Not only vintage Computers

[Volvo242GT]

@Volvo242GT the only part of that car that should be black is that white hood! Just spray it matte black to put it out of its misplaced misery.

It's faded silver. It's going to be sprayed properly in Volvo code 19 "Diplomat Black" paint, so it'll match the rest of the car. I will, however, leave the underside of the hood silver, that way I'll have more light underhood for working on it, especially if I'm on the side of the road at night.

I love, love, LOVE the 2 door bricks. Always wanted one to do a T5R conversion on it but hard to find here!

They are scarce. That said, you might have better luck than most North American Volvo owners at finding one. A lot of the cars that were in the US are now in the Scandinavian countries. You'll have to deal with a left hand drive example for the swap, since there isn't much room for a turbocharger on a right hand drive car, even with the B5234T engine from the 850 Turbo donor. Just means that it'll be like driving in Sweden before they switched to right hand traffic from left hand traffic in the late 1960s.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

It's faded silver. It's going to be sprayed properly in Volvo code 19 "Diplomat Black" paint, so it'll match the rest of the car. I will, however, leave the underside of the hood silver, that way I'll have more light underhood for working on it, especially if I'm on the side of the road at night.


They are scarce. That said, you might have better luck than most North American Volvo owners at finding one. A lot of the cars that were in the US are now in the Scandinavian countries. You'll have to deal with a left hand drive example for the swap, since there isn't much room for a turbocharger on a right hand drive car, even with the B5234T engine from the 850 Turbo donor. Just means that it'll be like driving in Sweden before they switched to right hand traffic from left hand traffic in the late 1960s.

I was going to repaint my 300D in orange (because that is an awesome color) but am rethinking vintage white (cream). That way I can get a magnetic Cincinnati Reds C emblem for my hood which would be epic. That and get a GoldStar Chili emblem for my back window.

 

[Volvo242GT]

I was going to repaint my 300D in orange (because that is an awesome color) but am rethinking vintage white (cream). That way I can get a magnetic Cincinnati Reds C emblem for my hood which would be epic. That and get a GoldStar Chili emblem for my back window.

I'd be tempted to leave it the stock color. That dark red does look classy, even though it does make the car a little hotter than a light color does. With respect to licensing, it does qualify for NM's horseless carriage plates, or, alternatively, 1985 vintage plates, on collector registration.

See here: https://www.mvd.newmexico.gov/vehicles/license-plates/historical-plates-and-vintage-plates/

 

[ScutBoy]

That and get a GoldStar Chili emblem for my back window.

Even though I'm a Minnesotan, I can support you in this! My sister lived in the Cincinnati area and I'm a big fan of Cincinnati chili. Wash it down with a Little Kings Cream Ale, and that's heaven right there!

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Oh my, Little Kings are fantastic aren't they? Every time I am in the area (which isn't too often unfortunately), I scoop some. Yeah, grew up on the Reds, Bengals, n' chili parlors and have loved the stuff since I could walk. Mmmmm, delicious Nowadays I have my own scratch recipe but if I'm in a pinch, Gold Star is my go to.

In reference to the color choice, I saw some W123 MB catalogs from the late 70's or early 80's maybe and they had some with really fantastic color options like Yellow and orange & royal Blue. Initially I vacillate between yellow and orange all the time but vintage white would just crush it against a Classic Cincy Reds "C".

 

[Volvo242GT]

^That could work. Even though I'd personally keep it red - less work involved, since the door jambs and underhood areas don't have to be resprayed. I would definitely consider swapping to the european composite E-code headlamps, though. Gives the car a more unique appearance, as well as better lighting, if you're still running sealed beam halogens. Like on this lifted 300TD:



Compared to this:



My old neighbor had a beige '80 300D, as well as a gold metallic '82 240D. The 240D wound up becoming a garage ornament for a few years, until his daughter needed a replacement for her '77-'78 Plymouth Volare coupe. Then, it was resurrected and put back into service.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

I have considered swapping out to Euro lights a number of times. I do like the look of them and the stock bulbs are in fact not the greatest. I luckily do not live where there is a lot of ground fog, so I get by with what I've got but that is on the list of to-dos. Right now, I am refinishing a really cool car rack basket I got for free. It has rust on it and looks pretty ugly atm so I am slowly sanding that down to metal, sealing and then will hit it with a flat black paint. and install a wood panel bottom. I think it will look pretty cool when I am done.

As for paint, the car has already been resprayed once in the same color. I agree that it is tacky as heck to see a car that is one color and then another in the door wells, trunk, under the hood etc, so if I do go a different color, it will be pricey Im sure just due to all of the extra labor and paint to hit those additional spaces.

That 240d is the *perfect* teen car. You couldnt speed in one of those if you tried lol

 

[Volvo242GT]

I think you'd like them a lot, especially once they're installed. Got the Volvo version on my car. Large improvement over the stock lamps it had (granted it also had the small rectangular 4x6 headlamps when I got it. Yeah, NM seems to be an area where I wouldn't expect much fog.

Re: the rack basket, sounds cool. Should look nice mounted to a pair of Yakima or Thule crossbars. 31 years ago, I remember seeing the twin of your 300D driving around with a Yakima rack and their luggage basket on top. Looked nice.

An alternative is to check the local technical colleges and see if they have an autobody program. Sign up for it, then use your car as your class project. A friend of mine did that with his Volvo he had a few years back. Only had to pay for the class and supplies to get the paint redone. I may do the same in a couple years. Either going to redo my car in the same black it is, or repaint it a dark teal metallic Volvo had on the 164E in 1973-75.

Heh. Also wasn't too bad a daily for a 30 year old single mom. She did have to plan getting onto I-90, but, the car was a good around town driver. I would've sourced a 5-speed box from Europe for it, though. It at least was a manual car.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

A work-buddy of mine from around 15 years ago DD'd a couple 240Ds that he had converted to bio fuel. I rode in them and it wasn't at all bad for an in town commuter. It was slow but heck, so is my turbo'd 300D. modern cars blow by me - my wife's Vdub Atlas just leaves me in the dust. What evs, its still a great ride & I get the added bonus that it is all analog so if there is an EMP zombie apocalypse, I'll still have a functioning ride

I think the only thing that is stupid (and completely unnecessary) is the price of diesel right now stateside.

 

[ScutBoy]

Yes - my 82 RX-7 is a "quick" car, but 40 years of auto technology means that a modern stock turbo 4 cyl is probably as fast or faster off the line. The ricer guys in their fart-can tuner Hondas and Acuras are even faster, though they all admire the RX a lot.

There's a lot of tuner type stuff I could do to the RX, but I'm going to keep it stock.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Yes - my 82 RX-7 is a "quick" car, but 40 years of auto technology means that a modern stock turbo 4 cyl is probably as fast or faster off the line. The ricer guys in their fart-can tuner Hondas and Acuras are even faster, though they all admire the RX a lot.

There's a lot of tuner type stuff I could do to the RX, but I'm going to keep it stock.

My friend Charles has an early 80s RX-7. He has forever (decade+ at least ) been fiddling with the carburetor trying to achieve maximum oomph. Neat car.

Volvo242GT said:https://tinkerdifferent.com/goto/post?id=11413
https://flic.kr/p/2msmfF9

The more i look at those wood rack rails, the more I really like them. My 300D is garage kept, but still, 8hrs a day M-F parked at work is a lot of harsh sun exposure. Still, love the combo of wood and metal. That looks sharp.

 

[Volvo242GT]

A work-buddy of mine from around 15 years ago DD'd a couple 240Ds that he had converted to bio fuel. I rode in them and it wasn't at all bad for an in town commuter. It was slow but heck, so is my turbo'd 300D. modern cars blow by me - my wife's Vdub Atlas just leaves me in the dust. What evs, its still a great ride & I get the added bonus that it is all analog so if there is an EMP zombie apocalypse, I'll still have a functioning ride

I think the only thing that is stupid (and completely unnecessary) is the price of diesel right now stateside.

Same with my 242 Turbo. Back in the day, it was a quick car. Now, it's one of the slower ones. And, like your 300D, it's mostly mechanical. K-Jetronic fuel injection (same setup used in the gas Benzes of the 1980s, but less electronic), so only chips are in the fuel pump relay and in the idle control system. Even the oxygen sensor system is run off an analog computer. Rig up a couple cube relays to get rid of the chips and transistors, then install a non-constant idle throttle body with an idle adjustment screw and an auxiliary air valve.

Heck, both gas and diesel are nuts.

With respect to the wood crossbars, Yakima did sell a 1A-TS tower set. While the towers weren't metal (being made of the Zytel nylon), they did accept any kind of crossbar material you wanted to use. They could also be mounted directly to a luggage rack basket if there was zero need to use ski, bike, or watersports mounts.

The Yakima rack setup I have, mounted to my old wagon (a 1984 245 Turbo).

 

[ScarletSwordfish]

Here's my fun car, my 1989 Corvette. I bought it last Summer after my Chevy Cruze was totaled in an accident. The previous owner took great care of it. I believe the only modifications he made were a Hypertech ECU chip that does something?, and a 160º thermostat that also does something?. He also put these wheels on it which he claimed were ZR-1 wheels but they are definitely not. I have the original turbine wheels but the tires on them need replaced. I'll get them fresh rubber someday but for now I don't mind how the shiny wheels look.

I've always loved Corvettes, but especially the C4 as that was the generation that was around when I was a kid. I particularly wanted an '89 or earlier, since they had the pre-refresh exterior and interior which had the boxy, high-tech '80s dash and digital gauges which I adore. So now I finally have my dream car! Kinda.

I'd say I'm 80% happy with it. After owning and driving it a while, I hate to say it but the performance is a bit disappointing. The L-98 5.7 liter V8 only makes a max 245 HP, which is not impressive these days. I would honestly be fine with it being underpowered if it at least got decent gas mileage, but I've only been able to average 18 MPG in my time with it, which is hard to swallow after driving economy cars all my life. And especially compared to the LS-powered C5 Corvettes which made 100 more horsepower while drinking less fuel.

I also thought I would be satisfied with an automatic transmission, but find myself still wishing it was a manual. I went a looked at another '89 with a manual a couple months ago. The test drive was satisfying, but it was in worse cosmetic shape, and I knew I would not have the time, resources, or money to improve. It made me appreciate just what great condition mine was in.

So for now I'm just going to continue to drive it and enjoy it as it is. I still think it's gorgeous, it feels wonderful to sit in and drive, and I feel cool in it.

 

[pocketscience]

I dropped my 1970 911 (see pic earlier in thread) in for its annual service today. The temperature dropped considerably over the weekend here, so she was humming beautifully all the way. Then I caught the bus to work!

 

[Volvo242GT]

Here's my fun car, my 1989 Corvette. I bought it last Summer after my Chevy Cruze was totaled in an accident. The previous owner took great care of it. I believe the only modifications he made were a Hypertech ECU chip that does something?, and a 160º thermostat that also does something?. He also put these wheels on it which he claimed were ZR-1 wheels but they are definitely not. I have the original turbine wheels but the tires on them need replaced. I'll get them fresh rubber someday but for now I don't mind how the shiny wheels look.

I've always loved Corvettes, but especially the C4 as that was the generation that was around when I was a kid. I particularly wanted an '89 or earlier, since they had the pre-refresh exterior and interior which had the boxy, high-tech '80s dash and digital gauges which I adore. So now I finally have my dream car! Kinda.

I'd say I'm 80% happy with it. After owning and driving it a while, I hate to say it but the performance is a bit disappointing. The L-98 5.7 liter V8 only makes a max 245 HP, which is not impressive these days. I would honestly be fine with it being underpowered if it at least got decent gas mileage, but I've only been able to average 18 MPG in my time with it, which is hard to swallow after driving economy cars all my life. And especially compared to the LS-powered C5 Corvettes which made 100 more horsepower while drinking less fuel.

I also thought I would be satisfied with an automatic transmission, but find myself still wishing it was a manual. I went a looked at another '89 with a manual a couple months ago. The test drive was satisfying, but it was in worse cosmetic shape, and I knew I would not have the time, resources, or money to improve. It made me appreciate just what great condition mine was in.

So for now I'm just going to continue to drive it and enjoy it as it is. I still think it's gorgeous, it feels wonderful to sit in and drive, and I feel cool in it.

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Looks to be a clean example. Supposedly, even the LT1 350s can get 25-30 mpg in normal driving.

It might be possible to swap in a T56 when you decide to go manual.

 

[retr01]

25-30 mpg LT1 350 Vettes? Hmmm.

Let's put in a Vortec 8100, which is an 8.1L 454.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Here's my fun car, my 1989 Corvette. I bought it last Summer after my Chevy Cruze was totaled in an accident. The previous owner took great care of it. I believe the only modifications he made were a Hypertech ECU chip that does something?, and a 160º thermostat that also does something?. He also put these wheels on it which he claimed were ZR-1 wheels but they are definitely not. I have the original turbine wheels but the tires on them need replaced. I'll get them fresh rubber someday but for now I don't mind how the shiny wheels look.

I've always loved Corvettes, but especially the C4 as that was the generation that was around when I was a kid. I particularly wanted an '89 or earlier, since they had the pre-refresh exterior and interior which had the boxy, high-tech '80s dash and digital gauges which I adore. So now I finally have my dream car! Kinda.

I'd say I'm 80% happy with it. After owning and driving it a while, I hate to say it but the performance is a bit disappointing. The L-98 5.7 liter V8 only makes a max 245 HP, which is not impressive these days. I would honestly be fine with it being underpowered if it at least got decent gas mileage, but I've only been able to average 18 MPG in my time with it, which is hard to swallow after driving economy cars all my life. And especially compared to the LS-powered C5 Corvettes which made 100 more horsepower while drinking less fuel.

I also thought I would be satisfied with an automatic transmission, but find myself still wishing it was a manual. I went a looked at another '89 with a manual a couple months ago. The test drive was satisfying, but it was in worse cosmetic shape, and I knew I would not have the time, resources, or money to improve. It made me appreciate just what great condition mine was in.

So for now I'm just going to continue to drive it and enjoy it as it is. I still think it's gorgeous, it feels wonderful to sit in and drive, and I feel cool in it.

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I'd want to ditch the shiny wheels for the stock rims too but that is one fine looking vette' - Congrats

oh yeah. so in 2021 I said I was going to sell that 300d. Well, turns out I had some test drives but no one wanted to commit, so it lives in my garage and continues as my daily commuter for in office weeks.

 

[Volvo242GT]

I'd want to ditch the shiny wheels for the stock rims too but that is one fine looking vette' - Congrats

oh yeah. so in 2021 I said I was going to sell that 300d. Well, turns out I had some test drives but no one wanted to commit, so it lives in my garage and continues as my daily commuter for in office weeks.

Probably for the better...

 

[Garrett]

It's getting to be that time of year when my 1982 Corvette sees more street time! Two-tone blue with a dark blue interior. I bought it in college and don't think I'll ever want to sell it. I've built a new transmission and rear end for it (installed using my DIY car "lift"). Would eventually like to drop an LS1 or something similar in too. Who knows what the future will hold!

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

It's getting to be that time of year when my 1982 Corvette sees more street time! Two-tone blue with a dark blue interior. I bought it in college and don't think I'll ever want to sell it. I've built a new transmission and rear end for it (installed using my DIY car "lift"). Would eventually like to drop an LS1 or something similar in too. Who knows what the future will hold!
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View attachment 12172

Wow, another absolutely beautiful vette. I am so curious. How do you get them up on those blocks?