• RWD

  • John's '89 240 Wagon "Warick"

It's about time I posted on here about my new car which I am finally starting to get somewhere with, after Kimberley met her demise.

So the new sleigh is a 1989 Volvo 240 GL wagon, with an LH2.4 B230F and (for now) an AW71.

The previous owner Warick had a new car bought for him by his partner so this was surplus to his needs, and was the second owner.

First day:

And more recently:

So far mods include:

15x7 -0 Dynamic Sunraysia steelies with wheel nut indicators205/65R15 Kuhmo KH27s and Toyo C100s, hammered guards4wdsupacentre roof rackAll exterior lighting changed to LEDCustom grille I got for free off a guy's "gangster spec" 240, with eBay GT-R badgeKenwood KDC-BT620U, 4 x Kenwood KFC-PS1095, Alpine SWS-12D4, generic amp

I've got an Aliexpress spec MAF in the post currently, the current one has a snapped hot wire and as a result it's running extremely rich (200kms to a tank). I have a fair few other plans for it after that, some suspension work, manual steering rack and gearbox swap and some other bits and pieces but it's coming along. I'll try to post every now and again with my latest endeavours.

Looking good! Does it have a sunroof? Unusual for a 240 wagon so I assume aftermarket of some type?

Nice! You should lift it, baja edition xD

@carnut222 yeah it does have an aftermarket sunroof, currently it has only leaked once when I parked it straight under the edge of a tree on a really rainy night and I think a lot of water ran straight onto it. Otherwise it seems okay but I need to put the new motor in so it will actually open.

@buddyglitch I have been toying with the idea but the fact that it's RWD stresses me out a bit for off-roading. I would be much more likely to go for a P80 XC70 or P2 XC90 for something off-road.

2 months later

Been a few months since the last update. The MAF I mentioned in my last post worked a treat, and now I am getting about 400km per tank which is nice.

Shortly after that my exhaust downpipe/midpipe snapped in half at the welds so I swapped the one in from my old car (1980 244), cut the end off because the slip on section was the wrong gender and got some more length welded on, plus a O2 bung added. Bonus being no catalytic converter and a tad heavier pipe. In the rear section at the 90° bend there was a fairly big crack, so for a bit more exhaust note i've made that crack into a big hole (properly loud now). I've also just gotten a 600mm polished stainless pipe with a slip on section at one end, and a universal hanger - plan is to cut the pipe off before the bend and then have it sticking straight out on the right side of the car, basically straight piped but with the single centre resonator.

I've made a few stylistic changes, including installing some additional roof mounted taillights and 3M reflective tape, for a mine spec inspired look. I've relocated the front number plate off to one side, removed the grille and horn support, relocated the horns behind the bumper and painted one of the headlight covers black, for a bit of a bosozoku inspired look. I'll admit it's a weird combo but I like it.

Nice, however if I were you I would reinstall the vertical metal brace you called the horn support. Its main purpose is to support the bonnet latch...the horns were just conveniently attached there. Without it the rad support panel may quickly fatigue and you could find your bonnet making contact with your windscreen at high speed...not fun!

Thanks for the tip @carnut222, I did have a bit of a yank at it and it does seem pretty solid but I'll check again and maybe put it back if it seems too flimsy. If it is I might see if I can brace it some other way because I quite like the look without it.

3 months later

So I got a smack on the wrist over christmas from the cops, had to put my grille back in and took off the headlight cover - I completely understand why, but it sucks as I really like the look. Around the same time I managed to get my sunroof working - it was fine overall for a bit but now it only opens with the motor and doesn't close so I think maybe something is broken. I tried adjusting it but didn't have much luck.

More recently i've managed to set up my cluster to be adjustable, I desoldered the 50ohm speedometer resistor and soldered a cable to a 100ohm potentiometer which i've glued into place so it's adjustable while the cluster is in. This allows me to adjust the speedometer to +50% or -50% of the normal reading, and after a bit of tweaking with Waze i've got it dialled in.

I'm still having fuel issues, and have established the sensors are not the cause - I think it's the AW71 honestly. I'm currently getting 15l/100kms which isn't great, but i've checked the voltages from the O2 sensor I have and they seem good, and i've swapped the MAF for one that is known good (7-12l/100kms on a friend's car). At this stage i'm gearing up to swap in the M46 from my old car to try and solve it (and because I much prefer manual tranmissions).

I've also connected up a CB antenna which I have connected to my now permanently mounted and wired in Baofeng UV-5R radio, and it seems to work very nicely now. I'll post a photo of it on the interior if I remember.

Here's how he's looking anyway;

15 litres per 100km city or highway? Mixed?

24 days later

Went for a hills run with Tom the other week between Mundaring Weir and Kalamunda which was good fun. Nice to have some seat time in a manual for a change haha

Got some new tyres on as they were getting a bit bald, went with 215/60R15 Kumho KH27s, which are nice and fat and grip pretty well even compared with the 205s.

Also added some speed holes to the front bumper and a different grille made out of a shoe rack.

Yesterday I managed to pick up a set of IPD lowering springs for it and some newer AC Delco struts from @Mizuyaki so very much looking forward to seeing how it looks and performs.

Got spotted during the week:

Your wagon and my wagon should be friends

@carnut222 it works beautifully actually, I do have some other plans for something even better though

@jamesinc hopefully sooner or later I can make it to nationals so it can be a reality

8 months later

Wow lots of progress actually since I last posted, it's been a while (again lol). Some pics:

Few new things;

Rebuilt headlights - new clips, repainted housings (and indicator housings)IPD springs - had them in for a while now, have been quite enjoying them. ~2.5kg/mm all round is much better than the stock ~1.2kg/mm ones, bit under dampened though.Grille - cut the whole centre out of a stock grille and trimmed the top and bottom supports flat, used a cutout from a server rack door's mesh and some bolts to hold the supports in place. All painted black, very happy with the look.XH swaybar - 30mm front sway bar from a 90s XH Falcon Longreach ute. Properly stiff, only noticeable give in the front during cornering seems to be in the springs now.Tyre size - running a 205/50R15 Kuhmo in the front now, works really well. Steering feel and response is much better.

Some photos of the sway bar. Running trimmed Falcon body bushes in the Volvo brackets for now, old Falcon poly on the Volvo endlinks. Followed a thread on here for relocating the brake lines but used some big nuts as spacers instead in my application, got about 2cm or so clearance from the bar.

Got lots of parts on order and some stuff planned;

Front sway - still need to get some 3cm tall alloy adapters made so I can run the falcon brackets, got some poly body bushings already and some endlinks from @AshDVS on the wayDual rear sways - got the bar but need to make some brackets up out of 5mm bunnings steelSprings - getting some 5kg/mm fronts (DVS Special) and shorter 2.5kg/mm rears (King Super Low)Struts - Bilstein B6 all round on their wayBrakes - about time for an upgrade. Got some HEL lines, Brembo rotors, and QFM A1RM front and Centric PQ Pro rear pads on their way

Once all that's in i'll see how he performs and go from there.

If i'm happy enough i'll probably focus on getting the AQ151 crank/rods/pistons checked out by an engine shop and hopefully put them in a B230E block from @gavinh with the 531 head, K cam and adjustable gear, new belts and tensioner I already have and new seals/paint/etc. Then add the M46 with a STS flywheel, pull everything out, paint the bay, mount the pedalbox, swap the driveshaft and slap it in ?

Nice work - thanks for the update! I chickened out on putting the Falcon sway bar on my 245...sounds like I need to just do it! :)

Thanks mate ☺️

Absolutely, go for it! In terms of enjoyment, other than a Bluetooth stereo it's the best mod I've ever done to my car.

I'm quite liking that custom grille!

And I respect that you've gone in a different direction to most Volvo's with the look. Keen to hear how you go with the driveline update.

I love the wheel nut indicators lol she is mine spec!

Appreciate the support guys ?

The idea is for him to be a volvoraggare/epa-traktor/mine spec styled half camper half touring car hahaha

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