Nimminz' LSD GLT Daily - Part1

[Nimminz]

Right, not been on for a while.

Had a great time at the BKV, will sort through the photo's at some point

I managed to get all 5 gears back after 'fabricating' some gear linkage bracket things ...



It has ny-locks on too now haha
It works for now, will make a nicer solution on some rubber mounts as a bit of vibration is passed on to the body

Replaced a 'leaky' coolant hose only to find it was the radiator after all that was leaking. Still, the BBB hose i got off volvomania at the BKV is great



Found this after my car passed the MOT with no mension of corrosion even in the advisories...



O/S sill under B pillar :/ Will weld it up soon

Painted the RX7 Calipers


and here is my complete coilover, t'other's just waiting on a topmount



250lb/in springs 6" long and 4" 6lb/in helpers and spherical bearing topmounts which Atchi, Miniswift, made for me. He got the plates laser cut to my (slightly incorrect) drawing lol. Then he welded in the bearing housing. I was going to use nuts and bolts but thought it may be tricky holding a nut inside the turrt while tightening a bolt above so welded on some nuts to the underside of the topmount

Here's the topmount in detail



No, they're not the bolts i will be using, going to get some 12.9 bolts ordered, just used these for when I welded the nuts on

Just waiting on the other topmount and Adam's brake brackets and the fun can begin

Also painted the steering wheel satin black, fitted the boss surround, and mocked up a flocked section of the doorcard with some sticky back velour stuff i found in Wilco's lol. Think it looks ok.

Got new leaf spring Poly's off Dai at the BKV aswell. This means I can swap my rippled leafs for a set of GLT ones I got off mattywatsit. First I want to make 2 new matching anti-tramp bars so I can have one each side of the axle as I'm pretty sure that's what has rippled my N/S spring.

There may well be another update shortly with some parts off another volvo and a load of wiring to be done

[Nimminz]

last topmount off Atchi is in my possession, needs nuts welding to it and a lick of paint. still got the other coilover to paint.

tonight i picked up a set of recaro's out a proton GTI. runners look like they'll go straight in with the help of a drill, maybe a tiny bracket at the most. rear's might take a bit more doing, or i'll get the fabric off em and stick it over my seats.

been looking at some cool stuff in a 940 tonight up at filthyjohn's

[Nimminz]

The front 2 Recaro's are in
super easy to do, went as follows.

1.Remove subframe from Recaro


2. Remove subframe from volvo seat


3. See how the width is exactly the same


4. Needs hole here


5. Hole made


6. bolt on volvo subframe to recaro


7. Job done - recaro on low profile volvo runner



8. in the car


As i said, I've now done both. They suit the car perfect IMO and feel really nice and hold you in well.

Big update
Now, on wednesday I'd said I was up at FilthyJohn's looking in the engine bay of a 940. to be exact it was an L reg Wentworth so B200FT
he showed me around the turbo redblock engine (well multiple ones). Thursday I had another ride up, this time armed with wiring diagrams, wire cutters, more time and a little brother to help out. John's brother also had a ride down. We cut out ALL the un-needed wires from the engine bay, which included things like ABS, Cooling fans, headlights and wipers, washers and all that stuff.

We then finished off with a rather nice chinese as the light started to fade.
Friday we got the first 53, Yes 53 pin connector, of 3, stripped down to one wire for the fuel pump. You can see the black 53-pin connector untouched and the white connector halfs and the one wire arrowed:

John dug this wire out all the way to the back of the car while I started on the other side, where he had found the LH and EZK ECU's. I got the ABS ECU and it's amazing quick release holder out, some kind of amplifier, and loads of unused wire out. The fusebox was the most complicated part:

Only 3 fuses (well 2 really) are needed and I have it down to 2 relays although I'm sure one can dissapear. This is where i made the first major mistake in stripping the wires back and it took a fair while to put back some of the wires after the failed test start. Before this it had gone amazingly well. here's what the fusebox looks like at the back, note the beautiful ID plate at the back of the fuseboard:

And here's me butchering it

I think its down to about 10 wires but some of them won't be needed.

Really, all that's left to do on the wiring front is chop a few more wires off the two big connectors left at each side, then pull it all into the engine bay and have the car running before it can be carefully unplugged and neatened at home and made to fit the 300.

So incase you haven't guessed, this is for my 360. I was going to swap the engine but have decided a +T is the way to go. Although my engine is the 10:1 CR - I think? it won't explode if I keep the boost sensible. My cam should make things more fun too, and I need not have cam mounted dizzy. It also means the car can be converted in minimal time The B200FT is 155bhp standard with a Cat in the exhaust. I'll have a better flowing exhaust, no cat, my cam and a lighter car, that's just doing the conversion, not playing around after. Oh I also have the LSD to put the power down The ECU can be chipped, John looked up the number on it.

Things I will need which I can't get from either car are:
Oil drain to sump - Will need welding - may get spare to save conversion time 'here's one I made earlier' style, will also need flexi pipe
Cone / foam air filter - for cool noise and save restriction/hasstle of fitting a volvo airbox
Intercooler - hello ebay
Tubing for IC + Air filter - some can be scavanged from 940
Downpipe - have already briefly talked to Atchi about this, laser cutting is cool
Exhaust
Oil filter relocation kit - already in the shed with an oil cooler + volvo filter
Loads of heatwrap stuff to stop things melting etc. also some vents for the bonnet
New 940 Clutch with big clamp force or something even better but i'm on a budget
Boost guage - probably oil temp, pressure etc. too but may Arduino them

Probably loads more but the conversion it's self won't happen for a short while while I collect the bits needed anyway.

Water feed and drain and oil feed are things John explained to me but I've forgot lol. there's loads and loads to work out and that but have learned a fair bit in the last week, John knows his stuff!. It's actually very enjoyable stripping the 940, laid back atmosphere, canny weather and somehow the car still runs after so much has been removed. Will try take more photos next week. Dont think there's much left to do wiring wise another day maybe a tad more

Thanks for looking
Matt

[miniswift]

Hey Matt,

Well done. I hate wirings so this is why my Mini is not finished.

Anyway, I have sump plugs from Micra oil sump which as you know are not fitted.... straight from nissan supplier where I used to work.
I have many pipes for oil with anodised ali fittings which you haven't seen as yet.

You may want to buy an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, so that you can increase injectors' pressure for better fuel supply.
I have 2 K+N air filters which are cone type. 1 is from Honda CRX 1.6 VT which I used to drive(50 miles old) and the other Swift Gti 1.3 16v.

Good luck with your mod and let me know if you want those things I have told you.

Cheers
Atchi

[Evoman]

looks some brillant progress matt this is another step beyond the lh2.4 conversion will you need to cut the bell housing for the new CPS?

I like the seats, I've always thought they are nice and agree that they suit the car very well! I may have to follow you if theres a spare set at my local proton dealer

[Chris_C]

Great stuff Matt! The recaros in fake were just as easy to fit, must be something about the era?

[Nimminz]

Cheers!

Recaro must have made all the seats the same then made different runners for each car maybe? Just so happens volvo used the same size

Yep Bellhousing will need to be cut for the new CPS. I'm gonna re-do the loom once its stripped down and removed although many of the connectors (there are about 10) only have the required wires in so they will be kept A new fusebox for engine related stuff and the LH relay will be made and i need to find somewhere for the EZK ignition ECU to live. Loads of other stuff like the ballast resistor for the injectors, ignition power amplifier, Radio interference relay etc. will live in the engine bay. Then you've got the intercooler to mount and run pipes too so the front panel will probably need cutting. Also thinking of venting the bonnet to keep temps down.

Atchi, Aye mate those micra sump plugs looked perfect, I also love anodised ali The K&N sounds like a good call, if you think it will be big enough for up to say 175 hp

[Ride_on]

My opinion is by not changing the whole engine you are only really avoiding changing the flywheel and sensor to match the EZK ignition and swapping some parts over. I havn't tried this yet, but it maybe possible to keep the 360 ignition (or select a suitable map amonst all the models out there) and not change the flywheel, although it is a bit of a bodge. A 940 clutch friction plate will not match the 360 drive splines. Clutch will need some work in any case.

I'd say swapping parts over is not as difficult as finding the right parts. So its easy to swap sump and oil pump, but flywheel and clutch can be a bit tricky to get a good match. Custom exhaust and oil drain/engine mount need modified anyway. BTW the 360 block will need drilled and tapped for the oil drain, you need to remove the engine and take the sump off anyway.

The rear mounted dizzy can be converted to 360 style or left in place for your car (should be enough space on a mk 3), or you could have fun converting an EZK to DIS/wasted spark.

I guess you are going the route of not modifying the engine mount, but the turbo could still be very close to touch off it and you won't know until the final build.

With the proper engine you can add more boost and have a complete reliable lump with the correct fueling and ignition without a programmable system, and having to set it up. I like to reuse 'Engineering' as much as possible and customise simple things only.

I think your 88 360 is 9.2:1, 940 turbo will be 8.7:1, so not too bad i guess, but I'd rather have the full 200bhp+ possibility with stronger rods etc. I'm also not sure how you would wind the boost down.

[Chris_C]

I'm with RideOn on this, given how easy it is to change the engine, I'd be doing the whole thing. Let the ECU be as happy as it can be with as many of it's own parts as you can take across.

[Nimminz]

Its swapping the block that im avaoiding and trying to make the car stay on the road without taking it off for ages.
Pro's
Keep my dizzy
Keep 300 PAS
No need to change block/head/timing belt etc.
more work can be done while 360 is being used.
Oil feed can be made, gonna get one made into the sump.
Can save up for a 940 clutch - the fly is being swapped and EZK used.

Cons
Higher compression ratio
Thinner rods

For me, it's not easier to remove the engine - if you have a garage, another car to use and an engine crane then yes it may be but i dont. I don't even have solid ground to work on. but i don't mind putting the extra effort in doing it the 'hard' way. The only difference in the final product is the CR and thinner rods

[Chris_C]

The only difference in the final product is the CR and thinner rods

Just be sure that this fact.

There is every chance the valve size is different, cam *is* different, ports aerodynamically could be different, piston crown/head combustion chamber could be different etc.

I understand the no garage/second car thing, believe me. When I put the F7R in Fake, I didn't have either and even now I still work in the garden on gravel. However, I run a *very* non standard engine compared to what the ECU wants and whilst it is one of the best running F7x's I've seen and heard, it isn't correct and it isn't how Volvo would have sold it. It took a long time to get it to that stage.

Long term, an engine that is matched to the ECU you are running will just save man years of time. If the eventual plan is an aftermarket ECU, great, it makes sense, but don't think LH will just let you do anything. I've heard a lot of people say LH will deal with engine upgrades well, but people also say that about the Williams ECU and it just isn't true. Yes, the car runs, but not to the level and accuracy it should.

Mucking around with the current non standard engine in Fake has cost me 2.5 years of project time, for a reward of maybe 10% more power. You could be looking at the same amount of time investment for a "custom" engine that at best will be down on power compared to the original. I know you enjoy putting the time in to your car, so this might all be irrelavent.

If this doesn't matter to you, then great, but I want you to go into this with your eyes open. Please don't think I'm trying to stop you, turboing a 360 is a very very nice project, I'm just not sure you've seen all the disadvantages of all sides.

[classicswede]

All of the redblock engines have the same size valves. The Turbo valves are however sodium filled for cooling.

There is no reason why you can not go about the conversion the way you intend but personally I would fit the complete engine to save hassle and time.

You could buld up the turbo engine with 360 water pump, 360/240 intermediate cam and dizzy and then do the conversion over a weekend.

Pulling the engine to drill the block of the turbo oil return is the big put off for me converting a NA block.

[classicswede]

I'm sure you will have thread this thread before but if not well worth having a look through
http://www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/v ... &start=285

[Nimminz]

Thanks for the comments and advice guys! It's what i want to hear.

Yeah, the pistons are a different, that's where the CR difference happens, so it will be different. But as far as I can tell it's just like running a tiny bit of boost constantly even before you hit boost, if you get what i mean? Sodium filled valves was something I hadn't realised. Yeah and the cam but its better than the tock turbo one. I'll be using the EZK ignition system which has a knock sensor so can advance/retard timing as it wants/needs. The Oil return I'm planning on using a flexi line then have a sump plug fitting (from atchi) welded to a spare 360 sump I'll try and find.

Yeah swapping the engine complete would be the BEST solution, there is no argument. but it would mean swapping the intermediate shaft to run a dizzy out the block, waterpump, working out how to run my PAS - could use the 940 pump but then i'd have to connect it up, water pipes are different and i might have trouble sending water to the heater box. It just seems a lot of fiddly work all round the engine. I'd also want atleast a cambelt doing on it if not HG too

I have NO room for an engine to be stored, no engine crane although i know i can borrow one. I'll probably end up doing the conversion on my own so lifting engines and that might be difficult. Budget is another main consideration - I have no money lol

So I understand that what i will be left with won't be 100% perfect but Its, realistically, the only way I can make it happen. It would be the same doing any engine modification and keeping OEM management. I'm pretty sure I'll leave it at standard boost for a fair while and just use it in it's franken-standard form. It shouldn't be too far from how the ECU want's it but yeah it will be different.

Cheers for the link to Ali's build, I have seen it before but now I have it bookmarked.

So don't think I'm just disregarding your concerns, It's just that a whole engine swap really isn't an option at all. I'm glad the points have been highlighted though. I don't mind putting in more time later to improve the engine while I use it and more money when i get it. It's probably going to be a fair while before i can afford a cheap ebay cooler, piping, exhaust parts etc. anyway.

Cheers for your help and please point out anything, I'll try and keep this updated too
Matt

[Chris_C]

I'll be using the EZK ignition system which has a knock sensor so can advance/retard timing as it wants/needs.

It is unlikely to do this on a per bin basis, though I don't have EZK experience.

FWIW, split everything on the turbo engine up and put it under your bed. You might want to rebuild it one day