cant seem to find the thread your talking about.... link?

Some where in http://www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/v ... php?t=3190

im convinced this can be done..... the hard part seems to be finding out whats the maximum power/torque that the cvt can take without problems...... or what mods could possibly be made to the cvt system to increase the amount of extra grunt it can take??

it seems like your having the problem i've had with my astra van, it was factory 82bhp but nobody has tuned them much past 100bhp, mine is likely to be over 130bhp now and people aren't sure if it will be reliable or not. I've found the best way is to just try it and if it goes bang , then you will know the limits of your setup. it can become expensive as i've found out, but the results speak for themselves on my van (which with a new turbo will 165+bhp)...Also it is good to know you have the only one like it

lol.. true i think the more im told it cant be done the more i want to do it..... i just want to get as much info as possible 1st regarding the limits of the cvt before i start working on it...... keeping the chance of going bang as minimal as possible

haha thats how i got spurred on, my old van was 74bhp standard, I had it RR'd at 144.8bhp, i then sold that one (because it was a 2000 W-reg) bought my newer 54 plate one, with 82bhp and people say i won't see over 150bhp. Like i say it must be nearly 130 if not more (not RR proved Yet) but it can keep up with cars that should be much faster than it. I aim for 160/165bhp, anything more will be an added bonus.

I can feel your concern, I had to upgrade a clutch and gearbox in my old van, due to excessive torque. also had to renew engine mounts for solid mounts as it was snapping them, also need new front tyres quite often due to torque spin haha

good luck with your CVT power search, hope you get what you want reliably

spike4073 wrote:i think the more im told it cant be done the more i want to do it

May be you should reflect on these two points in the thread:

volvodspec wrote:it's massive torque that's the problem...[clip]in a Daf 55/66 wich is quite a bit lighter it will rip a new set of CVT belts to pieces in less then 6000miles at only 8psi.

TurboTomSportive wrote:I've found the best way is to just try it and if it goes bang , then you will know the limits of your setup. it can become expensive as i've found out

It's not so much it can't be done, but you need to be a rich man to pay for all the clutches and belts you will go through. If you do decide to go ahead, let me know so I can buy some shares in Continental and Goodyear.

lol... ok i get your point..... i think there must be a way to do it without having to go through loads of belts clutches etc.... even if it meant forking out for a more modern cvt system designed for a more powerful car

spike4073 wrote:lol... ok i get your point..... i think there must be a way to do it without having to go through loads of belts clutches etc.... even if it meant forking out for a more modern cvt system designed for a more powerful car

may i ask why you want the cvt so bad?
just me being curious

i prefer autos and i like the way the cvt performs..... but it is looking like if i want more power and i want an auto i may have to swap it for a modern auto box..... f**ked if i know whats involved with doing that dont think anyone has done it before?

A more modern CVT system is a very different beast though, and even then they initially appeared on small engines only.

Try looking up "VDT Transmatic"

maybe i should be looking at modern auto box if i want auto so bad.....hmmmm...... this is going to be expensive:S

it's not like you're the first to try it... i've recently build a car myself where the original B14.4E was converted with the carb, Renix ignition module, fuel pressure regulator + electric pump, stock T2 turbo, nice IC etc. owner insisted on keeping the CVT but i allready warned him about the consequences, it's a brilliant gearbox but it just can't handle low end torque (what a B14T and redblock are excellent at) the CVT was under it for barely 1000km and the belts exploded. now we're converting it to manual soon.

Early BMW Minis had a CVT option. From wikipedia:

The Mini One and Mini Cooper were available with a continuously variable transmission or with a conventional Midlands five-speed manual transmission (model year 2001-2004), later replaced with a Getrag five-speed unit for 2005 onwards. The Cooper S comes with a six-speed Getrag manual or (from the 2005 model year onwards) a fully automatic transmission with paddle shifters

So maybe a CVT out of one of those could go in a 340?

I think the major problem is no other car with a CVT that I can think of has a front engined transax layout.

The mini is FWD, the MG TF is mid engined and most of the other CVT stuff on the road (Jazz etc) is all FWD.