Good day everyone, newbie here, not on Volvo's but on the forum.

i inherited a 1980 245 estate from my late dad.

What's the easiest engine and gear box swap for more power? A 850 turbo 5 cylinder? A 4.0 bmw v8 with the 6 speed gearbox? A Ford V8 and Tremec from a Mustang?

All ideas appreciated and welcome.

Alex

 

If you are looking at cost and reliability and ease of installation I would go with the Ford combo. This has been done before so my bet is there is info on the net about this swap.

 

agree on the V8 ford. Adaptor kits can be found. Let me get you started and post pics when done :-)

https://jagsthatrun.com/collections/volvo/volvo-200

 

It's funny that this question comes up just after we were discussing this very thing in another thread. Here's the link:

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...0-wagon-96385/


The Ford/Tremec option is a good choice. But personally, I favor going with Chevrolet goodies. As I stated in that other thread, the GM engines are dimensionally a little smaller than the Ford and they give a little more working room when trying to make everything fit. And there's an adaptor to fit a Tremec to all sorts of engines.

That being said, there are a lot of guys out there that went the Ford route and they have super clean installations and have gotten really good results with the Fords.

Tell us whether or not you want to go with an automatic or manual transmission. If you already have a manual transmission in your Volvo, the master cylinder and clutch assembly is already in place. A Tremec would require very little clearancing. (...banging around with a big hammer) It will be far easier to work with than any automatic transmission. But the autotrans CAN be done - which is the way I want to go. I'm too old to be stirring around a stick shift.

According to the JTR book, the best bet for cooling is to use a Corvette radiator and NOT an aftermarket unit. They give a parts number for the exact Corvette radiator that should be used. You'll end up with a very efficient radiator that is top quality and will keep the strongest V8s cool in traffic.

For me personally, I plan to go with an all Chevrolet radiator/engine/transmission combination. Chevrolet has always been a company that is super supportive of the hot rodders of the world by making available all sorts of goodies that can be used to solve the myriad of problems encountered when doing such a swap. Good luck, man! Please take photos and keep us all in the loop. I, for one, really want to see how this goes.

 

Seems like a fun project. Has me thinking about my 256,000 mile 240 and a future project. Especially when I have a local pick and pull that only charges $179.00 for a complete engine with all the accessories. I say that, maybe a late model LS motor would be pulled and sold separately by the yard, but still can be had pretty reasonably.


Assuming Chevy parts:
- LT easier to swap than an LS series?
- LS are lighter than red block being all aluminum.
- Would using an LS series over a TPI LT series make things a lot more difficult and expensive?
- I assume some sort of stand alone engine management would be required on the LS motors? A TPI system being a bit simpler I assume?
- New PS and AC hoses would need to be made for the proper fitting sizes to adapt Chevy/Ford to Volvo?
- New driveshaft?
- New auto transmission lines (I too would use an auto) into the radiator?
- Custom exhaust.

Too bad even at 256,000 miles my red block runs fine. Not a power horse, but still travels down the highway at 80 MPH without a hiccup.

 

Let me see if I can address some of these:

-LT easier to swap than an LS series?
The LT engine is much newer. As a result, there aren't many companies making mounts or headers that will work yet. It will require more fabrication.

- LS are lighter than red block being all aluminum.
Only if it's ALL aluminum. A lot of LS engines are iron such as those that come in the trucks. The all aluminum engines came in Camaros and Corvettes.

- Would using an LS series over a TPI LT series make things a lot more difficult and expensive?
- I assume some sort of stand alone engine management would be required on the LS motors? A TPI system being a bit simpler I assume?

Some sort of stand-alone fuel managment system will be needed for an LS, but these are easily found at places like Summit, etc. The LT, however, is far more complex and some way to manage the injection is going to require a lot of head scratching as it stands now. The LT also has variable valve timing. I don't even know what to say about that.

[I]- New PS and AC hoses would need to be made for the proper fitting sizes to adapt Chevy/Ford to Volvo?[/I]

That's easy to do. A lot of shops can fab up whatever you need. However, there is no power steering pump available for LT engines currently. If you want to use Volvo's power steering box, stick with an LS.

- New driveshaft?

Of course... This goes without saying on ANY engine swap and in ANY vehicle. There are shops everywhere that can do this for you. On a 244 or 245 Volvo, the center carrier bearing needs to go. You'll want to use a single driveshaft that runs from the tail of the transmission all the way to the differential.

- New auto transmission lines (I too would use an auto) into the radiator?

Again, not hard to do at all. Welcome to the world of hot rodding. LOL

- Custom exhaust.

Yes, I would stay away from headers. Of course, I've personally never been a big fan of headers anyway. But GM put a lot of time and money into researching the designs of their stock exhaust manifolds. I wouldn't try to reinvent the wheel when those stock systems flow extremely well and are high quality.

The LT will make far more horsepower than the LS. But when we're talking about putting these engines in old Volvos, remember that even the old SBC will make more horsepower than any sane person should be putting into a little 244. The LS makes even more horsepower and the LT, OMG! The sky is the limit with THAT engine.

For anyone that is considering an LS engine, this book is GREAT! I have it and I could just read it like a novel. It's worth the money. Here's a link:

 

and then you'll tear the rear end right out of the car, as well as overwhelm the rest of it (braking, etc). ugh. best to start with a low mileage well maintained car where all the joints and running gear and stuff are near perfect, putting all that work into a beater car will be a waste.