arsenix's 740

arsenix's 740 (1+ billion pictures and counting)

<b>Update 6/11/2009 - Added T5 shifter position pics, SPAL e-fan install, 740 dash de-clocking</b>
<b>Update 6/5/2009 - Added a few MS items and some 16G header pics, now with browser friendly thumbnails!</b>
<b>Update 6/3/2009 - Added MS install pics and info</b>
<b>Update 4/22/2010 (damn its been 6 months, winter and working suck) - Added some goofy stuff in post #15</b>

Mod Summary
1988 740 GLE wagon chassis
1992 B230FT engine
Ford T5 transmission swap
12lb flywheel six puck sprung ceramic clutch
13c turbo (weak)
custom 3" stainless turbo to tail exhaust with magnaflow cat and muffler
Megasquirt 2 running MS2-extra with DSM coils and igniter
Innovate LC1 wideband
SPAL 16" e-fan
.75lb custom aluminum crank pulley
iPD sways front and rear
Complete front bushing rebuild in the last 20k miles with poly front radius bushings
Rear bushing rebuild in last 5k miles
960 carpet swap (massive weight reduction over soggy foam crap!)
1041 G80 locker rear end swap with 4.1 ratio

In progress mods:
RX7 fuel pump swap
CFI injectors
16G turbo install/header fab
NPR install
Volan wheel fitment (spacers)

Background
Had this car for over ten years now. Very little of the car outside of the chassis itself is still original at this point. My dad originally bought it around 1993 after he crashed his 240 wagon. Our family's third Volvo. I drove it in high school and eventually "inherited it". By inherited it I mean after I swapped the engine and did various other things to it they no longer wanted it back. My latest project is a custom header to install a dual-scroll evo 16G turbo on the car, which should actually make it put down some fairly good power numbers. I'll run through the background first.

The chassis is an '88 740 GLE wagon (came with slushbox and just north of 5hp), and I drove it that way stock for many years. Back in 2000 the car was leaking trans fluid out the AW70 and oil out the rear main... I decided a swap to manual was in order. This was my first big project on the car. I sourced all the parts for an M46 and swapped it all over with a brand new clutch. All was great for a little while except for reasons I never figured out the car never had adequate oil pressure after the trans swap, and I spun a bearing. I think it was unrelated to the trans and more related to the number of times my parents ran the engine on little to no oil. In any case I sourced a B230FT from a 1992 940 and swapped that in over the next few months. Drove it around with open dump while a fabbed a custom 3" stainless exhaust for it incrementally.

T5 Swap
This setup was decent except for the fact that my M46 was a piece of garbage, always popping out of first and second. I bought a T5 trans in 2002 with the intention of rebuilding it and swapping... it sat in a box for years until I got around to it in 2005(ish). This is where my setup got a bit interesting and I'll show some pics. Having seen a few T5 swaps into 700 series cars and their problems with the shifter position I decided I would use the camaro style tailhousing bolted to a Ford T5. This enables the shift position to be moved back around 1-2". Installing the camaro tail is a simple bolt on affair, although you must also use the camaro shift rod (longer).

<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/TransmissionPics 001.jpg"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/TransmissionPics 001.jpg" width="30%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/TransmissionPics 003.jpg"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/TransmissionPics 003.jpg" width="30%"></a><br>
hybrid Ford T5 trans with camaro tail housing

Since the camaro shifter is at a wierd angle, I attached the Ford shift lever to the Camaro shifter base. Pic below shows the camaro shifter on the left, ford on the right.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/TransmissionPics 007.jpg"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/TransmissionPics 007.jpg" width="30%"></a>

More shifter position pics showing the shifter in the car. I built a small extension for the base of the ford shifter that I welded to the base. This extended the shifter back about 1.5", as well as tipping it back slightly. The shifter position is great now, but it occupies the same spot as the ashtray formerly did. I used a shift knob I grabbed from an old Ford Probe. Left pic is shifter in neutral, other two are in reverse (down and to right).
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/P6118530.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/P6118530.JPG" width="30%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/P6118529.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/P6118529.JPG" width="30%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/P6118528.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/P6118528.JPG" width="30%"></a>

I bought the standard M46 bell to ford T5 adapter, fabbed a custom trans mount bracket, and it was in the car. I used the M46 crossmember and mount.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/T5 Pics2 002.jpg"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/T5 Pics2 002.jpg" width="30%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/T5 Pics2 004.jpg"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/T5 Pics2 004.jpg" width="30%"></a>

Getting to this point took me very little time once I was focused. Next was the clutch and driveshaft debacle, which took literally months to sort out. I decided to go with a mustang SVO pressure plate and 8.5" ceramic clutch disc. A flat B230 flywheel was surfaced, drilled for the SVO pressure plate, and lightened to 12lbs. I bought, measured and returned a stock SVO pressure plate, then ordered a SVO "Stage 3" clutch from a seller called ezclutch on ebay. The first clutch I got from them looked very much like a non-performance Ford 8.5" clutch (as found on various low HP ford cars), and measuring the clamp load showed it was inferior to the stock SVO clutch. They were very nice about it, and offered to have a fully custom clutch made up to my horsepower goals. It took FOREVER, but in the end sure enough they delivered a clutch that looked great and tested with a very high clamp pressure.

<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/VolvoSVOFlywheel 001.jpg"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/VolvoSVOFlywheel 001.jpg" width="30%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/VolvoSVOFlywheel 002.jpg"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/VolvoSVOFlywheel 002.jpg" width="30%"></a>
My custom flywheel, and with SVO pressure plate.

<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/Ezclutch Round 2 001.jpg"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/Ezclutch Round 2 001.jpg" width="30%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/Ezclutch Round 2 002.jpg"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/Ezclutch Round 2 002.jpg" width="30%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/t5_swap_pics/Ezclutch Round 2 003.jpg"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/t5_swap_pics/Ezclutch Round 2 003.jpg" width="30%"></a>
EZClutch custom clutch with 6 puck sprung ceramic disc

I used the volvo hydraulic clutch setup, with the mustang throwout bearing. That all worked out great. Clutch was done. Driveshaft was next. My first attempt was shortening a 3" two piece truck driveshaft (from some Ford pickup) and putting a volvo flange on the end. This was a complete failure, as I never got the shaft to balance properly. This was mostly due to the incompetency of the shop I used. On my first drive their balance weights flew off on the highway! After numerous return trips to that shop I gave up on the truck shaft. My second driveshaft was a Volvo shaft with a 1310 size u-joint on the front and a T5 yoke. Should have done this the first time around as it worked just fine. Somewhere I have pics of the shaft, but they aren't very interesting. A long, black stick against my garage floor...

The T5 has been on the road for several years now and has many thousand miles on it. Only issue is the heinous clattering on vibration. As discussed on a I started a while back this is pretty common on the T5s.(<a href="http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=155007">thread link</a>)

MegaSquirt Install
Similar to the T5 swap I bought an MS with V2.2 PCB literally years ago and it sat in a box for a while (I let my parts age before installing them). I decided about a year ago to get serious about it so I bought a V3 PCB and an MS2 and went to work.

I machined my lightweight crank pulley to accept a 60-1 trigger wheel I purchased from ebay. I mounted a VR sensor from a CBR600 motorcycle up to the pulley. The CBR600 sensor was nice and small like I wanted, but the mounting was not as conveniant as I'd hoped. It works great, but not as clean as it could be. After all the machining was done I clear-coated the trigger wheel and anodized my pulley red (should have anodized it years ago).
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/DSC00125.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/DSC00125.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/DSC00122.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/DSC00122.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P4230418.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P4230418.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P4230417.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P4230417.JPG" width="25%"></a> <a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/DSC00092.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/DSC00092.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/DSC00090.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/DSC00090.JPG" width="25%"></a>

I mounted an 850 TPS onto my throttle body with a little aluminum bracket, and shortened the shaft slightly.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P4260445.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P4260445.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P4260446.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P4260446.JPG" width="25%"></a>

Megasquirt was mounted to the stock FI computer bracket.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P5040494.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P5040494.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P5040493.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P5040493.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P6048432.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P6048432.JPG" width="25%"></a>

I used the later (1991+) DSM ignition coils and igniter hooked direct to the MS. I bought a universal Kingsborne wire set from ebay and crimped up a custom set. I mounted to the coils directly to the valve cover. I welded some brackets to the cover which warped the cr@p out of it. It took several straightening sessions and finally a skim coat of JB weld to get it to seal again. Would have done that one differently if I repeated it but it worked out fine in the end. Still need to repaint it.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P6171107.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P6171107.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P6171106.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P6171106.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P6171105.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P6171105.JPG" width="25%"></a>

The megasquirt was modified with ignition outputs and a high current FET for the fast idle PWM drive.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/DSC00006.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/DSC00006.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/DSC00012.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/DSC00012.JPG" width="25%"></a>

<b>Important --></b> My main issue with the car, which took literally a month to work out, was getting the trigger wheel to sync properly. It would fire up, spit a bit then die every time. Basically the wheel was losing sync after a few revolutions of the engine. After a ton of fooling around, scoping, putting custom debug builds on the MS, changing the input caps on the VR circuit, I finally figured it out. I ran the VR- line in on a spare pin DIRECTLY to the VR circuit input cap. Previously the VR- was hooked to the standard single point ground at the connector. The ground bounce from the VR- line was poisoning the MS's ground and causing false triggering. This completely eliminated my issues... should be done on EVERY MS using VR!

After a bit of tuning with the Innovate the car runs very well. I'll post my MSQ up here at some point. Winter hit and I didn't really want to screw with it much in the cold. It started up in subzero weather just fine every time though (can't ask for much more). There is quite a bit of fine tuning still left here though. I still get a slight blip every few minutes of running which I believe is due to low impedance injector PWM noise. Soon I'm going to rip out my MS and run the power lines for the injector drive circuit outside which I think will fix the issue. I'm also planning on installing a 4 bar map sensor, boost control and e-fan control, will post some pics of these when they are done.

<b>4 Bar Map Sensor</b>
I bought a Freescale 4 bar map sensor from digikey for $10, the MPXH6400. I hacked it onto a SMD->Through hole adapter I had laying around and ran it through a bulkhead double barb fitting I got from http://www.eldonjames.com. The MS at least should be ready for any boost I can throw at it now. I also fitted a 2n2222 for e-fan control, and applied the pwm injector power feed fix which I hope will stop the minor cutouts I've been getting. The PWM injector power feed fix did in fact fix all my cutouts. The car now runs without any hiccups.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P6048435.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P6048435.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P6048437.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P6048437.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/megasquirt_pics/P6048443.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/megasquirt_pics/P6048443.JPG" width="25%"></a>

<b>SPAL E-fan Install</b>
I actually installed this fan years ago but it is a fairly slick install so I'll put some pics up. I used the SPAL high flow 16" fan, the curved blade version (slightly lower flow but also quieter not that I care much). SPAL makes some of the best, and most compact electric cooling fans around. Good enough for the Enzo... good enough for my 740. The older 740s do not have much room between the water pump pulley and the radiator, but this fan is shallow enough that it fits fine with room to spare. I built a simple top bracket out of 1/8" thick x 1" aluminum strip. On the bottom I have a tiny piece of the strip bent to a 90 degree angle that bolts to the base of the fan and the bottom of the radiator. I have had it wired to a mechanical e-fan switch off a 240, which works fine although it turns on a little hot. I have it wired to be controlled from the megasquirt now and will use the mechanical switch as a backup.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/misc_volvo/P6118534.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/misc_volvo/P6118534.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/misc_volvo/P6118533.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/misc_volvo/P6118533.JPG" width="25%"></a>

<b>Declocking the dash on the 740</b>
Another mod I did a while back. I have always hated the fact that my car had a stupid clock the same size as the tach on the dash. My hatred was only multiplied by the fact that this clock never even worked. I decided to replace the clock with an oil pressure guage (something useful). It came out great. I removed the clock mechanism and cut a hole of the proper size in the clock mounting plate and the clock face. I sprayed the clock face with black primer then wet sanded it until the clock face markings weren't visible anymore. Another coat of black primer and it matched the dash perfectly.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/misc_volvo/P6118532.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/misc_volvo/P6118532.JPG" width="25%"></a>

<b>16G Header Progress</b>
I'm working on building a header to mount an Evo8 16G turbo to the car. It is a dual scroll turbo, with dual internal wastegates. It is a reverse spin TD05 turbo so the input flange is oriented differently than other 16Gs. I thought it would package up nicely. It is a lot tighter than I thought it would be in the engine bay, but I am still pleased with the packaging. I'm fabbing it from 1.5" 304 stainless Schedule 10 Weld-els (just like everyone else!). I had an exhaust flange, turbine inlet flange, and turbine outlet flange all waterjet from stainless plate.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/16G_Install/P3106509.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/16G_Install/P3106509.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/16G_Install/P3106508.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/16G_Install/P3106508.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/16G_Install/P3106507.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/16G_Install/P3106507.JPG" width="25%"></a>

Some engine fitment pics with :
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/16G_Install/P4306999.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/16G_Install/P4306999.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/16G_Install/P6058445.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/16G_Install/P6058445.JPG" width="25%"></a><a href="http://peverill.org/photos/16G_Install/P6058446.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/16G_Install/P6058446.JPG" width="25%"></a>

CAD model of header design:
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/16G_Install/volvo_16g_header_proto_r4.jpg"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/16G_Install/volvo_16g_header_proto_r4.jpg" width="25%"></a>

Start of turbine inlet:
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/16G_Install/P3106507.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/16G_Install/P6048444.JPG" width="25%"></a>

Sweet! I willl be looking at this for where I am going with a T5 in my car. What rear are you running and which t5 is it? (which ratios?)

I'm running a 4.1 rear, what the car came with originally (slushbox). I have since swapped to a 1041 also with 4.1. I used the standard Mustang GT T5 gearing, with the 3.35 first gear and .675 OD. The OD gear is very long but with the 4.1 rear it isn't bad.

James

so that OD is liveable on the highway at 70? You don't have to downshift all the time?

I think it is pretty livable. The car is not "fast" for passing below 70 when it is in 5th, but it is certainly fine for casual driving (as fast as most econoboxes on the highway). If you want to pass fast you need to downshift, but I think this is to be expected anyways.

The 4.1 ratio with the long OD seems like a good compromise overall. You get the tall gearing in the first four gears with a long cruising OD. When you are cruising at 50mph you wish you had a 4.5 gear, but overall I am pleased with it. Beats the crap out of ol' granny gears, the M46.


James

Bump for update

Nice work!

Bump for some 16G install pics

Bump for some new updates. No progress on the header lately... been sick and haven't felt like welding. Almost done with e-boost control from the MS... pics and more details soon.

Looking good!

Another trans question (sorry) did you just pull all the parts from the junkyard? Can you buy just the tail housing?

I collected my parts from various sources over literally years. Most of the Volvo parts I used were from my original M46 setup which I purchased from some idiot in NJ (who sold me a dud tranny). The T5 I purchased off ebay for about $200. It was locked in fourth, from what I later found was a dislodged synchro chiclet spring. I rebuilt the trans with a kit a bought from one of the online trans places.

For the Camaro transmission parts I found a non-WC T5 on ebay for $75 (it went for cheap since it was local pickup only). I had to drive an hour to get it but I ended up taking the tailhousing and shift rod from it and selling the rest on ebay for $125+shipping. It was actually in great shape internally but I had no use for it. So for an hour of driving I got $50 and my tailhousing! Sweet deal. Pretty much any Camaro/Firebird T5 will work... any year, any condition. I probably would have searched in the junkyards if I hadn't scored that one on ebay. Make sure you grab the camaro shifter assembly as well if you are going this route.


James

mad probs nice thread

massholes UNITE!

Amazing project!

Very nice work. Bring it to Swedish Car Day at Larz Andersen museum!

Haven't posted on this thread in quite a while... sadly been working on my other vehicles while I drive the 740 through winter. Soon my Mercedes will be back on the road and the Volvo can live in the garage for a while for some upgrades.

In the meantime... I swapped to "jumbo" 940 brakes over the winter. Being able to stop is pretty underrated.

Last weekend I needed to tow a trailer so I whipped up a quick bumper hitch with some angle iron. My 740 tows pretty well. Check it out:
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/Volvo740/P4183266.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/Volvo740/P4183266.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/Volvo740/P4183268.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/Volvo740/P4183268.JPG"></a>
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/Volvo740/P4183269.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/Volvo740/P4183269.JPG"></a>

A few weeks ago I lost my resonator exhaust tip which made my highway droning pretty unbearable... so in its place I attached a Saab boost pipe. Even says "turbo intercooled" on it! Probably cuts flow a bit but it also eliminates a lot of droning.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/Volvo740/P4183267.JPG"><img src="http://peverill.org/thumbs/Volvo740/P4183267.JPG"></a>

I now have my satin black Volans on the car all around, pics pending. Hopefully some real updates soon. E85 station down the street is like 50cents cheaper than regular now... I'm itching to upgrade my fuel system and injectors so I can run on it.


James

So you towed of 2 impact shocks, tisk tisk

wow thats some risky business.

Bumping this thread from forever ago to link some interesting photos I realized I had of work I did to the car.

First off, I installed Bilstein HD's a few years ago and cut down the bump stops on the front struts. This was fairly easy to do and is highly recommended for lowered cars. It is fairly easy to twist off the bottom piece of the bilstein shock and slide the body back. First pic is original bump stop, second is how I cut it down about half. You can see from how long the bump stops are that it is highly recommended to cut them if your car is lowered.

<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/Volvo740/P4288421.JPG"><img src=http://peverill.org/thumbs/Volvo740/P4288421.JPG><a>
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/Volvo740/P4288422.JPG"><img src=http://peverill.org/thumbs/Volvo740/P4288422.JPG><a>

Secondly I repositioned my MegaSquirt install years ago which is highly recommended over the way I pictured it above. This allows the factory kick panel cover to be installed and the wiring is cleaner as well.
<a href="http://peverill.org/photos/Volvo740/P9197354.JPG"><img src=http://peverill.org/thumbs/Volvo740/P9197354.JPG><a>

Pheeew.. If you knew how these look from the inside you would have designed the angled bar more skinny or.. You would be scared