Project 242TI Build up 2002-2003:
See the original thread
Here
General History Page:
Welcome to ClubVolvo?s Project 242TI page. This page is dedicated to a overview of the build up of the 242 over the year of 2003. My 242 was purchased with 260+K miles from a local friend of mine who?s kids drove it since new, and managed to beat it to death. When I bought the car it had 2 flat tires, wouldn?t start, windows wouldn?t roll up, seatbelts didn?t work, broken windshield, NO synchros in any gear ect, for 200 dollars in August of 2002.
Among the first things I set out to do with the car was to just get it drivable and street legal. This required the repair of numerous items and safety issues. Once this was completed, I spent a couple months deciding on what I had intended to do with the car and where to start first. I honestly started with the intentions of a budget racer, set up for track and drag racing use.
So after making the car drivable, I decided the interior the interior was the first thing I wanted to attack, as not only was the interior ?rough? it was the ugly brown that was growing on my nerves. I had access to an almost complete black interior from an 85 244TI, what I couldn?t swap I painted using Dupli-color interior paint. Works like a charm.
After getting the interior up to par, I started with the suspension. This took me a couple days to complete, but I installed IPD sway bars, bilstien shocks, MVP poly bushings , older style IPD strut tower brace, GT braces, 205/50/15 Falken Azenis Sport tires on repainted Virgo?s. I also installed my MVP 3? turbo back exhaust at the same time as I was already under the car.
Around this time, I had a b21FT that I pulled out of my 85 244TI parts car. So I began to build it right around this time. I had the head heavily worked over, installed an IPD VX cam and adjustable cam gear, 60 trim turbocoupe ford turbo a freshened bottom end. I installed this with a Centerforce clutch and new(er) m46.
Somewhere along the line, I had also converted to a Flathood from an earlier 240.
Around March of 2003 I stripped the car down for paint. I finally decided on a color, Sunset Metallic Orange, which I think came out positively stunning on the car. It took about to months and I had the waistline trim filled while it was painted.
Around this time, I shifted goals with the car. I decided that in the couple months I drove it with the 60 trim turbo and VX cam, that it wasn?t enough for me, so I ?upgraded?. Ended up buying a Enem K15 cam from Sweden and a WH1C Holset turbo off a Cummins diesel Dodge.
This set up proved to be to much for the stock K-jetronic mechanical fuel injection, and in early April I converted the car to Megasquirt EMS. it?s a DIY kit that you can purchase for under 200 dollars, and does a heck of a job controlling fuel. Plus, because its map based, it isn?t effect by BOV?s and offers no (if you so desire) restrictions to the intake tract.
Almost immediately after the megasquirt/holset install, I decided that I no longer liked the blacked out engine bay compared to the rest of the car. So in late April early May I pulled the motor to paint the engine bay and tackle a few other area?s of the car while I was there. Amongst other things, I wanted to tackle rewiring the car, installing a header and doing my T5 transmission swap.
Since early 2003, I had been quietly working with John Parker at
www.v-performance.com about making up OHC T5 transmission adapters. John already made the adapters for OHV motors so it wasn?t a new thing to him. I must say, the quality of his machine work and his help over the phone later down the road was invaluable.
Since I was rewiring the car, I decided to remove all the factory gauges and make my own cluster out of Carbon Fiber. A local friend of mine (in trade for converting his 242TI to a 230FT intake) laid up a sheet of CF for me which I milled on my CNC at the shop. I used all new Autometer Carbon Fiber Gauges in support of the couple existing gauges I already had.
This is also in the height (or depths of hell) of rewiring the car. While challenging, I removed a lot of weight and simplified things quite a bit. I used a painless wiring fuse block and this set up worked rather well.
(part of the trash pile)
Right around early July my header from
www.proturbo.fi in Finland showed up. While it took a bit of work to make it fit and plumb everything up, this was well worth it. Dropped the spool up of my holset by 8 or 900 rpm, and made it very responsive. Proturbo makes 16vT manifolds as well, and are all now single mandrel bent polished Stainless Steel pieces now.
By late July I had the motor back in the car, albeit with a new turbo, a Holset HY35W. Its shape made it easier to fit into the car (on the header), plus it had a 4? exhaust outlet and better spool up (slightly smaller A/R redesigned exhaust housing). All that I was waiting on was the clutch and flywheel which I had outsourced through another company.
The clutch/flywheel was a disaster. Going from a local recommendation, I contacted a shop about 2 hours away 6 months in advance of the Western Regional Volvo Club of America show about doing my clutch and flywheel. Long story short, with 6 days to go, they had finally built my clutch (but not the flywheel) but used the wrong spline and I wouldn?t be able to make the show. Likewise to say, I was very angry (rooms were already booked). I talked to John Parker who informed me then that he could do the clutch and flywheel no problem (for some reason I never realized this). This again is where I have to give an absolutely GLOWING recommendation for John. In 4 days he built my clutch and flywheel and had them overnighter to me for an exceptional price. The flywheel was a 9 pound aluminum unit and the clutch was a carbon/carbon Clutch-net clutch (purchased through John to his specs).
So far this setup has been flawless. I recently pulled the clutch to check on it and it showed almost no wear, hot spots ect. The only problem I had was this clutch took quite a while to break in (probably complete at 1k miles, really grabby by 500 though), but it is insanely grippy, though with very easy (lighter than my Centerforce clutches were) pedal play. I am very happy so far. Once again, hats off to John Parker.
Luckily, after some major engineering I completed the T5 swap after 2 days of solid labor (including about 2 dozen times of pulling and reinstalling the transmission) and was able to make it to the Washington show. The T5 swap was painless with exception to one area, the pilot bearing. Once that was handled this transmission has been worth every penny. Shifts nice, robust, and actually having a true OD (that works) has been the best part of all.
A little clean up before the show
After this, I pretty much just began to drive and enjoy the car, though I began having problems with massive boost creep (as much as 40psi spikes) that I tried numerous things to resolve. Finally, I installed a Tial 38mm external wastegate and the problem was solved. I?ve always had trouble with internal gates on all my turbo?s, after going external my boost has been rock stable at any level and even with better spool up. Id never go internal again.
The last thing I did to my car in 2003 was install a Powertrax Locker. This is exactly what it sounds like, a ?ratcheting? locker for the rear axle. The installation took me just over a day (I could do it in half a day now that I?ve done it once) and the results were worth it. Traction is great(!) and I find the unit to be not nearly as harsh as I thought it would be.
After that, it was just flat out and enjoy the car, until Thanksgiving when I lost my head gasket ?trying out? my new locker. For that and more you?ll have to read the ?2004? thread.
Doug
Theres gazillions of pictures at www.pbase.com/dkauer744
