Volvo 240 Torslanda Turbo
A Good Starting Point...
I bought this 1993 Torslanda towards the end of 2022 for £1.5k. As Volvo 240s go it was a fairly low specification model with manual windows, cloth seats, no sunroof, no aircon, etc... but importantly it came with a B200F engine mated to an M47 5 speed manual.
At the time of purchase, it didn't have any major issues but did require some basic maintenance including ball joints, track rods, coil springs, wiring, and some other service items.
After completing these jobs, I was left with a good daily driver and a decent starting point for future upgrades.
Suspension and Handling
My first modification was lowering the suspension and tightening up the handling somewhat.
After some spirited driving I found the car majorly lacked responsiveness and 'feel'. This was mostly caused by a combination of worn suspension bushings, knackered coil springs, ineffective shock absorbers (shot absorbers), and the large sidewall tires that the car originally came with.
I started off by fitting 'trimmed' lowering springs and some cheap KYB shocks. This made the car sit very well and certainly addressed the ginormous wheel gap but the ride was far from comfortable.
Since the next set of tires was due, I opted for some 195/70/14 size tires on the original 14" Torslanda alloys. These I found to be much more readily available and suited the lowered look better.
After a couple of years of driving with this setup, I fitted some Koni Sport adjustable shock absorbers and Klein 40mm lowering springs. I have found this to be a great combination of comfort and performance and the ability to 'tune' the suspension to get it just right is simply brilliant!
Turbocharging the B200F
Turbocharging the original engine was actually fairly straight forward since post 1989 240s came with LH2.4 fuel injection and 13mm con rods. This is the same system as the Volvo 940.
I sourced parts from a suitable Volvo 940 including : exhaust manifold and TD04-13C turbo, 'Gold Box' ignition EZK, injection ECU, intercooler and piping, exhaust down pipe, and some radiator pipes.
I had an AN10 fitting welded into the side of the sump and used some AN10 line and two AN10 45 degree fittings to make a turbo return line. I used a T-piece fitting to source high pressure oil from the oil pressure switch and used AN4 lines and fittings to make the rest of the turbo oil feed.
The Volvo 940 Downpipe can be chopped and welded to work in a 240. The intercooler and piping drops straight in if you use the longer mounting brackets from the 940. The stock 940 intake pipe can be trimmed and I used a generic cone filter straight onto the MAF.
I fitted some high resistance injectors and suitable ignition and injection EEPROM chips to the ECUs so that the engine could run properly under forced induction. The MAF sensor wiring needs extending using some 5 cored wire as it now sits on the other side of the engine bay.