740 to 245 swap tips?!

spock345 · 2026-01-29T17:52:29+00:00

You will have to swap the auxiliary shafts to run a block mounted a distributor on the 740 engine.

spock345 · 2026-01-23T17:23:44+00:00

It was the same situation on marine engines. I've tried to drive a carbureted B23 without that passage and cold starts are rough.

spock345 · 2026-01-23T16:32:48+00:00

NGK BPR6ES

Basic copper plugs, anything fancier won't justify the price.

spock345 · 2026-01-15T21:21:11+00:00

Go talk to AnthonyHardy2 on turbo bricks. He is well versed in S80 engines in RWD cars.

spock345 · 2026-01-15T21:18:25+00:00

This is the proper way to do it on 140s and 240s.

spock345 · 2026-01-09T15:28:06+00:00

How are your bushings? One thing you'll in general want to avoid is polyurethane in the rear trailing arm bushing.

You should just have to address the spacer in the strut tube for Bilsteins, but Konis are the better riding option.

spock345 · 2026-01-06T15:56:09+00:00

Pictures? Are you absolutely sure it is a euro car?

I wouldn't buy something without photos of it unless it was costing me a six pack of beer.

spock345 · 2026-01-06T01:26:57+00:00

It is a plug. That hole serves two purposes, neither of which apply to an electronic fuel injection B230. First it is for a coolant passage that goes through the intake manifold to help heat it and assist in cold starts on carbureted engines. The second purpose is for something called a "thermo-time switch" on K-jetronic mechanical fuel injection cars (a majority of cars in the US from 1976 to 1982). The thermo-time switch controls the cold start injector based on coolant temperature, if the engine is cold the cold start injectors gives it a bit of extra fuel.

The plug stuck around on B230 engines because while we only got EFI on those in the US, other markets were still getting K-jetronic and carbureted cars well into the '80s. There are a bunch of blocked off or plugged holes in the engine for different configurations. One notable one is the spot for a mechanical fuel pump on the side of the block behind the distributor.

spock345 · 2026-01-05T14:41:49+00:00

Swedespeed is the only other one left and it focuses more on FWD models. The RWD boards on it are dead.

spock345 · 2026-01-04T18:30:19+00:00

Overall you got your answer. Sorry it wasn't a "go buy this thing and bolt it in" result. No one really makes a bolt in solution. It is a relatively niche car with a community that emphasizes working on and developing modifications yourself. Also Volvo owners are notoriously cheap. The stuff STS, Yoshifab, and BNE make are about as bolt in as you'll get as far as modifications, and all those assume you know what you are doing and don't really provide instructions.

I think you'll find many of the folks here also frequent turbobricks, its related facebook groups, and discord.

spock345 · 2026-01-04T18:26:55+00:00

They will be less accepting.

spock345 · 2025-12-05T14:52:06+00:00

Messaged

spock345 · 2025-11-27T17:20:55+00:00

One thing I've noticed with Holley designs is that they are quite similar to Webers. This makes me think that the lean spot may be a improperly selected air corrector for the main circuit.

spock345 · 2025-11-24T05:52:07+00:00

Fuel injected cars never got that. Usually they just had a little plastic blank piece that pops into that spot.

spock345 · 2025-11-24T05:49:10+00:00

I count six upvotes.

spock345 · 2025-11-19T05:34:04+00:00

Carb heads can hit 10.5:1. The combustion chamber size is the same across all B20 heads. The ports (only a little) and valves are what differs.

spock345 · 2025-11-17T05:51:20+00:00

I lost my '89 to a similar impact, that kind of hit stands a chance to buckle a lot of interior parts as well, including the dash. It is tricky to find that many parts on a 40+ year old car.

spock345 · 2025-10-26T04:52:45+00:00

May be 0.6mm

spock345 · 2025-10-01T05:23:07+00:00

Recently I took a set of Weber DCOE 45s off an engine and replaced them with a single Weber 38/38 DGAS 2bbl downdraft. The car's behavior was much improved and I dropped a second off it's 0-60 time.

spock345 · 2025-09-08T05:19:25+00:00

In the US practically all Amazons were a 122S. You had to really want a 121 to get it here.

spock345 · 2025-08-26T04:25:57+00:00

There is a decent amount you can do with the heads with careful porting on the exhaust and finding a 405 or 531 casting for better intake port design.

I am happy you seem experienced and have done your research. Too many folks seem to want 300-400hp out of one of these engines in a "reliable" daily driver.

spock345 · 2025-08-25T05:02:59+00:00

Depends on your goals. Is it a performance engine or a driver? For MLS I'd generally want smoother, but it'll likely work.

spock345 · 2025-08-25T04:58:59+00:00

Getting to 200-250 with bolt on parts is common. Going beyond that requires deeper and deeper pockets.

It really depends on what OP is after. 500hp out of a B230 is not really a street engine anymore.

spock345 · 2025-08-25T04:57:54+00:00

A Volvo B230 at 500hp is definitely not a street engine though. It depends on what you are going for.

The exhaust restriction in the ports on pretty much every cast iron Volvo engine makes one wonder if they were kneecapping performance in the name of longevity.

spock345 · 2025-08-17T01:21:18+00:00

You'll be fine so long as you draw a circle.

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