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16v conversion cost

Dvroofer

Dvroofer

Active member
Joined
Jan 23, 2021
Location
Long Beach,ca
I recently came across a decent 16v head and was wondering all the total cost of parts involved, ballpark figure, and any frustrations that come with pulling the trigger on this endeavor. Just seeing how high the cliff I?m about to jump off is before I jump. I am aware of the jig for the pistons and the short distributor. I plan on ls coils to delete that.
I?d like to mount it in a squirted b230f block in a 91 245 with ms +t ect
 
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it can be as expensive as you want it to be. in a 240, you're going to need to address the intake manifold, the tensioner setup (yoshifab's works great), you don't need a distributor at all if you're going ls coils, so just cap the hole in the block (or get the CAS setup..), the 8v to 16v exhaust manifold adapter is fine for most if not all modest setups.

if you're not putting rods in the engine, you can do it fairly cheap. but I'd put rods in there if it were me (and keep the stock pistons).
I'd guess on the cheap end, you're looking at around 1k in parts. that's a bit of a WAG, but seems reasonable. As far as exhaust gaskets go, buy oem, the aftermarket ones are all garbage at this point unless elring is selling metal clad ones again.
 
What they said ^
All that plus the part about gaskets. Definitely use OEM gaskets.
Use stock head bolts, their completely adequate for most setups and make it a lot easier when removing the head in a 240.

Don't forget about shortening the intake or swapping the brake booster.

I've had pretty so-so luck with LS coils on the rally car. I'll either be moving them to the fender/firewall/block very soon, or getting a VW 4-post on the car.
 
Gonna disagree with one Kenny point here, mostly on account of the OP edit: bare minimum, for it to be reliable, with someone that knows what they're doing watching over your shoulder, would be $1500 all in.
 
For the cost to do it right, ms and all of that, etc. an LS swap makes more sense/is cheaper/costs about the same.
 
I lucked out and found a useable AQ171C that only needed a bit of TLC...and it still cost me about a grand. I had to re-lap all the valves due to corrosion, hone the cylinders because there was rust in the bores, fresh gaskets all around, etc etc etc.

Honestly, the 16v is a neat swap...but IMO the price for DOHC fun starts at 1K minimum, and that's if you start with a full AQ171 block/head. I didn't have to round up a timing gear, three wide cam gears, a shaved B230 accessory pulley, etc, so it saved me a bit of money when assembling it all.
 
Marvelous3 said:
For the cost to do it right, ms and all of that, etc. an LS swap makes more sense/is cheaper/costs about the same.
Click to expand...

I agree with this

There?s a lot of myth associated with 16v in a 240. Parts marching and trying to make everything work well is hard.

I think the knowledge base and aftermarket support is far greater with ls anything
 
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Harlard said:
Gonna disagree with one Kenny point here, mostly on account of the OP edit: bare minimum, for it to be reliable, with someone that knows what they're doing watching over your shoulder, would be $1500 all in.
Click to expand...

who said reliable? I said on the cheap end, parts only. there are a whole lot of what-if's that come in to play

let's run the numbers
billet crank gear (not exactly required, one could possibly dig up a stock 16v one, but.. it's good insurance and easier to find) - $190
belt kit- $190
turbo adapter - $109
kl racing intake manifold - $500 (the cast one not the welded one)
TB to fit it - $100
fuel rail - $100
amazon fuel regulator, ptfe line kit, and various an fittings - $150 (this is to tie it into the oe fuel system from the filter forwards and is probably a high estimate, it's probably closer to $120)
spare 16v cam gear (For aux shaft) ~$50

so that's $1359 before shipping, for all new stuff. pretty sure he's already got the MS. if you shop it out and take your time, that number drops. find someone selling one of josh's prefabbed 16v intakes? probably less than $700 and then you don't even need the various fuel lines and adapters and what not. Have a good fabricator and a spare stock 16v intake? same applies. the plenum kit from josh for that is $75, so call it 250-300 after paying someone to cut, weld, finish, etc.


This is not rocket science guys
 
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I'm not sure what your experience level is, but a 16V+T+MS in a 240 will be a fun learning experience / puzzle to figure out if that's what your after. The recipe to do the swap is pretty straightforward, but executing it well and making it work the way you hope is more of a challenge. If your end goal is a car that has decent power, is reliable and not hard to find parts for if something goes wrong, I think your $ is better spent on something else (LS, etc).

I also had similar goals when I started my 16V swap, but it's hard to fit a turbo in a 16V 240 without fab skills/time or $$ for a good manifold. The cost/benefit started to not make sense for me anymore and I kept it n/a. Still a fun car to drive and enjoy for what it is.
:twocents:
 
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linuxman51 said:
who said reliable? I said on the cheap end, parts only. there are a whole lot of what-if's that come in to play

let's run the numbers


so that's $1359 before shipping

This is not rocket science guys
Click to expand...

You forgot $500 minimum for a decent cylinder head :poo:

16v swaps are great fun, but they are definitely a puzzle that you have to put together. Some pieces require a little bit of trimming.
 
culberro said:
You forgot $500 minimum for a decent cylinder head :poo:

16v swaps are great fun, but they are definitely a puzzle that you have to put together. Some pieces require a little bit of trimming.
Click to expand...

he said he already has that :shrug: I also didn't include the valve relief jig rental, or gaskets and fluids
 
while we're on the subject (And not that I'm a hater, far from it), ls swaps aren't the panacea of performance either.. we're about to be 5k into an ls swap into a chevy vehicle...arguably the cheapest easiest possible ls swap around-$30 amazon brackets.. and this is with a free 5.3 and a manual trans. I realize it can be done for far less than that (although.. it's a gamble)... but *most* of them are going to set you back that much in any volvo before you get running and driving.
 
linuxman51 said:
while we're on the subject (And not that I'm a hater, far from it), ls swaps aren't the panacea of performance either.. we're about to be 5k into an ls swap into a chevy vehicle...arguably the cheapest easiest possible ls swap around-$30 amazon brackets.. and this is with a free 5.3 and a manual trans. I realize it can be done for far less than that (although.. it's a gamble)... but *most* of them are going to set you back that much in any volvo before you get running and driving.
Click to expand...

You're not wrong. LS anything demands a high price nowadays. Even being patient and buying piece by piece when on sale or used on LS1TECH, I've spent quite a bit on my 6.0 swap parts. Well, you can go true junky junkyard setup which is cheapish, but always a tossup.
 
Marvelous3 said:
For the cost to do it right, ms and all of that, etc. an LS swap makes more sense/is cheaper/costs about the same.
Click to expand...

It can be also argued you are better off crushing the Volvo and getting a modern car which comes with 300HP+ stock. No dirty fingers. More reliable. Put your frappuchino in the cup holder and off you go

Or, be environmentally conscious and buy this
7700402774_77b584ae37_b.jpg
 
oldschoolvolvo said:
I'm not sure what your experience level is, but a 16V+T+MS in a 240 will be a fun learning experience / puzzle to figure out if that's what your after. The recipe to do the swap is pretty straightforward, but executing it well and making it work the way you hope is more of a challenge. If your end goal is a car that has decent power, is reliable and not hard to find parts for if something goes wrong, I think your $ is better spent on something else (LS, etc).

I also had similar goals when I started my 16V swap, but it's hard to fit a turbo in a 16V 240 without fab skills/time or $$ for a good manifold. The cost/benefit started to not make sense for me anymore and I kept it n/a. Still a fun car to drive and enjoy for what it is.
:twocents:
Click to expand...

I am generally well rounded in my opinion, I think. I was able to +t ms e85 my wagon last year while still keeping it a daily. Only had a couple hiccups coupled with a aw70 that called it quits. Got a aw71acc modded installed in 4 days. But I know the car well now and keep it going. I realize this is a whole other beast but I think it?s feasible for my skill set. I will be putting new rods in and will take the said advice and get oem gaskets.
As far as price I?d like to stay around 2000$. I have the ms the turbo the head the block and the 16v exhaust manifold. I have a kl intake now that will definitely not fit. So I?ll have to work that out.

The reason I?m not throwing a ls at it is I also have a 1967 c20 that I?m putting a 6.0 turbo ls in as soon as I sell off some small block parts. Plus I think it?s pretty cool that this head swap exists. The hp numbers you 16v guys put out are pretty sweet
 
dalek said:
It can be also argued you are better off crushing the Volvo and getting a modern car which comes with 300HP+ stock. No dirty fingers. More reliable. Put your frappuchino in the cup holder and off you go

Or, be environmentally conscious and buy this
7700402774_77b584ae37_b.jpg
Click to expand...

That?s awesome. But I?m not that Californian. E85 is about as enviro as I?ll get mostly due to the cost . 2.85$ A gallon compared to 5.85$ 91 octane makes that decision for me easy.
 
linuxman51 said:
who said reliable? I said on the cheap end, parts only. there are a whole lot of what-if's that come in to play

let's run the numbers
billet crank gear (not exactly required, one could possibly dig up a stock 16v one, but.. it's good insurance and easier to find) - $190
belt kit- $190
turbo adapter - $109
kl racing intake manifold - $500 (the cast one not the welded one)
TB to fit it - $100
fuel rail - $100
amazon fuel regulator, ptfe line kit, and various an fittings - $150 (this is to tie it into the oe fuel system from the filter forwards and is probably a high estimate, it's probably closer to $120)
spare 16v cam gear (For aux shaft) ~$50

so that's $1359 before shipping, for all new stuff. pretty sure he's already got the MS. if you shop it out and take your time, that number drops. find someone selling one of josh's prefabbed 16v intakes? probably less than $700 and then you don't even need the various fuel lines and adapters and what not. Have a good fabricator and a spare stock 16v intake? same applies. the plenum kit from josh for that is $75, so call it 250-300 after paying someone to cut, weld, finish, etc.


This is not rocket science guys
Click to expand...

Sounds like there?s some cheaper options, thank you. I can weld so I will probably fab the plenum kit up. Already have ptfe ran to the front with an fittings, upgraded pump, adjustable regulator , big tb, ect. I?m not sure what turbo adapter but I?ll probably fabricate something up to try and utilize the 3 inch dp I have. I just kept the stock one connected to the manifold and cut it. Figured I can weld off of it and make it work

So that puts me somewhere around 500-700$ Before rods. That?s doable, thanks for all the input.
 
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