Greg's Gold 1991 240GLE wagon B230FT-to-be

Grrr...been accumulating parts for this swap for over 10 years. I had set aside an immaculate pedal box, but didn’t put it with the bits for the swap...just had it with my box of misc pedals. What do I do? Sell it to somebody in NZ. Now gunna have to look at the rather daggy one I accumulated with a large lot of parts last year and see if I can patch it up. Moral of the story: never sell anything - you might need it some day!

Roinik

I'll be pulling one next weekend if that helps - with extra bits ;-)

Hi Ian. Yes, thanks if the pedal box is in good nick I wouldn’t say no. Like I said I have one but I think it’s fairly well-used. I have the Torquay wrecks coming as well (I think 3 of them are manual) so I’ll be pulling the pedal boxes from them, but probably will try to sell with the transmissions as manual conversion kits. Look forward to catching up when we can - we plan to pick up the first car tomorrow - the white 79 (?) wagon. Hopefully some of the parts off that will be for you. Remains to be seen whether much of it is salvageable.

Well, the wagon was due for the brake fluid change so I put it up on the hoist and removed the wheels a few weeks ago, thinking maybe now’s the time to get started on the turbo swap. I am in need of motivation! The cold weather doesn’t help. I’m also struggling with the best way to get the engine out. I know you can get it out the top, but since I have the 2-post hoist, I was wondering about dropping the whole engine and crossmember. Seems like it wouldn’t be that hard if I make up a wood frame on some furniture dollies…I could let the car down onto the frame, undo the crossmember and other necessary bolts, then just raise the hoist and let everything sit on the floor on the framework. Thoughts? I guess it would mean disconnecting the 2x rear brake pipes from the junction block, as well as the master cylinder from the booster…and struts would come down too (would make up something to hold them in the vertical orientation so they don’t fly outward. Thoughts? My dad pulled the engine and trans out of his 240 turbo project using an engine hoist and balancer without removing the bonnet or the front end panels. Maybe that’s a lot easier. I could remove the bonnet…front end panels much harder to remove on the 91 as the whole nose cone would have to come off since the upper rad support is spot welded, so that’s a no-go. Damn, I forgot about the AC…it works fine (although compressor is leaking oil) so I don’t really want to de-gas it (has Hychill in it now).

Then, how far do I go on the 740T engine and gearbox that’s been sitting in the shed for about 18 years? Replace all gaskets and seals as a minimum…should I pull the head? Hmm…I don’t really feel like I could be bothered…

Back to my wine! :) Hope everyone is staying warm!

jamesinc

I did it that way one time, I think it is easier pulling out the top. I've had an engine and trans out in an hour that way, without a hoist. Disconnecting brake lines isn't hard I suppose but it is messy and you have to bleed them after, before you can enjoy your fresh turbo redblock - such a chore!

And then obviously you have removed the crossmember and the struts and you will probably have altered your wheel alignment

Yeah you’re probably right. I do need to bleed the brakes, but thinking about how massive it is to remove the whole suspension and crossmember, it does seem a bit crazy and possibly dangerous with all that weight etc. and centre of mass shifting on the hoist. I think I may pull the bonnet off as a precaution then I don’t have to worry as much about being able to get the engine up high enough. Every time I pull an engine out it seems like the top of the hoist wants to go thru the bonnet. One of the nice things about that 740 hinge design I guess! :)

OK, so I decided I'd finally get started on this project. Wayne had commandeered one of the shed bays for his work stuff...which meant I didn't have room as I was having to use the hoist bay for one of the everyday cars. That's not really a good excuse - to be honest I've had a bit of a lack of motivation lately. I had a pretty big push with all those cars I wrecked during COVID, and also the re-build of the yellow 245 "barn find" project, then I guess I just had enough. But now I feel like if I don't get started on this my brain is going to turn to mush and I'm going to forget how to do things.

We're about finished re-organising things to make room, so watch this space. I've had the turbo engine & manual gearbox sitting around since August 2004...in dry storage, so hopefully it'll be OK. Maybe the project will be complete by August 2024...and I can have a 20th anniversary celebration LOL!

Major Ledfoot

Looking forward to seeing progress on this project - if your past ones are a guide of what to expect, lots of good photos and reading are in store for us.

Thanks Bob. At the moment I'm playing Tetris with cars and parts, which meant a few distractions...decided to play wheel bingo and took the 15-inch ipd Virgo replicas off the yellow 245 and put the 17-inch ipd Pegasus replics back on. No pics yet as I got distracted checking for a clunk in the LHF suspension...then decided to clean wheels before putting them away, then coffee time, looking for an airbag clock spring for somebody, etc. Might move the gold car onto the hoist today then it all starts. Also tested out my new Milwaukee tyre inflator (Total Tools had some sale yesterday 20% off credit, so I got it for basically nothing using the credit from purchase of an E-Go self-propelled mower for Wayne). Works well but I don't like the screw-on valve fitting as it lets out a small amount of air when unscrewing. Guess I can always set the pressure 1 PSI higher to compensate.

Car is now in the hoist bay...I'm pacing myself! I started making a checklist/to-do list for the project.

Swap out ECUs (test before pulling engine?)

Need crank holding tool back from Greg Cameron

Remove gearbox and check flywheel type - swap with LH2.4 flywheel if need be

Notch bellhousing for crank sensor

Install pilot bearing

Check clutch fork

Before turning over engine - lubricate front and rear crank and cam seals

Remove and check plugs

Source injectors?

Lengthen AMM lead

Intercooler upper mounts

Radiator fan brackets for 740 shroud

Davies-Craig fan controller, or ECU fan controlled from 940 ECU with 850 fan relays?

Replace ECU coolant temp sensor

Replace/swap engine gauge coolant temp sensor

Remove distributor blanking plate - need to swap intermediate shaft if no gears

Remove intermediate shaft WHILE OIL PAN is OFF!!

740T coolant bottle/brackets

Solution for oil cooler lines

Downpipe

240 or 740T cat, or aftermarket cat?

Solution to join cat to 240T exhaust

Install trailer hitch while exhaust is out? Need to remove from paddock basher or source other style <--low priority

Solution for air filter and washer fluid bottle

Solution for driveshaft

Solution for transmission mount

Wiring and install of Turbo + kit

Wiring and install of oil pressure sender on engine

O2 sensor/wiring/location TBC

Wiring installation for overdrive/relay - while dash is out - plus modify cluster lens light appropriately for "OD" or "5"

Remove dash and tidy up wiring for accessories and gauges

Fit clutch pedal box (check and lubricate pedal bushings

Drill hole for clutch master cylinder

Fit clutch master, pipe and slave/hose before reinstalling engine

Strarted looking through my tubs of spare parts and stuff that I've accumulated over the past decades for this project...it's kinda like the mother-in-law who keeps buying condensed milk when she's got 10 cans in the pantry already LOL! How many new clutch master cylinders do I need etc! Once I get thru everything I'll need to have another sale!

Getting a bit more organised. I discovered the ECU and EZKs I have (both sets) are from my dad in the USA, and he tested them all in his 240, so saves me the trouble of that step. EZKs both have same number; ECUs different, so will research which one is best. Still wondering whether it would be fairly easy to control the electric fan with the ECU instead of one of the Davies-Craig fan controllers I have. Less messy, but I need to research how it's done on the 940. Looks like the 850 fan I have will fit pretty well inside the 740T fan shroud with some sort of brackets to hold it in place. Will need to check clearance to water pump pulley. I have 2x 740T master cylinder heat shields. Holding it up to the master cylinder in the 240, it looks like the rearward brake pipe will foul the shield. Need to look at some pics of the brake pipes on a 740 I guess. The 740T master cylinder looks identical to the 240 one with same pipe fitting locations, so the pipe must just be bent differently on the 740?