modify a 1.4 340

[1.4 Volvo 34o]

i would like to know if there is anything i can do to up the performance to my 1988 1.4 volvo 340 5dr

[classicswede]

The only real thing to do is let it breath more easily - let the gas out through the exhaust (2" bore for the 1.4) and let the air in this will involve modding the resrictive air filter and replacing it with something suitable.

BTW carb icing can be a problem after changing the filter if running on petrol.

Apart from teh basics ther is not much more you can do with the 1.4

You could get a manifold to take abetter car set up but the gain would not realy be worth the cost.

[MJ]

Definetly, but what you do depends on how much you want to spend, and your mechanical knowlege.

At the cheap/simple end weight reduction is very simple and free. Rear seats, soundproofing, etc.

Getting some lighter alloy wheels is very simple and isn't too expensive second hand.

Fitting a performance air filter can help, but you may have to adjust the carb afterwards for the increased airflow. You could also set up a ram air setup, to increase airflow.

If you have a fair bit of knowlege and money an engine swap would give a lot more power in one go. You could just go for a a 340 i.7 for a slight increase, or there are 440 engines that are compatable. The 1.4 is a Renault engine, so several Renault's are compatable, right up to the 1.8 16v Williams engine which will give a massive increase.

If you want to improve handling you could fit better dampers or stiffer front springs. Dai is the man to see for that. look for his performance parts post on here somewhere, and look round to see what others have done.

Oh, and welcome to V3M

[1.4 Volvo 34o]

thanks well i am no mechanic so what would be easier and cheap to do, and not effect my insurance because this is my first car

[340GLT]

I had a 1.4 as my first car, (well still have the car its just not a 1.4 lol) As for the insurance problem TBH nothing you do to enhance the car will not affect the insurance if your an honest person, although i had a lot of things done to mine which were not declared.
I think performance wise the best thing you can do is get a decent exhaust on the car and modify the standard air box. And another thing to do is stick it on some 400 alloys and lower it with some suspension parts so it handles better. My 1.4 annoyed an MR2 owner by keeping with him on the way to college one morning!!
Now it just kills them!!! lol
Adam

[SteveP]

My 1.4 annoyed an MR2 owner by keeping with him on the way to college one morning!!

I'm sorry.. but he must've been asleep

[Ali]

What I really want to see is someone build a properly tuned up 1.4 and convert it to injection running on MSnS Be interesting to see what economy it gets then, stick it on throttle bodies, cam, exhaust, etc and should be a nice little revvy unit

[stealthstylz]

Stuff like that is interesting but pointless tho. A lad I know modified a 1.2 16v clio. He fitted custom cams, custom rods, crank, pistons, set of jenvey tb's and emerald ECU. Made about 125bhp at 8900rpm in the end but was impossible to drive and had about as much torque as a twist n go scooter.

Matt

[MJ]

And I'd have thought if he'd just bought a replacement (second hand) engine, like a 1.8 16v it would have almost the same power stock, and at a lower cost than doing all that work to the 1.2.

But each to their own, he may have been more interested in doing all that work rather than just wanting more power

[stealthstylz]

Yeh 1.8 16v has 137bhp standard he just wanted to build something different and has lots of spare ££££ lol. Sounded nice tho.

Matt

[A M R]

Stuff like that is interesting but pointless tho. A lad I know modified a 1.2 16v clio. He fitted custom cams, custom rods, crank, pistons, set of jenvey tb's and emerald ECU. Made about 125bhp at 8900rpm in the end but was impossible to drive and had about as much torque as a twist n go scooter.

Matt

why was it impossible to drive?

[classicswede]

My quess would be it was falling off the cams (the loverlap on the cams was to much to give a resonable idle - no pwer at low revs probably nothing below about 4000RPM).

The 1.4 is already a very gutsy revy engine. I see no point making any interanl mods to one tbh. For making more power breathing is the only thing I would do.

If you want to give soem sporty modern cars a hard time handling is the key.

[stealthstylz]

As classicswede says it didnt come on cam till 4500rpm which means you couldn't drive it slowly without the engine misfiring and generally running like shit.

At the end of the day torque is what rules on the street. I've done the "race" engine on the road thing - 1450cc A series mini, full race head & cam, twin 45s, jack knight dog box etc. It made a silly amount of power, but it was hard work to drive. The acceleration off roundabouts in 3rd gear was slower than my standard 1.2 clio, and until it came on cam it was rubbish.

Matt

[clitti]

I have a 1.4 340 and i intend to develop more power from the engine by throwing it away and replacing it with a B230 block , 16 valve head and penta crank rods and pistons. that should do it.A 16 valve 2.5 with about 200 bhp(approx).I know you young kids worry about insurance costs but us old fellas have paid our insurance dues and can now fit huge engines in our little cars.I bet you littleuns can't wait to get old now!!!!!!!

[SteveP]

200bhp sounds rather conservative considering the parts expenditure, that is N/A I would assume? You can get them kinda figures out of a stock 8v 2.0 or 2.3 turbo which are widely available!

Sounds like a fun project though