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b230ft 9mm piston/rod to 13mm possible?

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John V said:
I guess it comes down to what you consider safe "head room"--which I call "margin of safety"..

And there's also what I may do on my own stuff versus what I would advise somebody else to spend time and money to do...

And note..the Redblock blocks may be heavy but just look at the way Volvo did their mainline...then compare that to a whole lotta other motors out there and you'll see that the Volvos are NOT remarkably stock blocks... (that may help to explain why the redblocks spit out core (freeze) plugs: block squirm/block resonantion) They are GOOD but not remarkable...You have been inside other motors I presume.. Look at the amount of iron in the block half of the mainline..Volvo is sculpted away and have holes..many others are fat solid iron in the block half..

And plenty of engines go 300,000 miles with the proviso of having oil in them always...Nothing remarkable there...
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I've been inside a lot of different motors, domestic 4's, V6, I6, V8, various Japanese stuff, VW/Audi, and some assorted industrial engines. Some good, some bad, some in between, all things considered the Volvo redblocks are one of my favorites. I've seen a lot of tired leaky, oil burning, worn out motors with a lot less than 300k on them. I'm not saying they're the best, but they're very good, especially compared to other motors of their era. They're made of good quality iron, they're easy to work on, and in 20 years of driving Volvos and around a dozen of them I've maintained for family and friends I've never had any of those problems with one. I've never tried to get huge power out of them either though. The iron is sculpted the way it is because fat, solid iron adds weight and costs money, for zero gain in the performance envelope they are intended to operate within. A good engineer doesn't add excess material where it is not needed for the intended use.

I may be in the minority around here when I say who cares about huge power, I commute in my cars, I don't race them. I drive a car for decades until something happens to it beyond my control. If I wanted a 300+ horsepower monster I wouldn't be driving a Volvo, I'd get a V8 muscle car. The turbo Volvos were quick in their day but they can't touch a modern sports car in terms of raw performance. I want a safe, reliable, comfortable commuter that can handle some corners, take a rough gravel logging road in stride, has enough balls to pull a load of lumber on a trailer or go over a mountain pass with a load of passengers and camping gear. Maybe a bit of spirited driving on a twisty road now and then but nothing too crazy. For what I do I've never found a better car and I've never had a single serious problem with the engine in any of mine, they just run forever. Now the interior plastic bits, that's another story, I think the average Volvo engine will probably outlast 2 or 3 interiors.
 
James10952001 said:
If you want big power though everything changes. Big power = big money. By far the cheapest way to get 300+ horsepower is to drop in a smallblock V8. If you want to get that kind of power out of a Volvo motor it's going to cost you. Rod swap is possible but trust me when I say that a motor swap is much easier. You absolutely cannot change the rods without pulling the motor, the crossmember is in the way and prevents removing the oil pan. Once you swap the rods, you've got a tired old motor with stronger rods, if you're going to do the complete disassembly required for that job you may as well rebuild the whole thing. If you don't have the budget, tools and skills to do a motor swap then you don't have the budget, tools or skills to get the kind of power you want. It's that simple. If you want 300hp on a budget, buy an old Mustang, Camaro, etc, something with a 302 or 350 V8, there are TONS of aftermarket parts for those and you can probably get the whole car for what it will cost you to build the motor alone for a classic Volvo.
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lol wat? I've replaced so many bearings and oil transfer tube seals with the engine in the car and sometimes x-member too.
I usually take the x-member out, it's only a few more bolts, but technically you can open ended wrench wriggle the oil pump out out and drop it into the pan and dig the sump out with just a longer set of x-member bolts.
It's definitely not pleasant, but it's also a TON faster than removing the entire engine and dealing with the coolant, wiring harness and all the accessories.
Just a little suspension at the very most and very greasy and unpleasant.

ASSuming the OP is even still a member of this pond, has he found a late model B230FT yet on the dirt cheap with low miles to stick a few fresh parts on and drop in?
:drama:
 
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