1982 244 gl

[bigvolvoboy]

Hello everyone!

I just purchased a 1982 244 GL as my first car, it currently doesn't run because it sat in the previous owner's garage since 2007 mostly untouched. I don't know much about these cars besides the fact that they are super reliable and look incredible. I was recommended this site by him and I'm really glad this site exists because I will definitely need help. It has the D24 engine (wish it was the D24T) with an automatic trans which I may swap to manual. The previous owner stated that he could crank the engine but it refused to start, so I'm assuming it's the fuel distributor.

[ngoma]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your project!

"I'm assuming it's the fuel distributor."

It may or may not be as simple as you assume.

See if you can get more info from the PO. What other incidents led up to the no-start condition? Any maintenance records? And most important: when was the timing belt last changed?

Car sitting 15 years WILL need a timing belt. Which requires special tools and procedures, so start gathering now.

Here is some helpful reading materials for you:

Died while running, will not restart
https://d24t.com/showthread.php?t=1942

Hard Starting
https://d24t.com/showthread.php?t=1225

D24 Special Tools
https://d24t.com/showthread.php?t=1299

[bigvolvoboy]

Hey, the PO said that the belt had previously snapped and he ended up replacing the head and cam because of it. He used the special tools to get it factory spec. He said he bought it from a shop that had it because someone never paid for it and just had it sitting. The booklet that Volvo provides for service every 15k miles was filled out up until 68k miles, it currently shows 78k on the clock but I feel like that could be wrong. No service records so it probably won't be as simple as I assume haha.

[RedArrow]

Welcome to the d24-d24t-LT forum!

I know the car and even placed bids on it when it 'ran' on ebay first.
It looks entirely rust-free, although I neverhad the chance/time to see it in person... but I know the previous owner from here. He shared a lot of the challenges he went through with the car during the recent years.

Harry installed a new cylinder head and supposedly adjusted the timing, inj pump, etc.

I think all of those should be re-checked to see if there was something missed or mistakenly misadjusted although he seemed like a very careful, enthusiast guy who really did try for a long time to get it back on the road.

The engine will run but IMHO everything must be set to factory specs, that would be the best and safest starting point for you. Don`t take it to 'modern' mechanics bc most of them have zero idea about these old diesel engines AND they do NOT have the proper (and absolutely mandatory to have) tool for this engine family.
Going forward without the proper tools can and will create big troubles on the road (of getting it back on the road, I mean).

Are you far from NYC?

Great news that you are already here on the forum.
I am glad Harry directed you to this forum, and yes, you will get great help here.

Share a lot about the car and be prepared to take pictures, videos, for the better and faster advice from forumers.

These engines run for hundreds of thousands of miles, if well cared for and set to factory specs, so do not ever even start thinking of giving up on it (engine swap) LOL.

These cars are rare, unique, and have character, fun to drive and they are strong, reliable, once they are set and reliable, they literally do not require much maintenance.
Survivors that run fine are extremely hard to find.

Yours with 79k must be one of the lowest mile d24 cars in the USA.
DEFINITELY worth saving and keeping it all original.

The striped dark blue interior BTW is very rare nowadays and super comfortable, great match to the style and era of these vehicles.

Keep this car in good shape, it deserves the best care.
Standing 10-15 yrs alone will not ruin the engine but running it without replacing crutial belts can, injection pump also needs a lot of attention AND a perfectly fine setting which can not be done without diesel vw/ d24 specific tools.

Welcome to the forum! Congratulations on getting the car for such a great price! Update us with pictures when you have the time!
If you have a YT account, you will find it easy to post links here to your videos. This will help getting the help and will speed things up when you need advice!

Good luck with the new Volvo, great car. A good first car too. My first car was a d24 volvo too, a 1984 Volvo 240 GLE D6 grey sedan with the same interior that yours has but with the manual m46 tranny. That was back in 1996, became a good runner reliable car after it got fixed up. It had about 200.000 kilometers on the odometer. I still have it but it is in very rough shape, as of now it had sat about twenty years, outdoors. Sweet memories... my dad gave it to me because he bought himself a 1987 760GLE TD sedan with the d24t engine and m46 tranny. Another car he had at the time was a dark brown 1978 244 GLE with the same interior as yours.
The d24 240 remained in the family but had to face a rough tough fate, currently not running due to sitting for that many yrs (as the saying goes: 'it ran fine when parked')...

I got carried away, i`m sorry, but it can serve you with some motivation, maybe.
Are you located far from NYC?

[bigvolvoboy]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

The body has a few small rust spots that I would like to get potentially repainted but I don't want to ruin the cool pinstripe that goes across the side (I guess that could be redone as well though). It would be smart to get it repainted as soon as possible so it doesn't go past surface rust. I will attach some photos unfortunately they will be low quality due to the forum's requirements. I'll be sure to take videos in the future.

I will definitely go through the engine and recheck everything Harry did, but I have no experience with diesel engines so I will either try to find someone experienced in my area or just do a shit ton of research. It currently sits outside (which I hate but don't have much of an option currently) and its becoming winter so it will probably be hard to work on the engine. Also what is a good place to get D24 parts like the air intake hose and filter housing because those are missing (good to know for future parts as well).

I absolutely love the interior color and fell, it fits extremely well like you said. By far my favorite, second being the mocha/brown one. I'm really glad I bought this car even in it's current condition because it's just absolutely stunning and I love looking at it. I am very determined to get it running as soon as possible.

I will also attach an engine pic, its got a lot of surface rust and definitely needs new belts and such but I think it's 100% doable. Again, please refer me to any reliable part sites for these engines or cars in general.

Unfortunately I'm all the way in Chicago but Harry told me you always wanted to help him out but then Covid happened and what not. Thanks again for the replies!

[bigvolvoboy]

Here are the photos I forgot to add

[BogfordGarage]

Hi that's looks like a really nice project. I'm always very envious of the 240 D24 as we didn't get them here in the UK.
My advice would be get your hands on either a hard copy (personal preference) or a digital copy of the volvo green book for you car. It has all the procedures and torque settings for almost every task on the engine and even just reading it can be very useful. It also has a list of the special tools required for some of the more important jobs such as the pump and timing belt replacements.
Another great resource that I find often compliments the green book procedures is Longbow Media on YouTube he has a good few videos based on your car so you may find them useful.

With these engines if you have a willingness to learn the results of DIY maintenance can be very rewarding. Keep the updates coming and good luck with the project.