patrickstars 1983 242 4.8L/AR5 swap

[patrickstar]

Thought I'd start a build thread now that the car is getting pretty close to complete.

I started with a 87 244 back in highschool, and regretted selling it before going to college. I bought an 80 242GT a year later that was rotten, and drove it for a couple months. Traded it for a mk2 golf (dumb) and started missing it.


Another year after that I found a real mint 1980 242. Flathood, single rounds, beige, no rust to speak of. It ran and drove great.



I wanted to V8 swap it, but I was living in an apartment complex and it just wasn't feasible yet, especially with moving around frequently. So I traded it for a cafe racer and regretted it.


...But then a year later I found another 242.







It had been on craigslist for a month or so with a terrible picture and little information. I called the guy, it had a snapped timing belt and 326k on what he suspected was the original engine. It was in incredible shape for the miles. No rust, decent interior, auto, dual squares (my favorite 200-series front end), no sunroof, and most importantly cheap.




Made a deal to have him tow it back to my house for $600 delivered. I had no business buying another big project but I couldn't let this one go. I proceeded to drag it around for another 2 years and do very little work on it. I'm lazy, I know.






A buddy wanted to practice his detailing skills on the faded paint.




Buffed out pretty nice. Single stage for the win.




Alternate summer transportation. Summer of 2017




Spring of 2018. Didn't do much except turn it around and buy an E34.

Summer of 2018 I got a full time job and moved 3hrs south of my home/college. I spent a few months getting used to a 'real' job and found a shop space to rent, and finally moved the 242 down.



Tried 940s for a while, wasn't a fan




In the barn at my grandparents house for a few months




And on its way home....

[M.H. Yount]

Following along....sound like it's gonna be a fun project.

[patrickstar]

Originally Posted by M.H. Yount

Following along....sound like it's gonna be a fun project.

I've been pretty active on the V8 Volvos group on Facebook as well, I know you've commented once or twice.

To begin with, I'm keeping it simple. Stock V8 and 5 speed, nothing crazy. Just want to drive it for a while. Then I'll start looking at some power

[Stiggy Pop]

hey I think I recognize this beige beauty from the Gram! Looks like a nice clean shell, good start.

[patrickstar]

Originally Posted by Stiggy Pop

hey I think I recognize this beige beauty from the Gram! Looks like a nice clean shell, good start.

Hey there! A good body was what mattered, I'm a total noob on body work.


Anyway, I got it back to my new shop space and really started to get into it.



Yanked the 326k B23 and sold it to a friend, he said it looked damn near perfect inside. Maybe I'm a fool, and molested a clean 242 for no reason.




Had to deal with the battery tray area. Since I was going V8, I decided to remove the tray and put the battery in the trunk.




Tray removed, removed as much surface rust as possible.



Hit it with a rust inhibitor and some high build primer. I was going to have a friend weld as many holes as possible, but I decided to leave that for V2 of the build. Yes, I should do it while I'm in there.

[Vol242vo]

Looking good man. I’ll be watching this one closely. Pretty random, but yesterday I happened to run into Chase in Spokane, who you sold (now my) 242...got him caught up on progress. This should be fun! What EMS are you planning to use?

[patrickstar]

Originally Posted by Vol242vo

Looking good man. I’ll be watching this one closely. Pretty random, but yesterday I happened to run into Chase in Spokane, who you sold (now my) 242...got him caught up on progress. This should be fun! What EMS are you planning to use?

We'll have to do a beige 242 meetup when they're both finished up... And thats good to hear! I haven't seen chase since we traded, even though he lives 30 seconds from my parents place. I'll have to shoot him a text next time I'm in town.

I'll be using the Holley Terminator X for my EMS

[M.H. Yount]

Radiator hose routing steered me to putting the air intake/filter on the passenger side - so I put a smaller, aftermarket windshield washer reservoir on the driver’s side - right where that battery used to live.

[patrickstar]

Originally Posted by M.H. Yount

Radiator hose routing steered me to putting the air intake/filter on the passenger side - so I put a smaller, aftermarket windshield washer reservoir on the driver’s side - right where that battery used to live.

I'll likely not be running any windshield washer reservoir, but if I do I'll keep that in mind. I've also seen them under the frame rail/behind the fender, but that sounds like a PITA

[patrickstar]

While I was home in December, I picked up this 4.8L from the junkyard. I have this weird dream of a small displacement, high-revving V8 in a Volvo. Will it happen? Probably not. But 4.8s are cheap and idgaf.




I got it home and started going through the STS machining parts list





Note to everyone: This is a "Poorman Motorsports 81074" pan. This pan is identical to Holleys 302-1 pan, but for $100 less.




Everything installed and torqued

[Stiggy Pop]

I've got my washer fluid bottle in the passenger side rear butt cheek.

[patrickstar]

Originally Posted by Stiggy Pop

I've got my washer fluid bottle in the passenger side rear butt cheek.

Thats a good idea, any issues with routing the hose from back to front?

Any pictures in your build thread? Might need to read through again

[patrickstar]

My next decision was transmission. I hemmed and hawed about this for far too long, until someone mentioned the Aisin AR5. The AR5 came in Chevy Colorados/GMC Canyons, Pontiac Solstices, Saturn Skys and Hummer H3s. It's basically an updated R154 and can handle surprising amounts of power. The best part, is its still a decent price. Up in the PNW, T56s are disgustingly expensive and CD009s are on their way there. I could get the transmission, adapter plate, bellhousing, clutch kit, and all associated pieces for ~$800 less than any of the closest options. So thats what I did.




$350 delivered for a 69k (nice) mile AR5 from a Chevy Colorado



The bellhousing is a modified 4L60e, I opted to buy from the guy making the kits but its easy enough to modify it yourself. He has videos on youtube on how to do it (Fabbot Fab)



Chevy Performance flywheel and LS7 Clutch kit



And its in. The transmission is small enough that no tunnel bashing was needed.



However... I'll need a relocation shifter or to cut the tunnel. I'm waiting for someone in Canada to machine me a 3in relocation shifter.



Also, installed my vintage Momo Indy steering wheel. This was in my first car (Mk1 Rabbit) and I've been carrying it around since, never had a car worth installing it on.

[propav8r]

Excellent project!

[Harlard]

You could build yourself something like this. The exposed linkage would be cool if it doesn't foul against the center stack...

[patrickstar]

Originally Posted by Harlard

You could build yourself something like this. The exposed linkage would be cool if it doesn't foul against the center stack...

Thanks for the link, this is a good idea. If the shifter guy falls through, thats what I'll do.

But I really want this piece. It reduces the throw by quite a bit as well.



I regret that I didn't do more research before buying the truck AR5, if I had bought one from a Solstice or Sky, I think it would fit perfect. Can't confirm though

[Harlard]

https://offerup.com/item/detail/428678373/

Not hard to do the ol' switcheroo...

I'm pretty sure the R154 one will also fit, and it should be available through Toyota.

[patrickstar]

Originally Posted by Harlard

https://offerup.com/item/detail/428678373/

Not hard to do the ol' switcheroo...

I'm pretty sure the R154 one will also fit, and it should be available through Toyota.

I know the truck AR5 uses a slip yolk while the car AR5 uses a CV flange. I'll do some more research whether that would affect swapping the tailhousing.

I'm giving the shifter guy one more week. He said this next week they'll be ready, if not then I'm moving on.




Received this beauty this past week. Unfortunately I just get to look at it for atleast the next 3 weeks, I'm out of town every weekend

[Harlard]

Would 100% do the swap for the flange conversion alone.

[patrickstar]

Originally Posted by Harlard

Would 100% do the swap for the flange conversion alone.

Interesting, I would have thought slip-yolk would be more attractive. Any reason why you prefer the CV?

From what I can tell, if you get the slingshot tailhousing you can bolt on toyota shifters, so thats definitely a plus. They're just more expensive from the get-go

[Harlard]

I have a two-piece shaft in my car with a slip yoke and slip center section. It's fine, but the only thing keeping the front shaft located in place is the rubber in the center support bushing. It's just extra peace of mind and makes the thing less likely to vibrate or behave in a weird manner.

[Stiggy Pop]

Originally Posted by patrickstar

Thats a good idea, any issues with routing the hose from back to front?

Any pictures in your build thread? Might need to read through again

no issues, I reused the long run of hose I had from a spare wagon. I've got it running inside the car along the inside of the rocker basically, underneath the carpet.

I think there's a pic in there, but can happily snap a few of anything that would be helpful for you.

[M.H. Yount]

Originally Posted by patrickstar

Any reason why you prefer the CV?

When this tranny is used with a live rear axle moving up and down/swinging through an arc, you have to have some provision for slip, even if you go with a CV joint on the tranny end. IRS applications are a different animal.

[Harlard]

Originally Posted by M.H. Yount

When this tranny is used with a live rear axle moving up and down/swinging through an arc, you have to have some provision for slip, even if you go with a CV joint on the tranny end. IRS applications are a different animal.

Conveniently, volvo 240s come with a center slip joint as standard!

[M.H. Yount]

I was under the impression he was gonna one-piece it....