I am acquiring a Volvo 740GLE that currently has a B234F. The guy who owns the car at the moment says that it won't start and he thinks it's done. Since I am getting the car for free I am going to replace the motor. I'm not sure on the shape of the transmission. Now, what engine should I go with? What will I need for the swap? He says that the alternator mount is broken on the current engine.

 

There are probably plenty of single cam engines b230's. Just find one that doesnt have a half million miles and one that is complete if you have to worry about smogging it like I do in California. As for the tranny, drop the pan and look to for metal powder in the fluid. If it looks pretty clean and the fluid doesnt smell burnt, the tranny is probably ok.
This is my novice opinion anyway!

 

Toms on ebay scraps loads of vovo's, engines cost about $3-400. They'll pallette and ship.

http://search.stores.ebay.com/Toms-F...018592QQsofpZ0

 

Is this a good engine?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ENGIN...2095QQtcZphoto

 

The car obviously didn't die of old age.!
That says the engine was running, not worn out.
It wouldn't bother me to buy that engine, I might be inclined to pay a bit more,
they usually go for $300.

The unknown mileage probably drives the price down, mine is a 1990 and has 185K.
150K-250K miles would be normal for that age.

Make sure you get the necessary computer if you're changing anything in that area.

This is their own website,
http://toms4n.com/
if you call and have a chat they can tell you if you need to change anything else,
they are knowledgeable on volvo's.

The neat thing about a palleted engine is you can put it on an engine stand and do all sorts of work on them in comfort, hook up a battery and do a compression test.