1979 242DL - Analog Motoring

[oldschoolvolvo]

Current state:


-B234 16v head
-n/a LH2.4 (571 ECU)
-n/a EZ-117K (011 w/ 16v n/a ignition map from sbabbs)
-16v white top injectors (749)
-3 bar FPR
-EZK ignition coil
-ipd "upgrade" in-tank fuel pump
-KL Racing underdrive crank pulley
-Bilstein HDs
-ipd sport springs
-ipd swaybars (25/23)
-full poly bushings in front
-poly bushings in rear trailing arms & panhard rod
-rubber axle bushings
-Kaplhenke Hybrid torque rods
-GT braces
-BNE Select strut mounts
-Yoshifab lower chassis braces
-T5 -169 transmission (3.35 1st & 0.68 5th)
-eBay short shifter (customized lever to mimic stock 240 shifter)
-Saab Viggen 228mm pressure plate
-Clutchnet SM9721 228mm SVO clutch disc
-hydro clutch setup (260 clutch master, 740T slave)
-15x6 Aries wheels


------------------------
Previously:



the "mod" list:
-LH2.2 Turbo ECU (541)
-EZK-117 ignition (012)
-"A" cam (so far a very daily driver friendly cam that pulls well to higher rpms)
-Mitsubishi 13C
-Mitsubishi 16T @ 13psi
-90+ exhaust manifold
-NPR intercooler
-940T downpipe connected to 240T exhaust system (60mm pipes)
-850T orange-top injectors
-831 "brown" injectors
-"B" cam ran fine, has one of the largest overlaps of the stock cams
-"V" cam for my setup and driving style, had too much of an "off/on" characteristic...however it does pull quite hard once it comes "on"
-"T" cam "instaspool" with a 13C, nice torquey powerband, but not high-rpm friendly
-AEM Dryflow air filter
-AEM wideband O2 sensor
-ebay catch can
-19mm (stock) rear swaybar
-Kaplhenke spherical axle bushings
-Kaplhenke torque rods adapted w/ poly rod ends @ body attachment
-15A's strut mount plates
-SAM short shifter

wish list:
-T5 transmission swap & LSD
-Gemini wheels
-wideband O2 sensor
-S40/C30 seats rebuilt 92 240 seats are quite nice

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First a little background:




I first purchased this car with a poorly-running K-Jet system and in need of some general TLC when I was 15 years old. I learned and fixed what I could, but needed to enlist the services of a local Volvo shop to get the K-Jet system running strong again. I didn’t really modify the car too much, but drove it daily through high school and college. Along the way it gained a set of ipd swaybars (of course) and Virgo wheels along with mundane maintenance items like rust repair, a new clutch and new heater blower motor.



During my last year of college, the car developed a significant miss under load and I did not have the time, money or space to investigate and fix the problem (in retrospect, it needed a new fuel pump). Moreover, I needed a car to drive. I ended up putting the swaybars and wheels on my brother’s 92 244 and selling the 242 to a fellow T-bricker and regretted the decision about a month later. Desiring something a bit more refined as a daily driver, I bought a 98 V70T5. While it was fun to have the 5-cyl turbo power, in my mind, it lacked the character of my old 242 and as the years went by and as I seemed to have an almost monthly visit under the hood of my V70, I began to lose interest in the car as I really disliked the fact that my daily driver was becoming a project car.

I had been casually surfing Craigslist for 240s for some time and one Saturday about 4 years after selling my 242, a listing popped up on Craigslist for a black 1979 242. Being so similar to my old car, it demanded a closer look. As I scrolled through the pictures in the ad, I realized that it was in fact my old car! There were a few unmistakable features such as the red paint in the door jambs, the sticker on the rear window and the “custom” door speakers that confirmed that this was indeed the car I had sold those years earlier. To make a long story short, the car was sitting back in my driveway in a matter of days and it felt good to be a 240 owner again. Ironically, soon after the 242 was in my possession, the V70 burnt a valve and with close to 200k miles it wasn’t worth it to me to fix, so it was parted it out and I said good-riddance. I picked up a Mazda3 (heresy!) as my new daily driver so I can focus my efforts on the 240.

After looking over the 242, some things have improved since I previously owned it and some things have gotten worse. It now has a cat-less exhaust with a single muffler and runs much better than it had previously (maybe the cat was clogged?). While the exhaust sounds cool right now, it is annoying for just cruising or driving on the highway and looks poor (IMO). It also has a new main fuel pump and the miss is gone, yay! The springs have been heated and compressed (redneck lowering springs) and do not ride well and look terribly unsafe. The suspension needed refreshed when I first had it and it definitely needs it now.



The windshield has been replaced with the newer trim which is nice. It still has the typical rust spots, although the major areas have been fiberglassed…but as expected, other rust spots are starting. My biggest gripe is that it has been spray painted black. The beltline trim was not masked off and is now black and I’m not sure if the chrome is recoverable. There is also random overspray on several windows and on the wheels which is annoying. The car has found a home in a barn, and I work on it when I have time (life is busy, ya know?).



Now the fun part:

My initial plans for the car are to get it to the point where I could use it as a daily driver. Being that this is “Turbobricks” I would of course like to swap in a B230FT, but that’s low on my priority list right now. The biggest change in the near future is updating the suspension as I have almost all the parts I need for that. I want to first get the chassis sorted out before adding power (insert driving slow car fast vs. fast car slow adage here). In no particular order, here are some of the items to fix (there are a lot of small unexciting things that need sorted out, but hey that’s what projects are for, right?). Most importantly, I want to have fun with the car and enjoy it.

-Ensure fuel system is working properly (in-tank pump seems to be dead)
-Oil pressure light doesn’t work
-Dave Barton fuel pump relay mod
-Replace leaking heater control valve
-Full poly bushings in front suspension
-sport springs
-Bilstein HD struts/shocks
-SS brake lines / bleed brake system
-Change exhaust setup to 240 Turbo piping & muffler
-Clean the carpet
-New sound deadening material to replace rotted foam/tar paper

Future fun:

-Repaint to original red color
-B230FT
-M46 or T5 transmission (currently has an M45)
-Different wheels
-Chassis bracing
-C30/S40/V50 front seats (inspired by Homer)
-RX7 brakes

The latest work I have done was removing the front carpet for cleaning and discarding the foam padding. The driver's side was wet with coolant that has been leaking from the heater control valve. I am planning to follow what Stiggy Pop did in his car regarding new insulation/sound deadening: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=290558

[Arn02]

Cool story. Smart move to start the way you did. Long road ahead. Good luck!

[oldschoolvolvo]

Removed all the carpet and gave it a thorough cleaning. Was able to score a good deal on some Eastwood Thermo-coustic sound deadening material, so that will go in after I get some rust spots in the floor/rocker panels repaired.

Ordered a retrofit heater control valve from EuroPartsHouse. Seems like a very nice, all metal unit. http://europartshouse.com/index.php?...products_id=36

Diagnosed my oil pressure light...looks like the pressure sender is stuck open. I can make the light come on by grounding the wire, so I'm going to replace the sender...they are inexpensive enough.

Also diagnosed my dead tank pump...wiring is good, pulled the sender unit and gave the pump 12v at the battery and still nothing. Strange that the pump didn't have the filter sock on. Took the pump apart to see what I could find. Looks like the commutator is worn through and prob why it wasn't working.

[Harlard]

I was about to tear you a new one over the spray paint. Then read the story.

Best of luck on your endeavors, sir. Lovely car.

[Chewy]

ewww on the spray paint. Sorry that happened.

Looks like a good car.

[volvowagoon]

Don't you hate when your pride and joy get sold to the wrong hands? I'm going through that a little bit with one of my old cars.... however, when the opportunity came around to buy it back I ran as fast as I could. Good luck to ya! It could be much worse!

[Chuck W]

I hate when people rattlecan cars flat black.

Glad you have it back in your possession. Good luck with the restore and undoing previous owner issues.

[oldschoolvolvo]

Always nice when a box of ipd goodies shows up!


Replaced the tank fuel pump and feed/return hoses. For reference, the feed line uses 12mm ID fuel hose and the return line uses 8mm (5/16”) fuel hose…the connection over the axle is not very tight with 8mm hose, so in retrospect, 7.5mm fuel line may have been a better choice. I needed to order the 12mm hose online and picked up the 5/16” line at Advance Auto. I ended up needing 20mm clamps for the feed line and 12/14mm clamps for the return.


I removed the EGR valve and associated vacuum amplifier and made a cap for the throttle body EGR connection from one of the fittings from the EGR pipes.





Got a used headpipe and had a friend weld on universal flanges to both the headpipe and a reducer that will eventually connect to stock 240T piping to complete my “sport” exhaust. The current headpipe in the car is hacked/welded and will not match up with the stock routing location.

I used the following Walker p/n’s:
flanges: 31947
reducer: 41854
gasket: 31336

[Duder]

You might be able to remove the flat black paint without damaging the original red underneath. Look up "Goof Off" paint remover. VW guys use it to strip terrible rattle can paint off of their cars. I've used it and it worked well. If they didn't scuff or sand the original paint much, it may be salvageable.

[oldschoolvolvo]

Nice! Thanks for the tip, definitely going to give that a try.

[didenpx]

Great story and thread!

[Old Iron]

Awesome that you found your old car, but darn, sold it bc it needed a pump, now it needs everyyyyyyything! Including paint! What a shame, glad to see you wanting to do right by it this time around!

[Tuff240]

Originally Posted by Duder

You might be able to remove the flat black paint without damaging the original red underneath. Look up "Goof Off" paint remover. VW guys use it to strip terrible rattle can paint off of their cars. I've used it and it worked well. If they didn't scuff or sand the original paint much, it may be salvageable.

If that doesn't work you can try acetone as well. It really depends on how well they screwed it up to rattle can it.

[oldschoolvolvo]

Installed my new heater control valve. It is a very nice unit, but the M4 bolt that clamps the cable stripped easily so I needed to get a replacement...no big deal, but just a heads up

Out with the old, in with the new.



Also installed a secondary fuel pump relay a la Dave Barton, hopefully this will give my fuel pumps a few extra volts and prolong the life of the main fuel pump relay.



Removed the airbox thermostat and glued the pre-heat flapper shut with some JB Weld.


My original intake hose was already cobbled together and since I no longer needed the venturi section (no more EGR) I found a suitable 70mm replacement hose on McMaster. I also cleaned up some of the vacuum lines in the engine bay.

[oldschoolvolvo]

Some more progress...sorry for the poor pics, my phone was having issues.

Rear set of stainless brake lines installed.


New heater hoses...man the top hose is a real pain to put on!


Poly bushings in the alternator bracket.


Some big boxes arrived yesterday from eEuroParts with my 240T exhaust pipes...will soon be mocking that up and getting it welded to my adapter.

[oldschoolvolvo]

Been working steadily on the car and here are some highlights...

Rear shocks and springs have been replaced with Bilstein and ipd respectively.



Exhaust adapter completed and components have been painted. I added a flex joint after the headpipe. From the headpipe back it is a 240 Turbo system.




Front suspension has been removed, painted and poly bushings have been installed. Reassembled front suspension with ipd springs and Bilstein HD struts, new strut mounts and 15A's strut plates.











I followed this tutorial to remove the control arm bushings and it worked well: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=271105

The large rear bushings for the front control arm come out best if you evenly heat the bushing sleeve to break the rubber/metal bond and then they push out easily. I tried pressing out the bushing first without heating it and it was rather difficult. Hindsight is 20/20.

Here is the Bilstein gland nut tool (p/n E4-MS08/6). After calling Bilstein USA, they directed me to Turner Motorsport where I bought it for $10 shipped.


Also added some euro turn signal lenses.

[Harlard]

1) glad you purchased that heater valve

2) i need a gland nut tool like that

[Tuff240]

I have a deep socket type tool for the gland nut. Works so good. You'll hate that Bilstein tool.
I'll try to remember to take a pic of it tomorrow. Would be easy to duplicate.

[oldschoolvolvo]

Some progress from the past few months...

New pads and rotors all around and new hard lines up front.



Sound deadening throughout the interior.



Carpets going back in.



Replaced the kjet injector seals.


...aaaand it's back on the road! Feels great to be able to drive it again.

[Coupid]

Great work getting it back on the road!

[12david34]

flat black suits the car well imo. me likey

[oldschoolvolvo]

I have put about 200 miles on the car since it has been road-worthy and the mysterious "miss under acceleration" has returned. It is the same thing that was plaguing the car when I sold it the first time, but this time I want to get to the bottom of it.
(My old thread for reference: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=170882)

I pieced together a kjet pressure tester like this: http://www.turbobricks.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=289775 and hooked it up to see what I could find. Per the thread, the line pressure should be 65-75psi and the control pressure should start around 20psi and raise to 45-50psi.

Here's a short video to document:



To summarize, it looks like my control pressure is low...the highest it ever gets is 40psi. I can't watch the gauge while driving so I can't exactly see what's happening when the missing occurs, but it doesn't look like the CPR raises the control pressure to the correct level after warming up.

Any thoughts on the line pressure? Is it normal for it to bounce like that?

I am planning on eventually converting the car to LH2.2 and doing a +T so I'm more concerned about the condition of my fuel pumps vs. having the CPR operate properly. I can deal with the miss if it's the CPR, but if my pump is going south then I need to get a replacement...but it seems like the pump is ok.

Also, since Corona centercaps are $$, I put the newer black ones on and they look pretty good imo.

[DaytonAE86]

I'm sure a new control pressure regulator is both pricy and difficult to find. I would dare to say its the pump. Have you checked pressure into the cpr?

[oldschoolvolvo]

Originally Posted by DaytonAE86

Have you checked pressure into the cpr?

Yes, that is part of what I did with the pressure tester. When the valve on the tester is closed, I tested the line pressure which comes in at 65-70psi...in spec according to the Greenbook (64-75psi). When the valve on the tester is open, it tests the pressure regulated by the CPR. Per the Greenbook this is supposed to be 44-50psi after warming up. Mine only gets as high as 40psi so it appears as though the CPR is not functioning properly.

However, I did not hook a gauge up to the fuel filter to check the unregulated line pressure from the fuel pump.

I do wonder about how the line pressure bounces between 65 and 70psi...should the pressure be steady or is fluctuation normal?

Edit: I also checked the flow rate of the pumps and they met the Greenbook spec of >25.3 fl. oz. in 30 sec.

[oldschoolvolvo]

I tested the pump head pressure tonight by hooking up my pressure tester to the outlet of the fuel filter. As you can see in the vid below the pressure hovers around 130psi. Again, the gauge needle is not rock solid and bounces...is this normal? The pump is virtually silent during this test (the noise you hear in the video is from insects, not the car).


Pic of test setup.


So after all this testing, what have I learned?
-head pressure is 130psi (gauge needle fluctuates)
-kjet line pressure is 65-70psi (gauge needle fluctuates, corresponds with when the fuel pump makes a buzzing noise, see first video)
-kjet control pressure is 40psi (below Greenbook spec)
-fuel pumps meet the Greenbook flowrate spec

Based on that information, it still looks like the CPR is the culprit.

In the end I want to know that my fuel pumps are working properly. Unless I am missing something, it seems like they are operating normally, besides making some buzzing noises when the car is running.

Any thoughts or comments?