Suppose I wanted a cheap, turbo, rwd Volvo to mess with...

I'll admit I've got a huge soft spot for Volvos, and they've been on my mind again recently. I've had two 850s in the past, but what I've always really wanted is an old, rwd turbo brick, preferably with 5 doors and a manual. Something I could drive to work or on a road trip, but also run in an occasional auto x or rally x. Comfortable, competent handling, and fast, like 250-300 rwhp or a much as I can get reliably and on a budget. 2/7/900 series all have appeal, but I'd probably prefer a 740 or 940 for the role. No imminent plans to buy, mostly just bench racing at the moment, but I've been keeping an eye out and damn there are a lot of cheap ones out there...

So what's the GRM recipe for big redblock power and handling? How much power can the auto tranny hold (prefer manual, but most of the <$1k cars seem to be auto)? Hats the deal with the lsd/locker thing?

TL/DR: Bench build me a budget turbo brick.

Get a 240 and turbo it. Or 240 + turbo engine swap... a friend of mine did a Ford turbo 2.3 Lima/5 speed conversion on a 240 wagon. A lot of fun.

The autos are supposedly pretty darn strong. Within the realm of a motor that hasn't been built, I haven't heard of anyone blowing one up from too much power.

A friend of mine had a 740 turbo for a while. Auto and open diff, but it had the better flowing 90+ turbo manifold, a bigger turbo (don't remember what it came from), bigger injectors and the boost cranked up a decent bit. It moved quite well and had no problem over-powering the 205 Rivals it sat on.

It had halfway decent suspension on it too. Not the most nimble feeling car (it was kinda like hooning a tank), but it went where you pointed it and had plenty of grip (until you put your foot down mid-corner, which resulted in some tire smoke and lots of getting slideways).

For budgetary reasons, I'd stick with 740/940 as well. I see running/driving examples for <1k a lot. As much as a like 240s, the wagons are getting kinda stupid ( or, like, relatively stupid for a Volvo. Still pretty cheap for all but the most pristine cases). Plus turbo engine is way more common (even if it was saddled with an auto in most cases). Head over to turbobricks if you haven't already. 250hp is basically the norm for those guys.

Not many manual 7 and 9 series that I've seen.

You want an auto behind a turbo, anyway. Too much boost drop between shifts with the M46.

That's just my opinion, but I'm pretty darn sure I'm correct.

I echo what others have said above for the most part. I think auto is the way to go, the M46 manual isn't too stout once you approach 250 hp, and the later M47 is even worse. The autos seem to be cheap and bulletproof, and work pretty well.

Adding a turbo doesn't cost much, maybe $400-600 in parts, and it's pretty easy apparently.

Having owned both I actually far prefer driving the 740/940 over the 240. The 240 has more character, but the 740 is a much nicer place to spend time. I love mine.

They are fun, and easy to go fast. I had one for a time, the only downside is that it had a radiator cap holding too much pressure that introduced me to all sorts of one-year mail order stuff which turned me off.

In addition to power, there are lots of fun options for the Dana 30 that lives out back if you go the 240 route.

There's an article on this site about these bricks actually.

So if you want to add a turbo to an N/A car, the biggest difficulty is adding an oil return line, which people either tap into the block or the oil pan. From there it's all bolt on - turbo, intercooler, injectors, exhaust manifold, and computer from the turbo models. Some people use a Saab APC to turn up the boost. Volvo had their own boost controller called Turbo+ for a couple years as well.

Honestly the factory Turbo cars usually don't command a premium over the N/A cars, so I'd just look for that, or a 16 valve model.

Turbobricks.com is a decent resource but they can be juvenile too, you'll get a lot of "RTFM" or "Search noob" replies to basic questions.

captdownshift wrote: In addition to power, there are lots of fun options for the Dana 30 that lives out back if you go the 240 route.

The 740 / 760 (the 760 turbo is still a turbo redblock) have the Dana 30 out back as well, at least in the early sedans and in the wagons (the later sedans have independent rear suspension).

Furious_E said: Suppose I wanted a cheap, turbo, rwd Volvo to mess with...

I would strongly support your decision and I would ask for a build thread.

captdownshift wrote: In addition to power, there are lots of fun options for the Dana 30 that lives out back if you go the 240 route.

Oh yeah, forgot those had a Dana axle! Could get a mini spool to swap in and out for maximum hoonage

I don"t think it makes much sense financially to do a +t conversion, the $4-600 it would cost could very well equal the purchase price of the car! Just not much difference, if any, between the turbo and N/A cars.

I'm familiar with Turbobricks, but haven't been there in ages. Been 6-7 years since I had my last 850, and they shunned the fwd guys over there anyways. I'll have to reacquaint myself and do some more research.

I had a 740 Turbo wagon.. loved it.. Probably cheapest way to get there.

bastomatic wrote: Some people use a Saab APC to turn up the boost.

Now that's interesting. Boost, knock sensing and ignition control on the cheap? I'm off to the yard.

ssswitch wrote:

bastomatic wrote: Some people use a Saab APC to turn up the boost.

Now that's interesting. Boost, knock sensing and ignition control on the cheap? I'm off to the yard.

That's ironic. I have an APC equipped SAAB and want to ditch the APC for T5.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought that older Volvo's had a better version of the Bosch ignition then the one SAAB used, that had a MAP reference to retarded ignition timing under boost. APC was advanced tech for it's time, but not all that remarkable now.

I do know that the RWD Volvo automatic transmissions are robust and handle power upgrades, at least to a point. I've made several attempts at buying 940 turbo wagons over the years, but the good ones get sold really fast around here.

bastomatic wrote: I'd just look for that, or a 16 valve model.

I could not possibly disagree more. The B234 was a styling exercise that let Volvo put a sticker on the trunk lid to try to appeal to BMW owners. They claim to have made more power than a regular 8 valve B230, but the only actual power gain was from the rear axle ratio. They are slow and torqueless and leaky and they bend valves when the balance shaft belt breaks and winds up in the timing belt. Having said that, if the balance shaft belt breaks, and doesn't kill the engine, they actually idle smoother afterwards.

They are the only engine Volvo has ever built, other than the PVR V6, that I tell people to actively avoid.

Streetwiseguy wrote: They are the only engine Volvo has ever built, other than the PVR V6, that I tell people to actively avoid.

And even those PRVs aren't bad as long as you run like hell from the early versions and only get the later one (B280 engine in Volvo terms).

In reply to Streetwiseguy:

I've never owned a Volvo, but have spent a decent amount of time in and around them, .My best friend's family are all rabid Volvo fans. They've had every possible flavor of RWD Volvo around over the years, and some FWDs too.

Anyway, my takeaway from them was that 16v turbo red blocks were just fine with the boost turned up and balancers removed. Possibly some other small mods too, I don't remember it all.

You want the auto if you intend to make 250-300hp. At that power level goal I think you'll need a cam and a bigger turbo. I think the stock stuff maxes out around 240-250 iirc. The manual gearbox isn't great. I had one. It's weak. 220hp is about its limit. If you're set on having a manual, swap in a T5 trans. 740 and 940 are comfy fun cars. Wagon or bust.