1981 Volvo 242 GLT Coupe (240 Series Rare Non Turbo)

Description for Volvo 240 1981

1981 Volvo 242 GLT

I bought this car 5 years ago from the second owner (original owner bought new from McKevitt Volvo in 1981 & spent its entire life in the Bay Area) with the intention to fully restore it with my Dad. He had this same car (lower trim 242 DL) but had to give it up and switch to a 244 (4 door) when he started a family after I was born and it's been a parade of safe sensible sedans and wagons in his garage ever since. So when I saw this for sale I jumped at it and presented it to my Dad on Father's Day. It was a really great moment.

One of the first thing we did after I bought the car was to buy a full set (all 5, including the spare in the trunk so this is not cheap) of Volvo Virgo wheels with new tires to replace the hubcap-on-steelies, because c'mon, it's almost criminal for a Volvo 242 (and all 240s, really) to not be riding on Virgo wheels (it's like a Lamborghini Countach without its rear wing, that's just plain wrong.) Then we found a rare 242 Turbo front air dam (also not cheap) to complete the looks. Now THIS is a proper-looking 242.

Then over the years we replaced the radiator, put in new timing belt and water pump, serviced the brakes as well as the regular oil changes every 6 months (my Dad didn't get to put much miles on it as he's becoming too old to drive; his memory is deteriorating as well which is why we are selling; what was once his pride and joy is now becoming a painful reminder of the realities of today. Father Time proves to be much more harsh on us humans than on a nearly-40-year-old Swedish tank.

Please look at all the pictures as I try to describe as much details as possible.

The previous owner painted the car because the original silver coat faded on the hood, roof and trunk. There is no rust. The car has a clean California title and had never been in any accidents. The paint now still looks nice and shiny, but the previous owner elected to let the new paint seal the sunroof shut because the sunroof handle broke and he didn't want to deal with any potential leaks. I am not an expert on sunroofs so I left it alone as well so even though the infrastructure is there, the sunroof is inoperable because it's sealed shut.

The previous owner also bypassed the heater core because he didn't want to risk breaking any of the old original-but-now-brittle interior trims to replace it. That never bothered us so we've left the heater core alone as well. The ventilation blower fan works just fine. With the bypassed heater core, we did replace the radiator just to be safe and the car always runs cool as a cucumber.

Now let me direct your attention to the center console picture, where you can see a row of buttons between the "no smoking" 12v outlet plug and the seat belt warning light. Only 2 of those buttons are functional as originally equipped from the factory: the rear windshield defroster and the hazard lights, they're both fully functional, as well as the seat belt warning light and outlet plug.

The other 4 buttons (2 heated seats, blue A/C and green fog lights) are non-functional buttons I found from a donor car to fill the blank spaces to make the console more visually appealing (colorful buttons instead of blank holes.) Let me repeat, this car did NOT come equipped with heated seats or air conditioning. It's one of those rare A/C delete options that gives the car a lighter weight and a (marginally) few extra ponies on a crazy-durable engine thats not known for going fast in this non-turbo form.

The body is in beautiful shape, no dents anywhere and the interior is very clean. It drives great, the transmission shifts smoothly, and everything else functions as it should. The car is sold as is without warranty, but it is mechanically sound and with its well-earned Volvo reputation, should last for many more years to come, if not decades; it will probably outlive a zombie apocalypse.

A $100 PayPal deposit is required within 24 hours of auction's end. Full payment in cash, cashier's check or PayPal (yes, for your convenience I take PayPal, you can earn points using your credit card to pay the whole amount via PayPal, just let me know and I will send you a PayPal invoice or simply click "Buy It Now" and complete the check-out process) is due within 7 days of auction's end.

Buyer is responsible for vehicle pick-up/shipping. When getting quotes, use Reno, NV as the pick-up point. Very easy access to Interstate 80 from there so that may save you some money. If you're here locally in Tahoe/Reno, contact me thru eBay messaging and we can make arrangements to see/inspect/test drive the car. I do not sell cars for a living so please allow me up to 12 hours to reply, though I do promise to check my messages and reply as much and as soon as I'm able to.

Thanks for looking (and reading.)