Humble Volvo beginnings.....  I think that's what best descibes my 1984 245 Turbo when I first brought it home in March of 1997.  I paid $3200 to who I think was the second owner in Rialto, CA.  It was completely stock and original.  When I started a few little modifications, I really had no idea the direction it would eventually take.  This was not my first turbo Volvo, but it was my first 240 Turbo, and I found myself in a strange new world when it came to understand things like K-Jetronic fuel injection.  I had no clue what made it tick, but I was learning.           
          I wanted to modify, modify modify.... But this car was my daily driver, so as many of you know, there are limits to the kinds of mods you can do to a car that needs to get you to work in the morning.  For those of you who were into modifying Volvos in the 90’s, you will remember there were not many of sources for performance parts.  Even though I was no stranger to hot-rodding (having previously owned a ‘66 Chevelle and a ’67 BMW 1600ti Alpina former German Group 3 racer... box flares and roll-cage included), when I got this Volvo, I  was just a beginner when it came time to figuring it out.  I had been a customer of IPD for about 10 years by this time and they were the best source for performance improvement items.  So mods started getting done, even if they started off slowly.
         A funny thing happened about the time I bought the 245.  I got the internet and soon discovered other Volvo people out there who also had the internet. Turbobricks was a brand new concept back then and I remember spending hours reading the email digests and learning new ideas.  I learned an enormous amount from others who shared their experiences.  The original Turbobricks email list is now extinct.  As great as it was, the latest Turbobricks forum has it beat by a long way.  I'm still learning about these cars.
          Moving into the present.... you'll notice that my 245 has made some cosmetic and functional adjustments.  As it has progressed, I've found it important to work on the aesthetics as well as the performance.  The first major step was the elimination of the old original wagon roof rack, which was done by a body shop (all holes welded, roof repainted to match).  Then I exchanged the pointed-nose hood for a flat hood and matching flat grill, both of which came from a junked ’83 242 Turbo SE “flathood” I stumbled across in a wrecking yard.  This was the special edition 240 Turbo which Volvo bulit 500 of in 1983 to satisfy the FISA requirements for factory homologation for Group A racing (primarily for the European Touring Car Championship).  More info on Volvo's Group A racing effort with the 240 Turbo can be found at Volvo 240 Group A Racing.  I prefer the look of the sleeker nose over the traditional North American import pointed hood.  And of course, the headlights have been changed to the European (E-Code) dual H-1 lights.  They work so much nicer than the U.S. D.O.T. crud lights found on USA import Volvos back then. 
           In 1998 the internet supplied the connections which helped me import the Bross spoiler/body kit from Sweden, originally obtained from  Hallsjo Styling of Sweden....  I don't think it's still available from Hallsjo, but there is a company in Europe who currently advertises this kit and others at http://www.stylingkompaniet.com/.  The interior of my car, originally tan leather that had begun to dry up and crack like most leather Volvo interiors, was replaced with a custom tweed and vinyl interior that brought the styling up to date.

           By 1999 I was dissatisfied with the performance of the B21FT motor and I began gathering parts for a new 2.6 liter stroker turbo motor.  It was based on the B23FT block from the '84 760 Turbo.  Due to the expenses involved, it was nearly two years before that motor made its way into my car in the spring of 2001.  The motor was equipped with a programmable digital electronic fuel injection system from Simple Digital Systems in Calgary, Canada.  The turbo was a Super 60 from Turbonetics.  And a huge intercooler was built by Spearco to fit in the original intercooler position (more info is available in my Spec Sheet Page). 
          This car was originally equipped with an automatic transmission and I considered my options for something that would hold up to more power.  I settled on a custom race-prepared Volvo AW-71 auto trans built by Art Carr Racing Transmissions in Huntington Beach, CA.  Once installed, the new drivetrain seemed to run pretty well, logging a best Zero to 60 time of 5.9 seconds while running about 14 psi of boost.  But from the beginning I felt the new motor was not running to its desired high-power potential.  The ignition was still stock and I remember spending a lot of time trying to get the primitive boost retard system to mesh with everything else.  It never did that very well. As is always the case with modified cars, there was still much to do.
          In 2003 I upgraded the SDS fuel injection system to include a crank-triggered ignition system that was fully programmable.  It helped a lot.  I also installed a coil-over spring package I got from Peter Linssen at MVP (He is now The V Shop) in Portland, Oregon.  I was very impressed with the handling improvement.  Things were stiffened up substantially, since I opted for 200 lb. front springs and 175 lb. rears.  I had a chance to take the car to a VCOA track day at Thunderhill Raceway in Northern California and the coil-overs really seemed to make the handling for the car.  There are more photos of this installation in my Spec Sheet Page.
          After experiencing some problems with the suped up AW-71 transmission (it started slipping at 11,000 miles... bummer!), I decided in 2004 that I was long overdue for a manual transmission.  The Volvo M46 (4 speed plus OD) trans that was normally optioned in a 240 Turbo would not do.  They are well known for breaking when subjected to high torque levels.  By this time I had found my stroker motor was making well over 300 lbs. of torque at the wheels.  Once again, the guys on the Turbobricks forum came though and led me to a great transmission swap.  I chose a Ford Motorsport T5-Z five-speed gearbox, purchased brand new from Summit Racing.  This gearbox is rated at 330 lbs. of torque and typically survives behind V8 engines with much more.  It was mated to a modified Volvo M46 bell housing with an aluminum adapter plate made by Vintage Performance Developments in New York.  Doug Kauer’s 242 Turbo (you can find it here) was the Guinea pig for this conversion and it worked so well I had to try it for myself.  I had never owned a manual transmission Volvo before and I guess I never knew what I was missing.  The increased control and fun factor was no real surprise.  The jump in fuel mileage was a shocker, though.  I was used to gas mileage figures in the 16 to 18 MPG range and I suddenly found the car getting 26 plus MPG on the highway.  I was also a bit surprised at how much cooler the engine ran.  Less demand on the motor, I guess. 
          A car like this is NEVER done....   so in 2004 I installed some nice big front brakes.  These were adapted from a 2004-2007 S60R.  The photo at left is of the mock-up I was doing on a junkyard strut before actually installing them.  The adapter brackets were designed by Travis Kijowski in Maryland (thank you Travis).  I had the pleasure of putting together the first 240 with R brakes. The installation of 13 inch front rotors and big 4-piston calipers from the ‘R’ has really transformed the braking on this car.  More info and photos can be found in my 240 Big Brakes Page.
          While my 245 is no longer a daily grocery getter, it’s still very much a road trip machine.  I’ve made quite a few long trips to meets and shows in California and Arizona, Oregon and Washington.  With so many mods, I cross my fingers each time, but it hasn’t stranded me yet.  In the summer of 2003 I drove my car in air-conditioned comfort 1,100 miles each way to the West Coast National Volvo Owners Meet in Olympia, Washington.  It won First Place and Best of Show in the modified division.          
          What kind of investment does it take to build a car like this? That’s classified.  For all I know one of my wife’s spys could be reading this.  My lips are sealed, but I doubt I could offer a very accurate estimate if I had to.   Much more info on this car can be found in my Spec Sheet Page.

          I have owned 9 Volvo since 1988.  Here are some of them.....   I bought this beautiful black 1984 242 Intercooled Turbo in 2003.   The original paint and leather interior are excellent... a rare find and a great car to drive and own.  It has also gone through a few small changes... but not nearly as drastic as the wagon.  The Eiker rims (Polaris replicas) are 17 x 7.5 and are fitted with 215/45-17 rubber.  A Finnish friend of mine imported them for me from Finland before they were available here.  The car has IPD TME sport springs, Bilstein HD shocks and struts and IPD 25mm sway bars.

          I bought this blue 1980 242 DL (I prefer them without sunroofs) in 2000 in non-running condition.  It had been over-heated, had a cracked head and had been abandoned by the previous owner outside a repair shop because he couldn't afford the repairs.  I bought it from the towing company for $150.  I tracked down the previous owner and gave him a little money for the original keys... which worked out quite nicely.  After installing a rebuilt head (plus a few minor things to freshen it up), it served as a great daily driver for several years until I bought the black 242 Turbo in 2003.   I gave the DL to my son, who did some mods of his own.  After a few years and a few broken transmissions later, he bought something newer.  The first pics of the DL were taken right after it was towed home and dropped in my driveway.  The next pics were more recent after applying new paint (Volvo 139 Scotia Blue), 1984 bumpers, black turbo trim on fenders, above bumpers, and around the windows, later headlights (Cibie hi-watt Euro), a "new" interior, a nice uncracked dash, freshly powder-coated Virgos, full IPD suspension (sport springs, 25mm sways and Bilsteins HD's), all new suspension parts and bushings, and lots of other goodies.  The rear spoiler was a rare Volvo accessory made by Zender in the 1980's (.... it's no longer available.  Good luck finding one in good shape).  The car is gone now.

          Here's the red 1990 740 Turbo I bought used in 1996 in San Diego.  It too soon became blessed with IPD springs, 25 mm sway bars and Bilstein HD's.  It eventually got traded in 2002 for a new S40, which turned out to be a great car. 

          Here's a pic of my very first Volvo... a black 1988 760 Turbo I bought brand new from the showroom floor in March of 1988.  I added 100w driving lamps, Fittipaldi 15 x 7 Wheels (they were the hot ticket back then), IPD anti-sway bars (rear IRS type), and a factory rear trunk-lid spoiler.  It was a very nice car.  This will tell you how much I knew about Volvos back then.... I thought it had a 6 cylinder engine until I got it home and opened the hood. I was never disappointed by the car (except for maybe the killer car payment).       

          Here's my wife's 2005 S40 T5, bought after trading in the 2002 S40.  It's been an absolutely flawless car.... not one problem.  I'm not sure I agree with the front-wheel-drive all that much, but it seems to do well in the power department.  I don't drive it much though.  

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