Building the 242 Turbo Volvo should have....

[wcirco]

Alright its probably time for an update. Progress has been slow but steady, a lot of this stuff is becoming difficult to find.

Here's what the engine bay now looks like:

The car has been insulated with 80mil kilmat, two boxes was the perfect amount for the roof, floor, inside the doors, rear quarters, under rear seat. I didn't go nuts on the floor since I am using the original insulation as well. The goal was to reduce a lot of the tin can qualities.

I spent two weeks searching for a 24F battery with the side hold down feet, no luck. I ended up with an Econocraft footless 24F that looked somewhat period correct. I made an over the top hold down bracket that honestly looks like it was factory. I'm very pleased with the result.

The electric fan relays are mounted with a custom bracket that bolts in with the battery tray. Looking back at it I will need to extend the red and green power wires to the fan. To control the fan I'm using a VW two speed fan switch. This unit threads right into the stock temp switch location in the radiator and will run both high and low speeds on the 850 fan. An ignition switched relay is used on the ground wire for the temp switch to prevent the fan from staying of after the key is turned off. Another relay is used to trigger high speed when the AC is turned on.

I was finally able to acquire some really nice 83-85 bumpers from the local pick and pull. A quick scuff with a red 3m pad and some SEM trim black makes them look new. The front of the car is assembled, however now I notice the one crusty low beam bulb. New halogens are on the way.

The rocker and belt trim went on smoothly. I'm finally starting to get my first glimpses of how this car is going to look. The rear bumper is just set on for mock up in the photo.

With the headliner installed it was time to put a new windshield in. 4 different glass companies said they couldn't get the glass but the 5th came through. 91+ style glass with the rubber molding strip.

There's plenty of more work to do. I'm hoping this car will be finished or close to it for Carlisle 2022.

Next up is exhaust, front end and brakes, refurbishing the wheels.

Will try to post more frequent updates.

 

[kampman]

Nice progress!

 

[Harlard]

Very nice effort so far

 

[240 Swagon]

Awesome work! Man with a plan.

 

[white855T]

Alright its probably time for an update. Progress has been slow but steady, a lot of this stuff is becoming difficult to find.

With the headliner installed it was time to put a new windshield in. 4 different glass companies said they couldn't get the glass but the 5th came through. 91+ style glass with the rubber molding strip.

There's plenty of more work to do. I'm hoping this car will be finished or close to it for Carlisle 2022.

Next up is exhaust, front end and brakes, refurbishing the wheels.

Will try to post more frequent updates.

How wide is the windshield gasket?

 

[wcirco]

Thanks guys, this is my first time taking on a project of this magnitude.

How wide is the windshield gasket?

The molding measures 9/16". I did order an oem 91+ windshield molding but that only works with the original glass and plastic insert. The OEM stuff is 1/2" wide.

 

[reiernumans]

Nice work man!

 

[tibboy12]

Keep up the good work! Makes me more and more excited, yet nervous to take on my b230ft swap into my 81 245.

 

[wcirco]

So its now late 2024. I never made Carlisle 2022, 2023 or 2024. I've neglected to update this thread but progress on the car has continued. Slowly. Parts proved difficult to find, then I got really burnt out on the whole thing and didn't touch it for almost a year. It hasn't been easy, but I now have a mostly complete and driving B23FT 242. It ultimately required obtaining a parts car to get it on the road. As of May of this year I have been driving the car and have now accumulated around 2800 miles on it.

This is an older engine bay photo but not much as changed since:

This 244 Turbo spent a couple decades in the woods and was succumbing to the rot. It was sacrificed to the crusher. Parts from this car are now helping to keep at least 3 other 240s on the road.

I suppose the easiest way to share what I have done to the 242 is to list it out. Changes were made along the way, especially when I started driving the car and finding faults. This is the current configuration:

Resealed B23FT with IPD turbo cam
Rebuilt 850 orange injectors (EV1, 300cc)
1990 240 engine harness, 1995 940 turbo LH and EZK with Redblockpowered chips
New aisin clutch fan and turbo intercooler shroud
Porsche 911 turbo compressor bypass valve
All new accessory bushings
Denso 80A alternator
Modified D24 airbox complete with cold air snorkel
740 turbo main fuel pump
740 turbo in tank pump
Original 240 turbo under the axle exhaust, new muffler
Turbosmart MBC currently set to 14psi
940 turbo ignition coil
LH2.4 dog dish flywheel
Stock 740 turbo clutch
Pre-1980 close ratio M46
240 turbo driveshaft with new u joints, center support bearing
3.54 1030 rear end, resealed, G80 and speed sensor cover swapped over
New Lesfjors DL springs all around
Cleaned and repacked wheel bearings front and rear. New seals installed
KYB excel G shocks and struts
KYB strut mounts
Vented front brake conversion with rebuilt calipers and ATE rotors, Bosch pads
New rubber hoses
New brake Octopus
Rebuilt rear calipers, bosch rotors and pads
Complete overhaul of all of the rubber suspension bushings.
New front control arms (left one was very bent)
New ball joints
New inner and outer tie rods
New sway bar end links
Turbo sway bars installed
Steering rack replaced with a good used ZF
Stripped and repainted Sirius wheels
205/60r15 General Altimax
Ac system flushed, new Orings and drier installed
Sanden 4664 compressor retrofitted and charged with R12
HVAC box cleaned and flushed of debris
Boost, Oil pressure, oil temperature gauges installed with the corresponding sending units
Custom 1990 cluster with turbo gauge faces, electric speedo conversion
240 diesel floor insulation mats installed
Nice used carpet installed
Turbo steering wheel installed
Black vinyl door panels installed
C pillar interior panels were made and installed
Package shelf was repaired and recovered in black carpet
Wiper motor was rebuilt
New firewall insulation foam
Foam insulation installed in the hood
Leather seats from an 84 244 turbo installed
Original volvo RX2Q microprocessor radio was overhauled, modified to include bluetooth
Factory front door speakers
Both front seatbelts cleaned and mechanisms serviced
New Sylvania Halogen sealed beam lamps
New corner lamp lenses, refurbished housings
New outside door handles (avoid these like the plague, they are trash)
New hockey sticks all around (these also suck, avoid)
Refurbished center bumper trim, front and back
Refurbished bumpers
Reproduction waffle floor mats
Late 240 spare and jack
tool kit assembled from 1990s and older tools

There is more, I will come back and add as I go back through receipts and remember what I did.

While the car is on the road and is complete, it's far from finished. The seats will ultimately need to be reupholstered and the carpet dyed. The mechanical issues I'm encountering now are mostly new part failures. As we all know a lot of new parts are just trash these days. Even OEM stuff can be Pro parts sweden now.
The turbo is also starting to go, oil consumption has been steadily increasing. Its currently around 1qt every 750 miles.
But these issues are just teething problems. The car has come a long way in terms of drivability and comfort in the last few months. It's really starting to drive as good as it looks. The interior and turbo can be dealt with during the winter.

The current problem is a leaking brake octopus. It came from a reputable vendor and was not cheap, no reason it should have failed in 4 months. A tear down revealed the o rings were already deteriorating. I have ordered a bag of the correct #106 EPDM orings and will be going through the original one from the car. If that fails, I'll have to try to find a 91+ style and the float cap for the reservoir.

 

[DET17]

Nicely done! I have an 84 242 with the same wine red color; my paint cannot be saved as it is a lifetime southern car and the roof / trunk / hood are burnt to the primer.

Congrats on getting the machine running..... your persistence has paid off. BTW, did you convert the 83 to a 5 panel tail setup? I thought the last year of the 5's was 82?

 

[white855T]

Nicely done! I have an 84 242 with the same wine red paint; my paint cannot be saved as it is a lifetime southern car and the roof / trunk / hood are burnt to the primer.

Congrats on getting the machine running..... your persistence has paid off. BTW, did you convert the 83 to a 5 panel tail setup? I thought the last year of the 5's was 82?

83 was the last year for dl models. Turbo models got the 6 panels.

 

[Jack]

Original volvo RX2Q microprocessor radio was overhauled, modified to include bluetooth

how ?

awesome build you have here!

 

[wcirco]

Original volvo RX2Q microprocessor radio was overhauled, modified to include bluetooth

how ?

awesome build you have here!

Another hobby of mine happens to be repairing vintage electronics. Going through one of these radios involves cleaning all of the controls, reflowing cracked solder joints, testing and replacing open electrolytic capacitors. The tape decks usually require a good deep cleaning and lubrication, new belts and fine tuning for correct playback speed and head alignment(azimuth). Adding bluetooth to a tape deck is fairly straight forward. There is an internal switch for switching the radio over to tape mode when you insert a tape. Paralleling another switch with this solves the first problem of disconnecting the tuner. Then its just a matter of wiring in a bluetooth module to the audio amp input. The best place to inject the audio output from the bluetooth module is just after the tape head preamp stage. In this radio that point in the circuit happens to be the volume control potentiometer. The switch I used to turn bluetooth on and off is a DPDT, it powers on the bluetooth module at the same time it kicks the radio into tape mode. This switch is mounted out of sight in the glovebox. The radio appears and functions as it did in 1983 but the flip of a switch brings it into the 21st century.

 

[adomz]

WoWzerZ!

 

[blkaplan]

Nicely done! I have an 84 242 with the same wine red color; my paint cannot be saved as it is a lifetime southern car and the roof / trunk / hood are burnt to the primer.

Congrats on getting the machine running..... your persistence has paid off. BTW, did you convert the 83 to a 5 panel tail setup? I thought the last year of the 5's was 82?

There are a lot of new units with bad o-rings out there. If you have the right o-ring its easy enough to swap out and you will be good to go.

 

[wcirco]

Alright, quick update:

I found a potential cause of my premature octopus failure, one of my rear prop valves had also failed causing the switch inside the octopus to repeatedly move under normal braking conditions. This can wear the orings out prematurely according the seller I got my octopus from. From my autopsty of the octopus it seemed like the orings were of the wrong type and super swollen and mushy. Two wrongs here me thinks.
Regardless, this issue needs to be addressed. I found a set of good rear prop valves from a seller here. I may tear them down to inspect, see if there are orings or seals that can be replaced.

Some of you may remember my recent post in the maintenance forum about my steering wheel shake. To solve that problem I swapped the steering rack out for an allegedly low mile used ZF. This helped for a few weeks but while diagnosing my brake issue this shake has returned. Removing the power steering belt has no affect this time. To once and for all rule out wheels and tires, I swapped the front wheels to my 244 and drove it, no shake was present. I also put the 244 front wheels on the 242 and drove it, the shake was still there. I then took the two front wheels off my 744 and put them on the 242. The shake was still there. I then put the 740 wheels on the 244 and drove it, no shake. It is safe to say the cause of this is not wheels and tires.

The only variable here still is the steering rack. I have no proof the one I swapped in was any good or low mileage in the first place.
I was tempted to just order one of the new AAE replacement racks from any one of the usual volvo parts vendors. However, I discovered a local gem. Accu-Drive. These guys specialize in rebuilding NLA steering components for applications like this. I called and spoke with them over the phone, they said they can rebuild my original ZF rack no problem. Pricing seemed very reasonable too. I'll be bringing it to them later in the week. I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes. At the moment I don't believe anyone else is willing to tackle these ZF racks.

 

[302ftw?]

Alright, quick update:

I found a potential cause of my premature octopus failure, one of my rear prop valves had also failed causing the switch inside the octopus to repeatedly move under normal braking conditions. This can wear the orings out prematurely according the seller I got my octopus from. From my autopsty of the octopus it seemed like the orings were of the wrong type and super swollen and mushy. Two wrongs here me thinks.
Regardless, this issue needs to be addressed. I found a set of good rear prop valves from a seller here. I may tear them down to inspect, see if there are orings or seals that can be replaced.

Some of you may remember my recent post in the maintenance forum about my steering wheel shake. To solve that problem I swapped the steering rack out for an allegedly low mile used ZF. This helped for a few weeks but while diagnosing my brake issue this shake has returned. Removing the power steering belt has no affect this time. To once and for all rule out wheels and tires, I swapped the front wheels to my 244 and drove it, no shake was present. I also put the 244 front wheels on the 242 and drove it, the shake was still there. I then took the two front wheels off my 744 and put them on the 242. The shake was still there. I then put the 740 wheels on the 244 and drove it, no shake. It is safe to say the cause of this is not wheels and tires.

The only variable here still is the steering rack. I have no proof the one I swapped in was any good or low mileage in the first place.
I was tempted to just order one of the new AAE replacement racks from any one of the usual volvo parts vendors. However, I discovered a local gem. Accu-Drive. These guys specialize in rebuilding NLA steering components for applications like this. I called and spoke with them over the phone, they said they can rebuild my original ZF rack no problem. Pricing seemed very reasonable too. I'll be bringing it to them later in the week. I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes. At the moment I don't believe anyone else is willing to tackle these ZF racks.

Let us know how you get on with accu-drive. I also have a ZF sitting and waiting for a rebuild. the AAE i have in the car now seems fine but only a few hundred miles on it.

 

[wcirco]

Last weekend I reinstalled the octopus and swapped out the rear proportioning valves. It firmed up the brake pedal quite a bit. Time will tell if this is the fix for the chronically leaky octopus. Really don't want to have to clean up that brake fluid mess again.

Dropped off the steering rack on Monday and just picked it back up today. It looks fantastic and doesn't have any more play They said it only needed to be shimmed but I requested all the seals be replaced. Murphy's law applies here.
Planning to get it reinstalled over the weekend. Impending update...

 

[wcirco]

Things have happened, the car is once again back on the road and the steering wheel shake is gone.

The steering rack went right back in no problem. The power assist is now way better than it ever has been, all of the "harshness" previously felt in the steering wheel is now gone. I'm very pleased, cannot recommend Accu-Drive enough. They can do Cam/TRW racks as well. They'll also ship for those that may not be local.

While the rack felt way better, the first time I drove the car it STILL had a steering shake above 60. There was a moment of panic but I decided to try moving wheels around again. I swapped the right front and left rear, then drove it again. The shake was gone!! But why did swapping wheels NOW cause it to go away? Previously I had tried just about every combination of 5X108 wheels in my possession with no change.

Here's my theory:
There are multiple contributors to one problem here. Those contributors are:

1. The significant lack of caster in the front end alignment
2. Slop in the rack and pinion
3. A minor dynamic imbalance in the wheels

It seems if two of these conditions are present then they will produce the problem. This would explain why swapping the wheels prior didn't remedy the issue. I speculate the minimal caster makes the steering more susceptible to oscillation. I think if this problem returns correcting the caster will permanently solve this issue. In the meantime I can enjoy the car finally.


While reinstalling the rack I found the octopus was already leaking yet again. Seems the new repop ones have a different bore diameter than the originals, they take a non standard oring. This part has now proven itself to be a needless weak point anyway, so I decided to convert the car to the 1991 style brake warning system. Finding one of the correct brass junction blocks is not easy these days. Out of desperation to get the car back on the road this weekend, I decided to make my own solution. I gutted the leaking octopus, measured the bore and made a brass plug on the lathe. Its an interference fit to seal, cut perfectly to length so that the end bolts clamp it in the center to ensure there is no possibility of it ever moving.

After reinstalling on the car and bleeding the brakes, I carefully inspected it for any leaks after repeatedly mashing the brake pedal as hard as I could. At last it's finally dry! I ordered some M12 x 1.0 plugs to plug the switch hole and an e30 bmw brake reservoir cap with float switch to keep the brake warning light operable.

 

[dl242gt]

I like your solution. Glad to see the shaking has gone away. Happy rolling!