I have a chance to get a 1998 S70 2.3 T5 engine for really cheap. The plan is to swap it into something rwd using a standalone ECU so electronics aren’t an issue. I know that the 1999 S70 T5 engine switched to coil-on-plug, electronic TB, and VVT. As far as I can tell the heads in terms of ignition are the same (‘98 has holes for ignition coil bolts and the ‘99 still has the hole in the head and cover for the rotor as well as mounting holes for the distributor cover). What I can’t tell though is if the heads are the same in terms of VVT. So my question is, hypothetically (not actually the case for me), if you had a ‘99 engine with a damaged head and cam cover and a perfect ‘98 engine, would it be possible to swap everything from the ‘99 head into the ‘98 head to basically achieve a working ‘99 head?

 

No,
the oil passages in the head for the VVT system are not there in a 1998 head.