Hey all! I'm new to the forum, but not to Volvos. I have a '90 240 wagon that I've been doing the maintenance and repairs on for the last 10 years or so, and I really love the car. I've slowly been modifying the car to make it a bit more 'sporty', i.e. Ipd sport exhaust and lowering springs as the old stock parts wore out and needed replacing as well as making my own strut tower and chassis braces.
My son is getting ready to start driving, and he is very excited to have the Volvo as his first car. In order to fill the soon-to-be boxy, Volvo-shaped void in my life I've decided to get myself another wagon and could use some advice.
My first thought was to get another 240 wagon with a red block engine, since I'm well familiar with how to work on them and my current 240 wagon has been such a great car for me for so many years. The only things I've found it lacking is a little more power and a little better mileage. My plans, if I went with another 240, would be to do either a B230FT swap or do the B230F+T modifications and maybe swap the AT for a Mustang 5-speed manual which from what I've read isn't terribly difficult and can result in increased gas mileage due to better gearing as well as the added fun of a MT.
An alternative would be to just buy a 740 turbo wagon, which already has the B230FT engine. They are a little harder to find for sale than the NA 240s, but it seems it would be worth a little more searching and a little higher initial price to save the work of adding a turbo to a 240. The downside is that I've never worked on a 740. From what I gather the engine work would be about the same since they are essentially the same engine, but the rest could be unknown territory for me.
So, my question is: Which do you think is the better alternative? Is the 740 mechanically very much different from the 240? How about the driving experience? Has anyone done the +Turbo mod to a 240? Was it worth the time and trouble? Any advice about your experiences with either car would be helpful in making this decision. Thanks!

 

LOL, I had a 740 that I drove for about 17 years, over 400,000 miles. The only reason I let it go was a single mom needed a good car real bad so I sold it to her for $7.38. I spent about $176 per year on it. I mean nothing broke on the thing. The only things I can recall was a transmission rebuild ($385), vent system billows behind the dash, and door panel vinyl started to crack. The car was bullet proof.

I'm close to a couple of guys that specialize in turning those red blocks into super sleepers that can be driven daily. They install turbo's with mods to help them last as long as the original motors last. Maybe they can help you a little.

 

Thanks rspi! Whichever route I go I'll probably need some advice since working on turbos will be a new experience for me. I'll definitely be hitting up this forum for help, so I'll get in touch with you when it comes time to start wrenching.

 

Cool. Post in the 740 section and maybe even visit Swedespeed.com and TurboBricks | High Performance Volvo Club.

 

I have enough turbos in my life xc70,v70,and 2 s60's so I bough a 240 with a N/A redblock. I am just going to do a yoshifab dohc conversion and keep it N/A. That way I can have a simple to work on yet reliable 240. I know that once I do the conversion I will be turning a non-interference engine to an interference engine but the added hp with be well worth it...I'll just change the belt and tensioner and pulleys ahead of scheduled as I do with my other volvos.

 

I understand that the 740 is a real nice car but it just does not have the look that I would be happy with all said and done.

 

I've got an '89 740 turbo. You think any of those guys you know would be interested in buying mine for parts? Or even for the kick of restoring it?