Taking The Volvo 240 Home…

Friend of Car & Classic, Rich Scott, is not a man to do things normally. So, when our Editor saw him posting on Twitter about a bonkers scheme to drive to Sweden in a thirty year-old Volvo, we had to invite ourselves along. What an adventure it would be. 

The rationale behind it, if you can call it that, is love. No, sorry, not love. Louvre. Or more specifically, a set of louvres for the rear screen of a 1991 Volvo 240GL. Louvres are cool, this is a scientific fact. The problem, however, is that they seldom come up for sale in the UK. In Sweden, however, which is the home of Volvo, they’re slightly easier to find. A normal person would indeed find them, and then have them shipped back to the UK. Rich is not normal though, and instead decided to collect them personally. And why not? Classic though his Volvo may be, it’s still a Volvo. And Volvos are hard as nails, reliable and deeply comfortable. This 2.0, automatic machine would surely laugh in the face of having to cover some 2,500 miles in just five days, right? 

A plan was hatched and before we knew it, Rich was at our door bright and early on a Monday morning. The Volvo was cleaned, prepped, serviced and fuelled. Tickets for the Chunnel were booked. A route had been decided. We were on. We were doing this. Our adventure was about to begin. 

Day 1

The plan for day one was to get from the UK (Bristol to be specific), across the Channel and then up to Munster in Germany for our overnight stop. About 640 miles to cover. We weren’t worried about driving in Europe, as historically the roads over there just… work. No, it was the UK we were bothered by, as we would have to negotiate the M25. And as we all know, the M25 is stupid. 

Thankfully, we made it to Dover without any major delays, which made for a refreshing change. What was also refreshing was the Volvo. Having never driven one before, we weren’t sure what to expect. That most traditional three-box shape is not one that makes you think of speed and dynamism, but that doesn’t matter. Cruising along at 70mph, the old Volvo was tremendously comfortable and capable of mixing in with modern traffic. You could use this car every day without concern.

Being a 2.0 auto, it’s anything but fast. But fast doesn’t matter. Cruising does, and this car excels in that area. And don’t think we’re cheating by using some sort of low-mileage show queen. Rich uses his cars. This 240 had 124,000 on the clock. But it’s an old Volvo, so that’s like 24 miles. 

Needless to say, the old girl got us to Munster without issue. We got to the hotel just in time for a couple of pints and a bag of crisps before hitting the sack. Day 2 would be a big one…

Day 2

This was the big push. We had to get from Munster to Gothenberg, and to do so would involve a ferry. We hit the road at about 10am after loading up on jam and croissants, and having got some filming in the bag. Then, we were soon bored to tears by Germany. 

Germany is, in reality, a beautiful country. Route 1, however, doesn’t go through any of the pretty bits. Instead, it goes past some dubious-looking factories and then, um, nothing. It is the most boring world on the road. We speculated that there’s no speed limit because the thrill of driving at 135mph probably helps to keep drivers awake. There’s nothing else to do it, that’s for sure. 

We soon completed Germany and hit Denmark, where we had to catch a ferry to Sweden. 

We were expecting to see Volvos everywhere, old and new. Sadly that wasn’t the case. However, when stopping for fuel people were pleasantly interested in our car and our adventure. A car on UK plates in Sweden is quite a sight, it seems. 

By 9pm, we made it to our home for the next two days, provided by our friend Christer, who is brilliantly, a test-driver for Volvo. He greeted us with open arms and with an open door. His apartment block actually has a ‘spare’ flat that residents can book for visiting friends and family – how cool is that? 

In need of sustenance, Christer took us to a local haunt where we consumed a hot dog, in a bun, with mashed potato. Don’t knock it until you try it. It was ace. And so, shortly after, was bed! 

Day 3

Like a child on Christmas morning, Rich ripped into his awaiting big box with reckless abandon and made a shrill, giddy squeak. In this box was a set of louvres, and this excited Rich greatly. What excited him less was discovering that the fitting kit supplied didn’t seem to do the job. Certainly, it made little sense to us. 

Not ones to be disheartened, we decided to go to the Volvo Museum to see if there was a 240 there with louvres, as this would hopefully give us the information we needed. Plus, it would be cool to take the 240 back to the very ground on which it was built, what with the museum being based at the factory. 

The staff at the Volvo Museum couldn’t have been more accommodating, even going so far as to let us park the 240 on the cobbles right by the front door, pride of place. That alone was worth going for, we felt like royalty. 

The museum itself was nothing short of spectacular. It’s not a museum because Volvo should probably have one, it’s a museum because Volvo wants one, and that’s a big difference. You can tell that Volvo is, quite rightly, incredibly proud of its heritage. We’ll do a separate post on the museum exhibits though, as there is too much to talk about here. 

Sadly though, of all the 240s there, none had louvres, so we had to resign ourselves to putting them in the back seat. But we didn’t mind. They might not be in place for the return journey, but the fact remained that they had served as the welcome justification for this epic trip. 

Day 4 and 5

With the louvres safely towed, it was time to head home, which meant the same journey as before, just backwards. The Volvo had now racked up an additional 1,250 miles and in that time it had wanted nothing other than fuel. Rich gave it a small glug of oil, but that was it. The only ‘issue’ we faced was the lambda light coming on, though it soon went out, so we simply assumed it had something to do with cocktail of European petrol it had been drinking. Whatever caused it, it didn’t hinder the car at all. 

People look at old cars and perceive them as being delicate and fragile, like an elderly relative. They look at them and think that because they’re old, they’re somehow incapable, but that’s simply not the case. This Volvo is as near as 30 years-old, but to quote Rich, “it doesn’t know how old it is”. It’s a machine, a mass of parts, and if you look after those parts they will go forever. As evidenced by this epic adventure. 

It never faltered, it never coughed, spluttered or cranked with a worrying slowness. It never banged or rattled. It just drove and drove with the same keenness as a new car. It proved that old cars are not fragile, they are machines that can be used for whatever we see fit. But because they’re old, they add a charm and excitement to those journeys. Yes, that’s because there is of course a bit of jeopardy (we’re not saying old cars won’t break down – we’re not naive), but it’s also because it’s fun. Had Rich asked if we wanted to do the same journey in his V70R, we probably would have passed. 

Classic cars are not just for show, they’re not just for polishing on sunny weekends and they’re not meant for doing a handful of miles each year. They are cars, and cars are built to be used, so use them. Do that road trip, have that adventure, explore that place, cover those miles, get the full classic experience. Be the hero that covers mega miles in an old car. If you look after it, if you service it, if you put good rubber on it and if you maintain it well, it will never let you down. 

Get out there. Have that adventure. Get busy living. And if you want to choose a car like this for your next adventure, here’s where you can find a Volvo 240 for sale.