New guy here, Check out my project 242

***Update*** As of 3/31/12, this car is running with a K cam and T5 swap. Runs real strong, but still needs further carb tuning, specially now with the radical cam upgrade.

***Update*** As of October '12, It is now Megasquirted. I'll save the Weber for some future Volvo powered go cart thing that likes high rpms. haha

Hey all, just joined the Forum. Have come across the site for years in various searches, and have been a Volvo guy for while. ( I like old Toyota pickups too!)

My brother gave me this '83 242 DL 6 years ago, needing a transmission. My dad and I check the motor out, and someone had abused the crap out of it. It ran, but we decided to pull and rebuild the B23. After the complete top to bottom rebuild, it sat for 4 years until this past Christmas I decided to go for it. I dropped the motor in with a good AW70 from a donor. This car needs lots of cosmetic work, ESPECIALLY on the interior, which is so bad im not gonna show pictures.

Complete motor/chassis rebuild with all complicated electronics removed.

-Weber 38 downdraft carburetor with custom modified Penta manifold
-K Cam
-T5 swapped in just for the heck of it.
-2 wire dizzy from a B21
-GM Ignition Module (the only computer on the whole car, and its $17)
-Ford Taurus Alt (it's a bolt-in fit with 25 more amps and half the price of the Bosch Unit)
-GM intank fuel pump
-Mallory Fuel pressure regulator w/ return
-Brand new Calipers/Rotors/ lines all around with vented rotors up front
-IPD Sway bars (25/22)

and more to come!


I have many bugs to work out, and I will probably be here to ask you guys about your opinion on things as I get to them. Look forward to it!

Please ignore the messy underhood shots. Again, I still have a lot of organizing to do.

PS I have all the missing trim that is nonexistent in these photos.













Now with Flathood goodness!

Nice 242

I like, what are your plans...?

Interesting! I like your style.
Ron

Haha thanks guys. My plan is a DD. Once this thing is fully on the road, I will sell my '88 Toyota pickup (with 365k reliable miles on it)

I'm not trying to build a racecar, but something that is spirited to drive and gets around corners decently. For a slowmatic with an out of tune Weber, stock cam, valves that aren't fully adjusted (they are close enough where nothings getting hurt, just wanted to wait till the A cam goes in for the full adjustment) this car hauls ass. For anyone that likes carbs and doesn't wanna go sidedraft, this big Weber is the way to go. I had it on my truck, and that thing made impressive low end torque, as it does on this car. I just bought tires so I'll have those stock wheels for a while, although i may just black out some steelies and put them on. Those Coronas have lots of crumbling coating and will require alot of hours to look nice. No idea how one would get inside all those little spokes to clean it up.

And btw, Two245Turbo, I like your 2 door as well! Those wheels look good, what are those?

im liking the twin 38 !!!

Thanks buddy! I still have to do some tuning to it, it runs rough off idle. But it makes lots of torque and this is definitely the fastest n/a 240 I have ever driven. I can't wait to get the cam in and a better exhaust.

rporzio, I checked out your page. That's a really clean car man! How does it handle with that chassis brace? And maybe you had them and didn't see it, but do you have the IPD sway bars on there? My dad's '93 245 has the sport springs and sway bars and corners like gangbusters on stock tires. It will be nice to get rid of all this body roll...

carbed 240's fall flat on their faces without the A cam. you'll like it, I'm sure. I've never seen a downdraft on a 240 before, that's bizarre. Glad it works for you though. I can't imagine the immense slowness of a carbed redblock without an A cam, with an autotragic behind it. merging on the freeway must be harrowing.

There's a pair of iPd rear lowering springs going in the FS thread right now for a crazy deal, btw.

Welcome to the show, enjoy your stay. I love the body on that 242, so cleeeean and rust free. Like mine but nice.

Ha thanks! Southern cars here in the states don't get much rust. The only bit on this one is underneath one of the tail lights, and I will have that fixed up before it gets painted. And now I'm extra excited to get this A cam in this thing! The auto will hopefully go soon, I have been looking into transmission swaps. I realize the T5 is overkill for a n/a motor, so I'll just shoot for a M46/M47, since this car will not make enough power to hurt one. My only fear is M46's seem to have OD units wear out over time, and M47's seem to grenade 5th gear from what I have read. Any info on this? Is the M47 problem only when people try to put too much power thru it and/or dont put enough gear oil in? I'd like to think (read hope) that if I can find a decent low mileage one, re-seal it, and slightly over-fill it I should have no issues.

That being said, I have never driven a turbo redblock powered Volvo. (240 Turbo's are virtually nonexistent in South Carolina) My family has always just gotten great deals on old base models that needed all the basics that most people unfamiliar with Volvos think is a deal breaker. So naturally, most of our Volvo's have been slow. My dad was the only person to drive this particular car before we rebuilt it, and even with a shot transmission and worn motor, he said it was quick. I'd like to think the 10.3 to 1 compression of this year range had something to do with it.

With the stock cam and poor motor tuning this thing really isn't a bad traffic merger. This Weber's fuel delivery allows a lot of power to be made off idle, (my friends loved the way i could dump the clutch in my 22r Toyota with this Weber at 1500rpm and smoke tires) and it pulls pretty good up till about 4k. It dies off after that but I know this carb isn't the weak link. I'll get the A cam in and let you guys know what I think.

In the meantime, what is everyone's thoughts on the transmission swap? M46? M47? More money on a T5 or a W55?

And sorry my post's are always stories...

my car, with the M45 (M46 without the overdrive), a sidedraught Zenith stromberg (avoid like the plague), and stock A cam was pretty lifeless till about 2500-3000, at which point it would haul till "scary" (I have no tach in this car, just going by feel). There's a whole bunch wrong with that car though so it's really not a good one to compare to. The A cam is one of the better factory cams, but it is still a factory cam, so don't anticipate a vtec-like awakening, or a big lumpy mutha. It came stock in factory-carbureted cars, so the power gain isn't going to be huge. I have a feeling you'll like the change in how it feels though.

Nice! It looks way good and does not look like there is much body work needed.

The hell? That's a new one.
Dig it though. That manifold actually looks decent, but I never got those downdrafts to get the plugs looking nice without a heated manifold.

You've got the motor to play with for sure. An M46/M47 would more than likely hold up fine, but you'd loose the speedo with the M47. You might look into the Accumulator mod for the AW70 instead.

Try out the car with the sways and some 15" rims at stock height. You might like it there.

They sell headers for these things too...
Shaping up nice, man.

Curious why you ditched the efi?

this^

Seems like a down grade to me from efi with a single carb. Atleast run duals maybe dcoe's

Downdraft 240 is not something new. They were even sold that way with the B230K over here.

s_r_c said:

you'd loose the speedo with the M47

Click to expand...

Not necessarily. The M47 was launched in 1984 and didn't get the electronic speedo until 1986 or 1987.

Several reasons I did it. First off was the fact that I don't like complicated stuff. I also wanted something different. I have had great success with Webers on old 22R Toyota motors and they always ran strong and provided more power and MPG over the stock carbs. I'm also not on a quest for ridiculous power. I would love a set of sidedrafts, but money is always the problem. When me and my dad put this motor together almost 7 years ago (I was 15 at the time) I was working on a Dominoes Pizza budget. The crank that we ended up using was actually the forged one out of a Penta motor, so thats not a weak link. But we didn't balance or do anything to make this thing high rpm happy, again due to my funds, or lack thereof. I spent all the money at FCP on all the other new internal motor parts, and was just wanting a reliable first car. When I finally got around to putting this motor in late last year, EFI parts were all the over the place and I knew a lot of it was going to be nonfunctioning stuff off a 30 year old motor I would have to buy anyway. I wanted a challenge that required engineering and design work, not wiring and frustration. (Altho there has been plenty of that)

double posted that. Mod wanna erase this?

I like it, I think. In addition to your cam, get an adjustable cam gear. For transmission just go M46 and be done with it, you're not making enough power to really worry about breaking it.

LH2.0 EFI is a very simple system and dead reliable once you update the engine harness. The only part to be leery of is the AMM which can be hard to find / costly when they go bad. But it looks what you got works? So go with it. Good luck!