Club 80-90 Forums

Hello everyone
I shall start with a big thank you to members who have shared, helped and above all offered their time. In particular I would like to show my appreciation and gratitude to Neil (Axeman) who I visited when he was beavering away with his conversion and has kept in touch on a number of occasions offering advice and help and is always a call away. Aidan Talbot, who, not only gave advice on my current gearbox, but dropped everything to give it a well-earned service. A trip to Warrington that was an experience in its self, not only did I meet the master of gearboxes but, this bloke from Macclesfield who has the best Wife in the world, It was a pleasure to meet you Rob…I won’t mention the visit to Neil’s and getting lost more than once. I now have Sat Nav!!
I would also like to thank GaryD who was more than happy to share all info on a possible GTi conversion. A quick mention to Spannerboy (Simon) who has come through with much needed parts!! Ninja turtle (Tom) for sorting me with a VW Starter. A quick mention to Ian (Silverbullet), Thanks for your advice..I will be contacting you soon for a couple of engine supports.
I will be more than likely calling on you lovely people again for help..I am after all on a rapid learning curve. I have limited mechanical experience including car electrics…So I am a true virgin. Why take it on!!..Because I can and I really want to appreciate and give our Van the best love care and attention she deserves. No more struggling up hills and worrying if we were going to make it to our destination. Two days after visiting Neil I made a trip to Weymouth and the head blew..I havn’t fully investigated, but I believe the water pump and/or thermostat are to blame…I was a broken man that day..
I have researched engine conversions for a while now and I made the decision to go for Volvo for several reasons. Firstly Subaru, Too expensive, engine, conversion bits and the electrics are pretty complex. Golf GTi was a route I really thought would be a good move based on the fact I have/had a 1.6td and most of the conversion bits needed. A phone call to Neil convinced me that Volvo would be the best move. Finding a good Gti engine that hasn’t been stressed and battered/neglected by young’uns would be hard to find. I own a mk4 gti and I do drive it!!. A Volvo on the other hand is often owned by your Mr or Mrs average who know the Volvo will last for ever if treated right A 2.30a is a good engine and is the type that hasn’t been stressed, moreover these engines can continue going in excess of 350-000k+..
All help and advice from fellow members is gratefully received and I thank you in advance for your support and encouragement.
I will begin….


Firstly I decided to empty all contents, furniture. I want to fully soundproof and sort out the rusty bits. She is 20
Everything went and is now stored in my Garage.
I am in the middle of uploading a mass of photos in photobucket..so I am submitting this to see how things turn out...

Me finishing off..


A couple of flicks of my beloved..I know members like pictures..apologies for the delay..I have loads and it it took a while uploading ..but now I have it all in hand..Aidan..I will call you I haven't forgotten




Now that I have introduced my Van here are some engine stuff..Out with the old 1.6td. I have never done this before and to be honest I was a very nervous chappy. I began with taking the gearbox out first and that in itself was a struggle. The offside CV did not want to come off..until I smacked it a few times with the hammer..I could swear..but I won't..
Once the Box was out I hired a hoist and got to work on the engine..I took it steady at first, being methodical in my approach..Taking all the pipes off..Starter..alternator and all bits that I could undo.



















And the rest of the bits




Some places I need to prep before the Volvo is introduced to its new home







Will need to remove this. I plan to route the air filter etc. Have to buy a loom for setting the battery up under the drivers seat. I believe Aidan is going to help me with that..

Dropping the beasty off to my garage. I was so fortunate landing this space..I had been on a waiting list for over 4years..Two weeks after the head blew I was offered it..happy days..



Tucked away in the corner feeling sorry for itself. I will be preforming open heart surgery once I have completed the conversion.



Now for the Gearbox. It was covered in gunk I can't stress how dirty this was. If you look carefully You can see on the back casing right corner. It had been leaking for years. Aidan will give you the technical rundown, what I can tell you..between support carrier, backcasing and earthstrap plus the combination of wetness = Battery behaviour..acids/electrodes/cavitation etc.
Thankfully Aidan came through with a different backcasing., so all is good so far (There is more to this chapter as you will all find out shortly

My little space













Now a very clean one ready for a coat of paint..I am going to give it a coat of black engine paint..high temp and will give it a smart look when finished.



The newly fitted bellhousing it came from a 2.1 Aircooled and the story contines with this//all will be explained later..



Nice work Aidan..I enjoyed my time with you and meeting Rob was also a pleasure..

I'm sure someone else will ask if I don't, if you're starting with a 1.6TD why isn't a 1.9TDI at the top of the list ?

I was wondering the same, but hey, each to their own! (still not convinced about the hole in the rear valance needed for the Volvo water pump, it's an unacceptable compromise in my eyes)
I'd have gone the Golf petrol route and LPG'd it. VW Lego.

The new arrival

All the way from Sweden power steering pump included (top right)..will be taking that off and using it for a later project.



A few more pictures to share giving different angles.





A closer look at the crank seal and spigot bearing (size 202-2RS1)


Top side..note the dirty Carb and the solenoid cut off valve and how its attached to the carb...



Again, notice how dirty the carb is!




Took the carb off for a clean..and I found the problem causing the dirt to gather on it.



here was the problem the solenoid valve had broken and the pipe feeding the black cirlcular part had snapped.





Can't put a name to this as of yet but has a part number..Which will hopefully help me when sourcing one.



A closer look at the solenoid cut off valve



Other flicks showing parts of it..







I am sure this is meant to be attached to the spring..it just rotates round and round and round..


Gaskets I will need to replace..


Other interesting parts of the Engine including the mechanical fuel pump. Not sure whether to replace this, neil's (Axeman) looks shiny as does his carb,. I might have to either exchange it or send it away for a refurb. Complex things and the parts I am trouble with are not mentioned in the manual as far as I can see. Full breakdown yes..but not the parts I need to replace.



The oil trap..which is fitted to the crankcase ventilation system



I will beReplacing the firetrap gauze "orange looking effort"





This where the oil trap fits..crankase ventilation


Other parts of the kit which were included in the shipmet. Note the starter ring gear not yet fitted..Thanks Simon (Spannerboy)



Sarter Ring gear now fitted to the flywheel and the adaptor plate keeping it company. Now for the flywheel pins.



Pins in with a little gentle persuasion!



Just need to contact Neil soon and find out what size the H/T Bolts are for the fly wheel and new clutch so I can fit it to the engine.

My Understanding of the coolant side so far...One area I feel worried about and rally want to get it right...I took this project on as a hobby and to test my resolve. I want to appreciate everything about the engine how it works and I do try..I think sometimes I need to ask more and not be worried about reaction. I always try so sort a solution..as you know folks, a little/lot of help goes a long way. and for what Help I receive..I am forever grateful.
Here goes..Thanks Neil this is what I have learnt so far....

Here are a selection of manuals I have and diagrams of the coolant systam.





This is a Drawing of s/s pipes I have to get manufactured...


A copy of Neil's hard work showing the header tank from a mrk3 "goldfish bowl"..Sealed system is what I would really want..keep it simple..especially since the problems I had.




Which are these without the scripts on..

from rad to waterpump

Thermostat to the rad to be cooled


Two pipes I am not sure about..
This pipe..Near the water pump.


Has a fitting which might give clues to its job


This coolant pipe at the rear of the block also unsure about

It is the one folded up through a pipe


Back soon with some more..off to spend an afternoon on the van tomoz.

Parts and bits still to get.
New clutch and clutch cable. plus bolts
CV joints x2
choke cable and throttle cable
coolant pipes and s/s ones to be manufactured
engine supports from silverbullet
engine Mounts x2
loom for power from battery
Main coil lead the one I have R5-05-0 BERU power cable might be too short
HT leads possibly type I have at the mo are P119-070 BERU power cable.

Thanks for looking..so far it has been a pleasure and I know I have a way to go...Tom

carpmaster wrote: Golf GTi was a route I really thought would be a good move based on the fact I have/had a 1.6td and most of the conversion bits needed. A phone call to Neil convinced me that Volvo would be the best move. Finding a good Gti engine that hasn’t been stressed and battered/neglected by young’uns would be hard to find.

Boggo standard 2l Passat estate family-mobiles are same 2l Injected engine.

If you dont mind me asking , how much has the conversion parts/fabbing/engine and shipping cost? Only being nosey as just finished a Gti conversion and interested in other alternative engines to subaru etc

Good blog BTW

ELVIS wrote:

carpmaster wrote: Golf GTi was a route I really thought would be a good move based on the fact I have/had a 1.6td and most of the conversion bits needed. A phone call to Neil convinced me that Volvo would be the best move. Finding a good Gti engine that hasn’t been stressed and battered/neglected by young’uns would be hard to find.

Boggo standard 2l Passat estate family-mobiles are same 2l Injected engine.

If you dont mind me asking , how much has the conversion parts/fabbing/engine and shipping cost? Only being nosey as just finished a Gti conversion and interested in other alternative engines to subaru etc

Good blog BTW

fly wheel, adapter plate, exhaust, few nuts and bolts, all for around £450 delivered from sweden.

neil

Mystery pipes under the exhaust side are heater/thermostat bypass and can be teed together for the header tank connection, IIRC from Neil's conversion. Check with the chainsawing one.
Good luck with it, they do sound good when getting the beans "on the hill".
You'll all be needing some "Travolta" badges making up now

axeman wrote:

ELVIS wrote:

carpmaster wrote: Golf GTi was a route I really thought would be a good move based on the fact I have/had a 1.6td and most of the conversion bits needed. A phone call to Neil convinced me that Volvo would be the best move. Finding a good Gti engine that hasn’t been stressed and battered/neglected by young’uns would be hard to find.

Boggo standard 2l Passat estate family-mobiles are same 2l Injected engine.

If you dont mind me asking , how much has the conversion parts/fabbing/engine and shipping cost? Only being nosey as just finished a Gti conversion and interested in other alternative engines to subaru etc

Good blog BTW

fly wheel, adapter plate, exhaust, few nuts and bolts, all for around £450 delivered from sweden.

neil

cheers chap

are volvo mounting paterns the same over the year or did they change in later years? Im guessing maybe not or people would have done it by now!

Can a later injection/manifold system be made to fit if at least head paterns match.

There has been loads in PPC over the last few years about tuning older volvo lumps.

keep it coming chap- well good read

Would be intersting to see if a later engine with Fi or even a diesel could be made to fit.

intrested to know more about this PPC?

all of volvo's mounting patterns were the same untill the demise of this series of engine installed in 240,740,940 up until 1997, in normaly asperated, lpt and hpt, (these were true volvo engines) there was also a 3.0 v6 in the 240's with the same mountings and bell house design, but this was made with renalt. so one to be avoided imho. then there were the 2.5 and 3.0 inline 6. uber smooth and full of tourqe. but 2 cylinders would be sticking out the back of the van, which may look good but not very practical. these are direct relitives of the b20 b23 engines with 2 more cylenders and were also used in the c303 volvo's (now thats got me thinking)

there is pleanty of room for any of the injection systems, i have a k-jet system (and head) siting under my bench which i am thinking about installing soon. just working out the pump (5bar) and on a syncro . k-jet was used on both n/a and turbo. one easy power mod to these engines (carbed) is to install a turbo and injection system from a 240 r sport. witch was a factory/dealer option. it involves a k-jet intection system and lpt. the engines are strong enough for this and was common in the early too mid 80's. with out any inturnal mods, unfortunatly this was not an option in the uk.

next came monotronic and the dizzy was moved on end of the camshaft (even better for a syncro). and is more refined. how ever one of the problems with this system is that there is a crank trigger on the fly wheel for the ing system and the volvo fly wheel is not used. any thing is possible but this would take some working out!

the main reason that the b23(0)a is used is that n sweden there are funny laws about changing the engine in a car or van that required it not to have more power than the existing one that was installed from the factory the (a)engine produces 113bhp but has close 150ftlb tourque. same power more tourque.

the only problem that i can see with tom's install will be the height of the engine, all fits in a doka or sika, but some work to the engine hatch will be needed.

aidan called today and we have fixed your little problem. it also looks as if your engine has a pulse air system on it (complex crankcase breather) witch you could either ditch or keep.

keep up the good work if you have any problems drop me a line.

neil

PPC is Practical Performance Car , like a 'Max Power' for those over 35/40.

Boy racer mag for 'older' cars. Have been a few articles on tuned 740s/340s etc and im sure they did a 'Tuning your volvo' type feature one month.

mags

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=prac ... m270.l1313" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

website

http://www.ppcmag.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

article to order/buy


http://www.ppcmag.co.uk/technical-guide ... guide.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

other stuff links
http://www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/v ... ac498b3ea2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.strikeengine.com/volvo-parts ... guide.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.swedespeed.com/resources/links.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.eurosporttuning.ca/volvo_740 ... _parts.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


http://www.cartuningguide.com/volvo-740-tuning.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

dunno if any of this is any use?

hi tom just re read the post, if your going to use the gold fist bowl water/header tank then the metal water pipe spigots will have to be moved to a different location, i will post some pics up after work tomorow.

thanks for the links elvis makes for some intresting reading

neil

No worries chap.

normally i just bin mags but know i have a small pile in the toilet. will have a look thr on the off chance there is any tuning articles in them.

search for mag name under ebay and LOADS for sale- just look at covers for articlles/features i guess

axeman wrote:hi tom just re read the post, if your going to use the gold fist bowl water/header tank then the metal water pipe spigots will have to be moved to a different location, i will post some pics up after work tomorow.

thanks for the links elvis makes for some intresting reading

neil

Hi Neil

Thanks for that, It has been a worry for me as you know..if you could include a couple of pics/drawing of the connections..I would be very very chuffed..it's been on my mind for a while Gosta photo's are too dark and the instruction are in Swedish..some words I can't translate on google..so panic stations..especially with the two pipes I am unsure about (as mentioned above). I can relax a bit more and once again enjoy the job..I can imagine how you felt at times..it can be a lonely experience when taking on a project like this. I had a nice chat with Aidan last night..might have a breakthrough with my engine bar..fingers crossed.
I have found a local fabricators that will knock up the pipes, I paid a visit to them..seem really interested in the conversion...brave man was used...I stuck my chest out at that point..Travolta here we come

Thanks for the words of encouragement..yourself, Elvis (Great info Elvis thanks pal), silverbullet...I will be getting in touch with Ian tomoz about engine supports.

I am about to post a little more..fuel tank..you thought yours was bad..check this out...

Before I forget two things what size/strength ht bolts did you use for the flywheel and clutch and was it 18mm or 20mm (external/internal) rubber hose..I forgot to measure mine yesterday when visiting the van..
Thanks again for your help
Tom