1979 Volvo 242 GT Coupe.

February 10, 2010

6 comments
Amazingly intact original graphics.




6 comments:

Anonymous said...

i got one just like this!! awesome car :)

shawn57187 said...

Was this at Swede 1 in Portland? If so, that was my old car. I sold it to them a couple years ago.

I really miss it.. but not the repair bills.

Ben Piff said...

Exactly right Shawn, I drive by here regularly on the way to the skatepark.

Did it need more repairs than a typical 240? These had higher compression right?

Would love to hear more stories or info about this ride.

Ben Piff said...

Saw a legit granny drivin one of these tonight up near Longview. I pulled in to get gas, saw the stripes, got out with my camera but she was already pulling out. Amazing original patina, so frustrating.

Anonymous said...

I live in the Longview area and yes there is an older lady who drives one that is just as she bought it when new, it is faded as most GT's are (have red there were issues with the silver paint) yet the graphics are intact and I'll see if I can get a few pics to share. And should be able to show My '79 GT that is being returned to the spirit of the original with a few "minor" changes, slightly darker silver but am re-creating the graphics using pics from the above mentioned car. Mine was black when I purchased it, had been repainted at some point and returning to silver is the last step in my project, B-21 is now B-230FT along with lots of other upgrades to make it a "low key" sleeper.

shawn57187 said...

I had the car for a little over five years.. I think it had about 170K miles on it when I got it. I did a bit of work on it... including the wheels, exhaust, and some suspension stuff in addition to general maintenance. In 2005, it was on the cover of IPD magazine.

Here are some pictures from that photo-shoot:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/shawn57187/242_i.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/shawn57187/242_g.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v252/shawn57187/242_c.jpg

This was my second 240, and I'm not sure why, but this model had a fair bit of mechanical trouble that went beyond the normal wear and tear for 30 year old vehicle.

After I had graduated from college, I had a fairly low paying entry level job and a long commute. After my car broke down a couple of times and the repair bills kept getting bigger and bigger, I realized it was time to trade it for something more reliable (and decidedly less interesting).

One day it broke down on Burnside (outside of Powell's Books) during rush hour. After I had it towed to Swede1, Dave said it would cost about $1500 to fix it. I said I was thinking about selling it and he offered me what I thought was a fair price. I thought he would be the right owner to take on the car as he has a unique appreciation for all things Volvo. This was in 2007. :)

Now that I'm better paid, I do regret selling the car. But at the time it was the absolutely right thing to do.

Thanks for taking these photos. I was wondering if you had them in higher resolution? I'd love make some prints of them.