Many years ago, before the Great Crossoverification, you could get the same basic car from most manufacturers in a variety of body styles. Two or four doors, sedan or wagon, fastback or notchback – the world was your oyster. Some of those body styles are still with us, but one is as extinct as a woolly mammoth: the two-door sedan. But today, we’re traveling to a magical place where old cars still roam free to look at a couple of surviving examples.
On Friday, we threw the budget out the window to look at two ailing mid-engine sports cars. It sounded like a lot of you wanted to vote for the Acura NSX, but its hinted-at troubles were just too much. The disassembled but more honest Lotus Esprit took an easy win.
Between these two particular cars, I think that’s the right call. There’s nothing more frightening than a Lotus project car, but that one looks about as honest as you can get. The Acura feels about as sketchy as a “Reduced For Quick Sale” frozen burrito. Someone may take a chance on it, but it sure as hell wouldn’t be me.
One of the things I miss about living in the Pacific Northwest is the constant parade of rare old cars driving around. They’d be coddled classics elsewhere, but there, people street-park them in front of bars on Friday nights, or cram them into the notoriously tight parking garage at Powell’s Books. The two cars that we’re about to look at are rare versions of their breeds, but still not special enough to be anything other than daily drivers in that rainy corner of the country. Which one would you rather put some more miles on? Let’s check them out and you can decide.
1976 Volvo 242 DL – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.1-liter OHC inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Seattle, WA
Odometer reading: 320,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
It’s astonishing how many Volvo 240s there are on the streets of Seattle and Portland. The newest of these cars is now thirty-three years old, and this early example turns fifty this year. And yet, stand long enough on any street corner, and I guarantee you one will go by. It may look like it has been through a war zone, but it’ll still be chugging along. But most of the 240s you see will be four-door sedans or wagons; an early flat-hood two-door like this is a rare beast.
This 242 is powered by a 2.1-liter version of Volvo’s “Red block” four-cylinder engine, driving the rear axle through a four-speed manual gearbox – without the electric overdrive. Like most 240s these days, it has an absolute buttload of miles on it – but hey, the odometer actually works. The seller is a little coy about its condition, saying only that it is “reliable” and has “no major issues.” That’s good enough to start; the knowledge base and community around these cars is extensive, so any minor issues that come up should be solvable.
The interior is typical of high-mileage Volvos: intact, functional, but not very nice. The driver’s seat has been replaced, and it doesn’t quite match. The condition of the door panels leaves a lot to be desired. And is it even possible to have a Volvo 240 without some wiring hanging out from under the dash? Did they come that way from the factory?
It’s a good twenty-footer outside, in a great color. When you start looking closely, you see a few rust spots, but that’s to be expected in a fifty-year-old car. The later 240 Turbo wheels are a nice touch. And of course, the Thule bike rack is included. They’re required on all Volvos and Subarus in that part of the country.
1977 Toyota Corona – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.2-liter OHC inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Portland, OR
Odometer reading: 145,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Toyota today is synonymous with quality and durability, and models like the Camry, Corolla, and RAV4 are legends. But Toyota’s first entry into the US market in 1958 was a failure. Its second attempt, in 1965, worked, thanks to this car: the Corona. By the time this generation of Corona came along, Toyota was on a roll – and Detroit was rightfully worried. 1970s Toyotas have all but disappeared from the roads in most parts of the world, though; reliable as they were, rust took out the majority of them years ago. This is the first two-door Corona I have seen in I don’t know how long.
Power comes from the legendary 20R four-cylinder that can be found under the hoods of so many Toyota pickups. The seller says this is the quietest-running 20R they’ve ever seen, and it has a ton of new parts to keep it humming along. It has a four-speed manual transmission that is starting to show its age; the seller says it’s a little sticky shifting into second gear. Just be a little sympathetic to it and it should be fine.
Inside, it’s really nice, but not perfect; there is some trim missing and a little wear and tear here and there. It’s completely original, though, right down to the radio. And Portland has a halfway decent classic rock radio station to complete the illusion if you want. I wonder how many times “Hotel California” has been played in this car over the past forty-nine years?
It’s very original on the outside as well, though I don’t think that luggage rack was original equipment. It looks like something from a J.C. Whitney catalog. Those wheel covers are the originals, though. It has a little rust at the base of the windshield, but if that’s all there is, that’s impressive for a ’77 Corona. I just wish it were some other color; too many of these old Coronas seem to be painted white.
You wouldn’t want to drive these year-round anywhere that uses road salt; they’d rust away to nothing in no time, like all the other examples have. But for fair-weather use, they’re perfect. If you want a fast car, or a corner-carver, look elsewhere, but if you’re looking for just want a nice old car that you don’t see everywhere, these both fit the bill. Honestly, I don’t think there’s a bad choice here, but it’s not up to me. It’s up to you. Which one gets your vote?
If I get hit by something made lately, I might survive in the Volvo, so Volvo it is.
Getting my driver’s license in the early eighties, I had several friends with 70’s Toyotas and I had an 81 pickup myself through college. While they are reliable as all get out, the sheet metal in them was barely thick enough for them to hold their shape at highway speeds. Driving with today’s ultra distracted drivers, I’d like a little more heft around me. I’ll take the moon-mileage Volvo with it’s much more attractive blue hue.
I had a 82 toyota pick up back in the early 90s and you could almost hear it rust. I did love it and wish I did not have to sell it.
I don’t really know much about the Corona, but I love those Volvo’s. The 242 is such a good looking car, especially in that blue. The Toyota has less obvious rust, and I am sure the 20R is a great power plant but the Volvo is much more appealing to me.
Liking both, voting Corolla because it has far more life left in it and less rust. The Volvo is cooler but is getting pretty ragged. Considering the rust, it would need to be cheaper to make a good project. And that 20R is such a sweet-natured, stalwart engine.
This was a hard one, as the very first car I ever drove was a nearly identical 242, but in green. However, that Toyota is pretty nice, so I’m inclined to vote for it due to the lower miles and the infrequency of seeing them still on the road.
Honestly, if ever there was a time to give us the “Both” option, today is it.
100%. I would definitely make room for both of them.
I sometimes forget that we have a special car market out here. Sure Subarus never depreciate. But we also have so so so many old cars in some state of functional. 20 year old Japanese cars are everywhere and cheap in a way I forget they aren’t always in the rust belt.
I just picked up a 2004 c class, no rust, still chugging along nicely with plenty of deferred maintenance to catch up on. In other markets these cars are just gone, lost to the hard living diet of salt.
Anywho yeah, it was always gonna be the Volvo. While you still see them around a Portland. Im seeing them so much less. Some of these cars, the best of them, have graduated to being third/fourth/fifth cars in garages in the suburbs. But most of them have been dying deaths of neglect and accidents. The same thing happened to all the W240s you used to see on the street.
Kudos on your new (to you) C class HDYC. 🙂 I’ve been toying with the idea of getting one myself (just one gen older) or maybe a W124, but it’s had to justify a fourth car considering how infrequently I actually drive anywhere.
For condition alone, I’m picking the Toyota. I love a 240, but this one is scruffy.
Checks name…yeah…going with the Toyota.
Took a hard look at the Volvo…but rusty rear quarter at the mud flap chased me off.
(note to self…should have kept the liftback…$4k for one of these…geeze)
Saw the pic at the top and scrolled down to select the Volvo. I still want one of these, even if it has 300 gazillion miles..
Friend’s Dad had a fleet of white Coronas for his 3 kids, all kinda beaten up but he kept them running. An engineer, I guess his thinking was he’d learn how to work on one type of car, get good at it, swap parts for diagnosis, etc…
This explains why my friend’s engineer dad was running a fleet of 80s diesel Mercedes (and who I bought my w126 from).
I want an 80s diesel Mercedes almost as much as I want an old Volvo!
Glob yes. I’m right there with you. I’ve got two old Volvos (well, one old one and one almost-twice-as-old one) but I’ve been hankering something awful for an ’80s Merc, preferably a turbodiesel W124 wagon. The coupes are lovely too, though I dunno if any diesel ones came to the states.
Your friend’s dad was smart. 🙂
These are both awesome, and reminders of the temptation to fly across the country and drive something old and clean home to the east coast where they’re long rusted away. The Volvo gets my vote though…can’t go wrong with either but I love the color and it has a more aesthetic shape, distinctly European.
I almost switched my vote to Volvo because the rear 3/4 view is really stellar, but that Corona…it looks good from every angle. It is just a handsome vehicle. Toyota in the 70s really had an incredible design language that has aged so much better than the screaming chicken/angry garden snake imagery that American cars were so quick to embrace to replace actual speed, or enjoyment, or refinement.
Today, I don’t feel like anyone is a loser here. Either way, you are going to drive something that will start a conversation at the gas pump. I love both and think either one would look incredible driving up to my office on the campus of small New England liberal arts college. Sometime around June when the salt and ice have finally gone away.
Volvo definitely, I owned a 245 wagon in my earlier years and loved that car. I’ve always like the coupes too. Large enough engine bay to do whatever you want weather it’s keep the current, swap a Volvo turbo motor or something larger like a 2JZ or LS. IPD still makes and sells all the suspension parts you need to get it handling great.
Icarus soared too close sun and lost his wings.
I’ll stay planted on terra firma are soar close to this Corona.
The Corona.Even though it’s not perfect it really is.
OOF the prices. I am old enough to remember these new so the prices seem high even if not. I am also old enough to have actually used a trunk mounted rack to haul luggage.
These both feel roughly market correct, at least for SoCal. Heck, you’d be hard-pressed to find a 242 for under four grand, no matter how much rust it has. With that said, both of these cars would’ve sold for half their asking prices just five years ago.
I know that they are market correct but as an old person, paying $4k for a 50 year old used (not collector) car just is hard to grasp.
I’m old too, so I agree with you of course. 🙂 Groceries, sheets of plywood, etc… everything is so much more expensive than it was not too long ago. It’s sad.
PS: I think that the recent increase in prices for everything annoys older folks more than younger folks, because though prices have always gone up over time, older folks have experienced this increase gradually over a longer period, so the recent sharp uptick in the curve stands out more noticeably as the anomaly that it is.
Both are terrific. I would go with the Toyota, as it has many fewer miles and parts are dirt cheap. If the motor has not been rebuilt, though, it will need it soon. The Corona will be good for another 150,000 miles once that is done – as well as eventually swapping the transmission, which is not a difficult or expensive proposition.
The 20R used to be ubiquitous, but the 22R that replaced it around 1979 or so is much easier to find now.
One red flag, though. If the Corona is in Oregon, why does it still have California plates on it? Vehicle registration in Oregon is not expensive.
The Volvo is probably more sensible…though both cars are very similar…but being JDM-coded, I’ll take the Corona. And resist the temptation to put it on Watanabe 8-spokes.
242 on Virgos with an M46? YES.
I had a hood and front right fender in that dark blue color on my otherwise Smurf blue 83 245. I swiped the earlier all-orange blinkers from the dinor car, too. The lenses don’t swap, you need the whole unit.
Thats a good Volvo.
Had enough of old heavy smelly Volvos, so Japanese for me 🙂
The 242 is the easy choice here. Incidentally, just helped a buddy extricate a ’77 from a pasture here in OK, where it had been sitting since 2017. Once we got the mud dauber nests cleared out of the timing belt tensioner and a new belt installed, it fired right up. He’s now in the process of throwing the IPD catalog at it, and it should be a lot of fun for not a ton of money once he’s through with it.
The Volvo and I are the same age. Both cars would be a hoot, but the 50 year olds gotta stick together
Me and @hardibro can fight it out for the Volvo.
Rust around the windshield can be a real PITA to fix.
Volvo: Boxy but good.
I still went with the Toyota for half the miles.
That Volvo has the better color, and a free bike rack, but the miles and the interior are just a bit too much for me.
I’ve already owned this exact 242 in beige, and I loved it. Fantastic car, I only moved it on because the rust was getting too bad.
No other car from the 1970s feels as up to date ergonomically, and secure to drive in modern traffic. It isn’t fast, but they can be pretty fun to hustle through the corners with sport springs and shocks.
I actually prefer these 1970s models to the early 80s, the Bosch K jet fuel injection is actually much nicer to live with than the carbureted base-models that would follow. And you get a flat hood with the desirable single-round headlights!
The Toyota is nice, but it’s nothing special. Volvo all the way.