244 GL Beige T5 Daily Driver

[Appelsap]

In September last year I sold my v70r due to health issues, due to loss of income I couldn’t really justify the monthly taxes/ insurance anymore. It was my daily driver, so I needed new - cheaper to run - daily. The obvious choice here is to buy something like a 15-20 year old Toyota Aigo, Suzuki Alto, Kia Picanto. Well… I just couldn’t
Long story short, bought another 244. Cheap example with free problems, tax exempt and cheap to insure. I already own a 244, but it is too nice to drive on salty winter roads. 3,5 years ago I fitted that car with a B6304F engine, although I intended to put a 5 pot in there.
The engine a got is a 1997 B5204T2, 180hp Italian special. Sort of the 2.5 20v for Italy, because of big taxes above 2000cc I believe. Bought that car 5 years ago, scrapped the car, fitted the engine with an 960 oil pan and it sat ever since along with a m90 tranny.

This is the car, looks great right… Rust (not horrible), small accident damage, smelly interior with different drivers seat, noises from the gearbox that make me very nervous, windscreen wiper squeals, windscreen that gets wet on both sides and some other bits.
It’s a beige 1982 244 GL, with the strangest specs I have seen. Not sure if it’s actually a GL. B23A engine (carb) with m45 4 speed and a sun roof. And that’s it. No power steering, central locking, door speakers (it has the center speaker thingy), rear headrests, or even a right side view mirror. It is not missing, it has a blanking plug.

Po said he had seen it parked and unused for a few years, bought it. Got it driving and “road worthy”. Then sold it to me. I don’t know anything about this car, no history, nothing. The car was imported in 2012, I guess from Belgium, because of the sticker. But no clue really.

Bought it late October, spent 3 weeks fixing what I could, right before the salt season.

Not that bad, some small holes on the usual spots.

Fixed what was reasonable, it won’t be a show car.

Did the timing belt/ waterpump. Old one looked fine, but no history so…

Fitted power steering, mainly because I hate the slow rack.

Together with power steering I bought all the a/c stuff, m47 5 speed, rear diff with electric speedo and a gauge cluster.
A/c is not common over here, so the old exp valve type will have to do. I will make this work with the t5 engine later. Also, all the heater stuff had to go. Po said he pulled a mouse nest from the heater box, and it still smelled like it. Big improvement, car smells like a 240 now.
M47 because cheap and broken m45.
Rear diff because m47 without speedo cable and will need it for the m90 box anyway.

Got very lucky with the new (digital) speedo, perfect match. The original gauge cluster still had the security tab on the speedo cable, so might even be the original mileage (it worked), who knows.

With the smells gone, the rear shelf had to be done too. It just looked disgusting. Reupholstered it with black carpet, seat belt covers too.

Soo, plans for this car. T5 swap, sort of on a budget and improve over time. That’s it really.

Starting with the B5204T2 engine I have and slowly upgrade things like brakes, wheels, suspension, exhaust, cooling stuff (oil/ water/ ac). And then… Put in the B5234T engine I bought last summer. Which has forged rods, Wiseco 82mm pistons, ported head, okay maybe not so budget anymore by then.

Did 6 weeks of daily driving, thought the b23 would be fine for a few months. Well, this picture was taken yesterday

 

[Appelsap]

Prepping the engine for rwd spec.

Hacked up a 960 manifold for the flange, I will use a 960 throttle body.

Then attached a 940 throttle spool. The manifold is not done yet, it will have to wait until the engine is in the car.

Modified the coolant pipe

Clocked and mounted the turbo. Fitted the angled flange on the 13g, saves me from making the downpipe twice. Oil return pipe made from 2 original pipes. Bought a flexible turbo hose set for a 850, fits perfect. Also extended the 960 engine mount to the nearest attachment point. I will use 960 upper mounts.

Went for the R manifold instead, it looks better in rwd setup and the stock one was cracked. Also bought a wastegate relocation bracket, works great.

Then gearbox time, it’s a m90h. This one has a problem, shifting into 5th and reverse takes a lot of effort. So let’s open it up.


Found the problem, sludge or something in the shifter arm bushings. Only 5th and reverse, rest was fine. Gears and synchros look like new.

Cleaned the bushings with a 15mm drill bit.

Might as well do the 3rd gear mod. Then put it back together, not fun! Heavy and everything has to line up together, probably best done with two people. Got it after some fiddling, shifts perfect now.

After removing junk from the gearbox I started removing junk in the engine bay.

This explains the belt squeal lol, same thing happened on my 940, twice. I can’t be the only one right?

Junk removal complete. Test fitted the engine mounts. Same as I used in my other 240 (960 engine swap), thanks again Homer.

 

[Appelsap]

Continued working on the 244 this week.

Starting with the gearbox mount. Modified a m47 cross member.

Found a driveshaft in the perfect size from a 240 diesel m47, great find. Stock m47 on the left.

Fits perfectly. Picture is taken with the gearbox supported. Also shortened the m90 gear linkage.

Next, downpipe. Space is a little tight but not too bad, just over 4 inches. Used a short 90* 3” bend.

Downpipe complete, some used bits from previous projects were added to the mix. Trying to keep the costs down and no need to buy twice. First time welding stainless.

This will connect to the stock exhaust for now. I’m not sure what route to go. I’d like a complete 3”, but a the same time I want it to be quiet, so maybe not full 3”.

I’m using a 940 (wide/ ac) intercooler, since it was laying around. Stock piping almost fits on the hot side.

Welded an extension in and made the cold side from scratch. A shorter battery is needed. Also great surprise after removing the battery tray. Which must have been replaced. More welding to do.

 

[oldschoolvolvo]

keep up the good work!

 

[Appelsap]

Another update. Unfortunately I have had some bad weeks, not much better today. But I have done some work.

Wiring, lots of it. The ecu will end up in the glove box. I used the original v70 engine wiring loom and fuse box. I also included wiring for oil temp and pressure gauges, and the lpg wiring loom (not in this picture)

Fitted the in tank fuel pump

Found a spot for the idle control valve.

Started with the rust repair. This is just the initial cut.

Welding done, shortened the battery tray and made a new mount. This is to make the 940 intercooler fit.

The heater valve I had only had two settings, off or shoe melting. So I replaced with a normal style valve. Wish I knew that when the heater box was out. No room back there.
The heater hoses are the wrong way (firewall connection), on purpose. Makes the routing in the engine bay easier.

After I did most of the wiring, the instrument cluster didn’t work anymore. It had been problematic since I put it in. Usually a small love tap on the dash made it work. The speedo connection was suspect, probably the worst connector in the car. Fixed it by soldering wires directly on the speedo and a better connector.

Got everything together for a first start (and drive). Before I complete all the wiring I’d like to be certain everything is working.
The stuff next to the injector rail are the lpg injectors, tried to make them as tidy as possible. Wiring will be shortened later.

Well, it didn’t run on the first try, of course… No spark, fuel pump runs when cranking. Turns out I stole the cam sensor trigger 4 years ago lol. After putting one in there I got spark and injector pulse. Oh and I messed up the spark plug wires.
So strange when your car makes different noises, good ones luckily. Had a small test drive. Check engine light came on and some leaks.

I don’t have the evap valve installed. The idle air trim is most likely the base idle setting, im using a 960 (3.0L) throttle body on a 2.0L engine. It idled at 1100rpm ish.
Maf sensor not so sure. I swapped the sensor for another one and the code came back.
For leaks, oil leak in the sump area. Fingers crossed it’s not my welding. I cleaned it up and it doesn't leak with the engine off. Before i start it again i have to fix a leak at the coolant pipe.

After replacing the o ring again it leaked even worse. So I decided to pull the waterpump, I had to hold the seal while inserting the coolant pipe. Unfortunately the waterpump gasket tore, I’ll have to wait for a new one.

While i couldn't physically work on the car, i had plenty of time to research the m4.4 tuning stuff. Found the bin and xdf for my engine. Cant wait to try out some tuning. I'll probably start with the b5204t3 tune, same engine. Different turbo (16t) and bigger injectors. 180 hp -> 225 hp, easy upgrade.

 

[Appelsap]

Lot’s has happened since the last update.

Build a 3” over axle exhaust. When the rear axle hits the bump stops the clearance is still 2/3 inch. This is my first time building a full exhaust. I am very happy with the result. Ground clearance is the same as with the stock exhaust and it is nice and quiet while driving. Around 3500 rpm there is some drone, maybe a helmholz resonator will help. An exhaust cut out is on the list too.

Changed the front and rear shocks to Koni- sports with 30mm lowering springs.
The fronts are really great, stiffer than stock but comfortable enough for daily driving. The rear not so much, after 30 minutes of driving my back starts to hurt. I tried changing the rebound settings, but it only got worse. I also only have 3 adjustments, while the instructions note 4. Changed them for KYB excel-g. Those are great, but I’d still like something a bit stiffer/ closer to the fronts.

Changed all of the bushings and painted some of the suspension components.

Cleaned up the engine bay. And installed an ABS system from a later 240.

In the last post I was working on some leaks. Fixed all of them except one. Well, turned out the block was cracked. Bummer!

This was about 2-3 weeks before I planned to go on vacation with this car. Thought about it and decided to build the b5234t engine. I didn’t think it was a good idea to just wing it with a cracked block and I still have my other 244 as back up. Most of the rebuild parts were already the shelf anyway.

Unfortunately I forgot to make more pictures of the engine build.


I had everything running in time but I delayed my vacation a few days to test the engine. I did fine, no problems, leaks etc. And it did great, drove all the way to the south of France (Saint Tropez), really enjoyed the car. A “little” oil leak started on the way back, after I had a spirited drive with some "sports" cars. Had to top up the oil a few times after that, but no other problems.

 

[brendon_ak]

Looks great, nice work!!

 

[Appelsap]

Looks great, nice work!!

Thanks!

Finally did the upgrade to coil op plug, the front distributor setup looked terrible. To my surprise the engine runs much smoother (less vibrations). I was using an old used cap and spark plug wires, maybe the reason why the difference was so apparent. Obviously it's still not a smooth as the 6 cyl, but it is close now.

After this I cleaned up some bits, installed 5 brand new Bosch coils and made a hard line for the fuel return.

Bought myself a Christmas present. Limited slip diff from Tenachi. It is a torsen diff, but different than what I'm used to from a torsen. This one has some preload. Looks like a center clutch, but not 100% certain. With the wheels in the air they are locked together.
I switched back to the 3.73 rear end I had before behind the b23/m47 combo. The 3.54 was just a bit to tall in 1st and 2nd for my liking.

When going to work in the early morning I have been struggling to see the road. Especially with opposing traffic. The light output from the headlight was just not enough anymore. I even tried turning the main beams off (with no traffic around), didn't make much of a difference.
The headlights were already replaced, don't know how long ago. They were branded DJ AUTO, so not originals. Found oem Volvo headlights on marketplace in excellent condition.

After comparing the reflectors it became apparent why the light output was so bad.

But I also planned on upgrading the light output. With all modern cars around it is almost mandatory. I especially hate the led/laser lights from the past ~5 years. I had some retrofit projector lenses with xenons from a previous car. Which I tried in the old reflectors. I bought height adjustable housings that can lower the beam with a switch in the car. So with a load in the back you can lower them, I like more light output, but don't want to unnecessarily blind anyone. (switch is in the background of the last picture)

They give an excellent cut off pattern and good light output.

Well great cut off pattern until you put the glass back on... Unfortunately it is just ruined by the glass flutes.

While the light output was good and no opposing traffic complained I just wasn't happy with it. Also during daylight with the lights on only the small round lens lights up and I like the tv-screen look. Coincidentally I came across some H4 led bulbs which have been approved by TUV for on-road use in original housings (Osram Led Smart H4). While I don't really need approved bulbs, I never liked the led / xenon H4- style bulbs because they are known the cause a lot of glare. But these being approved by zhe Germans, they must be good (They don't tend to mess about with this stuff).
When I bought them I was a bit sceptical about the actual light output, they claim up to... 330% brighter. But they are really good, very bright. Probably comparable to the projectors with xenons, but the projectors have a wider spread. Here is a comparison to a halogen H4 bulb, the little bit of glare you see is from the camera. (Fully assembled oem volvo headlight, right headlight is aimed a bit higher)

Brights

Only downside is the blue-ish/white output (6000K only).

Last little project I have been working on, a sneaky T5 badge in the 240 look.

3D printed in ASA matt black. Thought that was a funny subtle hint for the ones who know.

 

[Appelsap]

I got new seats. So much better than the mismatched front seats I had before. They are comfortable and I really like how they look.

The seats are from a Alfa Romeo 156. Can you tell they are Italian made?

The 240 rails are almost bolt on. On the driver side, the front two studs don't fit. I removed them and drilled new holes. On the passenger side, the rail fits with a little persuasion. Drivers side is height adjustable. Lowest setting is just a little bit lower than the original seats.

Steering wheel is next on the list. The original wheel was in perfect condition, so I put that in storage for another car. I will probably go Italian for the wheel too.

 

[Hassell]

I really like the alfa seats. I've been searching for those in Sweden (without luck), but i guess the 156 isn't that common here.

 

[Appelsap]

I really like the alfa seats. I've been searching for those in Sweden (without luck), but i guess the 156 isn't that common here.

I have been searching for a year, have seen a few but not in good condition or for a ridiculous price. These were close to where I live and asking price was €200, can't complain.

The seats are a bit gray'ish compared to 240 leather. But close enough for me.

The clutch pedal started squeaking a while ago. When I did the hydraulic conversion couldn't find the correct fastener. So I just used a bolt and nut, worked fine for a long time.

Bought this to fix the squeak. Fits great and no more squeaking while shifting.

Another thing that has been bugging me is the rolling in corners. The front sway bar I have been running for the last year is a v6-style 19mm one. And lowering the front by 40mm doesn't help with the roll center. The v6 style is the only one that fits with the shortened 960 sump. I tried a 760 (v6) sway bar, which is 22mm. And the overall dimensions looked close.

Unfortunately it is a little too narrow. The end links don't really fit and it hits the brake line brackets when going up. (Upper one is 760, lower 240)

I couldn't find anything available online to buy, except the Classic swede 27mm 260 style sway bar (Hollow tube). Which i bought over a year ago (december '23). When it was time to put the bar on the car it didn't fit (april '24). At the time I didn't want to deal with it and I'm not going to claim warranty a year later.

Left side

Right side

With a 20 ton press and some creativity I was able to bend it straight. Took me a few hours but it was worth it.

It is level now, but one side is a bit closer to the strut than the other. It looks a bit worse on the pictures due to the different camera angles. I'll try and get it a bit closer.

The rear tires were a bit worn (close to the legal limit). Grip was fantastic with the Goodyear vector 4 seasons 175/80/14 tires, but the rears only lasted 1 year and 18.000km's with the T5. Can't fault them really, front's still have plenty of life left, should have rotated them earlier...

Bought new rubber... but not for the 14" wheels.

17" Comets, I prefer 16's on a 240 but I already had these and with bigger brakes in mind it was an easy decision. I borrowed spacers from a friend, so I could figure out what size I want.

I think they look alright. 20mm spacer up front and 30mm rear. Rear right rubs on compression, need to make the panhard bar adjustable. And possibly a little trimming of the wheel arch.
Unfortunately the steering wheel shakes pretty bad at 50mph+. Tried switching the wheels around and cleaning all the mating surfaces, didn't help. Weird thing is it only shakes sometimes ±50/50. Tried adjusting the toe, I had it at 0 before. With a little toe in it is still the same. I'm going to try some different spacers and fwd wheels to try and find what's wrong.

 

[oldschoolvolvo]

Wheels look great!
I also had a squeak on the clutch pedal with the OE setup and a little grease on the pin solved that.

 

[Chuck W]

Glad to see this moving forward.

I'm itching to work on my '78/whiteblock swap project. I just need to stop buying/working on other projects...

 

[Appelsap]

Wheels look great!
I also had a squeak on the clutch pedal with the OE setup and a little grease on the pin solved that.

Wasn't sure about the looks when I put the wheels on. But definitely happy with them now. The anthracite matches great with the beige.
Grease probably would have helped, but the bolt put pressure/friction on the clutch pedal. Now it is free to move.

Glad to see this moving forward.

I'm itching to work on my '78/whiteblock swap project. I just need to stop buying/working on other projects...

To quote David Freiburger: "don't get it right, just get it running". Everybody is different, but this works for me. I think this build mostly represents that. One thing I did wrong was setting a deadline, because this is my daily car. I thought it could be done in a month, with about 20hrs of work per week. This burnt me out and on top of that I started adding extra things which made it even worse. I actually did get it running and even driving within that month. But it took at least another month to work out all the issues. Biggest problem was the sump, welding aluminium without it warping or cracking turns out to be difficult, who knew.
A great thing is, because I didn't go for perfection immediately, I now get to enjoy improving bits one by one. And I enjoy the results of the work more than the work itself.

 

[Appelsap]

Today is exactly one year of driving with the engine swap. 20.000km with perfect reliability. Still lots of things I would like to improve / upgrade. Suspension, intercooler, intake manifold, turbo, leaky windscreen, bits of rust, complete paintjob...

Made an adjustable panhard bar. And made some extra room to fit the comets.

Wired up the seat heating and had to troubleshoot why it didn't work.

After repairing the wiring the heaters still only work intermittently.

Minimum effort diy gt-braces. Noticable upgrade, they tighten up the front end dramatically and reduce nvh on bumps.

Started polishing the paint, it is not in the best shape. I'd like to do a diy paintjob, but I have another big project going on now. So until then I will make the best of what is left.

 

[dutch240]

Just stumbled on your thread while researching my own coil-on-plug solution for a T5 swap—great work on the swap and all the different upgrades, everything looks really well done! How did you set up the coil-on-plug? Did you modify the ECU or use a separate box?

 

[Appelsap]

Just stumbled on your thread while researching my own coil-on-plug solution for a T5 swap—great work on the swap and all the different upgrades, everything looks really well done! How did you set up the coil-on-plug? Did you modify the ECU or use a separate box?

I bought a tune from vasttuning. That has modified software to enable the cop setup and came with instructions for modifying the ecu, some smd resistors have to be soldered to the board.

The tune I have includes wideband regulation and map switching. It has a gasoline and a lpg optimised map and automatically switches to the corresponding map on the fly.

I had some trouble with fuelling when shifting gears. When quickly closing the throttle the air fuel ratio goes rich (9-11) and when quickly opening the throttle it goes lean. On the oem (narrowband) tune I altered the acceleration enrichment to where it didn't go lean when opening the throttle and didn't bother with the rest. That way it drove great. Rich afr's when quickly closing the throttle is expected, but in this case it stayed rich far too long.
However, with the wideband tune this didn't work. The ecu would correct the rich afr when closing the throttle but it ends up overcorrecting and going lean. This made shifting gears very jerky.
It tried finding the root cause, checking fuel pressure while driving, checking for air leaks, changed MAF sensor, changed injectors and much more. Nothing helped. I think it is because of the different intake manifold design, longer runners compared to stock and I probably altered the airflow in a bad way by turning the throttle body 90*.
We ended up putting a bandaid on the tune, basically the ecu ignores the wideband sensor with the throttle closed except when idling. It is a compromise because of lpg and gasoline behaving differently and the wideband regulation not forgiving enough to compensate the difference.

 

[dutch240]

Ah, good to know. I was planning to go the same route but was concerned about the effects the 608 bin might have on a 2.0 L engine. Luckily, I don't have any plans to run on LPG yet, so at least that makes it a bit less complicated.

 

[Appelsap]

Ah, good to know. I was planning to go the same route but was concerned about the effects the 608 bin might have on a 2.0 L engine. Luckily, I don't have any plans to run on LPG yet, so at least that makes it a bit less complicated.

The maps are very close. Pm me if you want a stock -444 (2.0 t5) bin and xdf to compare.

Finished polishing today. Looks great, no more chalky paint, very shiny now. I'll take some pictures in the sun later.
Started in the middle, difference is much bigger in person.

Got the paint booth out for the door handles.

 

[Appelsap]

The 244 gets some rest after one year of daily driving. Sort of... There is some work to be done and it is way too much for one weekend.
- (front) suspension upgrades
- AC install
- Cleaning up the wiring
- Relocating the battery to the trunk

Suspension upgrades:

I'm very happy with the qsrc adapters. Drove a few days with them and even let some friends drive my 244. We all say the same thing, it does not corner like a Volvo, unbelievable. Have not fitted the rest (yet). I didn't really know what springs to buy, chose 225lb/in for the front. Hopefully they are alright. Without the qsrc adapters I thought I wanted stiffer springs. With them I'm not so sure anymore.

Last year I found 91+ ac parts, so the dash has to come out again.

With the dash out it there is a good opportunity to clean up the wiring. It was decent when I did the swap. However since I have added and removed bits.

Already started sorting some of the wiring here:

Another problem that needs attention is the windscreen. The previous owner replaced it and honestly I don't know what he did. Rust all around. I already patched it on the sides and top because it leaked badly. It still leaks a little bit, but is all collects on my rubber floor mats. Bone dry below the carpet.
This will have to wait a little longer unfortunately, planning to adres this later this summer.

https://imgur.com/LO4N0ZF

The new evaporator has a different bulkhead fitting.

Unfortunately I could not get the lpg ecu connector out. So I did the next best thing:

While the hvac box was out I took to opportunity to add a bit of sound deadening. I also made some new mats, forgot to take pictures though.

"New" vs old evaporator. The new evaporator is in dire need of cleaning.

Satisfied with the result.

Hvac box back in the car. Here you can see the new sound deadening mats too. They are a little darker than the original ones. It is similar material to the original mats. The foam is a little denser.

Cleaned up the wiring

Swapped the Homer engine mounts for ASS mounts. An ac compressor will not fit with the 960 upper and hydraulic mount.

Plenty of room for the ac compressor. I also noticed the power steering return hose was leaking. I thought it was the rack. New return hose fitted and new high pressure hose from a 960.

That is where we are today, hopefully ready for use next weekend. We will see.