The Mustang in Swedish clothing

B-Rod · 08-13-2009, 01:24 AM

This is my VolV8o project. I’m trying to do it on a fairly small budget, spending money where it counts and buying used parts where ever possible.

It’s a 1982 Volvo 244, minimal rust, came with a B23E motor, 3 speed auto, very reliable, pretty gutless but I learned to love it. My parents originally baught it as a second car when my brother got his licence and shortly after that, I learned how to drive in it. A few years down the road, my brother and I both had our own cars so my parents put it up for sale. Within a few weeks of it not selling I realized I really loved the old thing so I planned to buy it. After a long talk with my folks, the car was mine.. as a gift!

So what’s going into it?

331 Stroker short block
E7 heads, mildly ported and gasket matched, stud conversion, bigger springs
Professional Products Typhoon 5.0 intake, ported and gasket matched
Comp Cams Xtreme Energy XE270
Harland Sharp 1.6 ratio roller rockers
Accufab 70mm throttle body
C&L 73mm MAF
24lb injectors
255l/hr Walbro pump
MAC shorty headers

T-5 trans with Hurst shifter

8.8 rear end from an Explorer with Volvo suspension mounts

Yes, I realise my mash up of mostly used parts probably won’t perform as well as it could, I’m thinking (hoping) about 275rwhp and lots of torque. But basically I just want to get it running so I can drive it and have a bit of fun with it, then build it up properly when all the bugs are worked out.

Anyways, enough talk.

This was it when I first got it...

Shortly after, I ripped off the side trim, painted the rest of the trim black and the wheels a charcoal color. I also installed some 6000k HID headlights.

The stock seats were decently comfortable but the driver’s seat was trashed, so I was able to get some leather seats from a ’92 940 a friend was junking in exchange for some scrap metal I had laying around.

Next up was a decent sound system, so I installed some Hertz 5 ¼” components in the door with tweeters in the a-pillar and 6 ½” coaxials in the rear package tray powered by an Alpine 4 channel amp.

In the trunk is a 10” MA Audio sub, again powered by a 1 channel Alpine amp in a box I built.

So fast forward to a few months ago, I get out to my car on Saturday morning to go to work and find this....

Great, they didn’t leave a note and I’m not gonna file a hit and run cuz they would probably write the car off, so I need to find a door for it now.

Then about 2 or 3 weeks after the accident, I’m idling up to a stop sign and the motor just quits. I try to start it again and it’s just cranking really fast. After getting it towed home, I rip it all apart and find the timing belt is missing 18 teeth. Hmmm I guess I really should have changed that. Oh well, perfect excuse to start the swap.

B-Rod · 08-13-2009, 01:29 AM

This is how the stock motor looked...

A few hours later...

I’m actually fairly surprised the thing was still running, timing belt notwithstanding. I knew these things were known for having shoddy wiring harnesses so first I looked at the engine harness connector.

Bare wires, fun times. Then I saw the rest of the harness...

At least no one died, and the motor is out.

Now I can start mocking everything up.
Using a spare block I had, I threw on the heads, oil pan, headers, bolted up the trans and shoved it in the hole.

Motor is sitting within 1/8” centered in the frame rails and about 2* tilt rearwards. First I fab up the trans mount. I tried making it work with the stock T5 mount but it wasn’t happening so I grab a new Volvo engine mount I had that I ended up not needing. Basically came up with this, totally the wrong way of doing it but its what I've got now...

It`s not pretty but it does the job. I’ll probably round off the corners to make it look a bit better but it holds the thing quite well.

Next up is the motor mounts. I bought a universal motor mount kit from KMS Cars which is actually a Heidts Hot Rod kit.

I added a gusset for extra strength. The welds aren’t pretty but they pass the hammer test so I’m satisfied. I realized after, I should have welded the mounts to a plate then bolt/weld the plate it. Oh well

B-Rod · 08-13-2009, 01:30 AM

So now I’m working in the engine bay, welding up some holes and seams to make it look slightly better.

A little bit of filler and some primer...

The plan was to paint it body colour but body work was taking forever to look half decent so satin black FTW!

Here`s a crappy idea of how the car is gonna look.

B-Rod · 08-13-2009, 01:32 AM

$6 hot tank

Bottle of Easy-Off oven cleaner, a brush, and some time did a pretty good job cleaning up the combustion chambers. Plus it smells like lemons... and headaches.

Before

After

I got the motor somewhat assembled. Ran into a few problems but I wanted to see what it was gonna look like so I slapped it all together for some pics lol. It all has to come apart anyways so I can lift it out of my shop

I had originally planned to try to make it resemble the stock Volvo motor hence the red block, but I decided I didn’t like that idea very much anymore so more black!

Got the heads assembled, somewhat installed and everything taped up.

Pretty

Jump ahead a few steps... tada lol

B-Rod · 08-13-2009, 01:33 AM

Motor and trans are in for good.

The stock Volvo radiator mounts didn't fit the new rad so I made some new ones.

Front sheet metal is back on, alternator and power steering pump are mounted, got the air intake built today, still need to make a mount for the mass air meter though.

I'll probably start on the wiring soon since its supposed to rain. The fittings and hose should be here next week so I can start to plumb it all, need to put the new fuel pump in too.

B-Rod · 08-13-2009, 01:34 AM

There, up to date lol.

DNAsEqUeNcE · 08-13-2009, 01:35 AM

So sexy. What a nice job!

It looks like it could use a supercharger, or a single holset.

supraboy · 08-13-2009, 02:25 AM

wow, that is so clean. nice job

Manbeard · 08-13-2009, 02:47 AM

badass. looks like its supposed to be there. check corral.net for cheap superchargers and upgrades and stuff.

volvo-slyder · 08-14-2009, 04:28 AM

Nice

shoulda ditched the E7's and got some gt40p's at he JY, nice assembly and engine bay clean up.

but i see its sorta buget minded so you could always upgrade later

John242Ti · 08-14-2009, 04:35 AM

There is a guy in Port Orchard, WA parting out my old '83 245 Turbo. Same paint color as your car. Door was in decent shape, so, you could probably buy the door from him probably for cheap...

-J

760T man · 08-14-2009, 04:45 AM

Put the side trim back on. Trim looks better than holes.

Other than that, nice.

Vol242vo · 08-14-2009, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 240T man

Put the side trim back on. Trim looks better than holes.

Other than that, nice.

...says the guy with a red hood, no grill, and rope hanging on their airdam.

What a great build, looks absolutely stunning! You made it look easy getting the 331 Stroker in there. Keep us posted, I'll be watching this for sure!

CHESH740R · 08-14-2009, 02:41 PM

Lovely little build you've got going there, looks nice and factory looking to me.

GabAlmighty · 08-14-2009, 02:45 PM

Sweet you're local so I can see it when it's done.

Looks like fun and very clean install, nice

brickborg · 08-14-2009, 08:58 PM

Holy crap awesome. You win hardcore!

Mark · 08-14-2009, 09:19 PM

Clean! Nice build thus far and local! I'm looking forward to seeing it in person sometime!

M.

08-14-2009, 11:48 PM

Nicely done dude. Carry on.

B-Rod · 08-15-2009, 03:11 AM

Thanks friends. I can't stand it when things are just thrown together so I take pride in making it look as well as it (hopefully) performs.

I've got a couple days holiday coming up so theres a chance it could fire up shortly

thevolvokid · 08-17-2009, 12:04 PM

Great Build!

B-Rod · 12-29-2009, 02:37 AM

Wow long time, no update. Quite a bit of progress since the last time.....

I've been soldering and heat shrinking my brains out but the wiring is complete. Hopefully it all works :rolleyes:

The slimmed down main harness

Pile of usless wires and connectors

The dash was faded and had a bunch of cracks so I installed a dash cap. Not perfect but looks better anyways.

Made a simple gauge panel

And all gauges installed minus speedo, still have to get that one.

Maf bracket, coil bracket and throttle cable bracket, all hand made

PENIS ROCKET AWAY!!

Couple updated engine bay shots. Wiring isn't completely hidden, but I tried to make it as tidy as I could.

B-Rod · 12-29-2009, 02:38 AM

Got the Walbro 255L/hr pump installed in place of the stock in-tank pre pump. After the main pump was bypassed and removed I was able to prime the system. Theres only a small (very big) leak near the tank, looks like the old return line split which is easily fixed.

The outlet on the radiator I got was on an angle which placed the hose in the way of the belt. Gary at Port Moody Radiator cut and rewelded it straight for me.

Before

Rewelded

Made a bracket for the electric fan, had to be mounted as a pusher unfortunately. The 16" fan really shows how tiny the rad is :(

I pulled the stock rearend today, came out pretty easy all as 1 piece. Last big job is to cut the brackets off and weld them onto the 8.8 I have waiting.

Really wanted to get an idea of how the wider tires were gonna fit and its pretty tight. These are actually the front tires that are 225/45r17, I was planning to get 235/45r17s for the rear.

B-Rod · 12-29-2009, 02:41 AM

Ok, its been somewhat slow going and this rain isnt helping. I did get the rear end built and installed though.

I pulled everything off the 8.8 housing except the internals

Removed the Explorer mounts and smoothed out the tubes

Gave it a shot of paint

Got the old Dana 30 on the stands to take my measurements

Attacked by a feather

Brackets removed

Pinion angle set to 0*

Heres the passenger side torque rod mount/panhard bar mount clamped in place

Both passenger side mounts tacked in place. Check out that bushing

Took it to IWE Rear Ends Only to have the drivers side axle tube shortened and had the mounts finish welded.

Skip ahead a few hours and the car is back on the ground. No rear brakes installed yet so the wheels will come out a touch. Its a 4x4... definately need to get those coilovers installed

B-Rod · 12-29-2009, 02:43 AM

Great success! I finally have a shop to work in.

Now I can get to work on the coilovers. I started by pulling the strut/spindle assembly out

I got the spring seats cut off and the tube ground smooth

And got the tube ground down so the sleeves will slide over

The sleeves I got had 2 ridges on the inside so they needed to be slimmed down. Enter the milling machine of death! lol

Using that and a hone I got the sleeves down to size

Here they are all assembled. I will be getting camber plates eventually so the stock strut mounts are temporary.

So this is how it stands now. I’m waiting for the springs to settle so I can do final adjustments. Pay no attention to the rear height, that’s next on my list.

B-Rod · 12-29-2009, 02:45 AM

Flathood time! Oh yah, I’m steppin up in the world. I decided to keep the quad rectangle lights though so it will require some mods to the grille I got.

After it was cut to size, I need to adapt the mounting dealies. So I cut the corner off

Cut the mount to fit

Some epoxy and body fill...

Good as new... after some paint

Now for the hood, I didn’t get the “proper” latch with it so I made the formal hood latch work. Cut the lever and adjust the pin, works like a charm.

Needs a polish

Looks decent. Grille still needs finishing though

08-13-2009, 01:24 AM	#1
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	The Mustang in Swedish clothing This is my VolV8o project. I’m trying to do it on a fairly small budget, spending money where it counts and buying used parts where ever possible. It’s a 1982 Volvo 244, minimal rust, came with a B23E motor, 3 speed auto, very reliable, pretty gutless but I learned to love it. My parents originally baught it as a second car when my brother got his licence and shortly after that, I learned how to drive in it. A few years down the road, my brother and I both had our own cars so my parents put it up for sale. Within a few weeks of it not selling I realized I really loved the old thing so I planned to buy it. After a long talk with my folks, the car was mine.. as a gift! So what’s going into it? 331 Stroker short block E7 heads, mildly ported and gasket matched, stud conversion, bigger springs Professional Products Typhoon 5.0 intake, ported and gasket matched Comp Cams Xtreme Energy XE270 Harland Sharp 1.6 ratio roller rockers Accufab 70mm throttle body C&L 73mm MAF 24lb injectors 255l/hr Walbro pump MAC shorty headers T-5 trans with Hurst shifter 8.8 rear end from an Explorer with Volvo suspension mounts Yes, I realise my mash up of mostly used parts probably won’t perform as well as it could, I’m thinking (hoping) about 275rwhp and lots of torque. But basically I just want to get it running so I can drive it and have a bit of fun with it, then build it up properly when all the bugs are worked out. Anyways, enough talk. This was it when I first got it... Shortly after, I ripped off the side trim, painted the rest of the trim black and the wheels a charcoal color. I also installed some 6000k HID headlights. The stock seats were decently comfortable but the driver’s seat was trashed, so I was able to get some leather seats from a ’92 940 a friend was junking in exchange for some scrap metal I had laying around. Next up was a decent sound system, so I installed some Hertz 5 ¼” components in the door with tweeters in the a-pillar and 6 ½” coaxials in the rear package tray powered by an Alpine 4 channel amp. In the trunk is a 10” MA Audio sub, again powered by a 1 channel Alpine amp in a box I built. So fast forward to a few months ago, I get out to my car on Saturday morning to go to work and find this.... Great, they didn’t leave a note and I’m not gonna file a hit and run cuz they would probably write the car off, so I need to find a door for it now. Then about 2 or 3 weeks after the accident, I’m idling up to a stop sign and the motor just quits. I try to start it again and it’s just cranking really fast. After getting it towed home, I rip it all apart and find the timing belt is missing 18 teeth. Hmmm I guess I really should have changed that. Oh well, perfect excuse to start the swap. Last edited by B-Rod; 08-13-2009 at 02:09 AM..

08-13-2009, 01:35 AM	#7
DNAsEqUeNcE †John3:16 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Dallas	So sexy. What a nice job! It looks like it could use a supercharger, or a single holset. __________________

08-13-2009, 02:47 AM	#9
Manbeard OG 5EURO OG Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: fuquay-varina, nc	badass. looks like its supposed to be there. check corral.net for cheap superchargers and upgrades and stuff. __________________ 2006 tundra 1999 boxster i sell welders and welder accessories

08-14-2009, 04:35 AM	#11
John242Ti LH-Jet & Carb Free Zone Join Date: May 2003 Location: Duvall, WA	There is a guy in Port Orchard, WA parting out my old '83 245 Turbo. Same paint color as your car. Door was in decent shape, so, you could probably buy the door from him probably for cheap... -J __________________ 1982 242Ti - black, M46. 1985 245Ti - blue, M46. @john242ti on IG

08-14-2009, 04:45 AM	#12
760T man Phillip Mamouf-Wifarts Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Bettendorf, IA, when I'm not EASTBOUND 'N DOOOOOWN LOADED UP 'N TRUCKIN'	Put the side trim back on. Trim looks better than holes. Other than that, nice. __________________ a '90 765ti, an '84 244ti, and an '18 780 Turbocharge it, and instead of the typhoon, or syclone, we will call it the “light breeze” -mrsam740 referring to the Oldsmobile 4.3 diesel

08-13-2009, 01:29 AM	#2
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	This is how the stock motor looked... A few hours later... I’m actually fairly surprised the thing was still running, timing belt notwithstanding. I knew these things were known for having shoddy wiring harnesses so first I looked at the engine harness connector. Bare wires, fun times. Then I saw the rest of the harness... At least no one died, and the motor is out. Now I can start mocking everything up. Using a spare block I had, I threw on the heads, oil pan, headers, bolted up the trans and shoved it in the hole. Motor is sitting within 1/8” centered in the frame rails and about 2* tilt rearwards. First I fab up the trans mount. I tried making it work with the stock T5 mount but it wasn’t happening so I grab a new Volvo engine mount I had that I ended up not needing. Basically came up with this, totally the wrong way of doing it but its what I've got now... It`s not pretty but it does the job. I’ll probably round off the corners to make it look a bit better but it holds the thing quite well. Next up is the motor mounts. I bought a universal motor mount kit from KMS Cars which is actually a Heidts Hot Rod kit. I added a gusset for extra strength. The welds aren’t pretty but they pass the hammer test so I’m satisfied. I realized after, I should have welded the mounts to a plate then bolt/weld the plate it. Oh well

08-13-2009, 01:30 AM	#3
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	So now I’m working in the engine bay, welding up some holes and seams to make it look slightly better. A little bit of filler and some primer... The plan was to paint it body colour but body work was taking forever to look half decent so satin black FTW! Here`s a crappy idea of how the car is gonna look.

08-13-2009, 01:32 AM	#4
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	$6 hot tank Bottle of Easy-Off oven cleaner, a brush, and some time did a pretty good job cleaning up the combustion chambers. Plus it smells like lemons... and headaches. Before After I got the motor somewhat assembled. Ran into a few problems but I wanted to see what it was gonna look like so I slapped it all together for some pics lol. It all has to come apart anyways so I can lift it out of my shop I had originally planned to try to make it resemble the stock Volvo motor hence the red block, but I decided I didn’t like that idea very much anymore so more black! Got the heads assembled, somewhat installed and everything taped up. Pretty Jump ahead a few steps... tada lol

08-13-2009, 01:33 AM	#5
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	Motor and trans are in for good. The stock Volvo radiator mounts didn't fit the new rad so I made some new ones. Front sheet metal is back on, alternator and power steering pump are mounted, got the air intake built today, still need to make a mount for the mass air meter though. I'll probably start on the wiring soon since its supposed to rain. The fittings and hose should be here next week so I can start to plumb it all, need to put the new fuel pump in too.

08-13-2009, 01:34 AM	#6
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	There, up to date lol.

08-14-2009, 02:41 PM	#14
CHESH740R lacking enthusiam Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: England, that little island that everyone fled except me.	Lovely little build you've got going there, looks nice and factory looking to me. __________________ & & @ 87 745 Turbo & 88 744 Turbo & 96 945 Sport Turbo 1 RIP, 1 750R and 1 Sold Many moons ago!!!! 05 Jeep Grand Cherokee for DD Duties these days.

08-14-2009, 02:45 PM	#15
GabAlmighty Board Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Port Moody, B.C.	Sweet you're local so I can see it when it's done. Looks like fun and very clean install, nice __________________ '12 Raptor

08-14-2009, 08:58 PM	#16
brickborg Board Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Nomi, MN	Holy crap awesome. You win hardcore! __________________ 1985 760 Jurbo- 80k miles, finally running. Build thread HERE 2000 Honda CRV- Ã…snan 2012 Honda Civic LX- Reliable.

08-14-2009, 11:48 PM	#18
740ATL Guest	Nicely done dude. Carry on.

08-15-2009, 03:11 AM	#19
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	Thanks friends. I can't stand it when things are just thrown together so I take pride in making it look as well as it (hopefully) performs. I've got a couple days holiday coming up so theres a chance it could fire up shortly

08-17-2009, 12:04 PM	#20
thevolvokid 142 whore Join Date: May 2007 Location: Oklahoma City, Ok.	Great Build! __________________ 90 745 Turbo, tuned by myself made 365 whp completing a 1/4 mile pass at 12.93 @ 105.xx. Not bad for a stock block w/ 265,xxx miles that runs lh 2.4 and ekz

12-29-2009, 02:37 AM	#21
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	Wow long time, no update. Quite a bit of progress since the last time..... I've been soldering and heat shrinking my brains out but the wiring is complete. Hopefully it all works :rolleyes: The slimmed down main harness Pile of usless wires and connectors The dash was faded and had a bunch of cracks so I installed a dash cap. Not perfect but looks better anyways. Made a simple gauge panel And all gauges installed minus speedo, still have to get that one. Maf bracket, coil bracket and throttle cable bracket, all hand made PENIS ROCKET AWAY!! Couple updated engine bay shots. Wiring isn't completely hidden, but I tried to make it as tidy as I could.

12-29-2009, 02:38 AM	#22
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	Got the Walbro 255L/hr pump installed in place of the stock in-tank pre pump. After the main pump was bypassed and removed I was able to prime the system. Theres only a small (very big) leak near the tank, looks like the old return line split which is easily fixed. The outlet on the radiator I got was on an angle which placed the hose in the way of the belt. Gary at Port Moody Radiator cut and rewelded it straight for me. Before Rewelded Made a bracket for the electric fan, had to be mounted as a pusher unfortunately. The 16" fan really shows how tiny the rad is :( I pulled the stock rearend today, came out pretty easy all as 1 piece. Last big job is to cut the brackets off and weld them onto the 8.8 I have waiting. Really wanted to get an idea of how the wider tires were gonna fit and its pretty tight. These are actually the front tires that are 225/45r17, I was planning to get 235/45r17s for the rear.

12-29-2009, 02:41 AM	#23
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	Ok, its been somewhat slow going and this rain isnt helping. I did get the rear end built and installed though. I pulled everything off the 8.8 housing except the internals Removed the Explorer mounts and smoothed out the tubes Gave it a shot of paint Got the old Dana 30 on the stands to take my measurements Attacked by a feather Brackets removed Pinion angle set to 0* Heres the passenger side torque rod mount/panhard bar mount clamped in place Both passenger side mounts tacked in place. Check out that bushing Took it to IWE Rear Ends Only to have the drivers side axle tube shortened and had the mounts finish welded. Skip ahead a few hours and the car is back on the ground. No rear brakes installed yet so the wheels will come out a touch. Its a 4x4... definately need to get those coilovers installed

12-29-2009, 02:43 AM	#24
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	Great success! I finally have a shop to work in. Now I can get to work on the coilovers. I started by pulling the strut/spindle assembly out I got the spring seats cut off and the tube ground smooth And got the tube ground down so the sleeves will slide over The sleeves I got had 2 ridges on the inside so they needed to be slimmed down. Enter the milling machine of death! lol Using that and a hone I got the sleeves down to size Here they are all assembled. I will be getting camber plates eventually so the stock strut mounts are temporary. So this is how it stands now. I’m waiting for the springs to settle so I can do final adjustments. Pay no attention to the rear height, that’s next on my list.

12-29-2009, 02:45 AM	#25
B-Rod says: dance Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Coquitlam, BC	Flathood time! Oh yah, I’m steppin up in the world. I decided to keep the quad rectangle lights though so it will require some mods to the grille I got. After it was cut to size, I need to adapt the mounting dealies. So I cut the corner off Cut the mount to fit Some epoxy and body fill... Good as new... after some paint Now for the hood, I didn’t get the “proper” latch with it so I made the formal hood latch work. Cut the lever and adjust the pin, works like a charm. Needs a polish Looks decent. Grille still needs finishing though