiot. I was a teen driver once and if my parents knew 10% of the land speed records I set in their cars, I'd still be grounded.
The path I chose:
My teens were given non-turbo 240s (and one got a non-turbo 740), which meant they could still get on the freeway without being embarrassed, but they would never win a drag race. The photo you see above was the result of another driver pulling out in front of my 16 year old daughter. That collision was estimated at more than 50 mph. She was able to walk away with only a few bumps and bruises. All my teens survived…. and so did I.
In my eyes, these old Volvos have out-shined any Mercedes, BMW or Cadillac cars because they're built well, simple to work on and because of their reliability, they will last and last. There is also a substantial difference in the price for Mercedes parts and BMW parts, compared to Volvo parts. Volvos are very nice drivers and they will give you driving satisfaction for many years. Hopefully, the above information will help you consider a used Volvo instead of the more flashy car... Mercedes , BMW's, etc., your teen may be begging you for. -Dave B.
So far, this is the only V8 powered Volvo I've ever featured here. This ultra-clean 1982 242 DL is owned by Michael Yount of Knoxville, Tennessee. The V8 conversion was done using a Ross Converse kit prior to 1996. The motor is a 1991 5.0L HO with Air Flow Research aluminum heads, Buddy Rawls custom cam, FRPP 65mm throttle body, Cobra-style 1.7 roller rockers, ceramic coated shorty headers with a custom 2.5” dual exhaust and single transverse OEM Boss 429 muffler. The transmission is a T-5Z (5 speed manual). The rear end is a 3.73 Turbo Volvo wagon rear with a TrueTrac Torsen-type limited slip differential. For power, it has registered 320 hp@5200 and 350 lb-ft@4000. It also gets 16-19 mpg city and 24-27 on the highway. Nice!
This magnificent 1984 245 Turbo is owned by Paul Schuh of Maryland. Paul bought this car new in January 1984 in Portland, Oregon, where he lived at the time. In all these years he has only managed to put 23,000 miles on the car (almost all of that in the first couple years). He has been slowly modifying the crap out of it and it has become one of the most modified 240's in the country. It has a brand new custom 2.7 liter (2740 cc) stroker motor with 16 valve head from Unitek&ST in Sweden. The motor is capable of delivering over 600 RWHP. Also from Unitek&ST is an M47 racing gearbox (5 speed close ratio) with straight cut gears and no synchros! More on this car can be found at http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=101844.
This beautiful 1983 242 Turbo Flathood was built by Jay Chee of SoCal from about 2000 to 2004. The car has a lot of work into it. All that shiney stuff under the hood is chrome... no polished aluminum anywhere. While the engine on the inside is a pretty standard B21FT, it has some mods which help it run very well, such as an IPD turbo cam, later EFI intake manifold and later exhaust manifold with Mitsubishi turbo. Some of the most notable things about this car are the Bross body kit imported from Sweden, genuine Volvo Polaris 17 inch aluminum rims that were polished, and very lightweight all aluminum hood and trunk-lid that cost a fortune to have shipped to the USA. Jay sold the car in 2009 and luckily it remains in SoCal.
1980 242 DL owned by Tim Otters of SoCal. He bought the car new 1n 1980 and it has logged over 400,000 miles as a daily driver. Tim has found no limits to his imagination when it comes to modifications. It sports a 2.7 liter stroked Garret T-4 turbo motor based on a B21FT with a top mounted intercooler. Fuel is supplied by a digital programmable injection system from Simple Digital Systems (SDS). After grenading a number of M46's, Tim fitted a high-strength Promotion T5 transmission (rated at over 750 lb. torque) and a Strange Engineering Ford 9-inch torsen-locking rear with 4.30 gears. There are very few things in this car that can be considered conventional. The car has been dyno'd at 267 RWHP and 382 lb. torque. Wheels are 17 x 9 front and 17 x 10.5 rear. Tires are 235/40's and 315/35's.
Tim's 242 also received the First Place Award for Modified 200 Series at the VCOA West Coast Meet at Lake Tahoe in October, 2006.
Here's Tim's web page: http://www.timotters240volvoturbo.com
Or click here to see Tim's invention... a 240 trunk lift lock.
1981 242 Turbo owned by Rob Prince of Maryland. He bought the car in 2000 and has been modifying it for local drifting events. While it may not be shiney yet, it has mods to kill for, which makes it more than worthy of a mention here. We all know there are limits to the amount of tire you can fit in a 240 rear fender. It's rare to find anyone who has fit anything larger than a 225 width rear. Rob did some extensive, but barely noticeable, inner-fender mods in order to fit the Kodiak Racing wheels... 17 x 8 fronts (ET -3) and 17 x 9.5 rears (ET 0), and tires... 225/45-17 front and 255/40-17 rear. He reports no clearance issues at all and actually still has 5/8 inch clearance left on the inside rears. The wheel fitment is obviously very carefully engineered. The last photo is the most recent (2009) appearance after new paint. If you would like to read more information on Rob's build of this car, check out the Turbobricks Projects and restoration forum at http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=64485.
If you find the subject of making more room in 240 fenders (for fat tires) interesting like I do, here's another cool thread...
http://www.forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=94008
"Tuff240" was built around 1999-2000. This 1982(?) 242 started out as a DL and slowly made it's way to historic modified heaven. It was owned by Patrick Dickman, then living in Central California. I first met Patrick (and this car) at the 2000 VCOA West Coast National Meet in Rancho Cordova, CA. He also brought it out to the Thunderhill track day that weekend and, even though the engine was still the old B21F (non-turbo), he blew away everyone else with some serious driving talent (back then they actually recorded competitive lap times for this event). As you can see in these photos taken a number of years ago, the car went through a few changes, eventually getting a turbo motor and going to the flat-nose hood later. Patrick sold the car several years ago to someone in the Pacific Northwest and I lost track of it. In mid-2009 Patrick located the car and bought it back. It hadn't been very well taken care of, so he's now in the process of bringing it back to it's former glory. This 240 was one of the best sorted and coolest modified Volvos in its day and a big crowd pleaser at shows.
Visit Patrick's webpage at www.tuff240.com
1982 242 Turbo, built and formerly owned by Doug Kauer of Northern California. Doug put a ton of time and money into it, making it into a very fast and nice looking performer. The huge Holset turbo, which looked enormously out of place in the engine bay, was capable of supplying more boost than the engine could ever use. I don't know how driveable the car was on the street, but who cares? It could fry the tires at a whim and turn mid-13 second quarter mile times. The car put down some leadfoot satisfying horsepower.
The most important contribution Doug made with this car was his pioneering effort in the adaptation of a Ford T5 transmission behind a Volvo 4-cylinder bell housing. It solved the problems for many 240 builders (myself included) who were hopelessly tortured by fragile Volvo transmissions. A webpage on such a transmission swap can be found at http://www.aaronreedbaker.com/t5swap.html.
Doug was a pioneer in 240 performance mods in 2003 to 2005. This car was sold and is now in the hands of another Volvo enthusiast on the East Coast. If you would like to read more information on the build of this car, check out the Winter 2004 feature article in Turbobricks at http://www.turbobricks.com/feature.php?content=winter_04 or in the Turbobricks Projects and Restoration Forum at http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=45457 and http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=42863.
This 1976 245 was owned by Victor Kaplin of Southern California. These photos go back a bit... they were taken at local shows in 2000 and 2001. Victor had a knack for making a non-turbo Volvo run really well. At the time, it could easily keep up with stock turbo cars. If you look closely, you'll notice the K-Jet fuel distributor is in a very different position than stock and it feeds into a 240 Turbo intake manifold. He also had a good eye for customization. The one-piece headlights were from a GM car. Victor moved to the Camarillo area several years ago and I lost track of him and the car. In 2010 I learned that Victor no longer has the car and that it was parted out some years ago.
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