Putting a whiteblock into an Amazon?

I'm going to be buying a V90 soon, and will be putting a 302 into it. So, I will have in my possession a spare B6304. Has anyone ever put one of these in an Amazon, or maybe a P1800? I've seen the grey 2-door 122 wagon with one, but that's not exactly a normal build. How achievable would this swap be? Is the fuel injection system relatively easy to get sorted when not in the native car? Just my idle mind at work... -Ted

Reading the Whiteblock in a 240 post, it seems most of the issues rise from the transmission; that being said, I wouldn't mind it being an automatic, so keeping the stock tranny would be fine. I have a 122, but not one I'm willing to butcher, so If I ended up doing this I would find a relatively rough 122, meaning cutting the firewall or tunnel for clearance wouldn't bother me. To which end it all comes down to driveshaft(easy) and mounting(Maybe kind of easy sort of not so much.) The variable of fuel injection and ignition getting along in a non-stock application is my main concern.

If youre planning on keeping the stock engine management it should be really easy. The biggest job with the fuel system is likely to be altering or making arrangements at the fuel tank for the fuel pump, its power supply, and running new flow and return lines to and from the tank to the engine.


Staying auto and being prepared to cut the shell as required to fit should make it quite straight forward. The auto box controller can then also be retained to communicate with the motronic system.


You sound as if you are well up on what will be needed to physically install the new drivetrain, so small things like a speed signal to the EMS and also tach signal compatability with the instruments you plan to use should be the only things to work out.

It would be worth picking up a secondhand wiring loom from which the engine electrics could be seperated off to keep it simple. If you are able to find and read a wiring diagram and use a basic soldering iron it should be a piece of cake.

AustinMiniMan said:

I'm going to be buying a V90 soon, and will be putting a 302 into it. So, I will have in my possession a spare B6304. Has anyone ever put one of these in an Amazon, or maybe a P1800? I've seen the grey 2-door 122 wagon with one, but that's not exactly a normal build. How achievable would this swap be? Is the fuel injection system relatively easy to get sorted when not in the native car? Just my idle mind at work... -Ted

Reading the Whiteblock in a 240 post, it seems most of the issues rise from the transmission; that being said, I wouldn't mind it being an automatic, so keeping the stock tranny would be fine. I have a 122, but not one I'm willing to butcher, so If I ended up doing this I would find a relatively rough 122, meaning cutting the firewall or tunnel for clearance wouldn't bother me. To which end it all comes down to driveshaft(easy) and mounting(Maybe kind of easy sort of not so much.) The variable of fuel injection and ignition getting along in a non-stock application is my main concern.

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Why would you want to whiteblock a 122?
the B18 is Bada$$!@

300+K 740GLE said:

Why would you want to whiteblock a 122?
the B18 is Bada$$!@

Click to expand...

I think the reason so few are jumping on this tread it that it doesn't seem based in reality. The 6 will not fit without mods of some sort (moving the rad forward or firewall back). If you do the swap, the easy way is to find a complete donor car and swap all the harnesses and fuel management stuff. Not easy, actually just about the hardest way to get 200 hp into a 122 I can think of...). Why would you swap in a 302 for the 6? Is there something wrong with that engine? The 5 cylinder engine has been swapped into this chassis (essentially the same as an 1800) many times. Tacking on the extra cylinder just makes things harder. Measure up the width of that head - where's that going to sit? There are solutions to all of this, but a cook book like answer (ie install it in a 240) isn't available.

I'm not crapping on your idea - I've got a couple of whiteblocks sitting around for my next 122 project. They are both T5's, not 6's for the reasons I mention. Remember the age old rule that the relative complexity of any swap is inversely correlated to the likelyhood that the project gets finished.

A five will be a tight fit. You'll need to make space, one way or another, to get the 6 in the engine bay

AustinMiniMan said:

How achievable would this swap be? Is the fuel injection system relatively easy to get sorted when not in the native car? Just my idle mind at work... -Ted

Reading the Whiteblock in a 240 post, it seems most of the issues rise from the transmission; that being said, I wouldn't mind it being an automatic, so keeping the stock tranny would be fine. I have a 122, but not one I'm willing to butcher, so If I ended up doing this I would find a relatively rough 122, MEANING CUTTING THE FIREWALL OR TUNNEL FOR CLEARANCE WOULDN"T BOTHER ME.

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Just about anything is possible where there is enough determination. You can't possibly forsee every likely problem, but where there's a will there's a way.... and you just deal with them as they arise.

If it was kept auto as mentioned, I recon this project would involve mostly sheet metal and simple wiring alterations..... (maybe areas AustinMiniMan is competent, he said he doesn't have a problem with mountings or propshaft fabrication), and a lot less work than starting to cut and shut sumps for example.

Some people might not like the idea for various reasons, and it may just be a pipe dream or bouncing an idea around, but it is far from impossible.

"Pipe dream" is probably a pretty accurate description. I've wanted a V8 Volvo for a while now; so it of course presents me with having a spare engine. When I get spare engines my mind starts thinking of stupid uses for them. The likelihood of this ever happening is admittedly pretty small. However, boredom has brought about crazier things. So my question could be filed as largely hypothetical. I just like old 122's and if I ever found one that was more or less solid, but rough, with a bad engine, this could be an interesting hybrid vehicle. The reason I feel it needs to be a relatively rough car is that one for thing I hate chopping up nice examples of cars. And second, when you don't care too much about stock appearance or originality, things like moving firewalls back and fabricating larger transmission tunnels aren't too difficult a proposition.

I'm also going to ask an unrelated question here, simply because I don't want to clutter the forum with too many "can you..?" threads. I'm trying to make sure that I want to use a 960/V90 as my base vehicle for the V8 swap. I like them because they're newer, more luxurious, and are better looking. However, the independent rear suspension is a blessing and a curse. It kills the idea of most aftermarket suspension mods, atleast I think it does. Does anyone make a lowering kit or a sway bar kit for the IRS RWD Volvos? Or am I a fool for not just using a 740 so I have the option of lowering later if I want? What options are there for the IRS cars?

AustinMiniMan said:

"Pipe dream" is probably a pretty accurate description. I've wanted a V8 Volvo for a while now; so it of course presents me with having a spare engine. When I get spare engines my mind starts thinking of stupid uses for them. The likelihood of this ever happening is admittedly pretty small. However, boredom has brought about crazier things. So my question could be filed as largely hypothetical. I just like old 122's and if I ever found one that was more or less solid, but rough, with a bad engine, this could be an interesting hybrid vehicle. The reason I feel it needs to be a relatively rough car is that one for thing I hate chopping up nice examples of cars. And second, when you don't care too much about stock appearance or originality, things like moving firewalls back and fabricating larger transmission tunnels aren't too difficult a proposition.

I'm also going to ask an unrelated question here, simply because I don't want to clutter the forum with too many "can you..?" threads. I'm trying to make sure that I want to use a 960/V90 as my base vehicle for the V8 swap. I like them because they're newer, more luxurious, and are better looking. However, the independent rear suspension is a blessing and a curse. It kills the idea of most aftermarket suspension mods, atleast I think it does. Does anyone make a lowering kit or a sway bar kit for the IRS RWD Volvos? Or am I a fool for not just using a 740 so I have the option of lowering later if I want? What options are there for the IRS cars?

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I don't get it....if you can install a V8 which is not going to be a simple bolt-in weekend job/task, why not use your noodle and skill to "fix" the problem of not being able to get a lowering kit or swaybar kit...you'll have plenty of downtime getting the V8 in there and running to get the engineering and research done for the suspension...sounds like you give up too easy !!!

Because there is a difference between a daily driver and a project. I'm actually not going to be doing the V8 swap, I'm going to get Converse Engineering to do it. The reason being is they know how to do it right the first time, and get all the little detail stuff correct. The 960 is going to be my daily driver, so I can't afford for it to be an ongoing project.

Whereas if I ever did something stupid with an Amazon, it can sit in the garage for 2 years while I slowly puddle away at it. I can generally figure stuff out...eventually. It's just a matter of time and skill. If I have a concept I know is possible, I'll eventually be able to make it work. But I don't have that eventual time span with the 960. And trial and error when it comes to suspension design isn't a great idea in my book.

Do my dreams outweigh my skill? Most of the time. But you have to have something to shoot for.