Hey all,
This marks the first post in what should be long and fruitful build thread.
About a year ago I sold a project that I had been working on for the 18 months prior (a 1ggte engine swapped 1976 Ra23 Toyota Celica) and as is the case with many unfinished - and often finished projects, I sold it for far less than what I had invested in it. But it was a learning experience that opened up many doors, even if it was more than I could handle in the gap year that I had taken before moving to Melbourne to begin Uni.
Whilst working on tthe Celica (extensive bodywork, swapping the w55 gearbox for a Lexus 6 speed, using GTR twin turbos Wolf 3d ems, Hilux brake conversion etc etc etc) my good friend and next door neighbor who is what you could call a Volvo enthusiast (owning a 262c Bertone, 760 turbo, 440 turbo, amongst other cars) let me drive his 760 sedan here and there. I should mention at this stage that the 760 has a 1jz-gte/R154 engine conversion.
It was through driving this car that I began to appreciate RWD Volvos - they are understated, practical, reliable, stable at high speed and, very well made compared to the Japanese cars I had been working on previously. I also enjoyed the 'sleeper' element of this car, as it was a blast to drive.
Fast forward 6 months and I was at Uni in Melbourne. I had no real need for a car, but I was bored on the weekends and had some spare change burning a hole in my pocket. At this stage all the engineering students I was studying with drove 318is E30s and for a time I was considering buying one. But for what they gained in handling they lacked practicality, individuality and sleeperness. I then went through a stage of appreciating 450slc mercs, but on a uni budget i couldn't really afford to run a 4.5L V8. And so I settled on the humble 240 Wagon - it ticked all the boxes and so far has been reliable and relatively cheap to run.
I found this 1991 auto white 240gl on Gumtree that had done 285,000km. That Friday and 12 hours on the overnight XPT later we were in Sydney. I ended up paying south of 3k for it with 6 months rego.
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My friend and I drove it back to Albury. It was at this stage we realised that the O/D solenoid wasn't working. Needless to say, at 2900rpm, 80kmph, no radio and a malfunctioning indicator stalk it was a long drive. Exactly how long the drive was, we will never know, as we also realised that the odometer did not work. And hadn't done for a while according to RTA as it had been at 285,000 for the past few years RWC inspections. We also ate a huge packet of Minties, hence the name - and she kind of looks like a minty.
Anyway, we got it to Albury by that night and immediately put it up on the hoist in an abandoned garage we had access to.
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And changed the oil, filter and tried to locate the source of the knocking in the front LHS strut tower.
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I then drove it to Melbourne and visited a few pick-a-parts hunting for O/D solenoids - by this time I was pretty fed up of revving high at 80kmph. I pulled a few but none worked - and I couldn't find where my original one was (It was literally nowhere to be found) so I just dremelled the hydraulic solenoid.
I went to Berrys and met Mark there and picked up a spare wheel.
And then bought a few other bits off him;
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She sits pretty high with the 15" 780 Bertone wheels...
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This brings me up to about the start of 2015, and at this point I should probably make my intentions with Minty clear to you all.
- Turbocharge existing 13mm rod B230 with minimal internal modifications.
- Manual conversion with m46
- Run it on Megasquirt with dsm cas, sequential fuel, sequential spark (ls1 coils) etc etc etc
- electric waterpump, thermofan and electric holden astra power steering pump
- Flathood conversion.
All whilst this is happening I will be building a 1uz turbo engine / T56 tremec in a stand to drop in when things get more serious. This is why I don't want to do too many internal mods to the B230. But you never know, if the B230 feels good under boost I may stick with it.
Anyway, this brings us up to NYE of 2014, but stay tuned for the next post in which i will write about king springs, Megasquirt MS3x v3.57, buying a parts car, 531 heads and more. Oh and in future posts I will have questions and so on so any input is greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
Sam
This marks the first post in what should be long and fruitful build thread.
About a year ago I sold a project that I had been working on for the 18 months prior (a 1ggte engine swapped 1976 Ra23 Toyota Celica) and as is the case with many unfinished - and often finished projects, I sold it for far less than what I had invested in it. But it was a learning experience that opened up many doors, even if it was more than I could handle in the gap year that I had taken before moving to Melbourne to begin Uni.
Whilst working on tthe Celica (extensive bodywork, swapping the w55 gearbox for a Lexus 6 speed, using GTR twin turbos Wolf 3d ems, Hilux brake conversion etc etc etc) my good friend and next door neighbor who is what you could call a Volvo enthusiast (owning a 262c Bertone, 760 turbo, 440 turbo, amongst other cars) let me drive his 760 sedan here and there. I should mention at this stage that the 760 has a 1jz-gte/R154 engine conversion.
It was through driving this car that I began to appreciate RWD Volvos - they are understated, practical, reliable, stable at high speed and, very well made compared to the Japanese cars I had been working on previously. I also enjoyed the 'sleeper' element of this car, as it was a blast to drive.
Fast forward 6 months and I was at Uni in Melbourne. I had no real need for a car, but I was bored on the weekends and had some spare change burning a hole in my pocket. At this stage all the engineering students I was studying with drove 318is E30s and for a time I was considering buying one. But for what they gained in handling they lacked practicality, individuality and sleeperness. I then went through a stage of appreciating 450slc mercs, but on a uni budget i couldn't really afford to run a 4.5L V8. And so I settled on the humble 240 Wagon - it ticked all the boxes and so far has been reliable and relatively cheap to run.
I found this 1991 auto white 240gl on Gumtree that had done 285,000km. That Friday and 12 hours on the overnight XPT later we were in Sydney. I ended up paying south of 3k for it with 6 months rego.


My friend and I drove it back to Albury. It was at this stage we realised that the O/D solenoid wasn't working. Needless to say, at 2900rpm, 80kmph, no radio and a malfunctioning indicator stalk it was a long drive. Exactly how long the drive was, we will never know, as we also realised that the odometer did not work. And hadn't done for a while according to RTA as it had been at 285,000 for the past few years RWC inspections. We also ate a huge packet of Minties, hence the name - and she kind of looks like a minty.
Anyway, we got it to Albury by that night and immediately put it up on the hoist in an abandoned garage we had access to.

And changed the oil, filter and tried to locate the source of the knocking in the front LHS strut tower.

I then drove it to Melbourne and visited a few pick-a-parts hunting for O/D solenoids - by this time I was pretty fed up of revving high at 80kmph. I pulled a few but none worked - and I couldn't find where my original one was (It was literally nowhere to be found) so I just dremelled the hydraulic solenoid.
I went to Berrys and met Mark there and picked up a spare wheel.
And then bought a few other bits off him;


She sits pretty high with the 15" 780 Bertone wheels...


This brings me up to about the start of 2015, and at this point I should probably make my intentions with Minty clear to you all.
- Turbocharge existing 13mm rod B230 with minimal internal modifications.
- Manual conversion with m46
- Run it on Megasquirt with dsm cas, sequential fuel, sequential spark (ls1 coils) etc etc etc
- electric waterpump, thermofan and electric holden astra power steering pump
- Flathood conversion.
All whilst this is happening I will be building a 1uz turbo engine / T56 tremec in a stand to drop in when things get more serious. This is why I don't want to do too many internal mods to the B230. But you never know, if the B230 feels good under boost I may stick with it.
Anyway, this brings us up to NYE of 2014, but stay tuned for the next post in which i will write about king springs, Megasquirt MS3x v3.57, buying a parts car, 531 heads and more. Oh and in future posts I will have questions and so on so any input is greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
Sam