The Swap

I’ve been working on the Volvo again. This is what I have been building up to for the last couple of years, a turbo motor swap into my ’79 242. The donor? An ’89 744 turbo with intercooler. The car is actually in really good shape, needed a new turbo and a brake booster and was a little cosmetically challenged but overall not to bad. But I needed an engine and the car was only $250 so I bought it. As I make the swap, I am replacing its turbo with a larger one, a 16t, out of an s70, and also upgrading the cam, cam gear, and doing all the “level 0” stuff like new wires, seals, plugs, and filters. I am also replacing the transmission with a t5 WC out of a ford mustang cobra.

T5 with adapter

This trani swap is very well supported with adapters and instructions/recommendations from the Volvo community. It is also the only way to handle the power the motor should be putting out with the upgrades I’ve made.

Engine with Turbo

Now I just have to sort through the wiring harness, cut some rust out, get my clutch installed and bolt the trani to the motor and then I will be ready to drop the motor into my freshly painted engine bay.

No problem.