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vthreat
09-08-2006, 09:56 PM
First off a little history on my volvo. The car was donated to my highschool as a project vehicle for the grade nines. The car had BC plates and a background check revealed the car had five previous owners out West. Seeing how we already had enough Luminas and Taurases for the young ones to mess around with, there was no need for a fine 2 door volvo. Being good buddies with my tech teacher, he offered the volvo to me. Coming from a VW background I was a little skepticle at first but once I started into this volvo I realized how amazing it could be.

1982 Volvo 242 GLT
-B23E CIS injection
-m46
-k cam
-virgos
-398 000 km
-e codes

Initially the car needed shocks all around, tie-rods and the B23E was in need of a good tune up. Also the car had the normal rust around the rear quarters and tubs. So every tech class and lunch hour I worked away to make the volvo road worthy. The tubs were rivited and muded back together and the whole car got a quick but decent respray. I drove the car for a little over a year only adding a cone filter, removing the pulse air system and adding a new style volvo emblem to replace my weather beaten one.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/000_0158.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/000_0160.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/PB030097.jpg

January 2005

After the discovery of Turbobricks I decided it was time to get serious with the 242. The basic idea was to create a fast and fun daily driver. The recipe included a full rebuild the normal +T megasquirt etc. etc. So one day out of the blue the volvo entered the garage and disassembly began.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/ihnp-263804.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/parts.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/head.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/bay2.jpg

Progress was fairly slow and going into first year of University didn't help either but I slowly chipped away at the project.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P6070013.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P4150146.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P4150203.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P6070027.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5290073.jpg

Spring 2006

Having the short block already in the car and everything else mocked up, the only thing holding me up was finishing the porting I had started on the head. Word of advise, yes a whole head can be worked over with a dremel from Canadian Tire but NO you will not enjoy it. Save yourself the pain and find some air or someone to do it hehe. Once the head was finished everything went together smoothly thanks to hours of preperation and planning.

I set the basic settings in megasquirt added fluids cranked and...it fired right up! You never believe it until it happens to you but it fired right up and even idled nicely even for the k cam.

Summer 2006

I spent many hours breaking the fresh engine in before driving it. Once I felt it was safe I took it for a drive. Things were a little loud thanks to the open d/p but everything went well. I came home and checked the car for leaks smoke etc. and all was well. So during the second test drive I got into a little more and the car pulled well, REALLY well thats when I heard some loud pinging and caught my boost gauge returning from 25psi. Not good, especially on a bad tune. I limped home only to discover no coolant in the enigine and water dripping out the d/p.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/P6030087.jpg

The failure was caused by my own stupidity:

1. I had not jammed the jam nut on my mbc causing the ball and spring to fly out therefore providing no signal to the wastegate in turn causing a massive overboost event.

2. I had not yet put a timing light on the engine following the rebuild.

3. MS rookie romping on the engine without the lc-1 connected (remember open d/p) and running super lean in boost.

New headgasket no problem.

While on vacation in Germany the volvo was sent out to have new quarters and tubs properly welded in. The car had developed a massive rear main leak that I would have to deal with once I got home.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P7070064.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P7100073.jpg

I drove the car for a while and blew another gasket. I threw another gasket at it and kept on driving it. Everything was going pretty well until I noticed a lack of off boost power, blue smoke under boost and lots of oil in the intake intercooler etc. I disconected the PCV and was getting tonnes of pressure coming out at idle. A quick compression test revealed I had two bum cylinders 90, 90, 150, 150 accross the board. I had killed my first redblock.

Disassembly revealed a melted number one piston (will get pics), scorched rings on number two and all four pistons were cracked caused by high rpm pinging.

August 2006

I sourced a whole junkyard engine from an 86 245 with 200 k for 200 bucks including removal. The engine was stripped down minus the piston and crank. Turns out the engine is a B230F out of an 89 volvo of some sort. The block was quickly painted and received all new gaskets and seals and was reinstalled with my ported cylinder head on top.

Following the installation of the "new" block the 3 inch exhaust went on and the lc-1 was installed. The base timing was set and wastegate set to 5psi. This is when the car got fun. Power was great and the car pulled on our 1.8t passat which is running 14psi, although my dad would never admit to my volvo pulling on his passat hehe.

The car pulls strong all the way up to the 7700rpm limit set in megasquirt. The k cam is set straight up and doesn't come alive until 4000rpm but once it does power is strong. Boost creep becomes an issue above 5500rpm even with the atp v band wastegate however never goes past 10psi.

Clutch slippage is becoming an issue at this point and is something I'll have to address next year. Somewhere along the line I blew yet another headgasket doing high speed, high load "testing". The modified v8 firebird kept up nicely but I don't think he knew what hit him. When I started slowing for my turn the speedo was pegged past its 200km/h limit so who knows.

This headgasket failure wasn't too bad, I worked my day and drove home at night. It seems I'm doing more headgaskets then oil changes on my volvo but thats how it goes. I reassembled the volvo and pulled a few more degrees of timing.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P8290006.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P8290010.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P7100076.jpg

As it sits right now the 242 is painted flat black from the window line down to seal it up for the winter while I'm away at school. It may not be perfect but it beats the sky blue primered wheel arches look I was rockin for a while. The car is fast and I'm just starting to explore the possibilities with megasquirt. Working seven days a week during august and moving back to school I never got a chance to really tune the beast.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/P9010027.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/P9010026.jpg

Spec of the car now:
-B230F 13mm rods
-405 ported 62cc combustion chamber
-efi injectors in k jet holes
-850 tps
-90+ manifold with 42/28 stock volvo turbo
-GM e-fan
-lightened flywheel (still ~14lbs)
-megasquirt running fuel only (for now)
-k jet ignition running 22 degree total advance at 6500rpm
-5psi creeps to 10psi past 6000rpm
-ATP 3 inch w/g housing
-full 3 inch under axle exhaust with magnaflow muffler
-tucked front bumper
-dual sways up front
-1 gauge wiring and grounds (bat alt starter)

So there you have it, this spring will bring upgrades to the brakes, suspension and the body work/paint job finished. I'm sure I've forgotten some details, but if you have any questions ask away!

stray
09-08-2006, 10:17 PM
sweet car man. keep up the good work, and get an SCP head on there as soon as you can. :)

VQ
09-09-2006, 07:57 AM
That's awsome, I wish we had automotive classes at my school and that they could just give cars away to the kids.

JW240
09-09-2006, 08:38 AM
That's awsome, I wish we had automotive classes at my school and that they could just give cars away to the kids.

+1!!!!!!!

especially a 242. really nice to see that this one is preserved! Over here, i've only seen maybe 3 times a 242.... :-(

7700 rpm rev limit? typo or not? at 6000 rpm my B230 sounds like its gonna explode ;-) , that said, i heve kept it at 5000+ for longer times and it is still perfect.

Hank Scorpio
09-09-2006, 11:52 AM
7k is my limit. Even with everything on my old 242 it still felt airflow limited from 6500rpm on. The new head that went on it (and a bigger TB would be the only other thing) should help though... I wouldn't take a stocker up past 6800 though.

vthreat
09-09-2006, 03:44 PM
Thanks guys!

7700 rpm rev limit? typo or not? at 6000 rpm my B230 sounds like its gonna explode ;-) , that said, i heve kept it at 5000+ for longer times and it is still perfect.

nope no typo, and it sounds good when its up there! The head is heavily ported with tapered intake valves and cut valve guides. Also the flywheel being halved also helps it spin. Although the highest megasquirt has ever recorded in a datalog is 7200rpm so I really haven't hit the limit yet :twisted:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/volvo/P1010076.jpg
Regarding the scp head, I think I'm going to try some studs and decent spark control before I jump boats. Moreover I'd rather put some effort into a 16v head rather than another 8v :badboy:

JW240
09-09-2006, 03:52 PM
ok nice! tough engines...
Flat black 242's are just hot.

vthreat
04-25-2008, 04:22 PM
Ok this thread is long overdue for an update.

April / May 2007

-installed sequential F1 style shift lights
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=99391
-began body work
-refinished the virgos and new 205/55/15 tires
-installed poly bushings in the front
-ss flex hoses
-coil overs and konis
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/P4080034.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5120047.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5220022.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5240031.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5240039.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5290007.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5290014.jpg

June / July 2007

busy with work and swimming. didn't make much progress on the car.
-blew original t3 turbo at some point...faulty air filter and intake led to turbo sucking in sand.
-car sat at my work for a while doing nothing.

August

-rebuilt original t3 with a benflynn t4 comp kit. made the mistake of putting it together after I had dropped the new wheel on the concrete floor PLING!
-that turbo never made boost and shortly after ate itself.
-installed lock right locker while the car was down waiting for another turbo
-bought a stock t3 off Pierre on the board and threw the car back together (I swear I can have that turbo off in under 15 mins now I've done it so many times! :rofl:)
-proceeded to test the locker...no more one tire fire yay!
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P8100012.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P3210004.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P3210010.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/a.jpg
down time
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P8170007.jpg
new t3
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P8170014.jpg
out to test the locker!

September 2007

-didn't have time to finish the paint job myself so I sent it out to my friends shop to get painted
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=112880
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P9170003.jpg

October 2007

-seam sealed everything that needed to be done
-rocker guarded the wheel wells and butt cheeks
-blacked out behind the grill for a finished look
-prepped car for storage since I was away at school and my dad wanted the garage over the winter for his fleet of passats
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/PA060039.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/PA060037.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/PA070060.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/PA080016.jpg
yarrrr vaawwwllva can't stays in hurrr! :nono:


Currently the car is still in storage at our friends huge garage. I have been acquiring many parts for the car over the winter. Once I'm home from school there will be much progress. Some highlights will include:
-EDIS (stock n/a k jet ignition is sucky on turbo monster)
-ebay intercooler
-t4 comp kit again (must talk to ben)
-big injectors
-possibly a t5 and new clutch
-install rear poly bushings
-reinstall trim pieces and all the other little details
-rear decor panel
-reinstall volvo cb radio with PA loudspeaker including a new handset (thanks mrsam740!)
-replace comandos if I can find suitable replacements

I'm looking forward to driving the car again and finishing up all the details after the paint job. Hopefully I can meet up with some local tbrickers over the summer and see some more volvos! :cool: I'll be updating this thread more regularly once I'm back.

vthreat
05-15-2008, 08:55 PM
Installed my new ebay intercooler and finally got around to hooking it up to make it functional. I'm running dual intercoolers until my new rad hoses come in but now at least the big cooler is seeing the boost.:nod: The clutch is suffering even more in 3rd and 4th gear so next week I'm going to work on piecing together a clutch along with the rest of the T5 swap.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5130006.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5010026.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5060006.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5080016.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5130008.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5130009.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P5130011.jpg
inner fender will be going on shortly

vthreat
06-27-2008, 08:46 PM
T5 transmission swap is in progress along with a few other upgrades while the car is down.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P6270007.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P6270008.jpg
swiss T5 ready to go in!

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P6270016.jpg
corresponding cross member

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/16.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P6270014.jpg
EDIS adapter

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P6270004.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/P6270002.jpg
supportive seating :nod: made some custom brackets to fit the seats...no pics of them right now I'll get some later.

vthreat
11-02-2008, 07:32 PM
I had a busy summer but still managed to make some progress on the car. Boris740 came over to the shop where I work one afternoon to help with some MS problems on a friends scirocco. After a ride in his wagon (faaaast on a tired engine!) I knew I wanted a turbo similar to his...so a new turbo was my big purchase of the season.

Here is a list of what went down:
-T5 tranny with 4puck spec clutch and "green" pressure plate in
-one piece driveshaft and tunnel modifications complete
-rear poly bushings installed
-replaced stock k-jet ignition with EDIS (spark control is nice)
-rear commando bumper replaced with tucked plastic variety
-stock T3 turbo replaced with T4/T3 hybrid (t04e/b 50 trim with stage1 turbine)
-new 1000cc delphi injectors from diy autotune

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/th_P7020004.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/?action=view&current=P7020004.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/th_P7020003.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/?action=view&current=P7020003.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/th_P7230012.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/?action=view&current=P7230012.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/th_P7230010.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/?action=view&current=P7230010.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/th_PA110031.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/?action=view&current=PA110031.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/th_PA110043.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/?action=view&current=PA110043.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/th_PA110041.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/?action=view&current=PA110041.jpg)

The turbo install went off without a hitch, I only had to change one silicone coupler on the intake to the turbo since it was bigger. I had one leftover from my ebay intercooler kit that worked perfectly.

When I installed the new injectors I managed to foul up the plugs pretty bad during a tunning session. I got the fuel map dialed in but the car still had some brutal high rpm spark blowout when in boost. Replaced the plugs with some NGK BP7ES because it was all I could find in town at the time and the problem remained.

Recently I ordered up some proper BPR7ES and installed some new '93 Escort wires from Craptire. (I've never been more embarassed ordering parts ;-)) The car runs great at only 10psi and pulls hard all the way to redline. My blowout was being caused by crappy old junkyard wires and non resistor plugs.

The car is now in storage for the winter under a "NASCAR" car cover (Craptire :lol:) Plans for the spring are as follows:
-replace front commando with plastic variety
-mount EDIS coil permanently and install CravingBoost wires from the Aspirator
-fan control and boost control with megasquirt
-up the boost and tune (aka make use of my new injectors)
-figure out tach situation with EDIS
-somehow hook up speedo to t5 trans

vthreat
10-25-2009, 04:51 PM
Car is currently back in storage for the winter. It barely made it there but in the end it limped in to hibernation. :zzz: More on that later.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/vanagon/th_DSC00711.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/vanagon/?action=view&current=DSC00711.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/vanagon/th_DSC00647.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/vanagon/?action=view&current=DSC00647.jpg)
Anyway this season saw a bunch of ups and downs for the volvo. The main highlights include:

the good stuff,
-sorting out EDIS and permanently installing with "the aspirators" plug wires
-making my own harness bar from scratch with my new mig setup (with camera mount :oogle:)
-some black racing buckets that look better than the existing blue ones
-schroth 4-point harnesses to keep driver and passenger located during track days
-had my machine shop cross drill some rotors and Hawk HP10 pads up front
-surprised a bunch of people at a few mosport lapping days
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/th_SAM_0128.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/?action=view&current=SAM_0128.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/th_SAM_0126.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/?action=view&current=SAM_0126.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/mosport%20ddt/th_DSC00150-crop.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/mosport%20ddt/?action=view&current=DSC00150-crop.jpg)

the bad,
-second time out at the track dropped an intake valve which destroyed:
1. #4 piston
2. ported head
3. very recent T3/T4 hotside (mmmm melted aluminium caked everywhere!)
4. wideband O2 sensor
5. not to mention all the shrapnel that went into the other cylinders...
-upon pulling engine discovered clutch is already smoked after 1 season (4 puck clutchnet)
-tires are toast after those lapping days
-towed the volvo home from mosport with my A4 and a come along...:e-shrug:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/mosport%20ddt/th_DSC00161.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/mosport%20ddt/?action=view&current=DSC00161.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/mosport%20ddt/th_DSC00156.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/mosport%20ddt/?action=view&current=DSC00156.jpg)

the ugly,
-rings, bearings and seals for my replacement B230F with 530 head and stock T3
-replacement engine had 9mm rods soo I put in the 13mm rods from the blown one:roll:
-during first test drive crank pulley fell off taking all the valves with it (thanks K cam!)
-new valves and I tried it again making sure to (consciously) torque the crank bolt
-crank pulley falls off again taking out all the valves again (meh only $4 a pop new ;-))
-realize my rods are probably bent from the carnage (duh!) which shook the crank pulley loose and also the flywheel! there was a huge imbalance somewhere.
-tore it down, threw the 9mm rods back in with another set of new valves and everything is perfect. :doh:

At this point I just needed the volvo as a daily driver to get to work during the rest of the summer. Our TR6 was and still in pieces and I had also just acquired an 86 VW Westy which will be receiving a Subaru 2.5 RS swap. So not much love for the volvo.

At home during Canadian Thanksgiving I put the Volvo and Westy into storage for winter. The volvo decided to punch a hole in the diff cover and make all sorts of marble noises on the way to the gas station! Luckily I still had drive and made it home to investigate...
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/th_DSC00752.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/?action=view&current=DSC00752.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/th_DSC00749.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/?action=view&current=DSC00749.jpg)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/th_DSC00763.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/?action=view&current=DSC00763.jpg)
all the ring gear bolts had come loose and one even made its way into the pinion gear then punched a hole in the cover. Got as many bits out with my magnet as I could, welded the hole in the cover up, gooped it up and slammed it all back together.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/th_DSC00759.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a307/vthreat/tbricks/2009/?action=view&current=DSC00759.jpg)
So car is currently in storage with a damaged pinion and a ring gear with a few bolts missing. I'll address this issue in the spring.