1982 Volvo 242 DL: Potential Find of the Year Candidate?

Every so I'll come across a car in the wild that's almost too good, that I'm in disbelief I found it in the first place. If I never took photos of my finds, I feel like I'd be living a giant hallucination of car spotting. This 242 was one of those cars I'm still in disbelief that I found. It was that good.

While out on a morning walk on campus, I initially had spotted the roofline of this 242 from a far. I knew it was something old, but not sure of what it could be. Was it Mercedes Benz W123 car? Maybe it could be an '80s K-Car. I was curious. When I got closer, I noticed it looked similar to a 240 roofline, so I quickened my pace and walked closer. I initially saw the front end of an early '80s 240, and then my eyes grazed towards the body. This wasn't just a 240, this was something a bit more. 

While this isn't the coveted 242 GT, like Jim's, a 242 is still a very uncommon variant of the 240 family. They were produced only for the first 10 years of production, from 1974 to 1984. The 242 followed the same trim levels of the other 240 models, like DL, GL, GLT, and the Turbo, however the GT trim level was distinct to the 2 door model only. There was also the 262C Bertone, a rather luxurious model built in collaboration the Bertone company in Italy.

During its production run, Volvo always produced less 242s each year than the sedan and wagon models, which is what led to its discontinuation in 1984, and eventually its collectability in the modern day. Volvo also phased the 242 out in favor of their new 780 model, from the more luxurious and modern 700 series in 1982. 

Today, you can expect to pay slightly higher premiums for a decent 242, however with the collectable models, like the Turbo, Bertone, and especially the GT, that's a different story. Seeing one today is a pretty rare sight, as most of these are owned by enthusiasts, and are rarely taken out to preserve the car's physical state. That was what made seeing this car all the more better. 

This 242 is in remarkable condition, and looks to be all original. To make things better, this car has the four speed manual transmission with overdrive! The owner has done an amazing job maintaining it, and again, it was unbelievable to come across this car in the campus parking lot. I would say it's definitely my favorite find of the year, so far at least, but it's going to be really difficult to top this car!