The Volvo turbobrick!
Discussion
Hi. It's been ages since I've posted anything interesting here so I thought I'll show some progress of my Volvo 940 turbo. It might not be what some people regard as an interesting car, but, everyone should have one of these once in their life! I had one a few years ago which had to go! They are so practical, can have a good turn of pace and durable! Mine gets used for tip runs, I take it to car shows and give it the odd blast down the back roads. So a bit about it, I picked it up from a local car auction, £175 got me a car with a few months mot, full service history, two sets of keys and 153k miles. Sure, it's not perfect, it was plastered in mud from north wales and the drivers door has rust issues at the bottom (I'll sort that out!), but it drives spot on and is a good base. Here's some pics from its first arrival. It's a 2.0 turbo hpt auto. It also has an automatic locking diff!
As you can see from the pictures it's a little tatty and was filthy! It took an hour with a steam cleaner to jet wash it all underneath and all over!
As some of you might be aware, these are easily tuneable (it's laughable really!). The standard hardware can support 200 bhp from just a boost increase. The ecu fitted to these is adaptable and can cope with a sharp increase in boost without any issues. The ecu backs boost off at around 14 psi although 12 psi is regarded as safe when running on super. Volvo actually used to sell an electronically controlled boost valve for these! So £15 for a boost valve (mbc) and a £5 second hand gauge fitted to a £2 Hong Kong eBay pod and I took my car from 155 bhp to around 180 bhp!
As you can see the gauge is quite retro and fits in ok. It's bolted to the speaker grille that is way oversized for the speaker, so you can pass wiring and pipes through it and retain the speaker! Easy! The mbc is a doddle to fit and once adjusted is giving me 12-13 psi.
So after a tub of polish, wax and plastic treatment I dug out some very period genuine Volvo bbs alloys I had in my garage for the last 5 years, threw some home made mixed paint on them with some smaller tyres (6% smaller- quicker acceleration!) and bolted them on. It's transformed the car! Next job is to lower it slightly and paint the front grille Matt black.
These cars are bags of fun, non interface engine, simple mechanics, old school turbo lag and boost combined with practicality and durability! If you ever want a cheap old estate car I'd highly advise one of these!
Thanks for reading. Mike.
As you can see from the pictures it's a little tatty and was filthy! It took an hour with a steam cleaner to jet wash it all underneath and all over!
As some of you might be aware, these are easily tuneable (it's laughable really!). The standard hardware can support 200 bhp from just a boost increase. The ecu fitted to these is adaptable and can cope with a sharp increase in boost without any issues. The ecu backs boost off at around 14 psi although 12 psi is regarded as safe when running on super. Volvo actually used to sell an electronically controlled boost valve for these! So £15 for a boost valve (mbc) and a £5 second hand gauge fitted to a £2 Hong Kong eBay pod and I took my car from 155 bhp to around 180 bhp!
As you can see the gauge is quite retro and fits in ok. It's bolted to the speaker grille that is way oversized for the speaker, so you can pass wiring and pipes through it and retain the speaker! Easy! The mbc is a doddle to fit and once adjusted is giving me 12-13 psi.
So after a tub of polish, wax and plastic treatment I dug out some very period genuine Volvo bbs alloys I had in my garage for the last 5 years, threw some home made mixed paint on them with some smaller tyres (6% smaller- quicker acceleration!) and bolted them on. It's transformed the car! Next job is to lower it slightly and paint the front grille Matt black.
These cars are bags of fun, non interface engine, simple mechanics, old school turbo lag and boost combined with practicality and durability! If you ever want a cheap old estate car I'd highly advise one of these!
Thanks for reading. Mike.
Edited by XRMike on Monday 11th July 20:34
Edited by XRMike on Monday 11th July 20:35
In regards to cutting springs, it's something I'm considering based on the fact that it's done with these very regularly as they have long springs which locate correctly after a coil is removed, the Spring ends on these don't go flat as per normal car springs. It's been proven to work well and has a positive affect on the handling too due to the spring rate increase. I have new dampers to fit front and rear however I'll keep the look out for proper springs. Mike.
My dad had one of these when I was 17. First rwd car that I had driven and I ended up in the side of a bus at one point, nose first properly in there. Bus was f
ked but my dad didn't know about it until one of his mates who saw the episode grassed me up as there wasn't even a scratch on the tank 
ked but my dad didn't know about it until one of his mates who saw the episode grassed me up as there wasn't even a scratch on the tank This one is fitted with a later 4 speed automatic gear box and has a kick down switch. The diff is a locking type as normally found on the wentworths and unlocks at 25 mph (although this can be altered). I have come to notice this car has more lag than my previous 2.3 lpt. The difference is in the waste gate.
My dad runs a '98 "R" plate 940 2.3 turbo auto as his workhorse. He's also fitted a MBC and "turned the wick up a bit" - it's goes pretty well for something with aerodynamics of a breeze block. The load space with the back seats down is comical, and would put a small form factor van to shame.
Overall brilliant cars and easy to work on.
Overall brilliant cars and easy to work on.
Reading this reminded me ive had my 940 LPT longer than any car ive ever owned! 5 years this month!
I'd love to fit an MBC to mine, if only i knew how as its been a great car, pretty darn reliable, but a bit more oooommpphh would be good!
That looks a good example for no money what so ever!
I'd love to fit an MBC to mine, if only i knew how
as its been a great car, pretty darn reliable, but a bit more oooommpphh would be good!That looks a good example for no money what so ever!
Hi James. That is a long time to own a car compared to me! Haha.
Your lpt will respond to an mbc much better than mine has because yours is a 2.3 and mines only a 2.0. It's very easy to fit in all honesty! You'll need to fit a boost gauge before hand though so you can set it up and monitor things correctly. It takes about 30 mins max to fit the mbc. The gauge about an hour taking your time. Your car being a 2.3 lpt will be putting out a measly 135bhp at 3.5 psi (at best). You can safely turn it up to 12-14 psi which will bump it up to 200bhp on v power. Volvo used to supply electronic boost control valves that upped a 2.3 hpt from 7.5 psi 165bhp to 190bhp at 10 psi, so you can see that the cars hardware and ecu is all ready for it as the hpt and lpt 2.3 are identical engines minus the wastage actuator (which won't matter with an Mbc). 200 bhp in one of these really perks up the driving experience, turbo lag is minimal and you can make really good progress whilst showing a few modern cars up! Any more questions please ask. I will talk you through the installation of an mbc and boost gauge if required. Mike.
Your lpt will respond to an mbc much better than mine has because yours is a 2.3 and mines only a 2.0. It's very easy to fit in all honesty! You'll need to fit a boost gauge before hand though so you can set it up and monitor things correctly. It takes about 30 mins max to fit the mbc. The gauge about an hour taking your time. Your car being a 2.3 lpt will be putting out a measly 135bhp at 3.5 psi (at best). You can safely turn it up to 12-14 psi which will bump it up to 200bhp on v power. Volvo used to supply electronic boost control valves that upped a 2.3 hpt from 7.5 psi 165bhp to 190bhp at 10 psi, so you can see that the cars hardware and ecu is all ready for it as the hpt and lpt 2.3 are identical engines minus the wastage actuator (which won't matter with an Mbc). 200 bhp in one of these really perks up the driving experience, turbo lag is minimal and you can make really good progress whilst showing a few modern cars up! Any more questions please ask. I will talk you through the installation of an mbc and boost gauge if required. Mike.
Edited by XRMike on Saturday 16th July 19:25
Edited by XRMike on Saturday 16th July 19:26
So, since the last update the Volvo is currently off the road having some much needed tlc. I was very lucky to obtain some parts from a scrap Volvo 740 in my work. The jackpot prize was the camshaft, it had a B230e engine which has a very lairy camshaft (called a V Cam) from the factory. Once fitted in place of the standard fit T cam (Turbo) the engine becomes a much free revving unit rather than a diesel like character and a power increase higher in the rpm is more apparent. I fitted this in a evening and the transformation is outstanding.
Then there was the removal of the non working air conditioning system. This took around 3 hours and was a nightmare of a job to do! The result now is a loss of around 25kgs and a much less cluttered engine bay.
Next up was some exhaust deleation, removing the rear back box on these and replacing with a pointy down tip frees up some power and reduces lag, it's a very common mod to do in the Volvo community and the noise increase is minor due to the system being so long.
All of the above has turned this into a much more powerful and lighter car whilst costing next to nothing!
I also obtained a mint O/S/R rear light as mine is past it and some as new genuine HT leads from the scrap 740 in work!
The next job is to paint the very tired front grille and front headlight wipers satin black. Then repair the rusty door and a good clean up!
Thanks for reading. Mike.
Then there was the removal of the non working air conditioning system. This took around 3 hours and was a nightmare of a job to do! The result now is a loss of around 25kgs and a much less cluttered engine bay.
Next up was some exhaust deleation, removing the rear back box on these and replacing with a pointy down tip frees up some power and reduces lag, it's a very common mod to do in the Volvo community and the noise increase is minor due to the system being so long.
All of the above has turned this into a much more powerful and lighter car whilst costing next to nothing!
I also obtained a mint O/S/R rear light as mine is past it and some as new genuine HT leads from the scrap 740 in work!
The next job is to paint the very tired front grille and front headlight wipers satin black. Then repair the rusty door and a good clean up!
Thanks for reading. Mike.
Edited by XRMike on Sunday 14th August 15:21
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