Ken Lanham (qwkswede) 740 turbo wagon - 2.6L 16v roadracer

[qwkswede]

I'm starting slowly on this project thread business. So, bear with me as I slowly build this post up over some time.

Index of important threads and posts about Irene. (I'm doing some searching and sorting)

Engine, Trans, and Modification Info

• A nice Stroker Connecting Rod Post
• How I built the stainless steel header and turbo discussions
• A link to details on the stroker crank on my OLD cob-website
• Modified Intake Manifold for High RPM Use
• GM automatic swap. How to install a 700R4 behind a Volvo redblock.
• Solid lifter conversion for 16V head and cam swap.

Performance Related Posts

• Best Dyno Figures to Date - 578hp
  Best ET to date - 11.43

Videos

• 12.21 Pass at Bandimere Speedway - Spring 2009
• Some Laps Around Pueblo Motorsport Park - Spring 2007
• 11.4 pass at Bandimere Speedway - Fall 2010

Let me set the stage a little bit. This red station wagon is my 6th or 7th Volvo, starting back in 1987 with a 244. OH my, that was a long time ago. I was really in need of a transportation/towing/junk hauling vehicle in early 2006. I looked at alot of Volvo station wagons and some other cars with room to carry stuff. Finally, Turbobricks and the local Craigslist came through and I located this wagon nearby and it was owned by another Turbobricks member. It was already pretty modified. Which scared me a little. I really just wanted some fun and reliable transportation. But after seeing the car in person, and driving it I convinced myself that I could maintain it, and drive it, keep it running like a Volvo should. I had another disassembled Volvo in the garage that was going to be a race car. I didn't really need two projects. BUT, I REALLY liked the car. So I brought it home in March 2006.

Here is how it looked then.


The rear


And under the hood:


The motor was a nicely built B23FT, a Unitek 531 head, with a mitsubishi 15g on it. You can see the unusual power steering pump location, like an early 240 uses.

Then one day . . . to be continued.

[klr142]

Specifics on the Unitek head? Where's it now?

[qwkswede]

I can't remember which "level" the head was. It was rather basic, in the Unitek style.It was a 531 with larger exhaust valves, some careful Unitek porting, Uniflo2 camshaft, and the other neat stuff they did to heads, like replacing the exhaust studs with a larger, stronger size, and careful machining.

Oh, and its just sitting here on the shelf for now.

[rallyvovo]

Originally Posted by qwkswede

Oh, and its just sitting here on the shelf for now.

its true, its lonely!

[klr142]

Originally Posted by qwkswede

I can't remember which "level" the head was. It was rather basic, in the Unitek style.It was a 531 with larger exhaust valves, some careful Unitek porting, Uniflo2 camshaft, and the other neat stuff they did to heads, like replacing the exhaust studs with a larger, stronger size, and careful machining.

Sounds perfect. Now if only I could wing it... Damnit. You planning on holding onto it for yourself? Or?

[qwkswede]

Well, for the several thousand dollars it cost to get into the US, I don't think I could justify selling it. I think it will just sit on the shelf until I have an 8V motor that needs it. Though I could be enticed by a trade for Garrett GT3076R

[qwkswede]

Then one day . . .with about 5,000 miles on the old B23/Unitek/turbo combo. I took it to drag strip for a baseline run or two. And while it is always disappointing to drag race at 6000 ft altitude. I did beat up on quite a few other cars that day. I was faily happy with the performance of my daily driver. BUT I ended up breaking the rear end on the second pass t. I ended up with the time slip below and a ride home on the tow truck:



So I replaced the rear end, and 1 week later I found a piston and many other parts laying in the road behind my car. And there was a large hole in the block where they seemed to be escaping. I was pretty discouraged, and really needed a car to drive. This really had me in a bind. My 242 wasn't running as I was preparing to do a major rebuild on it. So now I had 2 dead cars.




So, I came up with the only plan I could afford at the time.. I gathered up some parts in my garage to get the wagon running again. I had most of a 16 valve motor ready to go. With a few extra parts, it would be an easy drop in with a 740. I didn't have to worry about some of the tight fit problems like in the 242 body.

Mitsubishi 4g63 connecting rods were the key to building the stroker motor on the cheap. I scored the 16v head for $50, it needed some welding and a deck cleanup. I ported it some while I was working on it.


I built a couple manifolds for the intake and exhaust. The intake I didn't use, it was really for the 242 effort. The header is all stainless steel.


Here is the motor waiting for some action. It just ended up in my wagon instead of the 242.

[242Bleek]

Sweet, nice to see someone is actually using a B23 for the 16vt. I plan on doing the same thing with one of my spare B23's...(eventually)

[qwkswede]

I just remembered I started this thread a few months back, and I should probably add a little bit more to it.
Until recently (May2007) the car was running nicely with the 16v turbo motor. I put about 5000 miles on it, just commuting and having fun over the last 6-8 months. I took it to the local road race course in Pueblo Colorado for a couple fun track days. It was really fun to pass much faster cars and really hold my own in a Volvo wagon. The car really goes pretty good for a station wagon, and remains relatively tame and comfortable, with some effort from me. Here it is sitting in the pits cooling off. It has a new/used red hood installed here.
.
Shortly after one of my May track days, I got the itch to really make some improvements to the motor. I really never got the most out of it up till this point. Ignition problems were always keeping the bost at about 12 psi or less. I really wanted to solve this problem and run some more boost. At about the same time, there was another 16v turbo project being built in my home city. It turned out that this guy needed some parts to get going. So, I used the opportunity to help out a fellow Turbobricks member and sold him my stainless exhaust header. It would give me the opportunity and a little cash to build an even nicer one, the second time around had to be better. Well one thing led to another, and I sold a ton of other parts I had been stockpiling to buy a nicer turbo to go along with the new header. The new turbo is a Garrett GT35R, with a .63 ar turbine housing. I got great advice and bought the turbo from RK Autotechnik, owned and operated by turbobrick's member Doug aka Hank Scorpio. In the last 10 years, I have had several turbo cars. And this is the first time I've bought anything but junkyard turbos or things that I have assembled myself out of junk. Truly this is a turbo matched to the motor now. And it was time to celebrate! At the time I write this in July, its still not running. But things are coming along. Its been a long 3 months of welding and wrenching. Here are some photos of the progress.


I am also reworking the ignition system and some other megasquirt controlled items right now. I'll add that info to the thread a little later.
And if you would like to see more pictures of this build, feel free to dig through my photo gallery. Here are some links to the things shown here.

• Header build
• Other Pictures of Irene

[adrianpike]

killer looking work on that header!

[wisturbo]

Well your old Unitek 531 waits patiently watching you play with a 16v... Still got that custom intake you're not using?? hmmmm? Don't let that sit on the shelf too.. I might need to take that from you as well!
Ken, your wagon looks great and I'm really impressed with your level of work! I wish to someday make it to Broomfield to sit shotgun in that beastly wagon.

The 531 has been polished and waits for me to move back to WI so I can finish the B230ft build I've delayed, by moving back west.

Take care and safe travels down the strip!

[qwkswede]

Originally Posted by adrianpike

killer looking work on that header!

Thanks man,


My keyboard died as I was nearing the end of the post above. Luckily the mouse was working, so I just hit the publish button before I rebooted the stoopid computer.

Anyway, One of the "before" items I wanted to drop in here is the dyno sheet. This was with the freshly built 16v stroker motor. T3 with a Grand National S-trim compressor. Something of a T3/T4 hybrid, and misfire problems from the stockish ignition. Well, it had good wires, cap, rotor, plugs, and a spark box. But there was a weakness in the factory setup at this level for some unknown reason. It will be interesting to see how this turns out with the new turbo and ignition.

[VolvoPunch]

Wow nice welding skills that exhaust manifold and downpipe look great.

[BB-Q]

that header's looking awesome- props to you.

[qwkswede]

Some more details from the major rebuild during the summer of 2007. . .
I built some intake tubing for the new turbo system and NPR intercooler. Aluminum welding is fun. I wish my welds looked a little better. But just like my handwriting, they are functional but not beautiful. I'm not an artist either, but I keep trying.



With the new turbo and hardware in, I turned my attention to the engine management system. Of course, doing way too many things by myself, taking me way too long.
Soldering iron + radio shack parts + megasquirt = THIS! ---> MEGAMESS! One SCREWED up looking, feature packed Megasquirt n Spark Extra!


Other engine control things include some coils from a Honda motorcycle.


Boost Control and Electric Fan Control, with more megamess wiring running everywhere still. This is a Saab boost control solenoid, and its plumbed to the Audi wastegate down by the frame rail.


In addition to all the engine work, I found a set of broken european headlights in the local junkyard, and decided to give the car a bit of a new look. I bought a lens from FCP groton, and assembled the new nose.


And thats where it is right now. I actually got the motor to start, just barely long enough to move the car to the driveway and wash it. But its having an overheating problem all of a sudden. So, I guess I'm not done yet. I hope its an easy fix. Im about ready to drive this thing.

[Matt Dupuis]

Ken, what's with that spoiler?

And I'd consider running that other intake you built, provided it was built with bigger, shorter runners than the foot long straws that came connected to the B234 intake.

But looking FINE.

[qwkswede]

Originally Posted by Matt Dupuis

Ken, what's with that spoiler?
And I'd consider running that other intake you built, provided it was built with bigger, shorter runners than the foot long straws that came connected to the B234 intake.

I was just trying that spoiler on for size. Its from my buddy's Porsche that you can see in the background. If you look closely, you can see somebody's hands holding it up. I'm not sure I need the downforce yet. But maybe, just possibe that I can pick up some more g's through the 80mph sweeper at the local track with that. It would certainly look dumb on the street though.

I may have to try that intake again at some point. It needs some more work to be finished. And my welding has improved a fair bit since that one. So, I may just start from scratch on something this winter. Its made up of about 2/3 of the factory B234 runner length. So they are shorter runners, but still the pretty smallish diameter. I'm thinking now, that something around 6" runners, and a little larger size would be good. And with a second injector rail for dual stage injectors. bwahaha!

[qwkswede]

October, 2007
It took a couple months to finally get megasquirt to play nice with my motor and I finally came up with what you see here. Notice I finally got the engine bay tidied up a bit too. If you look closely, you can see the the EDIS coil pack is mounted to a custom bracket I welded to the strut brace and the EDIS module is mounted above the brake booster. Its the only ignition variation I could get to run without massive misfire problems. It is referred to as msns-edis on the megasquirt efi forum.Its basically an entire transplanted ignition system from a Ford Escort. I tried the coil on plug setup, and worked my but off on the megasquirt variable reluctor circuits to use the wheel decoder code. Nothing worked 100% right until this.


--------------------------
With the engine running somewhat decent for now, I started turning my attention to some other things. I've had a set of Wilwood brakes sitting on the bench for a while. About this time, I was really itching to get out to the track before winter really set in, so I slapped these on in a single evening. The kit install was Sooo slick and easy compared to the mega-headache from the last few months. The adapters and rotor hats are from our very own Avalanche Performance. And you really appreciate the complexity of the caliper bracket when you finally see how it fits on the car. Its absolutely amazing.



__________________
So whats a guy to do with a running Volvo? Go for a little mountain drive with the other 16v turbo volvo in town of course.!!

[rallyvovo]

hehe, nice!

and damnit ken! why do you have to 1 up me right before we go to the track!? just kidding, should me a nice difference

ps AZENIS's are nutso in the canyon!

[qwkswede]

October 2007

I had a pretty good day today. It was one of those days that makes all the long nights and swearing in the garage worth it. Watching your car perform like it should, and even better than expected is a great feeling. Here is how things happened today.

I finally felt like I had Irene working well enough to take her over to the local dyno shop for some serious open throttle tuning. My expectations were not astronomcal. Realistically, I thought the motor was capable of low 400hp range after tuning and with enough boost. But I really didn't plan to push it too much today. I really needed to just spend some time tuning the AF ratios and timing with the feedback you can only get from repeated dyno runs.

So, I wake up early on Saturday morning, and load some small tools and a couple cans of 100 octane unleaded into the back of Irene. My dad is visiting right now, and he is helping me with the chores and a couple minor adjustments in the morning before we head out to Starbucks for human rocket fuel. Its good to have my dad around for this kind of stuff. We haven't really done much like this for quite a few years since we live far apart now. My dad has been selling new Volvos since 1973, and he's a true Volvo lover. I can tell he has been talking up his boy's wagon to the cronies at the dealership, so he is ready to have some hard data to go home and brag about Irene. There will be some good stories to tell for sure. I pull up to the dyno shop at about 10:15am, and there are several friends waiting there to see the action too. I have my own little cheering section it seems. The guys at the shop immediately strap the car down and get her ready for me.

My goal for the day was to get some good tuning time, and end up with a safe driveable tune for the road race trip planned the next weekend. If I got a good hp number at the same time, that would just be icing on the cake. I had a previous best of 248 hp with the old smaller turbo, so I was sure I would make more power than that. But I;ve been working out alot of problems over the last 2 weeks. So when I made the first run, and the dyno operator tells me 490hp, I was a little skeptical, but very happy at the same time. Over the next 6 runs I tuned the fuel and timing maps; The maps needed quite a bit of work. I left the boost level alone, as it is controlled by the spring in the Audi wastegate right now, and not too easy to change. I resisted the temptation to raise the boost level, even though that evil voice in my head was telling me to run MORE and MORE boost. So after just a few iterations I was putting down 500+ hp. And when the smoke settled, I ended up with one very nice pull of 519hp. Here is the graph.

I am a bit skeptical about the calibration on the dyno. But any way you look at it, I'm certainly over 400hp. I was very pleasantly surprised it ran as good as it did. The new big turbo is obviously changing the power band way more than I would have imagined.

Here are some more photos from the day.

We also made a few pulls with my buddy Tim's Porsche. It made a whopping 580hp on this dyno, but was having tire slip problems. It was tough to get this car strapped down tight enough for a good true number.

Really, this was one of those epic days I'll remember for a long time. It is probably that Irene will make more power in the future. But this day really caught me off guard, and opened my eyes to what a proper sized turbo and header can really do for a motor.

[Dug strickler]

WOW. Your car should be brown cuz it's the ****!

[Pops122]

Originally Posted by qwkswede

I wish my welds looked a little better. But just like my handwriting, they are functional but not beautiful. I'm not an artist either, but I keep trying.

In my mind U R 2 an artist, that car is very nice.

[qwkswede]

I just finished painting an Aluminum hood for Irene. This was my first attempt at real automotive paint work. I filled a couple dings before spraying the red. My body work came out better than expected. Its not as hard as I always though it might be. You just have to take your time. I then used a 2 stage base/clear system from PPGs discount line called Omni. I had to put a fair bit of work into fixing some runs, and beginner errors. I sanded and polished the slight orangepeel too, But I was prleasantly surprised with the results. It came out looking really nice. I added some screens and cleaned up the holes in the hood to finish the job off.

The neat thing about this hood is that it weighs 18lbs. It think the steel one weighs almost 40 lbs. It is nice and light, and the vents really let the heat flee the turbo area.

Here are some photos from this little phase of the project.

Prime, sand, repeat.


Pouring the red




All dressed up and posing for the camera

[Biesey]

that looks killer, definately suited for all the power that is housed under the hood! good work!

[B Mac66]

I'd like to request some videoage...if you would...thank you kind sir