http://www.brickboard.com/FORUMS/uid=1255 The Volvo owner's resource since 1997. en Copyright 1997-2009, Jarrod Stenberg Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:10 GMT Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:10 GMT brickadmin@denizen.net brickadmin@denizen.net volvo 1440 http://www.brickboard.com/images/logo_b_25.gif http://www.brickboard.com/ 25 25 The Volvo owner's resource since 1997. It is a Converse setup. I'll be selling everything off the car eventually, unless someone actually wants the whole thing. But this won't be for a while; it just depends how fast the rust eats it up. I'll post here when I'm ready to put her down. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=1218205&rss=1 Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:03 GMT Oh, I see what was up with your fork. A position problem, not a matter of travel. I got under the car and diddled around with the cable adjustment some more, and I think I got it to where there is no preload, just barely. When you pull on the cable by hand, there is quite a bit of initial low-resistance travel that is so lightly sprung that it will not even pull the clutch pedal up off the floor. Then there is much stronger resistance at which point the disc is definitely starting to disengage. I was able to just barely back it off from that point and still shift easily into all gears. HTOB? Hydraulic system? I've never had the cable break in 5 years of use. I did have it slip: the adjuster barrel would loose its hold on the spiral cable. When that happens, it feels like the cable broke. I think it may have something to do with my driver's side Y pipe routing so close to the bell housing and cable adjuster, heating a softening the plastic. A few little hose clamps on the cable make and inelegant but effective fix. My poor 285 is rusting beyond repair. It runs like a champ and is great for hauling lots of stuff but will probably become structurally unsafe within a year or so. I have a supercharged Miata for grins, so the 285 will probably get replaced with a beater pickup and the drive train sold to a Mustang guy. I almost put the 5.0 and T5 into the Miata but decided not to mess with the balance and handling. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=1217323&rss=1 Sun, 16 Sep 2007 16:39 GMT I uncovered this info from a 4 yr. old post by Greg and was wondering if it applied to my problem: "When Converse was putting my car together, he was having the same problem. He would put the clutch, bellhousing, and tranny in, and then he would test it by squeezing the fork in with pliers. He didn't have enough travel, and found out that he needed a longer pivot ball. My setup is using the stock bellhousing and flywheel, but is using the King Cobra clutch kit and some kind of heavy duty fork." My problem is that I have insufficient clutch pedal/cable travel to completely disengage my clutch. I have always had to preload the cable slightly, which I now realize is very not-good for the motor's thrust bearings amongst other things. (I am scared to measure my crankshaft endplay after 20k mi. of running with this preload but will do so next week.) Is this essentially the same problem Converse had with Greg's car? Will a longer pivot ball reduce the distance the cable/pedal/fork has to travel? -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=1217088&rss=1 Sat, 15 Sep 2007 18:20 GMT I've gotten some responses for some of the parts and I'll do 1st-come-1st-served per the date of your email. I'll get back to everyone in a couple weeks when I take a detailed inventory. Thanks! -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=1051272&rss=1 Sat, 18 Feb 2006 21:35 GMT Hi folks, I haven't been around here for a while. The body of my 84 240 wagon w/ 5.0 and T5 is rotting away. Rust is just popping out everywhere: doors, rockers, floor pans, around all the glass, etc. This was an ungalvanized year for the 240 body. I intend to keep the built V8 and T5 for another application, maybe a Miata? Been hankering for a ragtop and there's a very nice conversion kit available. I doubt I could sell the whole rustbucket for more than I've got in the motor and trans alone. Even if you're a bodyman, this would be a total, bare-metal-tear-down resto job. Probably easier to find a clean body and transfer the mechanicals. So there are a lot of nice performance parts throughout the car: Bilstein sports, Cherry Turbos top and bottom braces, MVP 3" exhaust, 16 in. Mille Miglia MM11 wheels, Momo Corsa steering wheel (w/ impossible-to-find Volvo hub), 3.33 LSD, JetHot coated Mac shorties bent to fit by Converse, custom Griffin alum rad, Corbeau seats and brackets. And, of course, all the 5.0 conversion parts. Also got a some spare stuff lying around - full set of poly bushings from Sweden, spiffy used headliner, various plastic trim pieces, etc. Whaddaya think? I don't see anyone wanting to pay more than $4-5k for the car. I could cosmetically patch all the rust and try to sell before it pops out again, but I won't do that. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=1049289&rss=1 Sun, 12 Feb 2006 18:23 GMT Very nice! A neat look might be to spray a light coat of aerosol window tint on the inside surface. I know this is functionally inefficient, but it would look pretty cool with your blacked-out grill. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=942561&rss=1 Mon, 4 Apr 2005 06:07 GMT My Converse 285 uses a standard Volvo clutch cable. I suspect all the 200 clutch cables are the same. The adjusting mechanism just butts up against the T5's housing; tension holds it snug. Though it may feel odd at 1st, the T5 needs preload on the cable to disengage sufficiently. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=924493&rss=1 Wed, 23 Feb 2005 23:48 GMT Yeah, it's not as nice a fit as on a Volvo tranny housing that it was made for, but it works. The T5 requires some tension of the cable against the clutch spring even when the clutch is fully engaged. This was kind of weird as most cars require a tiny bit of slack with the pedal released, but if you leave slack in this setup then the clutch will not fully disengage even with the pedal floored. Mustang owners will confirm that. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=895204&rss=1 Mon, 20 Dec 2004 17:47 GMT Volvo. It hooks right up to the T5 and retains the Volvo adjusting mechanism. Routing it smoothly can be a little tricky, avoiding harm's way from exhaust parts and steering shaft. I used lots of heavy-duty zip ties. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=894540&rss=1 Sun, 19 Dec 2004 00:33 GMT I just checked my fuel pressure and found I was running 44 psi, (lowered it to 38). I'm running a factory Volvo pump for a turbo 4, 200 or 700 series. So if you can find one of those in a junker, it should do it. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=887564&rss=1 Fri, 3 Dec 2004 05:21 GMT I also have the PowrLok from Reider, 3:31 gears. It used to make worrisome noises but that quit after adding Amsoil Sliplock. Sometimes it locks the diff as I am rounding the turns in a parking garage; I hear a little tire chirp. Puts down the power real well on a road race course. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=877294&rss=1 Wed, 10 Nov 2004 07:05 GMT As this is Volvo forum and we are all pretty much dedicated to safety with our fun, I would admonish you to maintain a very healthy level of Murphy's Law awareness if you go ahead with this. Always think, "If something goes wrong here, what would be the worst possible consequences?" Besides obvious things like engine or tranny mounts failing, there are things like oil lines catching on fire, electrical shorts and meltdowns, fuel going where it shouldn't, etc, etc. There's no substitute for experience when it comes to being a mechanic. There are good mechanics who are a bit weak on engineering theory, but no good mechanics without plenty of hands-on experience. I'm not saying you can't do this and it's good that you are patient and studious; I'm just predicting that there may be some unpleasant mishaps along the way. (That's kind of par for any custom job.) As long as no one gets injured, you chalk it up to experience. Mistakes can also be frustratingly costly. I think it would be very useful for you to find a good shop that will let you hang around and observe a lot for several months before you start your conversion. A Chevy hi-performance shop would be ideal. Maybe you could offer to help clean up and do odd jobs in return. Oh, Chilton's truly sucks - get the Bentley 240 manual. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=877291&rss=1 Wed, 10 Nov 2004 06:57 GMT Yes, they are, especially for a Chevy block or iron-head Ford block. The stiffer springs retain stock ride height. I have a lot of aluminum in my engine bay so my car actually sat a bit too high with the stock diesel springs. I cut off a coil and they are perfect, not too stiff at all. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=874132&rss=1 Wed, 3 Nov 2004 05:19 GMT http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=863983&rss=1 Sat, 9 Oct 2004 18:40 GMT In racing trim, they are magnificent. Unsurpassed handling. Stock, they had wimpy VW motors. Enter <a href="http://www.renegadehybrids.com/main.htm">RENEGADE</a>! -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/OPINIONS/?id=861272&rss=1 Sun, 3 Oct 2004 23:26 GMT This is MVP's turbo system which they rated for up to 400hp. The cat sits right about the middle of the car, about 2.5 ft. behind the collector ends; it's next after the Y pipe. The muffler is a straight-through, centered in & out and sits in the stock location across the rear of the car. The pipe passes under the axle and the axle rests upon it when the car is on a lift. I was concerned about that at 1st, but MVP assured me they had no issues with the axle banging on the pipe and it's not been a problem for me. I like the quality of the sound - it's not boomy like a Flowmaster - but it's pretty darn loud. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=850702&rss=1 Fri, 10 Sep 2004 16:16 GMT I have a hi-flow cat on a single 3" pipe and a Magnaflow - it is VERY loud. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=850544&rss=1 Fri, 10 Sep 2004 04:02 GMT I have a 2-pedal setup that you can have for $10 plus shipping from FL if you can't find one locally. I went the other way, from AOD to T5. The AOD was nice and got good mileage, shifting into OD at around 40 mph with a 3.5(?)/1 rear, (I forget the exact ratio but that's close). I've heard that it will not stand up long to a modded 5.0, however. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=845591&rss=1 Sun, 29 Aug 2004 03:57 GMT >Does it require drive shaft mods? Nope. >Cross member mods? Nope. >What year/model AOD will bolt on to my '88 5.0? I'm guessing any year, but don't take my word for it. >Speedo cable the same? Yes. >Any issues with the computer? Maybe. I think the ID# on your computer will tell you if it was designed for an automatic or not. I know that an automatic brain with a T5 runs fine, but I don't know about vice-versa. If you can't find all your answers here, try posting at corral.net. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=845586&rss=1 Sun, 29 Aug 2004 03:46 GMT Hmm, two rants about the same company in this forum does not make for irrefutable evidence, but it certainly does red-flag the outfit in my mind. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=843848&rss=1 Wed, 25 Aug 2004 05:43 GMT The SAM's in my neighborhood mounted and balanced the Michelins I bought for my wife's Accord and they were nice and smooth for the life of the tires. That's also a testament to the quality of Michelins. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/OPINIONS/?id=843846&rss=1 Wed, 25 Aug 2004 05:37 GMT Re. air tools: there are a lot of cheaper, crappy ones, such as some of the stuff Harbor Freight sells. The crappier ones are often very inefficient - they'll use a lot of air and require a lot of pressure to get the job done. So look for cfm and output specs before you buy; otherwise you'll spend a lot of time waiting for the compressor to get back up to pressure. Cheapo cutoff wheels are a good example of this. Impact wrenches - you'll LOVE them! Spend the $$ on something brawny enough to handle your toughest jobs, like 350 ft-lbs. or more for a 1/2 in. drive. Couplings - all kinds out there. Ask your mechanic friends for what doesn't leak and is user friendly. I applied one of those epoxy floor paints to my porch. It's held up really well. Enjoy! -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/OPINIONS/?id=842796&rss=1 Sun, 22 Aug 2004 21:32 GMT Yes, there is a problem with different metals in contact over long periods producing accelerated corrosion due to some chemical interaction between the differing metals. I'm no metallurgist so I can't be much more informative, but I believe this phenomenon occurs with several metal combinations: copper & steel, aluminum & steel, etc. If you want to use steel clamps on your copper pipes, you could insert some sort of inert liner to keep the metals from actually touching each other. I'm not sure what kind of thin, flexible material would stand up to exhaust heat though. Without such a liner, I suspect that the clamp would eventually weld itself to the pipe, which might be ok, but then the corrosion might eat all the way through with time. -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=833520&rss=1 Fri, 30 Jul 2004 19:41 GMT What's the nature and extent of your oil leak? I have a bit of wetness from around the bellhousing, barely enough to leave a drip every so often. My 5.0 tuner shop told me that such was common and not to worry. Sorry about the blank postings; I have no idea how I did those! -- '84 "285" rice-eater with lotsa hp & performance goodies http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=833071&rss=1 Thu, 29 Jul 2004 20:45 GMT http://www.brickboard.com/V8/?id=833068&rss=1 Thu, 29 Jul 2004 20:43 GMT Use the text input below to search brickboard.com query http://www.brickboard.com/FIND/