volvodudes - 544 restomod?

I've always loved the 544, and one can make one pretty fast with 1800 brakes, a turbo and such. But what about taking a later DOHC turbo-engined brick, and steal the entire drivetrain, steering, spindles and such to turn the 544 into a modern, lightweight sleeper (If I recall, they were the last lightweight Volvo at 2000 lbs. or so).

What do you guys think? And which later car would be the best donor?

I always thought a 5.0 Mustang would be a good donor, but the engine compartment is kinda narrow.

Dan

a v8 would require serious butchery. I have seen 60 degree V6s dropped in realitively easily however.

I was actually thinking turbo Miata at one point, but that seems sacreligious. Better to stay with a Swedish 4.

I saw a 544 next to an e36 3-series the other day. Surprisingly, the 544 was only slightly taller. With shorter springs and 60 series tires, it would have set lower.

The 544 has the same engine-swap issues as the 1800 and 122: narrow engine bay & front suspension. Anything is possible, but a fair amount of surgury is required. Later OHC engines have been installed, but it's not easy. IMHO, either keep the B-series OHV engine and mod to the performance level desired, or cut and paste as needed to drop in a V8 of your choice.

In reply to Ian F: I don't get it. There's plenty of vertical room. Would a later I4 take up that much more horizontal space?

What about a 60* V8 like the SHO V8? It is somewhat similar to the XC90 V8 (critical dimensions, at least)

Edit: Though I could seeing it still being wider than a Ford 302, but I really don't know.

I think that I repect the cars too much to stray too far off base. Where "too far" lies is purely subjective of course. Here's one with a T5 in it

kreb wrote: In reply to Ian F: I don't get it. There's plenty of vertical room. Would a later I4 take up that much more horizontal space?

Don't the later OHC engines sit on an angle unlike the old B? That might take up some horizontal space.

Is there room for a B30 six from a 164?

Carson wrote:

kreb wrote: In reply to Ian F: I don't get it. There's plenty of vertical room. Would a later I4 take up that much more horizontal space?

Don't the later OHC engines sit on an angle unlike the old B? That might take up some horizontal space.

They do, but they can be made to sit upright. Most OHC swaps into Amazons and 1800s sit the upright.

kreb wrote: In reply to Ian F: I don't get it. There's plenty of vertical room. Would a later I4 take up that much more horizontal space?

You'd be surprised. With these cars it's as if they started with the engine and designed the bloody car around it. Most modern I4's have "left and right" flow heads. - meaning the intake's on one side with the exhaust on the other. The B series has both intake and exhaust ports are on the right side, which conserves space. I'm not saying it can't be done - there's a guy in Sweden who stuffed a modern Volvo DOHC I5 in an old Volvo - it's just not easy by any stretch. In every case I've seen, a custom exhaust header is made. Usually the intake as well. The Volvo OHC B21 can be made to almost bolt-in since Volvo offered the engine in a verticle orientation (normally, it's slanted to the right) so the bell-housing is available, but the performance advantages over the B20 are arguable for the amount of work involved.

Trust me, this is not a new subject... hot rodders have been looking at these cars since the early 60's as possible swap chassis... and it seems to come up on this board every few months... unfortunately, there are a number of failed attempts made out of what would otherwise be a nice car. If you have the design and fabrication skills, then by all means - go for it. But unfortunately, an engine swap into an old Volvo is not a cheap or quick path to more horsepower. At least not with any of the currently available drivetrains.

Woody wrote: Is there room for a B30 six from a 164?

With the stock firewall, no. I just pulled the engine out of my 1800ES... it's a very short bay and there is no room to move the radiator forward. The 544 and 122 are not much different.

Plus, the B20 is already a tank of an engine (heavy). The B30 even more so for minimal power gains.

I dunno, how about a b230 like this one:

A mere 578 horsepower!

But seriously, I don't have that kind of coin, but the b230 might be the ticket. Thanks for the feedback, guys.

The PV below runs in our east coast VRG events. I think it looks keen.

You can see it pass me on ~This Video~ around the 3 minute mark.

kreb wrote: But seriously, I don't have that kind of coin, but the b230 might be the ticket. Thanks for the feedback, guys.

But seriously, look at how incredibly wide that engine is. and the mac-strut front suspension design...

Like I said, anything is possible,,, but do a lot of research and measuring before hand.

Saw one several years ago with a complete B230 setup installed, very clean installation. The owner ran the A/C compressor off of the rear axle. Problem was no movement, no A/C

But seriously, look at how incredibly wide that engine is. and the mac-strut front suspension design... Like I said, anything is possible,,, but do a lot of research and measuring before hand. .

Not to worry, I overthink everything A lot of the width of which you speak is in the exhaust/turbo rig and can be addressed via careful packaging.

If you tear the volvo down to the stub frame and suspension, it's really quite simple, and there's room to be found

car39 wrote: Saw one several years ago with a complete B230 setup installed, very clean installation. The owner ran the A/C compressor off of the rear axle. Problem was no movement, no A/C

I have a similar situation on my Miata, same thing happens when I put the top up too, no a/c.

I did see a 122 at one of the national Volvo meets a few years back with a Buick 215 V8 in it. It was tight, but looked like it was made to go there.

The B20 can be made pretty hairy. The factory race spec Stage IV was ~185HP, and there is a modern supercharger kit out there.