VOLVO 260 Information Center 1975 - 1985 262 GL, 264 GL, 265 GL GLE, COUPE Information Center Home Change Model

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The VOLVO 260 GL and GLE was introduced in 1975 in Europe, and one year later in North America. The Volvo 240 and Volvo 260 share the same chassis and body. They are basically the same car but the 260 has more luxury items and the more powerful V6 engine. Depending on the year it is equipped with power mirrors, power windows, leather interior, lots of chrome on the outside, upscale sound system, mag wheels and other luxury items not found on the base Volvo 240. The 260 was the top of the VOLVO line in terms of luxury, replacing the Volvo 164 model produced until 1975 for the title. Differences between the 240 and 260 varied with time. New features were first introduced on the 260 model and later added to the 240. Some features of the Volvo 260 were offered as options on the 240. The VOLVO 260 was not an entirely new car design for Volvo. It inherited from the Volvo 140 and 164 the whole body, interior and exterior, from the front firewall back to the rear bumper. The windshield, dash, seats, doors, roof, trunk, everything rear of the firewall is the same as the 140 and 164. The novelty on the 260 and 240 is the front end and the introduction of Mcpherson front suspension struts. The hood, fenders, headlights and everything front of the firewall was redesigned. The main difference between the 260 and 240 is the V6 engine of the 260, while the 240 got an in-line 4 cylinder. The B27 V6 engine had 2.7 liter displacement from 1975 to 1979. In 1980 the B28 engine was introduced with 2.8 liter and an output of 130hp @ 5500rpm and 153 ft.lbs @ 2750. It was also available with the D24 Diesel engine for some years, as shown in the production tables below. In 1980 and 1981 some 264 were sold with the 4 cylinder B21F engine of the 240 series. From 1975 to 1980 the car was available with a standard or automatic transmission. From 1981 only the automatic was available. Important fact about the 260 V6 engine: the first B27 version is known for its poor lubrication system. The camshaft will wear prematurely if the engine runs low on oil or if old oil blocks the oil orifices. It is important to check the oil level often, change the oil regularly and fix any oil leak as soon as possible. Quite a few 260's were retired early because of engine failure. The Volvo 260 was available in 3 body styles: 2 door sedan (262), 4 door sedan (264) and 4 door station wagon (265). From 1975 to 1979 to badge on the car would read 262 GL, 264 GL or 265 GL. Starting in 1980 Volvo changed its badges on all models and the 260 was now identified as GLE. The 4 door and wagon models got a GLE badge on the back. The 2 door coupe model got a COUPÉ badge. 1976 VOLVO 264 GL (260 4 door sedan) 1979 VOLVO 264 GL (260 4 door sedan) 1980 VOLVO GLE DIESEL 4 DOOR SEDAN 1981 VOLVO GLE (260 4 DOOR SEDAN) Click here for more Volvo 260 pictures The Volvo 264 4 door sedan was sold from 1975 to 1982 and a total of 131500 were produced. The best year for the 4 door sedan was 1976 with 25287 units sold. The Volvo 265 station wagon was introduced in 1976, one year after the sedan, and was sold until 1985. A total of 35132 Volvo 260 wagons were sold. The best year for the wagon was also 1976 with 8108 units sold. From 1981 the 260 wagons are quite rare. Only 704 units were sold in 1985 which makes it one of the rarest Volvo produced. 1978 262C by Bertone Click here for more Volvo 260 pictures The Volvo 262 2 door sedan version was first offered in 1976 and 1977 simply as a 2 door version of the 260. In 1977 only 230 units were sold ! This makes it very collectable and even Volvo enthusiasts are not aware of this fact. In 1978 a completely new 2 door Coupe was presented. The 262C was an extremely exclusive model, which was built by the Italian coachwork designer Bertone. They are recognized by their lowered roof, covered with black vinyl, fancy leather interior, and even more gadgets like power antenna, power sun roof, rear lighter and courtesy lights. In 1980 the roof was not covered with vinyl. Why so few Volvo 260's survived and are being restored ? The first obvious reason is the low production, much lower than the 240 series. The second reason is the well known fact that luxury models are less attractive to the do it yourself crowd because of the extra costs, complexity and low reliability of gadgets like power antennas, power roof, power mirrors and the like. The final reason is availability of parts and knowledge for the 6 cylinder engine. Since millions of Volvo's use the same 4 cylinder engine in the 240/740/940 series, parts are easy to find used, new and aftermarket. The mechanics are also familiar with the 4 cylinder maintenance, repair and common problems. All this is not true for the 6 cylinder engine used on the 260 and later 760 series. A lot of parts are available only from a Volvo dealers and not cheap. Mechanics don't like the 6 cylinder because they have less experience with it. The camshaft lubrication problem described above certainly doesn't help the reputation of the V6 engine and lead to many cars being scraped earlier than they should. In 1982 the VOLVO 760 was introduced as the top of the line VOLVO model. Interest in the 260 diminished and the 260 sedan production ceased in 1982. The 260 wagon was produced until 1985, the same year 760 wagon was released. The 760 is a very different chassis but uses the same B28 engine and transmissions inherited from the 260 series. 1975 Volvo 260 sales start in Europe 1976 Volvo 260 sales start in North America Volvo 262GL, 264DL/GL, and 265DL/GL models available. The DL models have cloth interior on the sedan (vinyl on wagon), manual windows, and just the basic features of the 240DL, but a V6 engine. The GL models have leather interior, power windows (sedan), sunroof (sedans), metallic paint, and silver grilles. All 260 series cars have quad round headlamp systems with a longer hood and vertical grille. The V6 engine was a 2.7 liter all aluminum block+head motor with 125hp @ 5500 rpm and 150ft.lbs @ 2750 rpm. M46 standard transmission was standard, not optional, like on the 240 series. Tachometer was standard on all 260 series cars. 1977 All 49 state cars gained catalytic converters as the california cars got a new high capacity 3-way cat. All 1977 models gained fuel prepumps instead of the fuel tank pick-up screen that was on previous models. 1978 New thicker seat padding. In North America 4 rectangular headlights used instead of 4 round ones. New power mirrors Volvo 240 4 door and wagons models use the same hood, grille and 4 round headlights as the earlier 260's. 260 sedans go to 185/70R14 tires with S-speed rating. 260 wagons continue with 185R14 tires but Michelin XZX with black wall New exclusive 262C coupe introduced with chopped top, wood trims on door panels, fancy leather interior. 1979 New rear end on sedans with wrap around taillights eliminating the side marker lights. New trunk lid and trunk lock. New steering wheel New molded plastic door pockets on front doors, with color matching the panel 260DL discontinued Thermostatic heater control system (lever-type) 1980 Volvo changes its badges on all models and the 260 now identified as the GLE. The 4 door and wagon models got a GLE badge on the back. The 2 door coupe model got a COUPÉ badge. B27F engine bored and becomes the B28F. Power is increased to 130HP D24 Diesel engine introduced, DIESEL badges on front grille and rear end, green fuel cap Front spoiler added In 1980 and 1981 some 264 were sold with the 4 cylinder B21F engine of the 240 series. 1981 New wrap around taillights on wagons eliminating the side marker lights Standard transmission no longer available, only automatic New dash board with extended instrument cluster. Dash color now matches the interior, previously the dash was always black. New vents, glove box, ashtray, small shelf on the center console. New instrument cluster with bigger tachometer New armrests, window crank handles and interior door handles now color matches the door panels and seats. 262C Coupe loses M46 standard transmission 262C Coupe loses vinyl roof. 1982 262C Coupe no longer available Wagon model no longer available in North America 1983 Diesel no longer available Only the station wagon produced, and only 1018 units sold. Not available in North America. 1984 Only the station wagon produced, and only 857 units sold. Not available in North America. 1985 Only the station wagon produced, and only 704 units sold. Not available in North America.

Models and Engines

VOLVO 260 4 door sedan Production (264)

CHASSIS	MODEL_YEAR	MODEL	PRODUCTION_ID	FROM_CHASSIS _NUMBER	NUMBER_BUILT	ENGINES	TRANSMISSIONS
VOLVO 264	1975	264 GL	B	1	9674	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 264	1976	264 GL	E	9675	25287	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 264	1977	264 GL	H	34470	12045	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 264	1978	264 GL	L	46515	15590	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 264	1979	264 GL	M	62105	20950	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 264	1980	GLE	A	85055	24058	B21F,B28F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 264	1980	DIESEL	A			D24	M46,BW55
VOLVO 264	1981	GLE	B	107610	17696	B21F,B28F	BW55
VOLVO 264	1982	GLE	C	125110	6390	B28F	BW55
VOLVO 264	1982	DIESEL	C			D24	BW55

VOLVO 260 Station Wagon Production (265)

CHASSIS _NAME	MODEL_YEAR	MODEL_FULL_NAME	PRODUCTION_ID	FROM_CHASSIS _NUMBER	NUMBER_BUILT	ENGINES	TRANSMISSIONS
VOLVO 265	1976	265 GL	E	1	8108	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 265	1977	265 GL	H	8115	2805	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 265	1978	265 GL	L	10920	4815	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 265	1979	265 GL	M	15735	6040	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 265	1980	GLE	A	21775	6481	B28F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 265	1980	DIESEL	A			D24	M46,BW55
VOLVO 265	1981	GLE	B	28320	2315	B28F	BW55
VOLVO 265	1981	DIESEL	B			D24	BW55
VOLVO 265	1982	GLE	C	30635	1918	B28F	BW55
VOLVO 265	1983	GLE	D	32553	1018	B28F	BW55
VOLVO 265	1984	GLE	E	33571	857	B28F	BW55
VOLVO 265	1985	GLE	F	34428	704	B28F	BW55

VOLVO 262 2 door coupe Production (262)

CHASSIS _NAME	MODEL_YEAR	MODEL_FULL_NAME	PRODUCTION_ID	FROM_CHASSIS _NUMBER	NUMBER_BUILT	ENGINES	TRANSMISSIONS
VOLVO 262	1976	262 GL	E	1	3099?	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 262	1977	262 GL	H	2430	230	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 262	1978	262C	L	2660	1670	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 262	1979	262C	M	4330	2120	B27F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 262	1980	COUPE	A	6450	1920	B28F	M46,BW55
VOLVO 262	1981	COUPE	B	8375	912	B28F	BW55

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