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Engine Swap Ideas

I got my B20F on eBay for like $500. That was WAY more than I wanted to pay but it was all I could find. They are around, especially on your coast. I got my M41 OD tranny for $400 shipped with a driveshaft and crossmember. Basically everything I need to put it in the car. I decided it needed an input shaft bearing but other than that was good to go. The swaps you can do yourself with basic knowledge, basic tools, and an engine hoist. Don't let the shops take advantage of you. You can do this yourself for half of what they want or less. My suggestion would be get it all in there, get it running the best you can, and take it to a shop if you still think it needs further tweaking.

Orrrr...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VOLVO-B20-P...Parts_Accessories&hash=item460a013102&vxp=mtr
 
what kind of horsepower do stock b20's usually get ? see the link you sent me is a pretty nice set up and if i did go the b20 route then i probably would like fuel injected. i know a place not too far from my house where they will sell me a b20 block and fuel injected head for about $300 but it would need a rebuild and when i tried to find parts for a rebuild is where i got stuck.... so then i figured new might be easier in a sourcing what is needed ( not the actual fitting) way.
 
http://www.cvi-automotive.se/en/articles/9223/01-engine-b18b20

Is one of a number of suppliers who will have all the bits in stock. A B20 on twin SUs with a decent camshaft will be around the 120 to 130 bhp mark. it'll feel like a rocket ship compared to a knackered B18. Even a B18 is pretty good.

You may well find that if you find a half decent engine that all it needs is a set of new big ends, piston rings and a new camshaft and followers.
 
$4 or $5 K is perfectly reasonable...it would be $1500 in parts for heaven's sake. The guys doing the work don't do it for the joy after all. There are a ton of "recipes" for how to squeeze HP out of a pushrod.
 
Damn, if it were me, I'd spend a day in the yard and build the motor I desire.

'93+ B230F
240 Intermediate Shaft w/ Dizzy Drive Gear
240 Alternator Bracket w/ Denso 100a
B20 Oil Pump w/ Delivery Tube (any pushrod cars in that yard?)
B20 Oil Pan (any pushrod cars in that yard?)
240 Block Mount IAC Bracket
Mini Redblock Starter
All Approperite Sensors
Block Dizzy for your EMS
16v Head, Intake Manifold & Exhaust Manifold
16v crank gear
Extra 16v cam gear...put it on the intermediate shaft.
850 timing belt

If I can find a way to swap pistons, in the yard, I'd swap in the 16v pistons to the B230 block.

It's a hell of a lotta work...to be done outside, in a junkyard.

But, then you get all your HARDPARTS, to clean, service, reseal, put back together, and bolt in to your 122
 
no pushrods in the yard this time :/ they rarely have any, this time it was just a couple late 80's 240 early 90's 740 an 940/60. that would be a really nice swap you mentioned im just afraid i dont have the knowledge to pull something like that off so i might just have to stick to a b20, the link FIVEHUNDRED posted seems to pretty good as far as getting parts for the b20 ( thank you by the way) and CANUCK 4-5k reasonable or not I'd rather take the time to learn and put it together myself and at the very least save myself the cost of labor, i know they dont work for the joy of it... i mean dont get me wrong i actually really like the guys and have had work done by them before i just figure if im going to start putting more money into my car then i could get something that would be more fun to drive like what MYLESOFSMYLES mentioned.. but like i said my knowledge might only let me do a b20 at the moment but we'll see.
 
I agree with Fivehundred. I have a stock 1972 142E that I drive when i'm home in Oregon and it is very fun with plenty of power. The 1971 B20E was supposed to be a 130 hp high compression engine with FI, the 1972 went to a B20f and something like 114hp? maybe a little better.

It's pretty easy to cobble a big bore B20 together for regular money. machine work always costs the same though.

If you are thinking about a turbo later on, you might be better getting an OHC now.

Here is an example of supercharging a B20, and the cost :

http://www.v-performance.com/products/supercharger.html

Since Volvo supplied lots of turbo OHC in cars I think it would be easier to use later factory turbo parts when you want to start squishing air.

The other thing to consider with an OHC Redblock is that, while they are generally rated at the same HP as many B20 engines, they are severely restricted by catalytic converters and mufflers and other emissions tuning that you won't need to use.

Member 'itb-volvo' has a bone stock 1989 B230f in his 1970s 142 chump car and it goes real nice. I don't want to put words in his mouth but I think he likes it better than his built (balanced and tuned to 'factory' spec for ITB ;) race B20 in his ITB 142.
 
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well here it is. if anyone was wondering, this is what i have to start with, and no those oil stains are not from my car. also sorry for the poor quality of the pic. all i had on me was my cell phone at the time:oops:
photo.jpg
 
Nice clean and straight body on that 122. What exactly are your HP Goals? And what is your immediate budget? If you have 4k to spend, you have a decent amount of options. And age of the car allows for many other options due to lack of smog restrictions.

Attending some of the local meets the SoCal VCOA peeps attend may be a good idea to get linked to a few more volvo nuts near you. Many of us have spare parts and knowledge.

Where in LA are you? Not exactly a small city. And some people say they are in LA but are actually in one of the many suburbs around LA.

PJ
 
Nope no one bothers me * knock on wood*, yeah it's not a bad starting point just bummed that who ever owned it before me thought it was a good idea to paint over all the trim :/ and it has some rust on lower front corners of the doors and lower back parts of the fenders( i think you can see it in the picture) but that can be fixed... Other than that I have to change out the front floor pans and then all the mechanical stuff that I want to upgrade
 
fast242 said:
Nice clean and straight body on that 122. What exactly are your HP Goals? And what is your immediate budget? If you have 4k to spend, you have a decent amount of options. And age of the car allows for many other options due to lack of smog restrictions.

Attending some of the local meets the SoCal VCOA peeps attend may be a good idea to get linked to a few more volvo nuts near you. Many of us have spare parts and knowledge.

Where in LA are you? Not exactly a small city. And some people say they are in LA but are actually in one of the many suburbs around LA.

PJ
Click to expand...

im a quick 15 min drive from down town la , the city is bell. as far as my goals EXACTLY weeeeeeelllll..... i guess i would be happy some where in the 200 hp region but, the more the merrier?? on a separate question, i dont really have a spare car but i know i can borrow one temporarily so the less down time the better so i was thinking of building something up outside the car and then my only real down time would be taking the current engine out and putting the new one in or figuring out how to put it in ( assuming i went with a totally different engine).
 
200hp the fast way...

Late model B230ft car that you buy for its guts
Honda S2000 engine, trans, ecu, gauges (236hp)
Ford crate Ztec 4cyl
about any V8 (plenty info on these swaps around the web)

your gas mileage may vary ;)

Then there's the MS'd and supercharged 1800 here;
http://www.1800philes.com/supercharged_volvo.html

ALSO, that paint will come off that trim with some lacquer thinner and steel wool or at the worst Aircraft Stripper but wear gloves.
 
xpushingdaisysx said:
im a quick 15 min drive from down town la , the city is bell. as far as my goals EXACTLY weeeeeeelllll..... i guess i would be happy some where in the 200 hp region but, the more the merrier?? on a separate question, i dont really have a spare car but i know i can borrow one temporarily so the less down time the better so i was thinking of building something up outside the car and then my only real down time would be taking the current engine out and putting the new one in or figuring out how to put it in ( assuming i went with a totally different engine).
Click to expand...

Such a good sized city and very small population. Amazing world wide attention recently though for the city of Bell.

200HP is easily achievable in many forms. A stock B230FT will easily do 200hp with a few changes and fits with a few other changes. A M40 bellhousing to a M46/M47 transmission will give you more gears cheaply. A 960's inline 6 is 200hp factory and fits the 122 with some mods to the body and is cheap to get. Would need the transmission from a 960, or a few various parts if you had to have a stick shift need.
You can get 200hp NA out of the B20's but require a decent amount of engine work and $$ to complete.

If assembling one motor then doing a swap, is the goal, with limited experience, the B230FT is probably the best bet. A B230F with a 16V head would also work well and be a little easier to fit due to it being a NA motor. This unfortunately is not an easy answer since it would take a decent discussion to whittle down what you can or want to do, and then provide most of the details here online. You probably would be best of coming to one of the meets we usually attend and get answers faster there.

PJ
 
yeah thats kind of why its been a tough choice . i know putting a b20 would be the easiest as far as a straight swap but i just feel like its still going to take alot of work in mods and money to build it up to what I'd like...but its still im the running. maybe ill wait and see how volvo_142e's engine turns out.... i kind like the 16 valve head on b230 idea he's building, i think its similar to the build on the link that windowsbreakerG4 sent me at the very beginng of the thread... i guess i've probably narrowed it down to those two options but i guess something else can still wow me away. yeaaaah... stupid bell city gov. :grrr:
 
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