1981 Volvo 242 DL - with Ford 302 V8 swap

1981 Volvo 242DL Coupe

This is a very nice 242DL that I bought on Valentines Day 2007. Since I purchased it, I have been more or less obsessed with it. This brought me to make many modifications to the car to make it more powerful and as solid as possible.

Originally the car was a 242DL MPG model with a 2.1 K-Jet/M46. It boasted a whole 99 HP when new. 400K+ miles later, it still ran great, but was quite underpowered for my taste. After many sleepless nights, I finally decided to pursue a Ford small block swap. I chose the Ford V8 due to it's compact size which allowed me to install it in a way that could almost be mistaken for factory. I built my own motor mounts which utilize polyurethane bushings. The transmission crossmember is a modified OEM piece that has a polyurethane mount on it. The swap utilizes a Volvo 940 radiator and electric fan that is wired to run with the ignition switch on. The fuel system uses a mechanical pump and diesel in-tank pickup. All Ford serpentine belt accessories were used including the Ford A/C compressor. The engine is a 1980 iron casting that I pulled from a 1982 Mustang. The engine was completely stripped down and machine work completed by City Motor Supply in Dallas. The engine was then assembled by myself using all new cast pistons, new bearings, high volume oil pump, Summit Performance camshaft and stock 1:5 stamped rocker arms. The transmission was left alone other than a fluid change, new clutch plate, pressure plate, throwout bearing and pilot bearing. The stock Mustang driveshaft bolted in after changing the pinion yoke on the differential. The engine swap was done In the first part of 2013. The entire engine bay was stripped, cleaned and repainted at this time.

Later the same year I bought the car, I had it painted with a single stage paint. It has held up fairly well despite having been parked out in the elements most of the time I have owned it. There is some damage here and there. Passenger side rear quarter panel was pushed in by a careless driver in a parking garage but is not extremely noticeable. Also, there is a small dent on the roof and scratches on the hood from debris from the Rowlett tornado in 2015.

The interior has been updated with the exception of the door panels. New door panels should be purchased or built to correct this. They are black and mostly presentable, but probably the biggest eyesore of the entire car. The factory headliner board was recovered with foam-backed black suede while the entire interior was swapped over to black from the original blue. The Mustang GT seats are bolted to factory Volvo tracks and function well, but I never took the time to try and wire in the power lumbar as I felt the seats were very comfortable without it. The factory gauges were customized with matching custom white overlays that were based on Ford Focus style design. The speedometer is not functional due to never ordering a custom cable for it, but will read in Kph only which was my preference for Euro styling.

The car runs and drives very well, and is quite fast. Since it is carbureted, it has the typical start issues of a carbed car....it will fire right up, but sometimes you have to massage the pedal for a few seconds until it catches. The transmission was never rebuilt, and I suspect that the Mustang it came out of was raced quite a bit since the 2nd gear synchro is rough. Slow shifting is the key, but if you want to quick shift, the trans might need a kit.

I have a very nice set of brown door panels that I can provide that would have to be dyed black and adapted to be used with the power window door pulls. The passenger side front window has a scratch in it.

Video can be seen here: https://youtu.be/Hw0iY0L0cvI

Driveline

-302 Ford V8/T5 5-speed transmission swap (iron block/iron heads)

-Edelbrock 1406 Carbureter

-HEI Electronic Distributor

-Serpentine belt system

-Headers

-Dual Exhaust/H-Pipe/Flowmaster 40 Series/"SS" style turndowns

Chassis

-Bilstein HD Struts/Shocks

-Cut 245 Wagon Springs

-Recent Ball Joints/Tie Rods

-GT Strut Braces

-Lower Crossmember Braces

-25mm Front/Rear IPD Swaybars

-Recent Brake Pads and Slotted Rotors on all 4 corners

Wheels/Tires

-80's Vintage 16x7 American Racing 1 piece Alloys

-European Volvo Snap on Center Caps

-Falken Ziex Tires

Interior

-Black Suede Headliner

-Mustang Front Buckets/Stock Backseat all recovered in Black Leather

-Recent Black Carpet from 90's sedan

-Custom White Face Gauges + 5 Bar and Volts

-Working A/C using factory Ford Compressor

-Plush Black IPD Carpet Floormats

-Modified Volvo M46 Shifter

-Power Window Conversion

Body

-Repainted 10 years ago with Chrysler Cool Vanilla

-Rust Free (aside from surface rust from chips)

-Solid Floors

-Solid Trunk

-Flathood Conversion

-Quad Square headlights (Silverstar) with DL Surrounds

-Turbo Belt Trim

-Skinny Bumper Conversion

-Euro Front Corner Lenses

-Late Model Manual Rearview Mirrors

-Clean 5 Panel Tails

-Black Door Handles