After being stored in a barn for more than 3 years I decided to get my good old ’86 Volvo 240 DL on the road again. I sold my Volvo 740 GL and thought it was time to get the 240 sedan road-legal and decide if I will keep it or sell it.

I bought a new battery and installed it into the car. Unfortunately the fuel tank was as good as empty so I needed to put some gas in it. After that the car started immediately! Not bad after being dead for three years! The B200K engine did make a pretty strange noise for a couple of minutes (due the oil that didn’t reach everything well inside the engine) but the noise was gone after a few minutes.

I drove it to the gas station just next to the ranch where the 240 was stored, filled the tank and went to a local Volvo-subdealer where the car was being checked for a new MOT (in Dutch: the APK, an approval to make the car road-legal for one year) and the timing belt also needed to be replaced.

There were some small things that needed to be fixed: some lights, a rubber of the ball joint, some small holes in the exhaust (according to the garage it only needed some exhaust paste) and a radiator hose was completely withered in 3 years and also needed replacement.

After that I serviced the car myself (with some help of Kevin the mechanic) and replaced a lot of things:

• new oil (Mobil 1 15w40 Super1000)
• original oil filter
• air filter
• Bosch WR7DC+ spark plugs
• adjusted the valves and replaced the valve cover gasket (also original Volvo)
• new battery (that was changed when I picked up the car)
• some small things like screws, nuts and moulding clips
• and of course: I washed the car and cleaned the interior (but the interior needs some extra cleaning).

After 3 years being stored in a barn the Volvo 240 DL is road-legal again! 

Unfortunately the car has some rust at the wheel arches and the rear right sill, so I’ll try to sell it since I can’t weld. And since I’m not a big fan of manual transmissions (this car has a M47 manual gearbox) and the car doesn’t have power steering I don’t know if I’m going to drive it regularly. Although I have to say: it’s really fun to drive! If I can’t sell it in a short term the wheelarches and sill will be fixed, but the car will become a lot more expensive if I’m going to sell it.