eabras - volvo 740 with b21, holset and vems

[eabras]

Sorry, dropboxlinks are dead. New pictures in post #11

Been a member here for years, but just lurking around mostly. Thought it would be fun to show off my small project and see what you guys think. Any input is greatly appreciated!

I know it says 740 in the title, but the story begins with a beat up 1996 940 estate. It had the original b230fk engine (much the same as a late model b230ft) with a m90 behind it.



The first years it remained mostly stock but with small add-ons like tlao chips, chinabay t3t4 something, larger ic and such.. Then I wanted to play around with e85:



+



=




stock bottom end, 531head with k-cam, lh2.4 with tlao chips, 3"amm, 63lb(?) injectors, changed polarity of the vr-sensor and 32+ psi from a holset hy35 was awesome the two months it lasted

A new engine had to be found and running high boost is really addictive. The easiest (and cheapest) way to continue was to get an old b21et engine with 7.5:1 compression right from the factory. The bottom end and 398 head is stock, except for a v-cam. Ran this engine with lh2.4 a little while, but then invested in VEMS and things really started to get fun.



It's now running 30psi on gasoline, with 19 deg ignition advance at full boost. It pulls really good, and has no problems frying the tires (and breaking parts):




Sadly this car decided to set fire to itself, and was damaged beyond repair.



Luckily the engine and driveline survived, and is now going into the new car I've bought. Say hello to the unlucky 740 that's going to get thrashed at local trackdays:




As of now it has a b230f, m90 transmission and 3.54 rear with a broken g80. A real speed machine already

I've started moving over some of the parts from the 940, and now it's really just the engine left.



4.10 rear end with truetrac diff.




yellow konis in the front, lowering springs and ipd swaybars.


A quick summary:

stock b21et bottom end
398 head with v-cam
63lb injectors mounted in the k-jet holes in the head
external oil cooler and oil filter relocated
hy35 turbo with larger wg hole and a 35mm exhaust valve as a flapper (pic1 and pic2)
90+ manifold and 3" exhaust all the way, with two free flowing mufflers
stronger sachs pp with sinter disc
m90 transmission
4.10 rear with truetrac
ipd swaybars, lowering springs and stiffer shocks (yellow koni in the front and some kyb dampers at the rear)

As soon as i get the vems back (it was immersed in water and blasted with a powder fireextinghuiser, so i sent it back for a check) the b21 will be moved to it's new home and the fun can continue!

In addition to the mentioned mods I'm thinking of upgrading to a better transmission and fitting the car with hydraulic e-brake

[GTJordan]

Pretty good looking 7!

Jordan

[Sweep]

Awesome! That B230 let go in style

[MadDog_945]

Do you have pics of the VEMS conversion?

[eabras]

Totally forgot about this thread, sorry!

Don't have many pics of the vems stuff, anything in particular you were thinking about? I used the universal twinshield harness they sell and wired it up to use some of the original 940 wiring back to the fuel pump. Used the stock volvo sensors (except the mat/iat wich I also got from the vems site). Used the stock distributor and let vems control an accel ultracoil. Worked well, and i don't really get why multicoil setups are so popular

The accel coil and spiral core plug wires I bought have no trouble lighting off pig rich fuel mixture under high boost and pretty large plug gaps.

Haven't had time to do much to the car because of work and other projects. And now that winter is coming i don't think there will be much free time either, but luckily I'll still be driving around in a volvo while I'm at work

[eabras]

Bumping my own thread.

Almost a full year went by, but finally the b21 is back in a car again. It's been out frying tires and everything seems to be in order.

I also upgraded to 305mm front disks from 2001- v70.









16" Geminis barely fit, have to get some new snow tires for these rims as the ones I have are 15" and won't fit anymore.

[MadDog_945]

so uhm.. running on VEMS yet?

[eabras]

The engine ran for about two years in the previous car, both trackdays and normal everyday driving with vems. I've driven the 740 a couple og times too

[JPS]

2 months driving a stock bottem b230fk at 32psi. that's awesome. i have a b230fk laying around. maybe that engine needs a holset
btw, is that inlet manifold from the b21 flowing better or worse than a inlet from a 940? i guess i would have more room for a brake booster with this kind of inlet on my 142.

nice looking 740!

[Surfingbird]

Can i see your ignition map by any chance? My map is currently at 10 deg at 2 bar boost with the VEMS, for 99 octane fuel.

[eabras]

Sure! Dropbox have decided that hotlinking pictures no longer works, So I've moved to photobucket, but haven't fixed all the broken links yet.


I've tweaked it a bit after this screenshot, but I'm playing it safe as I've done all the "tuning" myself on the street. Both ve and ign maps would benefit from a trip to the dyno and someone who knows what they're doing.

Here is a bunch of pics in random order:


*edit: removed dead links (photobucket)

[eabras]

Latest news is that the vems ecu is on its way back. Apparently the fire in the previous car shorted something and fried the mcp3208 chip.

I've also bought an eggcrate grille (from the us actually), a small rear "ducktail" spoiler, changed the fake walbro255 for a real one (and run new wires to it), removed the inline pump and done some normal stage0 maintenance.

If I get time I'll redo the wastegate flapper, as I suspect it's not 100% sealing. I might have been a bit too vigorous with the dremel when trying to smooth out the edges. And the throttle linkage should be looked at, now it's a real pita to gently go from 0% tps to 5-10%.

[cosbySweater]

Man you look like you are having alot of fun with this build

[eabras]

It's 90% of the fun for 10% of the cost, compared to doing it properly and throwing way too much money into it. Makes enough power to spin the rear tires and go sideways, that's good enough for me

[Jack leg]

How's the boost lag with the holset and the low comp. B21? In the middle of MS and IC install on my stock b21ft and just curious as to what it will be like to go with that size turbo. Nice setup by the way.

[Tfrasca]

I like the valve as the wastegate flapper.

[dieselboy]

I did the same thing with the wastegate. Port it as large as you can and you should see solid boost. I ran my b21ft on 30psi with a hy35 and eBay header with microsquirt.

[eabras]

Originally Posted by Jack leg

How's the boost lag with the holset and the low comp. B21? In the middle of MS and IC install on my stock b21ft and just curious as to what it will be like to go with that size turbo. Nice setup by the way.

Well, It'll hit 4-5psi by 2100rpm when lugging it around in fifth gear, 30 psi around 4300rpm (if i remember correctly). If i floor it at say 4500rpm it takes a bit longer than a 13c to reach full boost, but not bad.

It's stronger than a b230ft off boost and in low boost, probably because of the ignition timing

[eabras]

Have to correct myself on that last post. Did a fourth gear pull from 1500rpm on a flat stretch of road today and the datalog shows 0,5 bar @2800, 1bar @3200, 2bar @3850 Redline is set to 7000rpm.

I'll get my gopro and film the boost gauge and rev counter, showing how bad the lag is

[okoye]

lower it!I'd love to see a highway video of how this thing pulls.

[eabras]

Dropbox links are dead, and now photobucket followed suit...

4bar fpr from some 80's dodge fitted, and headgasket changed

[eabras]

Still going strong. Someone wanted a video of how it pulls, so I used my mobile phone to capture this. Keep in mind i just fitted a chrysler/dodge 4bar fpr, and just turned down the entire ve-table a few points. It runs pretty rich (10.4), and builds boost a tad slower than usual. I bet there is more power to be had by proper tuning.

Third gear on a flat road
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15wZ6j2AjMk

[eabras]

Tomorrow is dyno day! Goal is to make over 300whp and somewhere around 350-370lb-ft. Had to ditch the walbro for a deatchwerks dw300. The walbro couldn't provide enough fuel with the new fpr and high boost (even with the reliefe valve mod).

[eabras]

352hp and 467Nm at the wheels @ 30ish psi

[Pete.M]

Impressive!