First car ~ Selecting a Classic
As Told by Nico Morando
Here’s the story of my 1978 Volvo 242 GT.
As a sixteen-year-old sophomore on the brink of getting my driver’s permit and soon after my license, the first thing on my mind was what I was going to drive. Looking around the house, I was met with automatic after automatic, and it hit me, I wanted to drive a manual! I mean, is there a better way to learn how to drive than jumping into the deep end? Now the question was, what was the car for me? Something cheap, extremely reliable, safe (as far as you can get with older cars), but still a joy to drive with, most importantly, good looks.
And so became the obsession of scouring the internet for the perfect car, and oh boy, did I find it. The first time I saw a Volvo 240, I wasn’t too impressed, blocky, slow, family-style car, but just something about it drew my attention. I did more research and found that the company made a limited amount of a 2 door 242 GT version of the car, equipped with factory racing stripes, a corduroy interior, a sleek silver paint job, and some minor performance upgrades. This was Volvo’s way of trying to entice the market to look for sleeker, sportier cars while still being practically mechanically identical to the Volvo 240 already in production (note: 2.9M were made).
With my eyes set on the car I knew I wanted, 242 GT, the search began. There aren’t official numbers out, but it is estimated that Volvo imported about 1000 GTs into the US. While it is an extremely reliable car, 50 years will undoubtedly knock a large percentage of those off the road. I knew that I would have to talk to some specialists to find the gem that I wanted. While researching online I randomly found Rainbow Auto Service, a Volvo-oriented shop, up in Bellingham, Washington. Giving them a quick call, the owner, “Rainbow Larry,” said he knew of a guy who had one stored in his warehouse. However, the guy was not ready to sell the car. My dad and I gave the owner a call, and while he was unsure about parting ways with her, we told him my story and our family’s love of classic cars, and if the time ever came when he was ready to part ways, it would be going to a great family. 126 hours later he called back! He was ready and we became the 3rd owner of this beautiful 242 GT, 200,000 miles and all.
Key highlights: Corduroy interior with orange pinstriping to match the analog dash, racing stripes around the vehicle and rectangle yellow fog lights.
My Dad and I flew up Bellingham, Washington, which is practically Canada, half of our luggage consisted of a toolkit equipped with everything we needed (duct tape, zip ties, flat tire fixer, WD40, bubble gum, “everything McGyver would bring” my dad said – I didn’t know what that meant but I rolled with it) for the 900-mile drive home. We knew there was a high likelihood of a breakdown, but the owner had done some safety maintenance to get us home. The drive went almost too well, with our only problems being a squeaky belt, and a fog lamp almost popping out of the car.
While the car made it home, the problems with buying a 50-year-old car that had been sitting in a garage for at least 15 years started to arrive. I had to get it to pass California smog, fix a blown fuel pump, change spark plugs, track down fuses, and, most importantly, get a proper stereo installed. With all of this, I was learning to work on my own car for the first time ever.
The hard work paid off, and she runs great. Over the 8 months I’ve had her, she hasn’t broken down on me once. I now drive the GT daily to school, soccer practice, and anywhere else I need to go—all at a slow but acceptable pace. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, and I’m proud of my car. First cars are always special, and I hope she’ll last me many years.