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How much Power can you get out of a N/A 240

aaronllewellyn

aaronllewellyn

New member
Joined
Apr 24, 2012
Of course you could +t but how much estimated horsepower could you gain from other modifications, like a different Camshaft (and what is considered the best camshaft?) to eventually build up to a turbo project.

I see allot about cams from IPD, RSI etc..., what kinds of power gains have you had from them, from what I read stock Volvo 240 cams seem like garbage. (personal experience is a plus)\

the Volvo I own is a 1987 Volvo 240DL, currently with the IPD sport exhaust, and turbo sway bars, sport springs and Bilstein struts in the mail (thanks to fellow Tbrickers)
 
aaronllewellyn said:
Of course you could +t but how much estimated horsepower could you gain from other modifications, like a different Camshaft (and what is considered the best camshaft?) to eventually build up to a turbo project.

I see allot about cams from IPD, RSI etc..., what kinds of power gains have you had from them, from what I read stock Volvo 240 cams seem like garbage. (personal experience is a plus)\

the Volvo I own is a 1987 Volvo 240DL, currently with the IPD sport exhaust, and turbo sway bars, sport springs and Bilstein struts in the mail (thanks to fellow Tbrickers)
Click to expand...



I would never put the money into a SOHC engine, without a turbo on it;
Volvos did offer a DOCH head option, they produced about 150hp.


Mike
 
cam will do a lot to help it rev easier. i ditched ac/power steering, efan would help too, manual transmission(m47 is nice but 1st is still short) with a 3.73 rear end(from an automatic car usually), my rear muffler got clogged so i tossed it and left the resonator(it's straight through) ditch whatever weight you can, stiffen the suspension and it'll feel better for sure.

much more than that and you're pissing up wind imo
 
the IPD site's VX performance cam page says it brings an N'A to around 136HP I get the feeling this is incorrect...

anyways, how difficult is adding a turbo/intercooler/everything, after reading the thread in the modifications section it seems like an incredibly painful process... how long does it realistically take with little experience?

oh gosh today is just a day of noob questions.
 
rcdude said:
I would never put the money into a SOHC engine, without a turbo on it;
Volvos did offer a DOCH head option, they produced about 150hp.


Mike
Click to expand...
Whatever you do, do not listen to this goon

aaronllewellyn said:
the IPD site's VX performance cam page says it brings an N'A to around 136HP I get the feeling this is incorrect...

anyways, how difficult is adding a turbo/intercooler/everything, after reading the thread in the modifications section it seems like an incredibly painful process... how long does it realistically take with little experience?

oh gosh today is just a day of noob questions.
Click to expand...
A simple +t is incredibly easy. Assuming you have some junkyards near by where you can pull some parts from. Early 740 turbos have all the piping you will need. Get a turbo manifold from a 1990+ car and turbo of your choice .

I did mine by myself in less than one weekend. Started Friday night and I was driving sunday afternoon.
 
you've also got the "small rod" motor, so you will be limited there - still enough power to have fun with though, don't worry

not sure about if the turbo fuel/spark computers are a direct swap, drilling the oil return(or welding to the pan) is something i haven't done myself - so i won't be that guy that says it's easy and don't really know

but otherwise it's just bolting parts on

i really liked my 88 NA 240(it died and never diagnosed it, now it sits waiting for me to mess with it again), all it had was an A cam, manual, cut springs, junkyard shocks, some weight reduction, and it was a lot of fun. nothing wrong with an NA car, but what pisses turbobricks off is when people want to make 150hp+ on one
 
diponyou said:
Whatever you do, do not listen to this goon


A simple +t is incredibly easy. Assuming you have some junkyards near by where you can pull some parts from. Early 740 turbos have all the piping you will need. Get a turbo manifold from a 1990+ car and turbo of your choice .

I did mine by myself in less than one weekend. Started Friday night and I was driving sunday afternoon.
Click to expand...


I do have a U-pull parts place around, so you're saying I need a turbo intake manifold from a 90+, and the piping from a 740, well that makes sourcing the piping a lot easier...
thanks for the info!
 
Going from an M cam to a T cam is noticeable, even more so with a B, K, and others. However, it's not exactly the power gain you seem to be looking for, you may be disappointed. +T is your best bet if you want to have fun without spending $$$. A performance upgrade for NA is usually regarded as a tune-up :lol:
 
intakes are the same, you'll need an exhaust manifold, turbo, ic, piping, injectors and resistor pack and fpr, computers?, you might want the oil cooler but the 700 sandwich plate/arm filter thing won't work on a 240 without other mods, downpipe can be modded for a 240, your trans isn't gonna be happy for long, the turbo automatic is pretty stout with minor modifications(accumulator mod and big ol cooler)

drill the block or pan and make a oil return line, feed will prolly need to be a stainless line for simplicity/quickness, water lines aren't needed - always been a pita to fit so i never did

and i think that's most of it for a simple +t
 
Our stock K-cammed B23E makes more power than a stock
non-intercooled B21FT.

Other than EFI, and maybe an exhaust system, I wouldn't throw
money at it.

Just an intercooler on a B21FT (crappy Volvo OEM) will beat it.

You can make NA fast, but why? Forced induction is a junkyard
away.
 
Running real engine management, a D cam, and a 2.25" exhaust I did 116whp/118ftlbs on my B230F through an AW70. Towery did something like ~122 through a manual with similar mods (K cam I think.) Don't expect much beyond that without extensive modifications, even then don't expect much.

Take the same setup I had, put a 90+ on it with a T04B-V3 / STGII .63 at 5 psi with a small intercooler and it was making 148whp just like that. Best $12 for 30whp I ever spent.
 
There's a guy in Sacramento making upwards of 140-150whp on a n/a 8v and lh engine management. But why do that when you can do a turbo setup for so cheap and nearly double the power
 
aaronllewellyn said:
Of course you could +t but how much estimated horsepower could you gain from other modifications, like a different Camshaft (and what is considered the best camshaft?) to eventually build up to a turbo project.

I see allot about cams from IPD, RSI etc..., what kinds of power gains have you had from them, from what I read stock Volvo 240 cams seem like garbage. (personal experience is a plus)\

the Volvo I own is a 1987 Volvo 240DL, currently with the IPD sport exhaust, and turbo sway bars, sport springs and Bilstein struts in the mail (thanks to fellow Tbrickers)
Click to expand...

You need to set clear goals. Either you go for a proper NA build and the route to get proper power out of that is high compression, decently flowing head, exhaust etc or your goal is a turbo engine. A properly built NA engine won't be ideal for doing a turbo conversion on at a later date because you'll run into camshaft overlap and compression ratio issues.

Personally I rather like tuned non turbo engines, however before you start spending money on a camshaft you need to have a clear idea of where you're going with your build.
 
Last edited:
Fivehundred said:
You need to set clear goals. Either you go for a proper NA build and the route to get proper power out of that is high compression, decently flowing head, exhaust etc or your goal is a turbo engine. A properly built NA engine won't be ideal for doing a turbo conversion on at a later date because you'll run into camshaft overlap and compression ratio issues.

Personally I rather like tuned non turbo engines, however before you start spending money on a camshaft you need to have a clear idea of where you're going with your build.
Click to expand...

interdasting-meme-generator-interdasting-tell-me-moar-306cbe.jpg
 
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