Just what the world needs, another V8 swapped Volvo!

[bogmire]

Greetings TurboBrickians,

After years of watching from a distance, I finally made the plunge into the Volvo world. Back in August I purchased a 1995 940 NA Sedan with 240,000 miles on the clock. It had a slight stumble on acceleration, which was fixed with a new CPS. Other than that, the car is great. Comfortable, efficient, unsuspecting, big upgrade from my previous hot rod, a turbo LM7 swapped 87 S10. But there's one issue, It's sloooooowww (And the A/C doesn't function) So I'm doing what any unreasonable person would do, and swapping it. Yes, I could throw a FT motor at it, and yes, swapping adds big cost/complications, but V8 goes vroom. So far I have acquired:

-Properly crusty "ran when pulled" 01 LM7, with harness and 0411 PCM
-LS1 intake
-Amazon 302-1 pan (probably works)
-Amazon cast exhaust manifolds (total crapshoot for fitment, but they were cheap)
-T56 that I kept from a previous project
-Barnes4WD poly bushing and sleeves. Add some square tube and 1/4" plate and hey presto, engine mounts.

Still need:
-Clutch pedal; most likely I'll fab one up, it appears as though the mounting bracket is already a part of the pedal box.
-Clutch hydraulics; Wilwood master? Stock master? Up in the air on that one
-Fuel pump, filter, rails, plumbing and such
-I'll stop the need list here, but you get the idea

The current plan is to leave the engine stock, and just focus on function. Gots to have A/C and heat, learning from previous mistakes. I see an aluminum block being built up in the future, but the tired iron will do for now. Lots of shopping left to do, but I should have enough to get the engine and transmission sitting in the car, which is the first major hurdle. Pictures pending, soon as I figure out how hosting and all that works, I'm a certified forum n00b.

 

[JohnMc]

Even though I have a Nissan CD009 style trans on mine, the adapter uses all T56 Camaro parts other than the disc. When I first put mine together, I looked up the bore size of a Camaro clutch master cylinder, 3/4". And the size of a Volvo 264 clutch master cylinder, also 3/4". Great!

Then when it was all together, the clutch pedal was VERY heavy and had an engagement spot on the pedal travel of like 1/8", or less, very hard to modulate. Partly due to it being a pretty stout clutch (turbo on the 5.3).

What I'd missed first time through was not only is there a hydraulic leverage ratio (the diameter of the master bore to the effective diameter of the concentric clutch slave) but the pedal leverage ratio. I.e. how close to the pedal pivot the clutch master push rod is mounted. The Volvo clutch pedal must have a fair amount less pedal leverage.

I fixed that by switching to a smaller bore clutch master - used a Wilwood 5/8".

 

[cosbySweater]

you're on the right track, I have s stock 4.8 and t56 in my 242 and got the suspension and creature comforts dialed in. the engine remains unchanged because the car is really good as is

 

[JohnMc]

I did valve springs, headgaskets (since I had the heads off) and a cam on mine. Untouched bottom end. Well, I did stick a new oil pump on since I had the front of the motor and the oil pan both off. Used a 302-1 pan as well, but it's in a 240.

 

[bogmire]

John, thanks for sharing that clutch master cyl. knowledge. I'll tuck that away for future reference. As a treat to y'all, here's some pictures of the car, and the 5.3. Should have some progress to report later in the week, assuming I remember to take pictures.

The Ovlov automobile, in all it's stock glory:

The offending Crank Position Sensor

A little before and after on the 5.3 (with the daily in the background, fresh out of the shop on it's 3rd camshaft )

Motor mount bushings on the way, should be able to button up the motor side of the engine mounts this weekend.

 

[v8volvo]

Clean looking 944, nice find in your part of the country. Definitely the right move to swap when you're starting with an NA car. If it's a Bosch injected motor then +T isn't too hard as another alternative (can't remember if they were still using up Rex/Regina stuff as late as '95), but even then, your comment is right on the money --

but V8 goes vroom.

Yeah, the vroom is worth it, no 4-banger can equal that. The refinement of the V8 is a really nice match for this platform's size and behavior. Makes a car that's fast without being annoying, smooth and relaxed speed. And the fact that an LS type motor really doesn't weigh much different than a turbo redblock with all the trimmings is another plus.

Great choice with the T56. Finding turbo 7 series clutch parts and hydraulics could be a little bit of a hunt but I imagine someone on here can help.

Congrats on taking the leap and enjoy.

 

[bogmire]

Got a few small things accomplished this weekend. Bushings/bolts arrived, fitted those and got the engine side of the mounts done:

Did a small counterbore on the exhaust manifold outlet flanges for giggles

And got some new bearings pressed as part of the T56 rebuild (not pictured). Exciting stuff. Pretty much ready to start tearing into the car, just burning through what's left in the gas tank, and letting the B230 have it's victory lap. Hoping to have an empty engine bay by the end of next weekend.

 

[MistrThou]

Whatcha doing with the stock engine and trans?
I'm over in Janesville, WI. I've got a 95 940 myself. We should do a thing.
You've got a clone of my car. No sun-roof even.

 

[bogmire]

Whatcha doing with the stock engine and trans?

The old mill will be in need of a new home. I'm about 3 hours out from Janesville, I'll PM you when I get it pulled.

 

[bogmire]

Started tearing into the engine bay over the past week, and got the engine/transmission pulled this afternoon.

Air-cooled B230FD:

Camouflage and air-cooled B230FD, with Flintstone drive technology:

Found the remnants of the original washer fluid cap under the airbox. Also found a piece of wire, I'm almost sure it's probably nothing to be concerned about:

Gonna start working on motor mounts base plates tomorrow, and start swinging the 5.3 in to place. How much of a hamner do I need to make bellhousing clearance in the tunnel?

Lol, turbobrick

 

[bogmire]

Exciting update! The 5.3 sat in the engine bay for the first time this weekend. Started off with some plates that bolt to the subframe:

Swung the engine in place and started tying it together:

And it looks something like this:

The mounts are only tacked at the moment, so the engine hoist couldn't go too far away. Pulled the engine back out, gonna put a few more sturdy tacks onto the mounts before I put any weight on them. Manifolds are tight, but they clear. Transmission tunnel looks like it's gonna need some rearranging. By the end of next weekend I'm looking to have the engine and transmission sitting in the car as a unit, which should make for a good milestone.

 

[DET17]

Your design LS mounts, or aftermarket? What are your expectations for NVH, if those are solid type barrel mounts?

 

[bogmire]

Your design LS mounts, or aftermarket? What are your expectations for NVH, if those are solid type barrel mounts?

Made the mounts myself. Figured I could save a little money at the expense of time, given that I've got the tools, and had some of the material laying around. I used a polyurethane bushing and sleeve kit from Barnes4WD, P/N B4WK12867. Poly engine/transmissions mounts will increase NVH to some extent, but I'm sure adding 4 more cylinders will have some affect as well. Didn't notice a huge difference switching from rubber to poly mounts on my last project, but it was an old pickup, so NVH was already pretty high to begin with.

 

[DET17]

I've not adapted an LS power train into another chassis. I would however recommend the usage of GM engine mounts; then fab your 940 crossmember mounts to meet them. With the extensive hours spent in GM development labs, I'm amazed at the conversion folks that don't use the building blocks which are proven for withstanding the torque reactions while meeting targets for NVH. Good luck, my friend.

 

[bogmire]

Got the engine and transmission sitting in the car this weekend. Started with extensive hammering:

Not pictured is the rest of the hammering necessary to clear the bellhousing and transmission. It was a lot. Once the transmission was in place, it looked like the shifter was going to be a close fit. Installed the shifter and found:

I don't really want to move the engine further back, so the shifter is going to need some work. Save that for another day. Exhaust clearance is pretty tight:

The driver's side tells a similar story. It also gets plenty close to the steering shaft:

Probably going to cut the collectors off the exhaust manifolds and use some pipe to put a flange where I want it. Gain some frame rail clearance and get away from the steering shaft and fuel lines. Exhaust parts are ordered, so that will be this weeks project along with mounting the transmission. Also threw the radiator and water pump on quick to see what kind of clearance I got there:

I've got room between the pump and the fan, so I should be able to stick with the truck accessory drive. I'll need some bracketry for the alternator and power steering pump, but the A/C compressor fits. The upper hose on the water pump is in the wrong place, but a late model Camaro pump should work.

 

[bogmire]

Balancing the transmission on a block of wood probably isn't the best practice, so the crossmember got modified. May need a little more gusseting/reinforcement, but it'll do for now:

The exhaust manifolds were up next. Cut the collector flanges off to make way for some exhaust pipe:

Both manifolds tell a similar story. Running the pipe almost straight down with the a new 2 bolt flange further downstream. Could've done v-bands but meh, these will work.

The y-pipe so far. Crossing over under the bellhousing, then merging together shortly after. That's about the extent of this weekend's progress. Need to order some 3" piping and pick out the right muffler.

 

[MistrThou]

Are you concerned about cast to steel welds?

 

[bogmire]

Are you concerned about cast to steel welds?

Not really. I've welded to cast LS manifolds in the past making a turbo hot side. That weld joint withstood 30-something pounds worth of turbo hanging off of it, so I'm relatively mostly confident these welds will hold up to a lighter load. (Pinning this post in the back of my mind incase the welds do crack in the future)

 

[esmth]

The oem gm manifolds after a certain point are cast steel anyway, they're cake to weld. Not a cast iron.

 

[MistrThou]

The oem gm manifolds after a certain point are cast steel anyway, they're cake to weld. Not a cast iron.

Oh, good to know.