New here and looking for turbo advice.

[belac_50]

Hey, I have a 1992 volvo 240 sedan with automatic transmission. It's currently as stock as you can get, and I want to put a turbo in it. I plan on going through old threads and doing a ton of research but wanted to start here to get advice. I would like to keep the original redblock thats in it but I want to make sure that's not a bad idea.

Planning on grabbing parts from old 700/900 series cars.

I'm currently working on getting her to stage 0 and hopefully will start the turbo process in August, but we will see.

 

[fatcatbestcat]

Manual or automatic?

An AW70 isn't going to hold up super well to turbo power. OEM Volvo manuals don't hold up much better but an M46 can generally survive stock boost levels.

If you have an entire 7/9 parts car, you might as well yank the whole engine/transmission and the spark and fuel ECUs - if you have an automatic it's basically plug and play save for the distributor.

Even better, ghost ride the 240 into a lake and start with a factory turbo 740 or 940

 

[belac_50]

Manual or automatic?

An AW70 isn't going to hold up super well to turbo power. OEM Volvo manuals don't hold up much better but an M46 can generally survive stock boost levels.

If you have an entire 7/9 parts car, you might as well yank the whole engine/transmission and the spark and fuel ECUs - if you have an automatic it's basically plug and play save for the distributor.

Even better, ghost ride the 240 into a lake and start with a factory turbo 740 or 940

Sorry, I guess that's important lol. It's an automatic. I was hoping to keep the original engine. I am going to an automotive technician school and am doing this on the side as a fun project. But if need be I could just drop a new engine in.

 

[Pietercc]

Sorry, I guess that's important lol. It's an automatic. I was hoping to keep the original engine. I am going to an automotive technician school and am doing this on the side as a fun project. But if need be I could just drop a new engine in.

Its easiest to, but not if needed if you can weld. If you do the swap then you could also try and get it registered as an engine swap and actually be able to smog it in CA

 

[2manyturbos]

Free advice? Either get a 1981-85 240 Turbo, or, move to a 940 Turbo. You start modifying that 1992 240 and there is a chance you won't be able to license it the next go round. We see CA Turbo conversions come up for sale quite often because they won't pass emissions visual inspection, therefore, can't be tested and the registration renewed. If you are just planning on off road use, no problem.

 

[OVERDRIVE]

On that note, it's about time someone CARB certifies an LH2.4 B230FT into an LH2.4 240. Isn't the Ford H.O. 5.0 CARB certified for a 240?

 

[Duder]

On that note, it's about time someone CARB certifies an LH2.4 B230FT into an LH2.4 240. Isn't the Ford H.O. 5.0 CARB certified for a 240?

Are you referring to some sort of commercially available kit? That *could* exist, but I've never seen such a thing. There is a process by which parts manufacturers or kit manufacturers can certify upgrade parts or entire engine packages, but they have to sell the whole thing together as a kit with the engine. GM's E-Rod crate engine packages are a good example. They come with a sticker that gets affixed under the hood. They can be smog tested legally.

The process that most private owners use for a CARB-legal engine swap is an entirely different thing. Those have to be inspected individually - the owner takes their car to a referee station where it is scrutinized and either passes or fails. If it passes, then their car can be smog tested to the same standards as the engine donor vehicle.

Unfortunately a single owner certifying a B230FT to run in their 240 is only valid for that particular car - it doesn't apply to all B230FTs into all 240s

 

[hiperfauto]

The problem with certifying a B230FT in a 240 is the distributor. A B230FT has the distributor in the back of head which doesn't fit in a 240. Even though a block mounted distributor works exactly the same as a head mounted distributor the referee won't certify it.

 

[PCH]

On that note, it's about time someone CARB certifies an LH2.4 B230FT into an LH2.4 240. Isn't the Ford H.O. 5.0 CARB certified for a 240?

Many have been CARB certified. You basically perform engine change following all the guidelines and take it to the Ref who will Cert it and issue a permanent door label.

 

[2manyturbos]

Many have been CARB certified. You basically perform engine change following all the guidelines and take it to the Ref who will Cert it and issue a permanent door label.

Can you come up with a 240 conversion that passed CARB certification with a B230FT? As Ian said above, the B230FT never came with a block distributor and that is what has kept the conversions from passing. The engine package has to be complete, unaltered and at least the same year or newer than the vehicle it is being swapped in to.

 

[hiperfauto]

Not that it applies to a B230FT but the engine has to be out of the same class of vehicle. You can't put a truck engine in a car and vice versa.

 

[PCH]

Can you come up with a 240 conversion that passed CARB certification with a B230FT? As Ian said above, the B230FT never came with a block distributor and that is what has kept the conversions from passing. The engine package has to be complete, unaltered and at least the same year or newer than the vehicle it is being swapped in to.

About 15 years ago I smogged a 244 with the 1992 Turbo motor. The car already had a CARB decal couple of years old, the firewall was modified barely enough to fit the distributor. I don't think it was possible to remove the cap without disconnecting the mounts and sliding the motor/trans forward from what I remember the owner telling me. The CAT had to be mounted under the floor just like it was on 740.

 

[PCH]

Not that it applies to a B230FT but the engine has to be out of the same class of vehicle. You can't put a truck engine in a car and vice versa.

True, passenger to passenger class, can't be older than the car, same trans type as original. But a 5.0 Ford has been certified in a Miata in California.

 

[2manyturbos]

About 15 years ago I smogged a 244 with the 1992 Turbo motor. The car already had a CARB decal couple of years old, the firewall was modified barely enough to fit the distributor. I don't think it was possible to remove the cap without disconnecting the mounts and sliding the motor/trans forward from what I remember the owner telling me. The CAT had to be mounted under the floor just like it was on 740.

That's the issue that stops the process, the distributor. If someone is willing to cut the firewall they could get the swap to pass.