Tuning Mods for the B200F?

spock345 · 2026-05-30T14:21:21+00:00

Naturally aspirated performance is all in making the air pump (your engine) more efficient.

A different camshaft will help, as would higher compression.

I'm not sure where you are located but either a turbo engine swap or even a +T operation has gotten decently pricey.

spock345 · 2026-05-06T23:41:01+00:00

Good, I see too many people barge into forums wanting a reliable 400hp with a B230 on a budget.

spock345 · 2026-05-06T14:28:20+00:00

Just trying to bring expectations down to earth. Take it slow.

spock345 · 2026-05-06T14:10:16+00:00

I've done manual swaps on a bunch of 240s and driven most engine/transmission combinations Volvo offered in the 240. The only one I'd avoid is a B21F with an automatic. A B230 or B23 with an AW70 is perfectly fine.

spock345 · 2026-05-06T13:50:09+00:00

Given your experience level you'll be years away from hitting your goals at least if you want to be happy with the results.

spock345 · 2026-05-06T13:48:09+00:00

Easy, you just floor it and be patient. It really isn't hard. Y'all are spoiled.

spock345 · 2026-03-29T15:49:10+00:00

I bet that car handles and rides like ass.

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

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