I'm looking to put some work into my Volvo 240 (my first car). I've retired her from bring my daily driver because I drive a company vehicle now. She got me through college and now I'm gonna show her some love. Any other Volvo fans out there?
Other Volvo models welcome.
Pic is not my Volvo but is very similar. (Mine is an 1987 244DL USDM)
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I'm thinking about starting with coilovers. Any suggestions?
Also going to change from the stock wheels/tires. I'm thinking either 215/60 r15 or 205/55/16. The 16s seem to have more performance options like these. I used to work at America's tire co. ( Discount tire co) so I can get a friend discount.
Also planning on doing a 16 valve DOHC conversion after rebuilding the engine with performance internals
youtube.com
Eventually going to convert it to a 5 speed manual. Probably going to do this before I mess with the engine.
You should get a rear window louver/(louvre?), it looks really good on the 240
What engine is it? Also keep in mind that the DOHC engines were interference, unlike the most sold Volvo SOHCs.
If you have a B230f* you'll be better of swapping the entire engine, or turboing it / replacing the turbo with a bigger one.
I know that for a B230fk and B230ft you won't need performance internals. Just by swapping the turbo with a bigger one most people get up to 400hp with stock internals.
With replaced internals, people get up to 1000hp out of them. And they even survive that for quite some time
What about swapping with a junkyard B234f? I have a B230 non turbo
That does look awesome. Thanks for the tip.
And I don't want to turbo it. I'm in CA, don't want my insurance to skyrocket or not pass smog. I'm just looking for like 200+HP for some fun on the weekends, nothing crazy. Want to keep it as stock as possible to achieve that power. I'm going to focus more on suspension work/paint/interior (leather) than raw power.
I'm looking to make it just more of a nice fun weekend car. Nothing crazy but fun to drive and comfy.
If you know swedish or ju google translate it, there are probably tons of Guides and ideas on swedish car Forums. Volvo 2/7/9 series are almost always the first car a swedish car guy gets, cause they are very easy to work on
Sure, that's the easiest way. F is pretty much a requirement as it stands for low compression. Look for a fk, that's the low pressure turbo version and they see less abuse than the ft ("high" pressure turbo). That way you'll have the intercooler and everything else you need to turbo it. Also get the muffler as it was different for the non-turbo and gives a noticeable difference. All I had to do was get a new turbo and one hose, everything else fitted stock.
The dohc did only 180hp or so. If you want 200+hp you should get preferably a b230fk (otherwise a b230ft) and up the turbo pressure. Also why the fuck would you care about a emissions? Mine runs at 300hp on petrol / 270hp on LPG and passes inspections in the dutch caliphate fine. They don't even notice the turbo isn't stock.
You'll only have more emissions once you're actually using that 200+hp.
blessed cars, treat her nice op
Ruined
This bad bitch wagon. Currently the alternator is fucking up, but this is the 2nd alternator it has had since December. So idk if I just got unlucky and got a bad alternator, or if something else is fucking up
'94 B230ft swap coming up, Kaplhenke coils slowly being put together, GTA wheels aquired, T5 swap once its up and running, full repaint in original 214 Dark Gray Metallic eventually.
Has been my daily for over 5 years now, about to roll 304k miles.
Good taste in car, user. My 242DL (pic related) is 100% stock and is sadly likely to remain that way for a while. She's too reliable to mess with, if she dies I have to start riding the bus with the homeless again. I can only imagine how much more fun this car would be with more than a mere 100hp, though... Not that it isn't fun trying to get this thing to highway speeds.
I once fantasized of 240 as my first car. Fortunately sanity didn't let that happen. They are cool cars tho.
>Fortunately sanity didn't let that happen.
You might want to re-evaluate your mental health user. A (especially late) 240 will give you many trouble free miles with minimal TLC. There really aren't many cars this simple and reliable but retain all the creature comforts you would want in a daily driver. What did you end up with instead?
I ended up with my dream daily car. A well kept NG900 turbo coupe special edition from it's second owner which was an elderly german fella. I really don't need a bigger car.
Ya, mine lasted me 2 years of college before it even needed work. Got it for $800 from some sweet old lady who just wanted her money back from the last service. The scumbag mechanic had the brakes on rotation so that while one was brand new, the other was at 50%. Noticed that when the car was acting up during breaking. Pads were easy to change but needed rotors too.
Lol I know, I know. Idk if I'm going to go with that. This seems more practical.
Lol I know. One time my friends and I were on the highway at 1am and nobody was around. Tried to push her as much as she would go. Got to 85mph and the whole front of the car started shaking. Never went over 70 after that and she thanked me for it lol.
Mine was a daily for 3 years. The odometer was broken when we bought it. Stock at 167k since the early 2000's. I'm guessing she's somewhere around 275k now.
I spent twice as much I was planing to on mine. It was all my savings plus a little help from my parents. I wasn't planing on finding the perfect car. After two and half years I'm hearing a little noise from the left front wheel (don't know the translation for the part I have suspicion on) and the clutch is slipping a bit. But it isn't a surprise of how much power the old car is making and the fact that I'm learning to use that power on it. Theoretically it's supposed to be the worst Saab but the reliability is superb. Not saving my money on maintenance, I'd like to have that car forever.
Do you want to keep the ft's stock output? If you're going to mess around with the pressure, even on the stock turbo, you can get a fk as well. The fk and ft are identical, save for one spring in the blowoff valve.
An fk will have been stressed much less (not that it's noticeable in a volvo) and is generally cheaper to buy.
thanks m8, but I'm an Amerifat and we never got the fk. The ft I have only has 80k miles and I've got a 16t or a T3 I'm going to throw at it along with wasted spark.
Just bought a 1995 Volvo 850 last night. I’m already in love with it.
>thanks m8, but I'm an Amerifat and we never got the fk.
Really? I thought the fk was meant to appeal to the US market as it takes regular gas. Not much of an advantage in Europe.
Well in that case an ft is just as fine, just don't be blinded by low mileage. A volvo doesn't give a crap about running 400k miles when it's somewhat well maintained. Negligence is more a concern than mileage
Can you make the 240 fun to drive? I'm looking at getting one for my first car and I want something that'll teach me to drive. I'm really hoping it's possible to make it interesting because it's rwd and cheap as hell where I am
240s are already fun to drive if the only thing you've ever known before are automagic soap bars made to be disposed of in 5 years. If you've got experience with more powerful cars, they probably won't be nearly as fun in stock form. The 240 (especially earlier models) is a tractor LARPing as a car, so you'll need more power for sure, and probably some better suspension. Maybe its just mine that bounces and lurches everywhere, though. I dunno, I kinda like it, keeps things interesting. But as far as my experience goes, they're perfectly capable as is, if raw speed isn't your only measurement of fun.
Yeah speed I don't care too much about, it's more about turns and sliding a bit that I care about. In terms of actual handling/feeling connected to the road, is it as bad as I imagine or can it be made fun with suspension bits?
Well, an user with the same car as me once said he'd had a lot of fun trying to get the back end out on some twisties. He knew a lot more about driving than me, so I'm guessing it's possible but not entirely easy to get hectic with a stock 240. I think with some good suspension upgrades and the right tires you could have a lot of fun. Pic related.
Thanks user I appreciate your advice, that's exactly what I was hoping
While 240 nerds are here, I might as well ask: how difficult is it supposed to be to get this switch off the panel? The manual says to just pull it, but it's stuck on. Or maybe I'm not pulling hard enough out of fear of breaking something.
These cars are at the minimum 25 years old and it’s likely that switch has never been removed since it was installed at the factory. Don’t go autistic on it but don’t be afraid to give it a little force. Make sure you don’t pull at an angle
Patrician as fuck, user.
ebin LS swap
You definetely need to sort the suspension out. Volvos are made for comfort and eating up bumpy roads. They do this exceedingly well, but that means they can get a bit wallowy in cornering situations at speed. But luckily, there's a fuckton of aftermarket options for firming it up good.
Get a little bottle of acid-free oil. (Some people use it for sowing machines) Then apply a dollop or two, gently aided by a small flathead screwdriver.
Your pigfat rear end will always make that Volvo handle poorly
>Your pigfat rear end will always make that Volvo handle poorly
>pigfat
No, if anything volvos are underweight at the rear. Getting an lpg installation with a 60L tank improved the handling for me
my nigga
V70 T5 + LPG here
Not a 240, but plan to acquire one soon, so here's my 1996 850 T5. Auto for now, but manual swapping this summer, plus some other fun goodies.
you fucked up
Here is my 244 turbo, work in progress