Hey guys. A buddy just got a '91 740 and we've been getting it up to speed. Good car. I was raised on European cars, mostly in a 200 series wagon. Damn good cars, I wouldn't mind owning one some day. I like the heritage of of Volvo which I see as reliable, damn well built cars that are sensible yet good fun.

Anyway, I had several questions.

Firstly, what is the difference between the 240 and the 740? I had heard they were the same thing..And the 940/970? They all look virtually the same from the outside..

Secondly, are manual turbos very common? RWD+turbo+manual is a recipe for EPIC WIN!

Thirdly, what about the dual cammers? I was reading wikipedia and apparently Porsche developed the 4 valve head; was this ever offered on rwd cars with turbo and/or manual?

Fourthly, I see that my buddies car has a live rear axle..Has anyone converted a Volvo of this generation to a IRS? Do any Volvo's from that era have IRS?

Thanks for reading!

 

1. You can look at the 740 as an evolved 240, drivetrains are pretty much the same. 740 was supposed to replace the 240 but they turned out to be contemporaries...

2.Manual turbos 740 are rare, may be 10% of the US market, 240 turbos ended in 1985 and they are getting scarce.

3. 940 is a newer version of the 740, which ended in 1992 in the US. 1990-1992 740's are 940 clones with very subtle differences. 1991 740turbo is the last stick sold in the US as far as 740/940/960 cars.

4. Dual cam Volvos are more problematic, but some of them with proper care, do quite well.

5. IRS is problem and a pain and the conversion is usually to the regular shocks away from it...

 

1 & 3.) cool, ok.

2.) Hm, ok. How difficult is it to swap a manual to one of these cars? Looking at the firewall, I see a piece of metal bolted on to where you would have clutch linkage or hydro line..I also saw that on the brake fluid reservoir it had another outlet with a plastic cover, I assume if you swapped a manual you just take that off and plumb to the clutch cylinder from there..What is the manual gearbox you would want to drop in? I assume these are getrag units? Would you have to swap drivelines or is the length the same between manual and slushbox?

4.) Why are the DOHC mills more problematic? Are there any notable weaknesses in them? Do the DOHC mills also have timing belts? I would hope there is a simplex (or, duplex ) chain..

5.) Why is IRS a problem? IRS has much better characteristics if you ask me!

 

Swapping to a manual is a straight 'bolt on' as long as the donor car is a another 740-all the parts are there, just the driveshaft is sometimes a challenge but overall: easy.

The DOHC are not as robust as the 8v-may be it is the belt frequency changes, like 30k, I think, they just seem to last less, they are interferance engines.

The IRS is great until you start having to change things, and prices are 'dealer only'. Just more complicated with the Nivomat and assorted bushings.

Generally, the 740/940 is one of the cheapest cars you can own providing you do your own work, and that's relatively simple. If you start to get fancy, like these kinds of mods, sure, have fun, but it will get pricier. Old Volvo people, no offense, are frugal...

 

Can you give me a ballpark figure on how much it would cost? 1 grand? 2? 3? I'm doing a six speed swap in my BMW 7er and it's going to cost around 2500 bucks.

Ehhhh, interference engine? That's not good. Maybe I would be sticking with the 8v then, if I were to get one. Can the dual cammer head be dropped on to a b230ft shortblock?