I got a 2 door 1980 Volvo for free!

[TS]

It's way more work to swap a V8 into a volvo than it is to learn about volvo B2x series engines. To get a V8 engine to work, you would have to fabricate engine mounts, rebuild the front suspension, do rear suspension to handle the extra power and torque of a V8, not to mention how to do the fuel system (your car has K-jet, mechanical fuel injection) to feed that engine.

Redblock engines never really had oiling problems, in 1993 volvo started putting oil squirters to cure piston slap that older, higher mileage engines had. There are some people that hvae 300+k miles on their engines and make 300+HP on them using nothing more than bolt on parts and homegrown ingenuity.

Volvo's are common in junkyards, you can get a good condition engine and transmission for about $300-$400, spend about $300-$400 more on maintenance and performance and it would still be less money and time spent doing a V8 swap.

 

[Boz Mon]

That is AWESOME! I say clean it up and drive it. I love the styling of the Volvos of this vintage.

 

[breakpoint]

Thanks for the input everyone, its appreciated greatly.

@TS: I might go that route, it really just depends on what I can find engine wise and the price. You can't forget where I live, there aren't allot of Volvo's in general around my area here in AL. The ones I do see have all been wagons, haven't payed attention if they were turbo charged or N/A because I was never interested in Volvo's until now But really the american V8 swap isn't hard in this car, not hard for me at least. The motor mounts would be really simple, I would just buy some energy suspension poly generic small block chevy or ford mounts and then just put them on the block and drop it down and mark and then just weld them in after all the mocking is done. The suspension isn't an issue either, a newer 4.6 liter ford V8 weighs about 450lbs on average, I can't find the weight for the volvo engine that would be going in if I go that route, but it has to be fairly close. I have put big blocks in 4cyl Mustangs before and didn't touch the suspension and didn't have a single problem, and that suspension doesn't hold a candle to the volvo's suspension. The fuel delivery would be extremely simple, I will probably be putting in fuel cell in the trunk and I can either use an electric pump in the fuel cell, or a pump mounted on the frame, super easy.

The rear end would need to be addressed with either engine because of all the extra power. I would either get a rear end out of a turbo 850 wagon, or just do a ford 9" with a 4 link set up, pretty simple. My best mate is a welder/fabricator, so all of that would be free besides buying the materials, he even has a cnc machine. Don't take all of this as me dismissing or shooting down the idea of putting in turbo Volvo engine because I'm by all means not doing so. It all just will come down to what I can find and the price, both swaps will be just as difficult/easy as the other to me. I have swapped numerous 350ci chevy motors into cars that never came with anything close to that, its really not that hard. My mate's dad actually has a small block chevy plastic engine replica to scale for doing mock ups for doing swaps. So instead of using a cherry picker and going in and out a good bit marking and fabricating, I can just literally sit the model in with my bare hands and do all of the mocking like that, it is made of some type of plastic and might weigh 7lbs. I'm keeping all options open, and will be taking the road that offers a more effective way of keeping costs down. I for sure will be doing a 4 link for the rear, and will be looking at the front suspension to measure it up and see if there is something close to the size that would improve it also.

Again, thanks for all the info to the people that have posted it. Every bit of information I can learn about the car will help greatly. I will for sure be doing it in a way to make it a great car, and also not to piss off any Volvo lovers buy destroying/cutting up such a loved car, I have more respect for the car now after learning more about it.



EDIT: Here's two pics of how I'm planning on the paint, yes they were done in photoshop and not done very good, I just did them quick to show the basic idea. On the two tone black and silver I would have to decide to do either the top half black and bottom silver or the other way around, I think I like the black on top better though. Or I might do the paint just like it was stock but instead of stopping the lines that go in a U shape on the trunk lid like stock I would just have them go straight across the trunk lid, I think it would look better like that myself. On the first image I would paint the bumpers the same silver as the body, and also shave the handles, locks, fuel door, and the red light on the rear quarter also. I would also like the grill to be blacked out, or black with the silver in certain areas. I really like the silver like that and also black on it, looks good either way to me.

 

[Greycap]

I would either get a rear end out of a turbo 850 wagon

850s are FWD with the few AWD exceptions. 940 or 960 is what you need, or actually you don't need even that - the stock rear end will happily take at least 300 bhp.

And indeed, whatever you do to it, try to do it in such a way that it can be returned to factory specifications if needed. This car is to Volvos what the Hemi Cuda is to Plymouths when talking about performance and rarity. It's a collectable already today, not to mention in 10 or 20 years.

 

[Hun200kmh]

👍 👍 ^^^^ What he said. I know there's a culture in the USA about customizing cars and all, but believe me, having a rare car returned to original condition is the best investment and the wisest decision (and to me, it is also the best decision and wisest investment ). Of course the car may not sound as loud as we men usually think girls like to hear (actually they don't, but that's another discussion ), but it has enough power to please you.

Putting it in another way (PG-13 style): don't try to make a californian blonde with plastic bigger boobs out of a genuinely beautiful swedish blonde with reasonably big naturals.

 

[breakpoint]

850s are FWD with the few AWD exceptions. 940 or 960 is what you need, or actually you don't need even that - the stock rear end will happily take at least 300 bhp.

And indeed, whatever you do to it, try to do it in such a way that it can be returned to factory specifications if needed. This car is to Volvos what the Hemi Cuda is to Plymouths when talking about performance and rarity. It's a collectable already today, not to mention in 10 or 20 years.

That was what I was told to get on the volvo forums, like I said, I don't know anything about anything unless its american muscle. But I can bet you 20 minutes after I swap in a V8 that rear end will be done for. I don't want to ruin the car for sure, but If I swap anything in then it won't matter if its a different Volvo engine or an american engine because it will still be different than stock. But the engine that is it in for sure wouldn't be pleasing to me, my last performance car was my chevelle and it was ran on the dyno at 455hp (So the motor was pushing over 500) to the rear wheels, after running that much everyday on the street that little motor just would be boring as hell. My minivan would outrun it by a good bit actually

 

[TS]

Well if you're confident in your fabrication abilities, by all means do a V8 swap and have fun!

 

[breakpoint]

Well if you're confident in your fabrication abilities, by all means do a V8 swap and have fun!

It's really not that hard mate, I have seriously done so many V8 swaps into cars that never came with such I can't count. One of my good mates had a shop where that was what he did, engine swaps. I would help him out on weekends sometimes, it might seem odd to some people hearing that I would be able to put a small block in a Volvo easier than another Volvo engine, but it's true for me. I just don't know that much about the engines, and I know so much about american engines and all is the only reason. Like I said though, the fate won't be decided until I start looking for engines. Then it will be either a mess of wiring, or a V8 with a carb going in

 

[TS]

It's really not that hard mate, I have seriously done so many V8 swaps into cars that never came with such I can't count. One of my good mates had a shop where that was what he did, engine swaps. I would help him out on weekends sometimes, it might seem odd to some people hearing that I would be able to put a small block in a Volvo easier than another Volvo engine, but it's true for me. I just don't know that much about the engines, and I know so much about american engines and all is the only reason. Like I said though, the fate won't be decided until I start looking for engines. Then it will be either a mess of wiring, or a V8 with a carb going in

Browse some volvo communities, several people have done V8 swaps into volvos with great success.

 

[breakpoint]

Browse some volvo communities, several people have done V8 swaps into volvos with great success.

My mate here in town knows a few people here with wagons with 350ci sbc motors in them, so I will be able to see what the problems they encountered were before I even get into it if I go that route:tup: I talked to him about it last night and he said he will try to get in touch with one of the guys, and said when I decide to do it that the guy prob will lend a hand so we can get it done fairly quick since he has already done it.

 

[Keef]

I can get an LS1 from my sisters husband for 1,300 with the 6 speed, but its harder to swap in the sbc motors because of the dist location and all. It would just be easier to go with a 302, that's a extremely common swap for Volvo's for a reason.

Dist? LSx engines are coil-on-plug. All you do is bolt it in, hook up its wires and computer, and you're good to go. The LS gets swapped in everything for a reason. The LSx series has about as much in common with the SBC as a Toyota 4 cylinder has with a Ford 4 cylinder. They both have the same number of cylinders.

 

[breakpoint]

I know the LS is a DIS engine, I was just saying it would be harder in general for a SBC motor because of the dist being in the rear, like if I were to get a non LS type engine, just a plain ol' SBC.

 

[Duke]

I am in favor of the engine swap but I am strongly against doing aesthetic modifications like shaving anything. I'm not convinced I would even paint it - keep the factory livery and the patina it has earned over the years! It will be much cooler that way.

 

[breakpoint]

I am in favor of the engine swap but I am strongly against doing aesthetic modifications like shaving anything. I'm not convinced I would even paint it - keep the factory livery and the patina it has earned over the years! It will be much cooler that way.

I might be swayed to not shave anything, just not to ruin the car for Volvo lovers, but leaving it the way it is now just won't do for me:tdown: I'm sure after I pressure wash the hell out of it the paint will look much better, really faded but better. Right now it is covered in black film from sitting under tree's for the last 5 years straight. He actually had another one just like it that he gave his son to drive and his son totaled it He said the other day, man if you would have came over here and asked me about a few months ago I had my sons 240 GT sitting back there that was wrecked and you could have taken it too, the engine was good and it had a turbo engine in it. Damn, I'm always a little too late! It would have been nice to have extra parts for the interior, and the car was considered totaled by the insurance company because in the kelly blue book the car is worth about 1,200 so the wreck messed it up more than 1,200 so they totaled it out. They tried to do this to my friends Impreza RS, and he threw a fit and told them they were going to track him down another RS and give him his wrecked one back or he would sue them....they did just that. The RS is hard to find here, his is the only one in town:tup:

 

[TS]

The only body modification you should do is put Group A or zender spoiler on the rear.

Although both spoilers are very, very hard to find.

 

[breakpoint]

I just looked into the Zender spoiler and man that looks nice, that's my kind of spoiler for sure. But I really doubt I will be able to find one, and if I did it looks like a price of around 300.00 us dollars which I just can't spend on a spoiler, my wife would kill me! Maybe there is an older BMW with a spoiler similar that I could modify to fit and look about the same, time to start digging at the junkyards and google images! If all else fails I could get my mate to fab one, he has access to a CNC machine at work I would just have to get him to look at the spoiler and measure the rear and make it look as close as possible.

 

[TS]

Saab 9000 spoilers and Pontiac Firebird spoilers supposedly fit pretty well on Volvo 700/900 series cars, I'm not sure if they would fit on a 240, but it's something to look into.

 

[breakpoint]

Saab 9000 spoilers and Pontiac Firebird spoilers supposedly fit pretty well on Volvo 700/900 series cars, I'm not sure if they would fit on a 240, but it's something to look into.

Any info is much appreciated, so 👍

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

Since you're in Huntsville, how about you let the old man Strutt his ass for you instead of replacing the motor? Anyways, great find! I've always loved Volvos because the interiors looks nice even after years and years.

 

[breakpoint]

That guy has been dead for years, he would come in Huddle House years ago when my mom worked there and drink coffee and smoke all night. That video is about 15 years old I have been struttin my ass everyday though, been walking and riding my bike for exercise.

 

[breakpoint]

Well I towed the 240 to a relatives house (I live in an apt and can't have it here) so now it feels like more of mine than it did before. The interior on this thing is in great condition, and its design was way ahead of its time IMO. My cousin steered while I pulled it with a chain and when we got there he couldn't figure out how to get out, he was yelling at me, "There ain't no dang door handles in this car!". Its a cool little slide deal, never seen something like that before, but I have also never even rode in a Volvo before. I opened the trunk to make sure there wasn't junk in it I needed to clean out and holy crap that thing looks like it did new! Its like you open a wormhole to the past when you open the trunk, the carpet is perfect and all clean and everything. Nothing else has happened but just moving it, but just figured I would do some type of update.

 

[TS]

Yeah a lot of people who ride in 240's for the first time either ask where the handles are at or they pull on the handles and bend them up.

 

[breakpoint]

I was looking over the car today, I brought a nice earth magnet with me to inspect the body a little better and it made me a little sad inside. At a close look at has a bit of bondo in it, and also a little rust around the fender wells, nothing major but the bondo deal could be a deal breaker on me restoring it to stock or putting in a V8 or another engine. To find body panels to weld back in to replace the panels where the bondo is....well I can't find them at all. So, if I can't find them I will be stripping it and doing the bondo again but better than it is done now and then putting in either an LS1, 5.0, or another RWD turbo import engine that won't be a major ordeal. I have seen a bunch with Supra engines in them, but that engine is 5K easy and that is just out of my price range. It does come stock with 320hp, but I could build a 302 with 350hp for less than 1,500 total and it would get around 22 mpg and be reliable. I really won't know for sure until I actually strip the thing down to bare metal though. I really want to get started on this thing but my hands are tied until we move, hell I would be happy to have it at my house so I could just start cleaning everything and prepping it. I just love the interior so much, even the seats are more like racing seats than regular buckets, so nice for its day and time inside.

 

[Omamder5]

I'm fairly sure I have a black car just like this one down my street. I'll have to double check whether it's a 2 door, but it looked fabulous since the first time I saw it. I really like the old Volvo look. Congratulations on getting one for free!

 

[BrutherSuperior]

So, if I can't find them I will be stripping it and doing the bondo again but better than it is done now and then putting in either an LS1, 5.0, or another RWD turbo import engine that won't be a major ordeal. I have seen a bunch with Supra engines in them, but that engine is 5K easy and that is just out of my price range. It does come stock with 320hp, but I could build a 302 with 350hp for less than 1,500 total and it would get around 22 mpg and be reliable.

Ummm...doing a motor swap like you're thinking is going to be a HUGE ordeal. Despite all the V8 swaps you see on the interwebs, it's a PITA b/c they just don't fit. Lots of hacking, wacking, and swearing go into them and I'd say 9 out of 10 are not done right.

You're going to have to move the master cylinder & brake booster. Have fun making that work. You're going to have to beef up or fab up some sort of K-member while making the steering rack still work, have fun with that. You're going to destroy the unibody w/torque shortly after you repair damage to the rear suspension, axles, and diff unit.

It's not fun.

And get that 350HP Ford 302 for $1500 out of your head. You can't. To make that kinda power, you'll need new cylinder heads, cam, lifters, manifold - those will set you back $1500 alone. Nevermind all the 'extras' you'll need to make the damn thing work; new/modified oil pan, custom headers, wiring harness, and cooling. After you do all that you then find out the hood won't close. It's not fun man.

If I were in your shoes, I'd simply restore the car. Use some Marvel Mystery Oil to unseize the engine and get it running right or give it a basic overhaul. If that car makes over 100HP, or close, it'll be fun. It's light and unique - don't ruin either of those 2 things.

I've had a bunch of fast cars in the past, the ones that were the most fun were actually the slowest...but the lightest. Driving slow cars fast is much more rewarding than driving a super-fast car slow.

Get the engine/drivetrain working again and then start on the suspension. Replace the bushings, dampeners, tie-rods and you'll be golden. You'll save a lot of time and a lot of money...and you'll still have a cool car when you're done. Nothing wrong with that is there?

 

[breakpoint]

My friend owns a machine shop, getting the motor to that for under 1,500 isn't a problem at all. The 355 I had in my Chevelle was dyno'd at 455hp at the rear and it ran me a little over 1,200 to build . I have done so many swaps I can't count so doing that won't be an issue at all, this ain't my first rodeo. One of my good friends knows 3 people in our city with 302 swaps in the volvos they have and they did it without issue of anything you mentioned. There are also detailed right ups that show them doing the swap and tips etc on possible problems and there really aren't any. The engine will fit just fine with no modding being done to the master cyl or the K member or anything. I won't be destroying anything, there are 240's with Supra engine swaps and all sorts that don't even have cages or sub-frame connectors and they don't have a single problem, and most of them are over 500hp. I am going more favor of a 4.6 Ford engine, it only weighs 300lbs more than the iron cast engine that is in the car now. I won't need heads or any of that to get 350hp, I can port the heads myself, a decent intake would only run about 180 bucks, headers and an x pipe after that (got a friend who is a welder so that is taken care of for just material costs). I could get a cobra engine from a number of people that is stock at 305hp, basic stuff done to it to get it to breath a little easier and I would be close to my mark. I could just leave it stock and it would be great also. My friend billy has 3 cobra engines just sitting in his garage, finding V8's on the cheap isn't hard for me at all where I live.


As far as the rear end goes, I can just build a Ford 9" to go in there, simple. Only thing I will have to really mess with will be the driveshaft, I won't be able to use the stock one because I will be scattering U-joints fast as hell. Volvo uses a small diameter two piece shaft, so I can just get my friend to make me a driveshaft to spec that I need and will more than likely have to "massage" the trans tunnel to fit the bigger shaft...all that takes is a sledge hammer and love and care. It's really not a hard swap at all, doing a 302 in a Ranger is harder than this and I have done at least 10 of those when I was working at my friends build shop, and S-10 SBC swaps I can't count how many of those I did.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Find a Mark VIII with a good drivetrain but shot body or bad airbags. Won't cost much and you can sell a LOT of stuff off of them for very good money.

Basically a Cobra motor with a different intake manifold. Likely 100lbs or so heavier than the Volvo lump at worst. Throw a Cobra intake or Sullivan carb intake (although the latter is nearly $700) on it along with a set of headers and a bit of smoothing to the ports... And yeah, you'll have more power than you know what to do with.

 

[Jim Prower]

My friend owns a machine shop, getting the motor to that for under 1,500 isn't a problem at all. The 355 I had in my Chevelle was dyno'd at 455hp at the rear and it ran me a little over 1,200 to build . I have done so many swaps I can't count so doing that won't be an issue at all, this ain't my first rodeo. One of my good friends knows 3 people in our city with 302 swaps in the volvos they have and they did it without issue of anything you mentioned. There are also detailed right ups that show them doing the swap and tips etc on possible problems and there really aren't any. The engine will fit just fine with no modding being done to the master cyl or the K member or anything. I won't be destroying anything, there are 240's with Supra engine swaps and all sorts that don't even have cages or sub-frame connectors and they don't have a single problem, and most of them are over 500hp. I am going more favor of a 4.6 Ford engine, it only weighs 300lbs more than the iron cast engine that is in the car now. I won't need heads or any of that to get 350hp, I can port the heads myself, a decent intake would only run about 180 bucks, headers and an x pipe after that (got a friend who is a welder so that is taken care of for just material costs). I could get a cobra engine from a number of people that is stock at 305hp, basic stuff done to it to get it to breath a little easier and I would be close to my mark. I could just leave it stock and it would be great also. My friend billy has 3 cobra engines just sitting in his garage, finding V8's on the cheap isn't hard for me at all where I live.


As far as the rear end goes, I can just build a Ford 9" to go in there, simple. Only thing I will have to really mess with will be the driveshaft, I won't be able to use the stock one because I will be scattering U-joints fast as hell. Volvo uses a small diameter two piece shaft, so I can just get my friend to make me a driveshaft to spec that I need and will more than likely have to "massage" the trans tunnel to fit the bigger shaft...all that takes is a sledge hammer and love and care. It's really not a hard swap at all, doing a 302 in a Ranger is harder than this and I have done at least 10 of those when I was working at my friends build shop, and S-10 SBC swaps I can't count how many of those I did.

Machine shop?

Would he like to hire a Manufacturing Engineer?

:3

 

[breakpoint]

Machine shop?

Would he like to hire a Manufacturing Engineer?

:3

This is Alabama, we don't have Manufacturing Engineers Its just a basic machine/speed shop. He has a big area in the back where he does engine swaps for people also, that's where I have helped him many of nights. His main gravy swap was the S-10 V8 swap, not that fun to do but make good money doing it. After the first one he did he made templates for the motor mounts and everything that he used and just throws a chunk on the cnc machine and it does all the work, then we weld in the new ones to the K member and slide everything in.


Here is a shot of a 240 with a cobra engine in it, no crowding problems here...

 

[kayman]

Is it this car?

Because if it is, it's closely related to one of the most mythical touring cars of the eighties, the 240 Turbos that crushed all competition in Group A

uh....not exactly crushed. In australia they only won 1 year in the 80's, infact they only won 5 out of just over 80 race meets australia in the 80's. (in terms of group A in the 80's 5 out of approximately 48) Skylines and Sierra's were much more Dominant! apparently it wont the ETCC once as well but i cant find any specific information on that.