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1980 242 GT. A reasonable project.

Have you thought about having someone do a wet sand on the car? Do you know how many coats of clear were put on it?
 
Yeah, I've thought about it. Down the road, I need to replace the hacked up rear fender arches, come up with a permanent solution for the missing buttcheeks, and fix various other imperfections. The process of fixing those things will naturally necessitate paint, so I'm holding off on any significant body-related items until then (also... $$$$$$$$).

I'm more focused on making the car function how I want it to right now. After I get that closer to being dialed in (who knows how long that will take), I'll start thinking about the body. It looks "good enough" so I can look past it for the moment.
 
This car is awesome. Great work!!
Are those the aftermarket clear turn signal lenses from IPD?
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This car is awesome. Great work!!
Are those the aftermarket clear turn signal lenses from IPD?

Thanks! Yes, they are. I bought them at iPd the morning of the garage sale 2 years ago.


Why are missing butt cheeks a problem? nothing to hold on to?

I know there's a joke here somewhere. I just... can't... place my finger up it. OH, there it is.
 
I'm hard eyeing your crank case setup (because I haven't picked a path myself yet). The ProVent isn't as big in there as I thought, and much cleaner than the Yoshi thing I got with a million AN fittings sprouting off of it.

So you T the stock crank crank box output into one of the cam cover lines, then T those two lines together into the ProVent intake, correct? And it looks like the ProVent intake is some kind of molded silicone hose? Where'd that come from? What'd you use for a T-fitting there? And the outlet of the ProVent is not visible, but routed back to the intake.

Think the stock sep box is necessary with the ProVent or was it just easier to keep it?

My main headache is squeezing something in that can be mounted high enough to drain back to the redblock return location. Having the ABS pump leaves me with hardly any room.

If you want me to push any more of my concerns onto your thread just let me know.
 
I'm hard eyeing your crank case setup (because I haven't picked a path myself yet). The ProVent isn't as big in there as I thought, and much cleaner than the Yoshi thing I got with a million AN fittings sprouting off of it.

So you T the stock crank crank box output into one of the cam cover lines, then T those two lines together into the ProVent intake, correct?
That's correct. There's also a 3/8" line teed into the hose coming off the factory separator box which runs to a check valve in the intake manifold.

And it looks like the ProVent intake is some kind of molded silicone hose?
Yep

Where'd that come from?
It's a generic 1" silicone 45 degree elbow. I have a bunch of them in use on the car of various dimensions. They are all from eBay, ~$8 each.

What'd you use for a T-fitting there?
The tee is a pex fitting from the hardware store. I like these because they are readily available, fit well, and aren't an eyesore.

And the outlet of the ProVent is not visible, but routed back to the intake.
Correct. That has 90 degree 1" molded silicone elbow which then connects to a 1" silicone hose running under the oil thermostat and plumbs into the intake pipe.

Think the stock sep box is necessary with the ProVent or was it just easier to keep it?
It was easier for me to keep it. I figured why not, and others have had success with it.

My main headache is squeezing something in that can be mounted high enough to drain back to the redblock return location. Having the ABS pump leaves me with hardly any room.

If you want me to push any more of my concerns onto your thread just let me know.

Responses above in bold
 
thanks boss. Agree on the pex fittings those are a nice simple solution. I never thought of 1" elbows like that, good food for thought. Time to build a cardboard ProVent and see what's what.
 
My brother came by this evening, and we made some progress on the 242. Base ignition timing is now set (it was 17 degrees off), and I have solid ballpark fuel and ignition maps uploaded (thanks to Homer) that will get me started. The car is running great at idle now--super happy with that.


My power steering pump is whining quite badly, which I tried solving yesterday by rerouting the return line. That temporarily alleviated the problem for 10 seconds or so (perhaps until the return line filled again after being drained???), and then the noise returned. Current thinking is to try blowing through the return line to see if there is some obstruction.

This is all with a pump that I just rebuilt before installing on this engine. I've checked over and cleaned the pressure regulator since then. The lines are new. Fluid is fresh. Rack is the same one I used before (I did have some noise from the pump when turning, but nowhere near this severe).
 
I've done a fair bit to and with the car since my last update. I'll try to recap the past few months since "finishing" the whiteblock swap.


Here's how things ended up under the dash where the megasquirt's fuse and relay panel lives. It all tucks nicely behind the diesel mats, and there's easy enough access to that panel to check/replace fuses when needed.

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Not long after getting the car on the road with the whiteblock I found an oil leak from the cam cover. This was caused by cam cover bolt holes that stripped out. I installed keenserts from mcmaster in the offending holes, and applied some fresh OEM Volvo anaerobic sealant.

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Video clip of the car running after finding the leak. You can hear the power steering pump wallowing in misery.

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While I had the IAC out for testing, I put in hoses that would be more resilient than the temporary heater hose that was in previously. I used 7/8" silicone hose coupled to a 7/8" 45 deg elbow with oetiker clamps to better navigate the rat nest of a mess beneath the intake manifold. That is probably one of the less desirable parts of having the 5 cyl in the car. :lol:

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Oddly, the grommet for the radiator plug tore, requiring replacement after one year of service in the 940 radiator. A quick swap after getting a fresh grommet shipped in, and that was out of the way.

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After spending far too much time chasing the source of an extremely sensitive brake pedal, it was determined that the brake booster failed, which is the second one I've had in this car. :roll: I prepped a spare graciously donated by justlie and installed it in the car.

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Towels are, of course, necessary for fresh parts installation. Intake manifold clearance is a bit tighter than it used to be.

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I sent charge piping and GT braces out for black powdercoat.

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Afterward, the engine bay looked like this:

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In September, I attended the VCOA National Meet at Road America with a group of friends (including 4 total 242s between us!). I managed to snag quickest lap in the Volvo-only autocross on the karting circuit. Unfortunately about 45 minutes into the weekend, my camera was exposed to a puddle so I wasn't able to get any good pictures to document this.

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However, we did have the opportunity to putt around the track, which is always a pleasure at Road America.

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For its first real road trip (~1,200mi) I drove the car down to KC, MO for a weekend in October to visit Homer. The '95 M3 wheels with more suitable tires went back on for this trip in case of rain.

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On the trip down the car netted 20.0 mpg. Following some cruise tuning around town, that increased to 24.2 mpg while averaging 80-82mph on the way home.


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At this point I've put about 3,000 fairly gentle miles on the car with the 5 cyl setup. Despite fighting oil consumption and a laundry list of smaller nagging issues, I couldn't help but drive the car a bunch. Up next is knocking those issues off the list one by one.

More on that in the next post...
 
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oh right, updating build threads! forgot about that.

Nice to see the video. Everything is look top notch. Car going down for winter storage?
 
Every time I see this car it makes me want to skip b234 and go straight to t5. Thanks for the inspiration, Tom.
 
I dig this project so very much.

Closing on a new house next week and one of the (2) key things I wanted was a better workshop/garage spot, which it has. Finally will have indoor workspace with room for storage of 2 cars. My 264 will have a whiteblock!
 
Nice work! Thanks for the update! Everytime I read someone's success story it makes me want to dig my car out and finish it.

Thanks. Get that thing finished up! Projects are best driven.

oh right, updating build threads! forgot about that.

Nice to see the video. Everything is look top notch. Car going down for winter storage?

I expect an update from you within 48 hours. Car is in the garage getting taken apart again. Another year, another list.

Every time I see this car it makes me want to skip b234 and go straight to t5. Thanks for the inspiration, Tom.

Thank you! The b234 is far less work...

I dig this project so very much.

Closing on a new house next week and one of the (2) key things I wanted was a better workshop/garage spot, which it has. Finally will have indoor workspace with room for storage of 2 cars. My 264 will have a whiteblock!

Good luck! Thanks for the kind words. I myself am in the market for a house with a decent workshop...
 
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