For Sale: Extremely Rare 1985 Volvo 244DL Intercooled Turbo Charged Factory Police Car
78,348 Original One Owner Miles. It was purchased in September 1985 at “Borton Volvo” in Minneapolis, innesota and the title is clear. Service records dating from 1985 to 2007, ost all from award winning Borton Volvo (only OEM Volvo parts replaced). Since 2005 the vehicle has been stored most of the time, owever it had been started & driven regularly up until 2014 when the brakes were starting to fail. The vehicle has never been driven in winter (no road salt damage) and motor oil & filter have always been changed between 2500 & 3000 miles. In July of 2015 I had “Glasgow Automotive” (Specializing in Older Classic Volvos) in St. Paul, innesota perform an overall inspection and provide a general analysis of the vehicles condition. The car has been started and run for short periods since then.
The original factory window sticker states: 1985 Volvo 4 door sedan, cylinder, .1 liter, 14 Horsepower, 33 ft/lbs torque @ 3500 rpm, urbocharged engine, ith intercooler, ross flow cylinder head, verhead camshaft, ulti-port continuous fuel injection system. High output 70 amp alternator, eavy duty battery, ealed cooling system, our speed automatic transmission with overdrive & oil cooler, .91:1 axle ratio. Police Package: Heavy duty suspension & shock absorbers, ack & pinion steering with power assist, ront and rear stabilizer bars, 85/70 R14 steel belted radial tires, our wheel disc brakes with power assist, ntegrated front air dam, ir conditioning, ower door locks with central control, lectric trunk release, einforced padding on front seating surfaces, eated driver seat, rotective rear seat roll-down cover, eavy duty rubber floor covering, ull size wheel & spare tire, ull instrumentation, lack grill, urbo steering wheel, alibrated speedometer, uxiliary lighting group: engine compartment, runk compartment, 2) map/reading “citation” lights, igh intensity dash controlled dome lamp. I also have two “night stick” holders, ne flashlight holder and a rubber Volvo trunk mat. Borton Volvo installed the engine block heater, ftermarket white aluminum Fundo wheels (steel wheels with hub caps were standard), olvo floor trays, nside/outside temperature gauge, ront center armrest, ash coin tray with cover, ocking Volvo gas cap, nd Volvo cruise control. A local automotive electronics installer, nstalled the audio system. The Alpine radio (is included) but was removed for repair several years ago and has not been reinstalled (or replaced with something modern) & the rear speakers need to be replaced. I believe the power amp, iring and front door speaker are still in good working condition. The theft deterrent system had been disconnected because of a defective hood switch & the car was 20+ years old at the time. It may still function if desired and it is shown in picture. The original list price for this vehicle was just over $18,000.00.
I sold new cars for Borton Volvo from 1982 to 1986 and bought this car from them. The dealership acquired two remaining Discontinued Police Vehicles from Volvo, hen they stopped producing the special order vehicles for the US market. I drove it, hen took it home one day, nd decided I just had to have it, rior to ending my career in car sales. I have two folders with original Volvo dealership marketing information for the vehicle, hat include specifications and references police departments that were using Volvos along with copies of newspaper clippings and police reviews of the cars performance. I never intended to sell this vehicle & up until two years ago I have always relied on it as my primary backup vehicle, n case my day to day vehicle needed servicing. With the disappointing inspection & condition analysis in 2015 that I will outline below and my pending retirement plans, have come to realize investing the necessary dollars to restore this vehicle to the excellent condition it deserves, oes not appear to be in the cards for me…
“Glasgow” Condition analysis: There are holes in frame (shown in pictures) that need to be addressed by a professional body shop. The exterior is very clean. Brake pedal goes to floor & unable to locate source of failure requiring more serious inquiry & indicating possible need for pads, otors, alipers, oses and a booster. Rear fuel pump is leaking from the fuel accumulator and should be fixed right away. Some steering and suspension components looked to be suffering the effects of age (cracking in rubber). The charging system tested good @ 14.1 volts. The battery tested good and cables are cool.
Note: I talked to both Mike & Kyle Glasgow and both stated they had never seen one of these vehicles and were impressed with the uniqueness & excellent exterior condition of the car. They agreed that it needs some TLC and “Someone familiar with and partial to Volvo 240 Series automobiles, specially if they like rare, nusual or one-of-a-kind partial restoration projects, ould love to get their hands on this one, ecause it is definitely worth fixing!”
My analysis: I was of course aware of most things mentioned above and in addition want to disclose that the air conditioning & cruise control do not work. On occasion the right rear passenger door seems to stick closed when locked (I suspect some internal lubrication would fix it) as messing with it (locking & unlocking several times) seems to clear it up. A radiator flush & fill is due and there are some hairline cracks in some taillight lenses that allow water to accumulate inside when heavy rain occurs, hat need to be replaced. The plastic covers for seat belts on rear window deck have deteriorated from sun damage (one has broken apart in picture). The dash has some of the usual cracks in it. The car has been outside for most of its life which is apparently how the frame rust occurred (not from road salt damage that I had thought I was saving it from all these years) & there has been some hail damage, ostly to chrome trim around windshield & rear window (see pictures), ith some on main body, ut side windows black sill trim shows no damage (Volvos are pretty tough). There is some minor rust in the trunk spare wheel well that requires repair (see picture). The battery tray corroded and has been repainted to stop further damage. The body has been touched up (with Volvo touch up paint) to cover small dents or normal wear & tear chips and scratches. I have recently removed the door and wheel well side moldings that were installed when car was new, ecause the adhesive was deteriorating. These moldings really saved the body sides over 30 years from chips & scratch damage so common on these vehicles. The “Volvo” emblem in front of door on right passenger side also came “unglued” and was temporarily applied with double faced tape for pictures. Until the recent compound problems became evident this car had always been kept in very good driving condition. The engine runs very strong, oesn’t burn oil, he turbo operates perfectly, ransmission is fine, he lights, ages, nstruments & controls all work. It has been a very fun and responsive “sleeper” car to drive (people don’t expect turbo performance from a “DL” model). I don’t think you can find another one like this…
Please look at pictures carefully as I have tried to be as complete, etailed, pen & honest about everything stated and shown. The pictures show items not mentioned above: Trailer hitch, iring attachments, hitch receivers & the original rear metal shield removed to install hitch. Original tool kit, ack, pare wheel/tire & cover. The original rubber floor that was replaced with carpet when car purchased. 3 of 4 carpeted floor mats. Original window stickers. Model Volvo police car. Original gas cap. Extra Fundo wheel & Volvo Emblems, olvo safety triangles in blue case & misc. parts in bucket.
Please ask any questions you may have. I appreciate your interest and hope this very unique car can find a happy new home…