Hi i'm new to the car scene and even newer to the Volvo part of it i have a 1980 Volvo 245 (240 wagon) and i was hoping to swap the engine out for something with a little more acceleration but not so much power that i end up throwing myself off the road, maybe something on the easy side because i really have no clue what goes into a swap if id have to change the wiring harness or the fluid tanks i don't know any of it. all i know is a new engine means a new , fuel economy isn't a huge worry and availability of parts isn't an issue either as far as options other than a swap id be happy to hear but the engine has been run a lot lately and pretty hard as well i'm just not sure how much longer the stock engine can hold up.

 

check out jagsthatrun.com - sounds like you're itching to put a small block Chevy in that wagon :-) If you decide to stick with the Volvo 4 banger, don't worry about how long the stock engine can hold up. They are probably one of the most durable engines ever made, easy to rebuild and if you want to get more reliability and a small amount of extra power, consider swapping in a new weber 2 bbl carb and adding a free flow exhaust or header. I also saw that Weber also now markets a throttlebody FI system to replace old carbs...