[Editor's Note: This article first appeared in the April 2014 issue of Grassroots Motorsports. Some information and pricing may be different today.]
“There are a lot of high-performance Volvo shops in Sweden,” says Ben Weaver of R-Sport International. “It’s like a Mustang or Camaro is here; it’s their muscle car.”
That probably sounds weird to the uninitiated. Volvo’s long-lived 240 platform has a strong following in the land of names that end in “sson,” but its reputation in the United States has peaked at cult status among car enthusiasts. Volvo lovers are as die-hard as their redblock engines, boosting their unloved bricks until their insides come out. The engine’s insides, not the driver’s. Hopefully.
Due to the high number of 240s sold to mainstream buyers–especially in non-turbo form with automatic transmissions–the famously boxy carmaker had a reputation for making commuters for accountants. It’s hedged with investment-grade safety equipment, and its styling remained throughout its decades of production as rectangular as a well-preened spreadsheet. The 240 was a machine clearly made for the practical mind, not the enthusiastic one.
Therein lies the bipolar world of Volvo ownership. It can be a conservative owner’s appliance: extremely robust, completely safe, and reasonable in every other way. In wagon form, it provides a huge and completely flat cargo floor to haul as much as you dare. When you add boost to this slow-revving grandson-of-a-tractor engine, it becomes a torquey and capable machine–if you do it right.
The Dana live axle driving the rear wheels can take plenty of abuse. The chassis has incredible rigidity for rollover protection, which makes it a great platform for stiff suspension. We’ve seen in-car video of a Volvo 240 wagon rolling over in a 24 Hours of LeMons race, and the roof structure held strong–it didn’t touch the roll cage. Even the windshield remained intact.
Its engine bay is also ripe for engine swaps. Small-block Ford and Chevy pushrod engines have been inserted into these ample engine bays with little difficulty, with big American iron often replacing the lackluster but long-lasting naturally aspirated Volvo four. A shortened hybrid driveshaft–any driveshaft shop can make one–mates the transmission of your choosing to the Dana rear end.
It’s unfortunate, then, that the aftermarket isn’t huge in North America. You can get plenty of great trackworthy components–transmission adapters, coil-overs, camber plates, twin-scroll turbo headers and more–but they’re not always easy to find.
The market is ripe for low-buck Swedish entertainment. You can pick one up for as little as a few hundred bucks in most of the U.S., though prices tend to be higher in certain hipster-laden areas. Get a decent one and start building. Before long, you’ll be smoking pony cars in a station wagon.
We got a lot of input for this one. These tips come from Ben Weaver of R-Sport International; Ron Wyman of IPD Parts; Steve Owens, member of the Keystone Kops crapcan racing team and service manager at Keystone Volvo; and Trevor Kindlon of the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers crapcan racing team.
The Volvo 200-series had a long production run: 1974 to 1993. Early on, the last number indicated the number of doors: 242 for the coupe, 244 for the sedan, 245 for the wagon. It was later simplified to just 240 for the whole series, but some people still use the old system when listing them for sale.
After 1985, the 240 didn’t get a turbo from the factory anymore–but the 700-series did. It’s a straightforward swap, or you can just bolt a turbo manifold and whatever turbocharger you want to the 240’s engine. The stock injection system can keep up with the turbo if you install bigger injectors, but you’ll get better performance by swapping key components from a 740 or 960 turbo car.
Oil capacity is limited. For race duty, run a large Ford truck oil filter and add an oil cooler (if not already equipped).
Factory-turbocharged engines from mid-1992 and newer have oil squirters and leave more headroom for boost. The naturally aspirated blocks can still take a turbo pretty well, and you can retrofit oil squirters if you want. The galley is there.
All four-cylinders are robust and can handle tons of horsepower without sleeving. RSI offers billet crankshafts to stroke the B230 all the way to 2.8 liters, or de-stroke it to 2.0. A de-stroked motor with a 16-valve head swap will love to rev, but it won’t be as torquey as the eight-valve engines. The most powerful B-series Volvo engines use 16-valve heads.
Its manual transmission is great for street use, but it can’t handle more than 250 horsepower or stand up to race duty. Adapter plates for the Tremec T5, Getrag 262 and Getrag 265 are available if you want big power.
If your car will see track use, weld the differential or you’ll spin the inside-rear tire constantly. Check the welds for cracks every handful of races. Brakes are strong–four-piston front and two-piston rear–but you need more for high-horsepower track use. Volvo S60R brakes can adapt with a kit from RSI.
IPD’s spring and anti-roll bar kits are great for the street, though they’re still a bit soft. Look for short struts and adjustable coil-overs if you’re building a high-horsepower machine. You can get Bilstein and Koni dampers, the latter in both single- and double-adjustable guises.
If you lower the car a lot, you’ll need adjustable links for the torque rod and Panhard rod to keep the axle centered. Poorly lowered cars push the axle toward the passenger side.
Volvo used a flame trap instead of a standard PCV system. It can clog and make an oily mess in the engine bay, so keep it clean. For race use, you can bypass it by drilling the valve cover for a breather and running it to a catch can.
IPD Parts
ipdusa.com
(800) 444-6473
iRoll Motors
irollmotors.com
(408) 686-1544
Kaplhenke Racing
kaplhenke.com
(352) 234-4797
Keystone Volvo
keystonemotors.com
(610) 647-1800
VLVworld
vlvworld.com
SwedishBricks
swedishbricks.com
Turbobricks
turbobricks.com
Volvo Tips
volvotips.com
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layout: front engine, rear-wheel drive
engine: 2127cc B21FT-spec turbocharged and fuel-injected SOHC 4-cylinder, iron block and aluminum head
horsepower: 162 @ 5100 rpm
torque: 181 @ 3900 rpm
transmission: 4-speed manual w/electric overdrive
suspension: strut front, live axle rear
brakes: 4-wheel disc
wheels: 15-in. alloy
tires: 195-60R15
weight: 2960 lbs.
I once owned a Volvo wagon and I approve of this message.
I currently have 4 240s on my property (2, 4 and 5 door) and I also approve of this message.
It seems like the 240's are set to become the next low budget RWD rally car, replacing the now more expensive and harder to find E30.
That 79 242 GT is one of my favorite cars, let alone one of my favorite Volvos. The Silver paint and subtle stripe, and the super cool corderoy upholstery with the orange stripe just makes me happy.
Courderoy.
Corduroy.
Ah. There we go.
My '82 242 has been V8 powered since 1996 -- through 2015 with Ford 5.0L power, and more recently with an LS3. Nothing but fun. The import crowd welcomes you because it's a Volvo, and the hot rodders say 'come on in' because it's V8 powered. Eventually, disposition of it will be my estate's problem. I reckon I am this message. Just like the car IS the box it came in. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/2237/
I'm on my second 240, a wagon, and I approve this message.
I so want one!!!
I also approve of this message. I drive a '08 S60 2.5T AWD. A friend once had a similar to the above Volvo, sold it with over 400,000 miles, and it was well maintained, and ran really well.
My family sold Volvos for 53 years. The 79 GT was one of my favorites. Not a lot of power. but the most comfortable car I ever fell asleep behind the wheel of, and ran into a guard rail. Sigh.
I live in Oregon, a.k.a. the hipster capital of the world. So these fetch a pretty good price on craigslist, how do they fare for rusting and is it true the bolts are strange sizes?
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