4.6 32V 240 Wagon

brickcupra said:

Hey , nice going !!!! I finally got mine out a couple of days before thanksgiving and it is ok so far. I need to update my driveshaft as well cause the one I made vibrates after 45 mph and I dont wanna take it in the highway yet, cause It might cause major damage.
More or less what is the price range in the new driveshaft , give or take?
Also I might need to go regular rear bushings or softer rate springs cause it has polyutherane bushings and the rear ride is kinda harsh. What are you running in your rear diff?
Well great job and great trip. Hope to hear from you soon. Take care
DZ !!!!

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Great news!

The old driveshaft only ran me $130 since it was just a shorten plus new flange and u joints. My new driveshaft ran me $340 since it was all new parts. A local shop was able to turn it out in under 24 hours for me - pretty freakin' awesome. I was expecting it to take weeks!

In the rear end I have all completely stock bushings. In fact, I have stock bushings and suspension in the entire car. Rides just fine for me.

Rear suspension

Hey !!! thanks for the info. Im trying to get a driveshaft that I have from a toyota t 100 shorten and then taking it to a shop for balancing. I need to get a 1310 - volvo uni joint to keep the original flange in the diff. Im really taking a leap of faith and buy new factory bushing for the rear. I also got a stiffer sway bar , but i dont know if that makes the difference in ride. I lived in NYC for 15 years and I traveled upstate NY as well. I have a friend that recently moved to Buffalo. Stay warm. Enjoy the hours invested in the build into miles of fun . DZ

aidanahunter said:

Great news!

The old driveshaft only ran me $130 since it was just a shorten plus new flange and u joints. My new driveshaft ran me $340 since it was all new parts. A local shop was able to turn it out in under 24 hours for me - pretty freakin' awesome. I was expecting it to take weeks!

In the rear end I have all completely stock bushings. In fact, I have stock bushings and suspension in the entire car. Rides just fine for me.

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The swap continues to serve as my daily driver, and now it truly is daily since I'm back in the office. The odometer just turned 305,000 miles which means the drivetrain was ready for a trans fluid and coolant flush. I can't believe it's been driven nearly 30k miles on the swap! The car continues to exceed my expectations every day and is showing no signs of stopping.

That being said, this has not come without some headache. In March, the car was exhibiting some strange behavior where it would seem to lose fuel or spark, then get it back again for seemingly no reason. One day the car died on an uphill during rush hour on a 2-lane highway and I had to figure out what was wrong. I never did, but the car started after some fiddling with the fuel pump wiring. I knew it was the fuel pump because I didn't hear it prime when it wasn't starting. Same thing happened one cold morning. Fiddled around and it started, couldn't figure out what I did to make it work.

Finally one day my wife and I were in a shopping center parking lot when the car completely died in a busy intersection and would not start. We had to push it back into a parking spot and begin troubleshooting. Long story short, the fuel pump was not turning on, and it was because I had not fully seated a connector that connects the fuel pump relay power to the inertia switch. It took 1.75 years for that small mistake to show up!!! The connector is near the gas pedal i.e. my right foot so I guess that's why it had such a weird and inconsistent nature that didn't make sense. Here it is pictured and fully seated now



Prior to that, an exhaust leak had been getting on my nerves and I had to drop the exhaust to plug the hole with a weld. Wasn't the worst, but man do I wish I had used a V-band clamp to connect the front and back sections of the exhaust when I was building it. It's not too late to install one, I suppose...

The scariest thing that happened was that I smashed the oil pan while going over some rough terrain in a state forest. I didn't even realize I had done it until I got home a few hours later and noticed a small puddle of oil underneath the car. But you know why it was dripping oil? The drain plug had been knocked loose as a result of the hit. I tightened the drain plug and the dripping stopped! Unfortunately I still get like 10 drops of oil each day because that oil pan has been a disaster from day 1, but I thought the car was going to have to come off the road for some time while I get a new pan fabricated. I bought a new pan recently, just have to cut it and weld in new metal just like in the beginning of this thread. Might install a "skid plate" this time, lol.



Also, the alternator died. It suddenly began making a weird whining noise right after I finished flushing the transmission fluid and the battery light came on in the dash. Coincidence, I believe. I thought I had ruined the trans pump or something but I smelled burning electrical and the alternator was insanely hot to the touch. Luckily the donor vehicle came with a spare alternator in the trunk and I held onto it for all this time in the Volvo trunk in case this were to happen. Replacement was easy since it's right on top with the 4.6 and the car was back to normal.

Here's a youtube video I made about changing the trans fluid. So far no one seems to get the joke in the video. You all will, though! https://youtu.be/oju-YEGZW3Y

But that's all the bad stuff. The car has been all over the state of PA, has carried kayaks with rain gutter mount roof racks, been back to Michigan once or twice, and will likely be taken on more trips around here. Every time I drive it I still get such a kick out of the V8 sound, and the power isn't too bad either!

Nice troubleshooting on the bad connector. Gotta love that kind of stuff that takes 10 seconds to fix but can take lot of hours to find.

Congrats on all the miles, still think this is one of the more impressive swaps I have seen on here, the way you have worked out all the bugs and made it into a viable "real" car. So many swaps like this get to the 90% completion mark and never make it the last 10% with the little fiddly stuff.

Enjoy!

that/\ 100%

Love the build, love seeing it get actual miles put on it. Impressive work in general, but especially in the details like getting the AC working and integrating the hydrobooster. I just spent the better part of my afternoon reading this thread front to back and I really enjoyed the read. Thanks for documenting it, and thanks for getting me hyped up to work on my own sh*t again!

Thank you all for the kind words! Makes me happy knowing that this thing excites and inspires other people too.

In other news, a new project happened to find its way into my life. When I moved to PA a year ago, one of the first things I saw was a red Jaguar XJ-S in my neighbor's yard. I could see it every day from my back patio, particularly at beer o'clock. This same neighbor was always driving a '50s Chevy pickup on weekends so I knew he was into cars. Finally got to talking to the guy and showed him the Volvo - "I can't believe you got that thing in there." I asked about the Jag and long story short he said that if I get it off of his lawn it's mine. At this same time my colleague was trying to get rid of a 2003 GMC Yukon XL that wouldn't pass inspection due to rust. So.......I think you all know where this is going!



Back when I started this thread, I had never done an engine swap, let alone pull a drivetrain, design mounts, tear apart a wiring harness, piece together a (still) functional air conditioning system...none of it. I learned it all right here real time as chronicled in this thread, and I thank all those here who helped me and taught me stuff along the way. I thought about putting the Volvo build on YouTube, but I didn't want to do that because I didn't know what I was doing. I'm a little more comfortable with my skillset and camera presence now, so Project LS-Jag will be documented in a series of YouTube videos. You can see the first one here:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vFLZlWgLYZI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

In the meantime, the Volvo will keep getting driven and this thread will keep getting updated with its continuing adventures!

I just have to ask . . .

How are you going to mate the LSx to the Jag transmission? Or are you going with GM transmission also?

TestPoint said:

I just have to ask . . .

How are you going to mate the LSx to the Jag transmission? Or are you going with GM transmission also?

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It will use the 4L60E and associated electronics out of the donor. The transmission that's in the Jag now is a 3-speed auto with no overdrive....*barf*

Biggest dilemma with this is the donor was a 4WD Yukon, so I'll need to either pay a lot of money to convert it to 2WD or take a massive risk doing it myself. I've never taken apart a transmission.

How is your 5.0 swap doing?

I'm not very familiar with the XJ but have a XK8 and know that the later version had a very complicated computer system. Everything communicated via a Bosch local area network. If the processor in the driver door failed it would not start.

Beautiful XJ! Hope the paint is as good as it looks in the pictures.

The rear of the 4wd transmission should just come off to be replaced with a junk yard 2wd back end.

Your work, like mine, was a long learning process. You did well shoe-horning that big overhead cam monster into the Volvo. I actually bought the same engine from a junk yard as the original thought for the V8 Volvo. Saw it on the floor when I went to pick it up and sold it back to them for a little loss. Far too big to go in that space.

My old V8 Volvo has been doing fine for about 7 years and 20,000 miles before it evolved into one of several little used hobby cars. Its still impressive to drive.

It is going up for sale on BaT shortly. Cleaning out the stable. Only two more to go after it.

Part of me wishes I were putting another 4-valve in the Jaguar, but the LM7 will be just fine. I look forward to watching the BaT listing for your wagon. It was one of the original inspirations for mine so thank you again Tom for the thorough documentation you provided on your learning. It certainly made my learning a lot easier!

What's up Aidan!

Your work on the 245 is for sure inspiring. 30k miles on a self-engineered swap is impressive stuff. Here's to many more miles of enjoyment! It's been great corresponding via email the past few years too. When I get active on my project again I'll be sure to post regular updates so we can converse more about this stuff.

That XJS looks like a really nice swap candidate. The bright red color and those basketweave wheels really suit the car well. Bonus that you were able to drive it home. I'll be watching your videos and following along, nice intro video!

Dude(r), I cannot get enough of the basketweave wheels and the white lettering on the sidewalls! I'm always patiently awaiting updates to your build, too!

The new project sounds (and looks) like fun, and another unique one.

An XJS and a Lincoln Mark disguised in a Volvo wagon body -- I would say you have a taste for grand tourer type rigs. Definitely a common thread between a big Jag coupe and a big Lincoln coupe, basically the same idea just from opposite sides of the Atlantic right?

Look forward to following along, your work is impressive.

Nice build. I'm doing the same but a 5.4 4v into a 240. Its a right hand drive and had the same issues with sump and crossmember and did the same mods, i'm struggling with headers to fit. We don't have any log manifolds in Australia for these motors and as you know space is at a premium. Starter motor was located differently so i cut a hole in the passengers footwell to fit it.
I'm currently at sorting out drive shaft, your trial and error has helped me a lot.

Do you recall what fittings you needed to get the hydroboost working? I'll be needing to do the same set up.
Great build, always good to see something other than a LS in these cars.

This is only slightly related but I bought an old Pioneer SX-3700 and was looking for information online, fell down a YouTube hole, ended up watching some videos, and recognized this car in one of them and realized “hey this guy’s on turbobricks!”

Anyway, keep it up!

Yup, that's my channel!

This is what I used for the hydroboost fittings - the picture in post 3: https://www.corral.net/threads/power-steering-hydroboost-to-an-fittings-lines.2441458/

This swap is still being used daily, just rolled over 310k miles. I'll post an update sometime soon.

Looks like it's been over one year since I've provided an update. There really isn't much to report! I continue to drive this thing to and from work every day and take it on an occasional road trip here and there.

I had to look back at my old posts to fully remember this thing's journey. Seems to me that after I bought the new driveshaft and got the coolant gauge working, the car was basically done. The only things I'd like to do to it now are simple maintenance things that are kind of my fault. I bought brand new OEM-style U joints for the steering linkage when I replaced the rack because I wanted to make sure everything was ok, but it turns out the joints are junk and have been the cause of steering wheel play for a long time now. I'll have to redo the entire linkage at some point. Probably once the Jag is finished.

I had mentioned the oil pan damage that happened last spring. That was fixed in October of 2021. I basically redid what I did the first time but did it right instead. Made better cuts, had a true professional weld it, and painted it properly. Haven't had a drop of oil on the ground since.



After that, the wagon braved the Pennsylvania winter like a champ. Here's some good snowy shots from the season:





Here it is on our anniversary trip with the kayaks:



And here it is in Acadia National Park in Maine:



The trip to Acadia meant that I had driven this wagon to both coasts!



I also used it to get rid of a bunch of scrap metal I had laying around from the Jag project and others. 520 pounds of metal this thing hauled. Didn't feel a thing in the throttle, ride was nice and smooth, brakes were...different.



Most recently, I drove it back to Michigan for the Detroit Concours d'Lemons show. It didn't exactly fit in with the other cars since the car is "reliable" and in "good" condition, but it was definitely appreciated by most of the attendees. Radwood was happening on the other side of the parking lot so it was a pretty fun show to attend.



Currently it sits at just over 314,000 miles. You may recall the swap was done at 278k miles.

I'll touch on the Jaguar project briefly since some of you have asked about it. Sadly, it's been sort of a let-down for me. It was a project I knew from the beginning that I shouldn't have taken on due to time and space constraints but I did it anyways. I thought that the kit I bought for the swap would make things move more quickly, but it turns out I was misled by the seller and paid way too much money for what I got. I got screwed over, and this build has been filled with reminder after reminder of how bad this kit was. I've met other people in the community that have had similar experiences, unfortunately. But at the end of the day, the biggest mistake I made was underestimating the time that would be added to the project due to the donors I chose. Truck LS stuff doesn't fit. I had to source Camaro LS everything, and that got expensive. My Jag was clean for the age and mileage, but it needed a lot of rust work and suspension maintenance.



I've driven the car a few times and it is a nice experience. Haven't gotten it to highway speeds yet so I'm looking forward to that. All it really needs at this point is the interior reassembled, air conditioning hoses built, and a few things properly mounted here and there. I'm very happy with how the spring modification turned out and the new ride height.



Another thing I wish I had done differently with the Jaguar project is post the progress in a thread similar to this one. Posting on YouTube was more time consuming in ways and a lot less rewarding. I'd like to think there's a forum out there of knowledgeable people that could have given good advice like so many of you did on here for this project. There are a lot of Jaguar purists out there that love to hate on people putting different engines in these cars. They think the Jag V12 is God's gift to the automotive world. I don't think so...

So there it is. Hope you enjoyed reading.

Always good to see the 4.6 powered 240 still rolling along. It's a great achievement.

I hear you on the Jag re: YouTube vs. forums. The thing that really killed a lot of forums was Facebook groups. They completely murdered the Lemons forum which was a damn shame.

What you're looking for does still exist though. Grassroots Motorsports forums. There is an amazing variety there and the place is still super active. These are your people: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/page1/