97mm Cylinder bore in N/A B230

ShKa

Hi all

Back in the Volvo engine mods world after a few years..

Thinking of doing a N/A B230 86mm stroker with 97mm bore, 531 cylinder head, maybe bigger valves, decent cam, manifold/ exhaust mods/ change as required. Aiming for modest 250 bhp and easy N/A power /torque. I know a 16v head would be much better for this but rarity , extra work involved on other bits and the obvious visible modification for any anally retentive inspectors to say Non! ..puts me off.

Car is a 94 NA 940 wagon.

Yoshifab sells the 97mm pistons ..but I'm a bit confused (from reading online info)..on DBs "stroker " page he specifically notes that 97mm bore is too much and 96.5mm is the max that is safe..

so which is it chaps and chapesses? Who is correct? I did ask Josh at YB and explained what kind of project I was thinking of, but no reply as probably no time to answer such dumb questions from mere mortals who've spent lots of money with him before (I see he charges a fee now to say anything other than "yes or "no")

Any experience or advice most welcome :)

ramrod

Where are you buying the crank from and how much does it cost?

depending on how much it is, it may or may not be worth it.

spend the money on the head, much better ROI in my opinion

i don’t see it making anywhere near 250hp sorry

ShKa

ramrodKL racing do an 86mm crank for much less than the K1 forged crank which is just silly money for my purposes.

do you mean spend the. money on a 16V head instead for the ROI and leave the block as is?..or more head work? .. what else would one do to a 531 head ? -I believe the old nugget of porting and polishing is as effective as a cone filter ie its hype and not much else .. I may be wrong.. I dunno. Inlet manifold can be better I believe -again just from reading -and again KL racing do a few of those . But then Im getting into more visible mods..

I know most would say " just turbo it" ..and maybe I should just do that . and worry about the inspectors later lol. I would have to rebuild the block in that case anyhow for the turbo pistons.

Where do you see it ending up bhp/torque wise -(% wise above standard might be an easier way of looking at it as an approximation) with the idea I had?

ramrod
Where are you buying the crank from and how much does it cost?
depending on how much it is, it may or may not be worth it.
spend the money on the head, much better ROI in my opinion
i don’t see it making anywhere near 250hp sorry

I'm happy to take all advice on this -absolutely - because I would like to plan properly particularly as everything now so much more expensive from the US.

GingerNinja

I have a '95 B230F in my daily 240 and it's 97mm with 10.5:1 compression. The long rods and short pistons are from Yoshifab. The 531 head is mostly stock unfortunately. I had planned to use a KG Trimning KG8 cam but that won't run on the stock LH ECU so it would have needed programmable one. The engine builder took nearly 2 years to get the engine back together and after that bollocks I just slapped a stock cam back in and ran it. I planned to get back to it later but it's been in there for 60,000+ km now. It has a Cometic MLS gasket in there so maybe that's helped. My setup is far from ideal so the power wouldn't be anywhere near 250bhp. Lots of easy power and torque though.

I've seen a few very nice street driven NA redblocks on Instagram with 260ish at the hubs at 8k+ rpm. Those seem to be built by redblock wizards but lord do they sound good.

ShKa

GingerNinja
I have a '95 B230F in my daily 240 and it's 97mm with 10.5:1 compression. The long rods and short pistons are from Yoshifab. The 531 head is mostly stock unfortunately. I had planned to use a KG Trimning KG8 cam but that won't run on the stock LH ECU so it would have needed programmable one. The engine builder took nearly 2 years to get the engine back together and after that bollocks I just slapped a stock cam back in and ran it. I planned to get back to it later but it's been in there for 60,000+ km now. It has a Cometic MLS gasket in there so maybe that's helped. My setup is far from ideal so the power wouldn't be anywhere near 250bhp. Lots of easy power and torque though.
I've seen a few very nice street driven NA redblocks on Instagram with 260ish at the hubs at 8k+ rpm. Those seem to be built by redblock wizards but lord do they sound good.

that's really helpful to know-thanks.. good to know the 97mm pistons been ok.. what length of rods did you use? Easy lazy power and torque is what I'm after..longevity for country/ distance driving but much better on the long hills with overtaking lanes..250bhp was an arbitrary figure I had in my head as a maximum achievable without turbo but sounds like I need to lower that..

GingerNinja

ShKa
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/219734#Comment_219734
that's really helpful to know-thanks.. good to know the 97mm pistons been ok.. what length of rods did you use? Easy lazy power and torque is what I'm after..longevity for country/ distance driving but much better on the long hills with overtaking lanes..250bhp was an arbitrary figure I had in my head as a maximum achievable without turbo but sounds like I need to lower that..

From memory the rods are 158mm and stock was 152mm. I wasn't looking for a big power figure, just good noises and to be able to rev the tits off it reliably. If you look at the really good redblock setups from OS they've fired the parts cannon at everything on the car. Engine, intake, exhaust, ecu, gearbox, diff, etc. for 250-300whp. If they could send you the recipe that would be brilliant.

If your only goal is power and it's 250whp I would just buy a late model 940 turbo. With a few improvements it would get there quite easily and still be mostly stock if anyone went looking. Even the stock auto gearbox might be ok with that power level although the manual box won't love it for long.

ramrod

Cylinder head porting is actually the opposite, you’re dealing with the actual main component of the breathing aspect of an engine which when coupled with an appropriate cam will be the highest gain that engine will ever see as far as power (airflow) and torque are concerned

I’ve seen and read plenty and plenty of questions like yours, and I just don’t want you to be heartbroken like lots of others when they think up a plan for an NA dream build, only to be disappointed after spending five figures when the thing only puts out 165hp on the dyno.

you can’t expect much more than that no matter what you do because you’re at the limit of what a 2500 4 piston naturally aspirated engine can develop (of course there is no limit, but there is with how high you plan to rev it) and how much you’re going to be spending, it just isn’t worth it.

I love NA all motor engines more than anyone, but dollar for dollar, and I’m sure many other people will say this, you’re much better off (and safer) with a turbo.

ShKa

Ramrod -I really appreciate your detailed input.. its very helpful indeed to have that ‘ hang on a minute you may need to rethink this’ opinion before i start pressing ‘ add to cart’ buttons.

And on the question of cylinder head / engine work can you or anyone on the forum recommend a redblock friendly outfit or individual in NSW?

cheers

Ex850R

Id look up one of tha nutjob Swedes who build crazy engines and get one done , import it , i doubt anyone here has done crazy power builds / engine work.

reiterating tho , LS swap is your needs covered.

ramrod

Where abouts in NSW?

I’m from Sydney

ShKa

Im up in Coolah - so Dubbo / Mudgee/ Tamworth closest. (1-2 hrs) Newcastle 3 hrs. Syd 5 hrs

ShKa

GingerNinja
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/219736#Comment_219736
From memory the rods are 158mm and stock was 152mm. I wasn't looking for a big power figure, just good noises and to be able to rev the tits off it reliably. If you look at the really good redblock setups from OS they've fired the parts cannon at everything on the car. Engine, intake, exhaust, ecu, gearbox, diff, etc. for 250-300whp. If they could send you the recipe that would be brilliant.
If your only goal is power and it's 250whp I would just buy a late model 940 turbo. With a few improvements it would get there quite easily and still be mostly stock if anyone went looking. Even the stock auto gearbox might be ok with that power level although the manual box won't love it for long.

Thanks for that.. who is ‘ OS’ ..did you mean in general builders in Oz or a specific outfit?.. lol., excuse the silly question

Roinik

ShKa
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/219777#Comment_219777
Thanks for that.. who is ‘ OS’ ..did you mean in general builders in Oz or a specific outfit?.. lol., excuse the silly question

Overseas.

ShKa

Snoopy- I’ve certainly considered/ may still consider an LS swap. Just quite a bit more involved though once you get into it. Horses for courses though

Ex850R

ShKa
Snoopy- I’ve certainly considered/ may still consider an LS swap. Just quite a bit more involved though once you get into it. Horses for courses though

Cheaper than any NA build chasing unicorn powers.

ShKa

Roinik
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/219786#Comment_219786
Overseas.

Ah.. lol. doh..

ShKa

Ex850R
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/219788#Comment_219788
Cheaper than any NA build chasing unicorn powers.

yeah could well be true if you can find an LS series engine/Gbox combo that is cheap and in good nick ..I dunno if he is on here but I did have a chat in person with a pleasant chap in Adelaide in 2021 who showed me a very neat LS install in his 240 done with his brother I think it was from memory..who had the whole thing with parts and specs documented. Sadly I lost his contact . Im think he had done a turbo instal on his other 240 as well but I might be mistaken with that.

Ex850R

Look up bloke on here that dis LS properly.

Look at blokes here just getting on and doing crazy installs.

Then think , are you serious?

ShKa

Ex850R
Look up bloke on here that dis LS properly.
Look at blokes here just getting on and doing crazy installs.
Then think , are you serious?

Noted.

nugget_940

ShKa
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/219791#Comment_219791
yeah could well be true if you can find an LS series engine/Gbox combo that is cheap and in good nick ..I dunno if he is on here but I did have a chat in person with a pleasant chap in Adelaide in 2021 who showed me a very neat LS install in his 240 done with his brother I think it was from memory..who had the whole thing with parts and specs documented. Sadly I lost his contact . Im think he had done a turbo instal on his other 240 as well but I might be mistaken with that.

If it was a red wagon, pm me and ill pass on the name. I think I know who you are talking about

ShKa

Cant send you a pm as your privacy settings wont allow it seems.

The chap worked at Sprint Auto parts on the North Road Adelaide if that helps!

nugget_940
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/219796#Comment_219796
If it was a red wagon, pm me and ill pass on the name. I think I know who you are talking about