1987 Volvo 240 DL Wagon.

When I was 10 years old my parents bought this 1987 Volvo 240 DL wagon in Sand Beige on brown vinyl. It could have been a real boring car, but aspect made all the difference: They got it with a 5 speed.

When I turned 16, this was my car. When I went to college, this was my car. I drove the car from 90,000 miles unttil the day I handed it over to my brother with 217,000 miles. He drove it for a couple of years, and it ultimately saved his life. On the eve of Thanksgiving, in an attempt to impress a lady friend, he attempted some rally driving on a snowy dirt road. At about 40mph, the car failed to slide thru a turn and hit the inside embankment. The car rolled 3 times, landing on its wheels in a snow bank, at which point I got the call to rescue him. I used my Corrado to pull him out of the snow. The car was able to drive home, but once there it never started again.

It died with 247,000 miles. Barely broken in.

The car was perfect for high school and college. There was nothing that couldn’t be stuffed into it, no task insurmountable. It could do smoky burnouts. Donuts in the snow. Hold a full sheet of plywood. Carry 10 drunk people home from the bars. Ski trips. Road trips. Senior year it carried 6 people with their luggage 3000 miles to and from a design competition in Tennessee. It handled the Syracuse winters. When camping, no tent was needed as you could sleep in the back, among ....other things ;-)

The car spent more time off-road than most SUVs. It was taken mud bogging. It went to Woodstock 99 with me. I’ve dragged raced other 4 cylinder cars many times and won. My specific Volvo has appeared in several J. Crew catalogs and on TV. It handled the Connecticut to Syracuse run, normally a 4-4.5 hour affair, in under 3 hours. Impressive for a car that topped out at 97 mph going downhill, and with a tailwind. It didn’t matter what you asked the car to do, it was a tank. It would take it and just keep on going.

I miss it, but I do not miss the smell that it developed after my brother spent a summer living out of it while working on Cape Cod, and living in a campground.

The mod list is minor.

IPD sport springs

IPD sway bars

Various stereo upgrades.

240 GT turbo rims