Think of this as an opportunity to get a Holy 240. I, just last weekend, bought an XC90. Of the two Volvos left, both '92 model years, one a 240 with 200K miles and the other a 960 with 150K, I sold the 960. There's just something about the indestructability of that cast iron volvo motor...

I guess I like the whiteblock motors enough that I bought the xc90. Not the Yamaha V8 one, tho.

The water pump on your car is driven by the timing belt, so it's not likely that was the problem. You would have noticed the bending valves sooner than the problems you describe. Any water leaking out somewhere would have relieved the pressure such that the hose would not have blown off, and these motors are not known for randomly blowing head gaskets. Probably some mechanic hosed up playing with the hose...