Finally, I am at a point where I can spend sometime on my own projects. I picked this 240 wagon up about 8 years ago from a really nice old lady. She made me promise that I would take care of her car when I bought it.
I used it as a daily driver for about 4 years. It was extremely reliable, a little quirky and was awesome in the snow. While on my way home one evening it just shut off at a stop light. After pushing the car into a parking lot, it was found that it had no fuel pressure. Apparently, the fuel pumps...yes, there are two fuel pumps...are know to go bad. I initially looked at fixing it but for the price of the fuel pumps and the effort to change then, I bought a 5.3l out of a 2004 Tahoe. At the time, there were only a couple 240's that had been swapped and it looked like a fairly easy ordeal.
So, out came the original 2.3l and I dove head first into making a fun, reliable, standard shift daily. Well, after a couple months of working on it, customer's projects kept coming in. I eventually push it out beside the build and it sat for 3 years.
Before pushing it out, I was able to get the engine bolted in, completely rewire the car, figure out the majority of the hard stuff like accessory drives, exhaust and mount a clutch pedal. Initially, I wanted to run stock truck manifolds but the flanges interfered with the frame. At the time, the aftermarket manifolds weren't readily available, so I decided to build some headers.
The 5.3l actually fit in the engine bay fairly nicely. The steering shaft is a bit tight but there is enough room there to make it work.
I couldn't find a radiator that fit, so, a little trimming was necessary. The tanks were eventually all welded up and a support placed on the bottom side.
One of the downfalls with Volvo 240's is the wiring. I did not want any wiring issues so it was completely rewired with a new aftermarket harness. I did have to purchase the 133page volvo wiring schematic manual to figure out how to get all of the original switch to work with basically a GM aftermarket harness.
Here it sits after the 3 year hiatus beside the shop
The headers were finished and sent out to be ceramic coated.
The truck 5.3l pans are extremely deep. I had to take about 2" out of it to get everything to clear.
With the engine out, why not add a new cam?
Initially, I am using a T5 out of a V8 Camaro. Yeah, I know it won't hold up, but I have several and it will at least get the thing on the road. I will eventually go with a Tremec.
It couldn't have gone in any easier...
Here it currently stands. It cranks and has oil pressure. Onto the fuel system next.
