1983 VOLVO 240GL 2.3 - AL

[Rob]

Collected this on the 20-1-13. its a 1983 Volvo 240GL 2.3, the famous redblock. being an '83 it has factory mags, elec sunroof, and 4 speed overdrive auto. cruised home happily, and has plenty of poke...

as it came:




that says 397,623kms...
good job its got sony components...

fully stamped...

scruffy but all there, original spare too!

mid development redblock, later injection, no egr.

I then set to and cut and polished the thing, and cleaned all the trim/chrome:





curse word tinted lights will be binned asap.

fitted some 6x9's. will fit 800w sub and amp and my headunit later.

and the name?

as we collected it and headed home, we got the news my wifes grandfather had passed away. he always took the curse word out of the last 2 I had, as a joke. so this ones AL.

R.I.P mate.

[Rob]

21-1-13

update:
fitted my flat cap:

and fitted my wheel:


and spoke to the local volvo guy, I need:

x2 headlights, the refractor clips are broken, common issue.
x2 rear lights to replace the tinted curse word. he has 2 but one is cracked...

whilst there, he offered me x2 complete manual conversions, and any other bits from his 3 junk 240's. so this weekend ill pull most of the stuff.

price? fit a cambelt on his sons skyline R33

[Rob]

22-1-13
so, went down to see dave, the volvo guy.
two old girls provided me with a decent amount of stuff. both were 1981 model 245gl manuals. the red wagon has a reco gearbox and clutch, both now mine... i also got x4 headlights, a spare dash clock, a spare 52mm guage blank, a dash mat, a flat front grille, and a rare early model air intake pipe. this takes air from behind the grille, not under the headlight. i also got a huge box of service parts, all for free! heres some pics:

rare 1979 1 year spec 244gl 2.1. this has a sloper front and had the large square lights, with the mid spec 5 light rears. a rare car, it donated its aluminium seam covers, the little trims on the rear pillars.
one of 2 volvo 360 glt's, the uk trampdrifters would love them....


anyway, since i bought AL, hes had an issue. sometimes when started he cuts out 10 secs later. i originally thought it was the cold start injector, which it wasn't...

the pipe in the fore ground goes to the iac valve....

and thats the split end, causing the iac to not work properly...

cut it off, refitted, all good!

finally, inspiration:

[Rob]

23-1-13
after the funeral today i did some tinkering:



new clock fitted, mine was cracked.



switch blanks filled. 2 were missing.



pre-1980 roof garnishes fitted. very early 244's don't have these, on those cars theweld underneath was lead filled.



sparks provided by jim beam....



satin blacked the rad brakets, and the coil bracket and the battery holddown.



battery clamp spacer. the battery was slightly loose...

up next:

headlight rebuilds, tracking down the correct 6 light taillights, and maybe roadworthy?

[Rob]

25-1-13
so, after working out the volvo was doing 14.7l per 100km, or 19mpg, i had a look under the bonnet. plugs out, all look ok. leads are 8mm silicone, all good, dizzy cap, full of green fuzz. thats not good. the rotor arm was a bit burnt. i rummaged in the box of bits and retrieved anew dizzy cap, no arm though. i gve the arm a wee rub on some fine sandpaper, and reinstalled them. i then checked the timing, factory is 5 deg btdc. it was at 17..... thats turbo setting. reset to 5, and adjusted base idle to 850rpm. time for a drive. running on the 98 octane, the thing now flies. before it wouldnt get the out on gravel, now it drifts like a d1 driver. totally transformed.

next jobs, oil, oil filter, fuel filter, and a cold air feed/ heatpipe delete. happy days.

[Rob]

1-2-13
righto.

came home tonight in a fettling mood.

replaced vac pipe to distributor advance. old one is the big swollen one...


since getting Al, i'd thought he was always a bit flat. my last 2.3 was a 1981, which went real well. i had a look under the bonnet and found this:

the upper one is the stock 83 intake pipe, it goes from 2.5 inch down to 1 inch. there is a vac unit attached at the 1 inch venturi point.



numbers 37 and 39 go to 41, the vacuum booster. having had a read, i basically connected 37 to 39, so it gets the reading it wants. i then fitted the lower larger intake tube, which is 2.5 all the way. the result?

0-60mph takes 1 second less. yes, 1 second. i timed it twice. mid range pull is heaps better. the thing really flies. 1st gear skids are easy. awesome for a free bit of tube.

i then pulled the wheels off and had a look, sadly it has solid disks with 4pot calipers:



ill source either 88 on venteds, or mazda rx-7 calipers and disks. i also noted the arb links are a bit rooted. i have some polybush ones somewhere:


heres some vids:

ball joint clunks......


start and rev with new intake pipe:


sound system:


engine rev:


popping and banging :

and some of the drive home....




to order:
www.ebay.com.au/itm/1x-Outer-steering-tie-rod-end-TE553R-Volvo-240-242-244-245-740-Turbo-940-3516944-/251217278086?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a7db77486&_uhb=1#ht_946wt_820
www.ebay.com.au/itm/Volvo-240-260-740-760-taillamp-light-bulb-holders-sockets-BLACK-new-x2-1979-1994-/121060225428?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1c2fc07194&_uhb=1
www.ebay.com.au/itm/1jzgte-engine-auto-ecu-conversion-sss-1jz-2jz-sr20-13b-drift-drag-race-project-/251222500880?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a7e072610&_uhb=1#ht_500wt_1203

[Rob]

7-2-13
had a minor issue the other day. during some spirited 2nd gear drifting i managed to rev the volvo to 6500rpm. this made the egr pipe curse word itself. it snapped at the manifold. and made it sound like a lawnmower. so tonight i set about it. i removed whats left of the pipe to find that it was actually copper heating pipe. i then welded up the hole in the pipe nut and refitted it. i also migged up the pin hole in the centre box, and removed the rear huge box completely. its fully reversible. it now does this:



quiet to 3krpm, 100kmh is 2500. but rev it and it sounds angry, and spits and bangs on the overrun. it alos goes better too. its amazing what some basic breathing mods does.

parts list:

2x Volvo Shock Absorber Rear (164 242 244 245 262 264 265 240) - KYB GR2 343010 $44.00
1x Volvo Suspension Kit Front (240) - 240FTKIT $89.95
1x Volvo Trans Mount A/T (240) Meyle - 1359138 $6.31
1x Volvo Mount Left (240 242 244 245) URO Parts 274110 $5.96
1x Volvo Mount Right (240 242 244 245) URO Parts 274111 $6.98
1x Volvo Rear Suspension Bushing Kit (Urethane Torque Rod Bushing) 240RKITU $88.66
4x Volvo Exhaust System Hanger Front - Starla 255-873 666407 $11.56
1x Volvo Expansion Tank Cap (1.50 Bar) - Gates 9445462 $6.95
2x Volvo Sunvisor Clip Sedans (240 244 264) Genuine Volvo 1360896 $8.40
1x Volvo Thermostat (240 740 760 780 940) Wahler 273459-71 $12.95
1x Volvo Oil Drain Plug (940 760 780 244 245 240 242 740) - MTC Magnetic 948187M $4.25

11-2-13
so tonight saw some more parts recovered from the field of death. namely x2 engine mounts, x2 79 spec tail lights, and 23 bulb holders. id been told that the lights would be wired wrong so i snipped the looms too. turns out al uses a pre 80 loom, must be one of the last as the lights plugged straight in. i did have to make some cover plates to cover the hole in the panel.

the pics show it better.


top is the old, lower is the new. note size difference.

and the resulting hole...

the fix...

fitted to the light. at this point itgot dark...

ill get some more pics tomorrow.

[Rob]

15-2-13
oil and filter done. oil was like curse word black ink. filter had seized to the block. smashed a screwdriver through it and got it changed. I'm using havoline 20w50, due to the high kms and the slight oil smoke when cold. seems alot happier. next up wheels and lows.

17-2-13
manifold made. exactly the same as these pics:

[Rob]

4-3-13

order arrived!!




we have:



Ball Joint-Right
Ball Joint-Left
Lower Control Arm Bushing-Front Position
Lower Control Arm Bushing-Rear Position
Outer Tie Rod End
Sway Bar Link Kit
Urethane Torque Rod Bushing
Trailing Arm Bushing
Trailing Arm Bushing
Track Rod Bushing
Track Rod Bushing
KYB Gas Shock Rear
Volvo Expansion Tank Cap (1.50 Bar) - Gates 9445462
Volvo Mount Left
Volvo Mount Right
1975 Volvo 240 Transmission Mount-Square
Volvo 240 Front Muffler Hanger 1975 (Starla)
1976-1993 Volvo 240 Sun Visor Clip-Sedans
Volvo Valve Cover Gasket Set (760 242 244 245) - 036-1345


now to fit that lot....

[Rob]

yesterday:
bagged a manual setup....

pics now its saturday...



all the mounts, bolts and stuff


one of the smallest gearboxes ever, weighs less than an f13....


and worked out my coilovers...

i don't think maps were around when this came off the line. it uses k-jet:





so its very basic.

ill be going for a plenum, possibly alloy.

also sussed the coilovers:

this:


plus these:


minus 2 inches from the stock struts, and the cups removed equals:


info here, if your technical....:

forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=159933

and thats upto date

[Rob]

do facebook photos not work?

[Rob]

now they do

[dc1984]

Awesome build mate, I've always wanted one of these but in Scotland most are now rotten through:(

David.

[Rob]

yeah the uk wasnt too good to them. hows your nova?

[grizz]

First two pics made me smile..... amazing how the light differs down under, same as Africa.

I do like your car a whole lot.

Mileage.... paaahhh.

[Rob]

cheers grizz. not alot happened, i did manage to put the shifter back together and paint the box silver. it looks curse word. red needed methinks.

[Rob]

cheers grizz. not alot happened, i did manage to put the shifter back together and paint the box silver. it looks curse word. red needed methinks.

[Rob]

update.




and i cant find the bonnet pull so pics of that tomorrow....

behold, $500 (350 quid) worth of ***** soarer. it houses a 1jz-gtte.....



long story short, owned by a chick, painted the metallic green. ex boyfriend decides it needs a restyle using a fire axe. she sells it to her brother who paints it matt black and plexiglasses the broken windows. after some drifts and the loacal cop sayiong hello, he removes the windows, and parks it in a shed. for 3 years. i turn up after a tip off, wave cash, head home with what is apparently a non running soarer. 2 swift smacks to the starter cured that.....

here, we have wiring.


these plugs all need to be wired into the volvo loom.

those 2 feed data to the dash and trans.

those 2 turn the ecu on, and send the starter and alt signals.

those 2 feed other circuits. from what ive found only 4 wires from both are needed.

did i mention i hate wiring? primarily because the diagram is in japanese...



and thats only half of it....

basically i need to work out what wires are needed from each plug, and remove the ones which arnt, such as a/c and trac etc.



note the text at the bottom.
wiring sorted:



curse word removed:



still 38 wires to home.....

and 2-3 relays to run.

maaaaaaaaaaaad

then sump modification:


i need to copy the above image. thankfully i don't have to alter the pickup pipe.

i also need to order x6 of these:


and x12 of these:
[img src="http://www.newunitedracetech.com/shop/Images/products/82998-12440[1].jpg"]

coil plugs. the originals are ****ed....
and tonight I'm pulling the1jz. 2 bolts left as i type this....


ordered:
trd oil filter.
the above wiring and plugs

to order
cambelt
plugs x6
soarer air filter
3 inch tube
x2 3 inch glasspacks
mid size intercooler. (xr6???)


yes!!!

[Rob]

update. spent today doing this:


wiring done:



this box houses the main ecu relay. it will live near the battery in the engine compartment. the ecu on these things is far more complex than an xe. it uses an idle stepper motor that requires resetting to 0deg on ign off. so what happens is, a capacitor in the ecu discharges for 3 seconds. when you turn the key off, so the idle stepper can 0 itself, then it turns the ecu off via the relay. there is also a 7.5 amp fuse for the alt trigger, and a 30amp for the ecu main power. whilst not essential, these ecus hate spikes. the other wires feed the starter and alt.



this bundle is mainly dash lights (the small nest of wires) and a fusebox, that turns the ecu on. it takes the wires from 12 to 1. like a splitter. the long silver wire is the ignition on and start feed. it goes +12v when the key is turned and stays like that when cranking. it will be behind the glovebox...

the mock up shell arrives on sunday. so i can get on fitting everything....


oh and i removed 56 wires.....

[raymondmarble]

Fantastic! Will be watching this thread now. Great build!