Supercharged V6 into 740

PeteWA · 2023-12-25T02:15:36+00:00

This project is already well under way. Originally this was to be a small block chev swap however that engine was moved to another project and I have opted t...

PeteWA

Hi Forg. Yep its a ecotec and believe me I looked far and wide for a oil pan before I started this and nothing turned up. V6 conversions do make a few oil pans to retro fit the V6 non eco and ecotec into holdens, hiluxs and a few others but they are a bit pricey and there was no guarantee any of these would bolt straight on without having to modify them. CRS, Marks 4WD, CAE do oil pans for holdens and a few others but nothing Volvo..

JTR Engineering in California still make a adapter kit (I know because I purchased one) to bolt a small block chev to 740/760, same kit, same crossmember.

Originally the plan was to bolt a SBC into the sedan. That project went south when the DOT here in WA would not allow me to fit the 377 that I built because of the cubes, 350 only. I had everything ready to go including, purpose built bottom end for a blower, AFR heads, Holley stealth injection, a procharger and TKX 5 speed. I've put that aside for my next build, 1987 Camaro.

So, I already had the L67 and that's where it is at now.

The 90's where 30 plus years ago and I was not looking at anything Volvo back then :-) If there where that many running around then they must all have gone to god by now because I have not been able to find any reference of anyone doing a V6 swap. I found a few holden V8's, same with SBC's and a few LS swaps here in WA. If there where that many floating around (most likely some are stuffed in back of people's sheds) there must be a few at least still on the road. It would have made my life easier if one had turned up so I could have got some info.

Forg

They were all non-enthusiast cars, just 760’s that weren’t rooted enough to scrap except for the dead engine, and the moo-mang was cheap & plentiful. So yeah, can believe they were all done on a one-off basis with SFA care for repeatability or longevity.

Ex850R

Forg

And done in era of the internet not used by these people as well.

It’s not something Volvo enthusiasts would document either. “Not the done thing” .

Philthy

Hi Pete WA. I need to do as you did and clean the rust proofing and red dirt from the underbody of my 240. What did you use to get that black shit off it's everywhere on my car? In the process of trying to clean my rear axle. As with your car been beating down a country dirt road and covered with red dirt. I'm still not sure what engine I'm going to use. I have an VS Ecotec V6, a Honda J30A4 v6 and a 5.0 Ford to choose from.

PeteWA

Hi Philthy,

My 740 had factory sound deadner applied in places, not the whole under body and I would guess just the areas where they could see that there may be debris impact and then it was sprayed with rust proofing most likely before delivery from the dealer.

Getting it off took about a week. To make the job easier I removed everything, suspension, rear axle, fuel tank, fuel and brake lines and obviously the engine and gearbox where out. That way I was not working around or damaging other parts. To remove the rust proofing I used a heat gun to soften it and a variety of different shaped scrapers and I got to work. After I had scraped the majority of it off I used a solvent to mop it clean. Extreme care must be taken if you do this, use the appropriate breathing gear and eye protection, in a well ventilated area and only do a small area at a time.

Once it was cleaned I primed the entire under body, reapplied the sound deadner and then 2 coats of black paint.

If you look back at the photos you can see that I had all the small parts sand blasted. I made plates to seal the axle tubes and masked the pinion seal area.

As far as your choice of engines, well that is a call for you. The V6 that I used was not a good choice, mostly due to the fact that the oil pan bowl is forward on these engines and that created a lot of issues. I have a engine mount conversion kit to a small block chev into Volvo if you are interested.

Philthy

Hi thanks for the reply. All these engines need a sump rehash unfortunately there is no other way to get them low enough in the engine bay. I've sanded all of my suspension parts down to bare metal and resprayed in epoxy enamel and I might pull the axles and do as you did and get the casing sandblasted. The rust coating is all over the underside of this car must have been a dealer option when sold. Its protected the floor pans but not anywhere else. Anyway thanks for letting me know what you did. I had been using the heat gun. Cheers and good luck with the rest of you project.

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