Ford Barra conversion in 242 / 240

rodong · 2017-03-05T00:53:38+00:00

It should fit... Interested to see the results

Vee_Que

Volvo brakes are used by lots on lots of other cars also, for the age and size they are good brakes. Of course going to massive brakes is an option, it also makes it harder to use smaller wheels.

Going to a smaller Caliper may not be a hard option, an ea-ef falcon one may fit for instance, which gains an inbuilt handbrake and it's designed for a car similar in weight to a 240.

As I don't own a 240, I didn't realise they had different sizes. But having the stepped master is a form of brake bias as I understand hydraulics, so the pedal feel would be soft going so much bigger, come to think of it, most ford's is driven are a soft brake feel. So to me, if I had to use an 8.8 on a 240, and another Caliper couldn't easily be used, something in between may be more suitable for more positive brake feel.

Of course brake booster strength plays a part and most parts on a 30 year old 240 are well overdue for a rebuild or replacement anyway.

Yes it is worth considering the whole lot, why not do a full conversion guide so there is less guess work in how people go about doing one? Because there are no guides, it's literally just posts of people around of finished jobs etc.

I can still stand by track width and driveshaft replacement and even stud pattern as not being a massive issue, faced by with a gearbox swap, or a desire to have wider tyres anyway.

alphax

Agreed, the stock 240 brakes are an excellent system as a whole, but not so much when you start bolting on bigger caliper pistons, bigger wheels, bigger tyres, more weight etc. A Hyundai i30 has more powerful brakes than a Volvo 240 - albeit pretty crude compared to a 240... but that does put a 240 braking system in context if someone is thinking about turbo Barra power.

Philia_Bear

AshDVS;101252 wrote
rodong;101233 wroteI would of thought with good suspension 65kg approx heavier in engine weight shouldn't be that much of a difference in performance?

Can anyone confirm the curb weight for a 1980 242

1290kg or 1320kg or 1338kg or +?

Hoping its 1338kg for mod plate reasons....
65kg is quite a lot of weight, particularly if you're putting a lump of it forward of the centreline of the front 'axle'.
How much of an impact it'll have will vary depending on where you position it.

The Ford I6 is long and tall, the additional length and mass needs to go somewhere.
It'll never be as nimble or as happy to change direction as the car would be with the B2xx in it, but maybe that isn't too important and the increase in power and the desire to venture the road not traveled has it's appeal.

Working out spring rates, etc will be best achieved with a set of race scales.
If you haven't got access to a set, you could get in the ballpark with some guesstimation.
Drop me an email if you want to bounce some ideas around in this regard.

Would make for a good tow car though

alphax;125913 wrote@Vee_Que

Alex, you gloss over details when it suits your argument in some posts, then in other posts you henpeck forum members over meaningless details. You are logically inconsistent. Now you have added a stud pattern change to the list of jobs to do (cost), which by the way is not legal, unless you are using axle blanks, from Moser or similar which are very expensive.

The 240 Master Cylinder is simply not up to the job. It's a stepped bore design and way too small. It was never designed to move the volume of fluid to stop a near two tonne vehicle with large-piston brake calipers. Not a subjective issue. The Front brakes will need to be upgraded at the same time as the 8.8 is put in. Do the math and work it out for yourself and stop talking nonsense.

Nobody is arguing that an 8.8 is not better suited to a Turbo Barra over a 240 diff. Your argument was the cost of dropping an LSD in a Volvo is basically the cost of converting to an 8.8. This is absolute nonsense if you consider all aspects of the vehicle impacted by the axle swap.

Just saying... but if I was sinking the money into engineering and everything for a motor swap into a 240... doing new brakes is pretty much a free addition so I can't imagine not doing a serious brake upgrade....

If you exclude costs of brakes and rimps.. the conversion price becomes a bit closer in total cost for the car...

goldiethe240

Samman88 They fit

Hey samman88, i know this was forever ago but what mounts did you use for the engine? This is the exact set up im working towards with my 240 any advice?

heritage240

Has anyone considered a VS Commodore engine swap?

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