Porsche 924 engine upgrade

pbaerataus

Hi Guys.

I need some help with a technical detail on a Volvo engine; I don’t actually own a Volvo but want to use a Volvo engine in a project.

I want to fit a 2.3 Lt 16v 4 cyl into my Porsche 924 Turbo. The 40 year old 8V motor has seen better days and I would like to update to a more modern style motor and the later 968 engine is way out of my pay scale.

Of course the Porsche purists will be scathing but as I see it, Porsche had input into the development of some Volvo engines so I see it as legit. The Front engine Porsche people see things different to the rear engine Porsche people.

I need an adaptor plate to mate the engine to my bell-housing. I’ve found a Co in the UK (Kennedy Engineered Products) that makes an adaptor plates for 100's of applications. They have one to mate a Volvo B23 to an Audi 016 transaxle which is the bolt pattern on my bell-housing.

So my question is, is the B23 and B230 the same engine apart from the change of 8v to 16v, do they have the same bellhousing bolt pattern.

Vee_Que

Yes, the b230/b23/21 are all the same motor bellhousing pattern.

I presume your custom building the motor anyway as there was no factory b234ft?

pbaerataus

Thanks Vee_Que.
When doing my research I came up with either a B204 or B234 but every donor car I see (740) has a B230 in it so I will go with one of them. Yes will be rebuilding same when I gets my hands on it.

pastry

what's the potential of the B234?

A Saab B234 (from a 9000) is good for 500hp on stock internals.. and very cheap!

Philia_Bear

pbaerataus;131743 wroteThanks Vee_Que.
When doing my research I came up with either a B204 or B234 but every donor car I see (740) has a B230 in it so I will go with one of them. Yes will be rebuilding same when I gets my hands on it.

B230 is the 8v volvo motor
B234 is the 16V volvo motor

Volvo B234.... 5-7psi on stock internals is fine even with the high compression it runs on good 98 fuel
200+whp would be a minimum expected output
B234 with upgraded cams and pistons and a nice turbo is 300WHP easily with DD reliability

how much you want to spend?

Vee_Que

Yoshifab.com supplies kits to convert the 8v block which is less bulky down low to fit a 16v head on. They also sell pistons and rods. Exhaust manifold you will be on your own because of the lack of room in the 924, even porsche run the turbo on the intake side.

pbaerataus

Thanks Vee_Que. I have seen those kits in my research.

Actually my factory turbo setup is on the exhaust side, Porsche only put the turbo on the intake side on the 944. Photo attached. Note that apart from the long block and turbo setup (which is hidden) none of that is stock; EFI setup is custom. i

Vee_Que

Where are you located?

pbaerataus

Northern Vic, Shepparton area.

Vee_Que

Awesome, for some reason I thought you were not in Australia.

pbaerataus

OK does anyone have a bellhousing bolt pattern "tech drawing" for the redblock. Looks like if I want an adapter plate, I have to make one myself. I have the Audi 016 so only need the engine side bolt pattern.
Thanks in advance.

Samman88

Can make one easily enough. What's your preferred file type?

pbaerataus

Thanks Sam.
As long as I can read the numbers and see it, it will be fine. PDF. Jpeg. Word etc. I'm not running any CAD software so just the basics.

Disco_Inferno

Porsche had a hand in developing the Daewoo Lanos, you could swap a Lanos into a Lanos and have a Lanos, and sell your 932 for enough money to buy several more Lanoses.

Might work out more fun than swapping a valuable grumpy old tractor engine out for a worthless grumpy old tractor engine.

Samman88

@pbaerataus no worries, I'll PM you one this weekend.

pbaerataus

Hey "disco", your sounding more like a Porsche 911 driver than a Volvo driver.

The engine in the 924 is a VAG unit that was in a VW LT Van and and Audi 100. Porsche re-engineered the head for the turbo and used Mahle conrods and pistons, but it is still a 39 year old 8v motor that has seen better day and using OEM parts to rebuild it would not be economical.

I chose the Volvo B234 motor for it's simplicity, power rating potential and to at least stay within the European setting. I was thinking VAG 1.8lt 4 cyl 20v, but that setup was too complicated.

Daewoo Lanos, now that would be a plain and simple No

jamesinc

pbaerataus;8379 wroteSo my question is, is the B23 and B230 the same engine apart from the change of 8v to 16v, do they have the same bellhousing bolt pattern.

Another thing to know is that the crank/main bearing design changes a few times. The rear-thrust B230s from about 1990 onwards are nice, and have larger rods, and the AQ171 (Volvo Penta B234 for marine applications) has a forged crankshaft stroked for 2.5L, which is also nice.

Vee_Que

The daewoo lanos motor is a gm family ii motor fwiw.

Disco_Inferno

pbaerataus;133017 wrotePorsche re-engineered the head for the turbo and used Mahle conrods and pistons

Here's the part where a B23/0 becomes a downgrade. Otherwise it's just a side-grade that reduces the value of the (rare and rapidly appreciating) car.

If you build up a B23 to be a better motor you're going to end up in the same place cost-wise as a decent rebuild. I'm not convinced a B234 would even fit in that engine bay, have you seen how enormous the Volvo 16v head is?

At the end of the day it's a big heavy boat anchor of an engine that doesn't want to rev and will stubbornly refuse to make much power without major work. Just like the 924 2.0.

Why not an Audi 5-cylinder? That's a popular swap for 924s and 944s. So is the LS...