242DL LS3 Project

[Wejjmeister]

So, I acquired this beauty from a guy in the UK. Decent car, runs well and I have enjoyed driving it for a few months before starting to notice areas where it needed a few tweaks.

The car started its life in Ontario and was orginally swapped by STS Engineering. It came to the UK completed, but the owner decided to put a slightly modified crate LS3 in it and have the suspension worked on.

It has a few BNE parts on already, and is running an Emerald K6+ ECU. Rear is a ford 8.8 with discs. Front is on S60R discs and callipers, and the suspension is fully Delrin bushed up front. Rear has a mixture of bits on it some BNE, some lightly modified parts. Full set on BC Racing Coilovers and a few smaller mods.











Soooo planned mods include:

Brembo 17z upgrades with floating rotors - Callipers are ready, can't find rotors...
Tilton Full pedal assembly - Purchased
Adjustable front rear bias (braking) - Purchased
LINK ECU swap and map - Thunder G4+
4 x Wheel speed sensors - Cruise control and Traction Control
Hydro hand brake / parking brakes
Full rewire - Underway
New wheels - Rotiform Aerodiscs 18"

Rear end mods are going to be scary, its just too bouncy and when putting power down on our terrible British roads, its a real handful. Im thinking 350z rear from Sikkys with the quick swap diff, but I am trying to work it all out at the moment... we shall see

Oh, and a turbo too, a large one










I also took the original heater out, it wasn't working and, wow, its large!!



This is how the inside looks currently whilst rewiring it all with a new custom loom:



Sorry for the post, needed to share as I need input.

 

[Harlard]

It's really weird to me to see that car. I have known of it for 12+ years as it lived in Simon's back yard. Can't remember for sure but I think it had an LSD rear axle off of one of my old cars in it at some point.

You should not have a whole lot of problems with the stick rear end as long as it's well set up.

 

[77volvo245]

So, I acquired this beauty from a guy in the UK. Decent car, runs well and I have enjoyed driving it for a few months before starting to notice areas where it needed a few tweaks.

The car started its life in Ontario and was orginally swapped by STS Engineering. It came to the UK completed, but the owner decided to put a slightly modified crate LS3 in it.

The car started here in Portland, Oregon

It's really weird to me to see that car. I have known of it for 12+ years as it lived in Simon's back yard. Can't remember for sure but I think it had an LSD rear axle off of one of my old cars in it at some point.

You should not have a whole lot of problems with the stick rear end as long as it's well set up.

It now has a 8.8 with a LSD. Your old rearend is in my wagon now with the trutrack.

 

[77volvo245]

Where it started..
https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=354287

 

[sbabbs]

Ha, no it came from Cornvallis, oregon. My buddie got it for me for 100 buxs and then put it on a trailer and drove it to my house and I gave him 200 for the pain of it all. I got it for my kid and made her drive it around the yard when she was 12 sitting on two phone books. She wasn't happy, I'd post the vide but you might call child services on me.... Har har har harald... Someday i post it once I find it in one of these 1200 terrybite drives with the 12343453 hours or video I have shot... She's 19 now so go ahead call em. I haven't seen her since before she went to france 6 months ago and since she been back still haven't.. Cars come and go and so do kids. To me it just a junker 242. Ya know they flexy little beeches, ain't nuttin' like a 740, now that is a real race car and way safer..

Also from your thread you posted there above about where it from looky what I copied from that...

Original motor wore out? That is BS, ran great just gutless low compression k-junk.. I think it only had 140k original miles sat most of it's life in Corvallis, OR under a tree with it's rear away from the sun.

Ohh yeah since I had it first t-brick wise I named it turd yellow and that is it's name so have fun with old turd yellow. Or is it the ontario bullsheetio? Better paint it quick, ha ha ha...

I started to scrape the sound deadning out of it and took out the passenger seat and took it to PIR drag racing it and it ran 19.3 or sumptin.. Then cause no front seat on passenger side I put full keg of beer in it and drove it to RSI for the friday night party before IPD one year back when bolbos had kool race shops near race track and filled up beers from the open window and drank from the tap while driving around glorious portland lower shelf of the 405 bridge 360's..

So where it started was my house and I took it drag racing first, I took it to RSI first, took it to IPD first, took it out hooning with beer keg in it first, so who on first now?

Wife says kid still traumatized from me forcing her to drive it in yard when she was 12 still talks about that and now drives BMW.. Happy Harry?

Yeah I had a volvo 140 race crew needed 1030 rear end so I told them take it out of TURD YELLOW and put trutrac 1031 rear in and you can have TURD YELLOWs rear! So they did happily!

 

[Wejjmeister]

Where it started..
https://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=354287

Awesome thanks! Just started to read through it all? love finding out the journey

 

[Wejjmeister]

It's really weird to me to see that car. I have known of it for 12+ years as it lived in Simon's back yard. Can't remember for sure but I think it had an LSD rear axle off of one of my old cars in it at some point.

You should not have a whole lot of problems with the stick rear end as long as it's well set up.

As stated it now has an 8.8 rear end with an LSD. Maybe I just need to find someone to help get her setup properly. Im not used to solid rear ends, Ive come into Volvos through this car and most of my experience is with old Porsches.

I love the car, just want to make it even better 😊

 

[Wejjmeister]

As Ive mentioned, I am making a custom loom. The rear is complete now, and only needs the final loom tape adding to finish it off. I have incorporated a few little extras for the future as I will add a fuel cell in the near future with a PWM controlled pump, so a couple of extra cables have been added.

The original loom was ok in the rear of the car, but I have tidied a few bits and also made the entire loom pluggable. I used Deutsch connectors throughout so that individual parts of the loom can be removed if ever the need arises.

The route of the original loom had been moved:

I think it was originally designed to run along the bottom of the boot (trunk) floor?

Also a lot of the clips and wires were open and I was worried about shorts when using the boot.

It is all now as low profile as I can make it to the panels. In this photo it is temporarily cable tied and the sticky pads will be removed. This was only for me to work out the routing. I will remove it and add loom tape, and then clip it into place more securely.

I may eventually make some aluminium bead rolled panels and Dzus clip them to the inside of the boot area to protect things a little better. Depends on the fuel cell...

 

[Wejjmeister]

The fuel cell is finalised in CAD but I am awaiting a cost from the local company I use for laser cutting and as I have been contemplating completely swapping the rear suspension out for an IRS setup, I have waited.

I have designed it to fit behind the rear seat under the rear shelf.

It is internally baffled and has a built in pickup point with a surge tank built in.

 

[blkaplan]

So no to IRS swaps.

 

[Harlard]

As stated it now has an 8.8 rear end with an LSD. Maybe I just need to find someone to help get her setup properly. Im not used to solid rear ends, Ive come into Volvos through this car and most of my experience is with old Porsches.

I love the car, just want to make it even better 😊

The 8.8 pictured is a stick rear end

 

[Wejjmeister]

The 8.8 pictured is a stick rear end

Yep, it is, as opposed to the usual IRS and trailing arm setups I am familiar with. I have never owned a 4 link rear car.

 

[Wejjmeister]

So no to IRS swaps.

Maybe, but never say never 😬. I like a challenge 😂😂

 

[sbabbs]

Here it is in 2012.



RSI sticker no IRS!

 

[Hank Scorpio]

If you go IRS I'll take your 8.8!

Looks great btw! Love the red interior

 

[Wejjmeister]

Here it is in 2012.



RSI sticker no IRS!

Thanks so much for these!! I will add them to my already huge collection of pictures throughout the cars history. There arent currently any from before the days STS got involved with the project, thank you.

 

[Wejjmeister]

If you go IRS I'll take your 8.8!

Looks great btw! Love the red interior

Thanks for the kind words!

After reading a fair few build threads on here, I think I am going to stick with the 8.8 for now and try to get it all set up a lot better. I have a plan now, see if I can execute it through the winter.

 

[77volvo245]

Thanks so much for these!! I will add them to my already huge collection of pictures throughout the cars history. There arent currently any from before the days STS got involved with the project, thank you.

Bought the car from local Simon for the True Trac rear end. I had no intention of LS swapping the car. I actually sold the car twice when it was LS swap. Once with an Automatic trans, bought it back 2 years later. We reupholstered the interior and did a T56 manual swap 8.8 and few suspension mods. Sold the car to phil in the UK

 

[enzedal]

I'm impressed with your professional approach to your build. I've been driving my 244 Volvo-Chevy for 30 years with the solid axle and it works great...I don't even use a LSD anymore. I run 225 lb rear springs, off the shelf Koni racing shocks and a 5/8" sway bay in the rear.

 

[283SD]

I like the bus in the background, what is it, year, make model?. I had an I H Model B 170, Thomas bodied school bus,32' long. Restored into a fully self contained camper back in '86/'87. My parent's spent one winter in it in Fla. Drove it to Nova Scotia twice, many East coast trips. Used it many times for a camper when I was racing, Parked it in2010,didn't use it much, sold it in the fall of'18, I kick my self for selling it now.