Newbie to Volvo's needs some info

[Chris_C]

Just to add fuel to the fire....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3h-iIIR8yw

Its the 2.0L version of that in the 360 as standard Its also an engine in that family that has the gunniess record of most miles in a car, 2,500,000 I think at last count!

Hope you find what you are looking for, 3dr 360 GLT will be interesting to find though, good luck with it!

[Johnny A]

the 2ltrs just run and run........

xe motors do rock though maybe 1 of the escort 1/2 ex manifolds could be used too ?? my m8 had 1 in his chevette and it was a flyer,though the flywheel came loose on 2 occasions so he sold it

Loose flywheel bolts? Never heard of that happening before ever really. Bad luck I guess... or the wrong torque settings.

Love the XE lumps, last one I delt with had 160K on it, was in an old Cav GSi. I took it out, new H/G and bolts, cleaned it all up. New cambelt kit and water pump and oil. Dropped it into another Cav for my mate, RR'ed two weeks later at Interpro near Bristol and made 161bhp (standard is 156bhp) from a totally standard lump! Interpro offer accurate rollers too, with several cars making below-standard bhp figures.

That engine is now on 180 odd K miles.. but is out of the cav and in a garage somewhere as the kiddy who bought my mate's cav crashed it

[Johnny A]

Just to add fuel to the fire....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3h-iIIR8yw

Its the 2.0L version of that in the 360 as standard Its also an engine in that family that has the gunniess record of most miles in a car, 2,500,000 I think at last count!

Hope you find what you are looking for, 3dr 360 GLT will be interesting to find though, good luck with it!

Not bothered about the record thing, its just how it's been looked after. I think the record is now held by a Mk2 Golf diesel with over 6 million on it or something.

[Chris_C]

Hehe, don't get me wrong mate, I'd love to see something different in a 300

I'll have a look into that Golf, never heard of it!

[Johnny A]

just watched that video, nice lump..... not quite THAT lump tho is it lol

That one might have been slightly breathed on by a tuner...

[pettaw]

well the 2.3 makes 140 in fuel injection guise , and thats a straight swap over . multi point lh and k jet was used but only lh2.2 in a 360 .

if your picking on a 2litre then you can either go down the old skool way of twin carbs and peppier cams etc , easily make over 200 bhp .

Erm no it won't.......unless you put some sort of forced induction on it. About 150-160bhp is a more realistic figure, and that's only with new cam, manifold and big carbs.

The only way to get that kind of power NA would be to rework the entire engine, balance it so you can remove the rev limiter, port out and increase breathing with new cams and new manifold/air intakes.....far too much work IMO.

Also, 360s never had Lh2.2.

[Johnny A]

Erm no it won't.......unless you put some sort of forced induction on it. About 150-160bhp is a more realistic figure, and that's only with new cam, manifold and big carbs.

The only way to get that kind of power NA would be to rework the entire engine, balance it so you can remove the rev limiter, port out and increase breathing with new cams and new manifold/air intakes.....far too much work IMO.

Also, 360s never had Lh2.2.

Cheers for that, I thought that 200bhp did sound a tad high considering its factory output... but I didn't want to say anything because I don't know the lump.

Either way i'm still favoring the XE

[classicswede]

As to parts available what do you want?

Front and rear coilovers (rears replacing leaf springs),
Coil overs are realy a track only thing. I can do them but if the car is for road use you will be better off with normal lowering springs. As to rear the 300 actualy has the best leaf spring set up I have even know and you will gain very little by changing it.
Poly bushes on most suspension components bar the ARB's - Preetty much all available
Information on LSD's (Quaife?) No direct fitment available but can be done.
Clear front indicators - radiocast
Smoked rear lamps???? - available in a can!!!

The rest I could source myself, because it's not Volvo-based (exhaust pipe, engine mounts, a Vauxhall lump with bellhousing made up from a Carlton box, bucket seats with harnesses etc...)

Also looking on another thread, it appears that the 340/360 has a 4x100 wheel stud pattern (same as Vauxhalls) and around an ET35-38 offset. I just happen to have a set of Masitaly VT5's in 17", 4x100 and ET38 off an old Calibra..... perfect with a set of suitable spigot rings!!!

It would be worth you taking a look through the performance parts cat in the offer section.

[classicswede]

As to the engine side of things - I think you are making hard work of it wanting to put he vauxhall lump in.

If you are used to major engine swaps where nothing bolts together then fine. Be caefull not to bite off more than you can chew.
You are going to need to sort out manifolds clutch bellhousing adaptor and the bisics like hoses and linkages. Oh and you will need a sutable sump for RWD conversion

[foggyjames]

I can see the logic in wanting to fit an engine you know...but I'd take the time to learn a new engine. There's not an inherant advantage in the XE from my limited knowledge of that lump (assuming you pick the right redblock), beyond that you know it well.

Many varients of the redblock engine (the engine found in almost all 240s, 740s, 940s and 360s from the mid 70s to the late 90s) are horrendous on fuel, but some are fairly reasonable. Generally, later-model engines are better. My 360 would return above 45mpg at 70mph on the motorway, and still be topping 30mpg at 90 on the private test track. Having said that, it was pretty slow...

The 2.3 LPT (light pressure turbo) makes a tame 135bhp but a healthier 170lbft of torque...which translates into oodles of lazy grunt. It will also top 40mpg in a 940 (heavier, and potentially worse in terms of aerodynamics) if you drive like a granny, so should be better in a 360. However, you say turbo is out...so...

The best version for your usage (and the one which most closely matches an XE) is probably a 2.3 16v unit from a late 740 or early 940 (circa 1989 to 1992). The unit was dropped after only a couple of years, allegedly because of oil leak problems from the head, but I'm not quite sure where this stems from, as plenty of people I know of run them with no problem at all.

Fuel efficiency is better than the 8v versions, peak power was 155bhp, and torque is 150lbft. That makes it near as dammit a match for the XE (albeit obviously it takes greater displacement to achieve it, but the Volvo engines have always been 'detuned' - perhaps Vauxhall pushed the XE a little further in terms of cam spec and how adventurous they got with the intake/exhaust?).

Of course there's also a certain amount of fashion involved. I suspect that part of the reason the 340s are preferred by the drift crowd is because you can fairly easily put in a 'cool' engine like the 16v unit from various Renaults (Clios, R19s and Lagunas?). If putting an XE in makes you happy, and allows you to tinker with it without learning a new engine - go right ahead - but I wouldn't do it thinking that the XE will give you anything the right redblock wouldn't.

The mileage record held by Irv Gordon's P1800 is the one-owner record. It had a rebuild at around 650,000 miles, and has been going ever since...now on just shy of 2.5 million miles. There aren't many petrol engines out there which can claim that.

cheers

James

[volvorsport]

who said it was factory output ?

erm ive had one on an engine dyno over 200 bhp , so yes a NA redblock can make that figure , it wasnt std tho . that is what it can achieve .

a 2.3 is 140 bhp from the factory - the 2 litre 119 bhp .

and yes its not quite lh 2.2 its pretty much the same thing except you get a horrible renix unit for the ignition , so stop splitting hairs .

the point i was trying to make is it will have a flap type AFM , not an air mass meter .

[foggyjames]

LH2.2 has a hot-wire AMM. LE-Jet is much more like Motronic, as far as I can tell.

200bhp in road trim would be a tall ask from a B200....fairly easy from a B230 though - cam, DCOE 45s, header, exhaust, balance for 7500rpm...maybe a little mild headwork - sound about right Dave? I'd expect to be able to pull 170-180 from a B200 before having to talk very nicely to the bank manager.

cheers

James

[Johnny A]

I did browse that little catalog in the for sale area, will be coming back to that when the time comes. Prices look very reasonable too.

If you are used to major engine swaps where nothing bolts together then fine. Be caefull not to bite off more than you can chew.
You are going to need to sort out manifolds clutch bellhousing adaptor and the bisics like hoses and linkages. Oh and you will need a sutable sump for RWD conversion

Yes I am far too accustomed to stupid engine swops. I'm currently the first and only person to fit a C20LET engine into a Carlton in the UK

This is before I removed the turbo and fitted a supercharger to it.

I'd be lying if it was the easist conversion in the world... mainly because no one could help (no one who spoke english had done one), and both inlet and exhaust manifolds fouled things.... and the gearbox exploded and so on. Well worth it though in the end.

As far as making an XE RWD it's pretty simple actually, the 2.0 8v Carlton has all hoses and pipes including the RWD sump and pickup pipe (which 'bulges' in the right place for the 360 subframe)

As for the 'custom' bellhousing and so on. Nah simple that one. Get a Carlton 2.0 8v RWD box. Remove inner'ds and cut the box casing (one piece box) just after the start of the internal casing. This would leave you with something similar to what the 360 has already (Clutch actuation assembly inside the housing and the main input shaft bearing still on the casing) Then it's just a case of speaking to a good friend who does a lot of machining and milling to make up a custom shaft that connects the clutch friction plate to the propshaft.

Man I need to get out more.

P.S I love a challange

[volvorsport]

i never did mention that it was 2 litre or not

a redblock with over 200 bhp was all i stated 'in the context of engine swaps' .

anyway with the right cam and induction/exhaust - a 2 litre will get to 200 and beyond perhaps even std internals

[volvorsport]

As for the 'custom' bellhousing and so on. Nah simple that one. Get a Carlton 2.0 8v RWD box. Remove inner'ds and cut the box casing (one piece box) just after the start of the internal casing. This would leave you with something similar to what the 360 has already (Clutch actuation assembly inside the housing and the main input shaft bearing still on the casing) Then it's just a case of speaking to a good friend who does a lot of machining and milling to make up a custom shaft that connects the clutch friction plate to the propshaft.

and that ther in is the problem - the 2 litre has a torque tube , which needs more modification than you think .

if you want revs - renaut 16v will bolt straight in , with work obviously on a 1.7 base car .

but still youre talking about cheap and economical , but still want to spend money on converting it - for me it would be a 2 litre , take my time convert to 2.3 (and turbo later) - find out the gearbox wont take real abuse , and build a 740 !!