I have an 82 Volvo 244DL that I V8 swapped. I have noticed excessive bouncing in the front. I assume its all from the added weight of the cast iron Dodge V8 I swapped into it. I was wondering if there is replacement springs I can get for it that are stiffer, or even the entire strut assembly. I did some googling, but all that turned up was either OEM spec struts/springs, and adjustable coil overs. I would use the coil overs, but I don't know anyone who has used them for Volvos, so I don't know what brand I should go with, or if the adjustable coil overs would even support the added weight anymore than the stock struts (I don't want to lower the ride height to stiffen them up). Has anyone here found stiffer springs, or have any insight as to how well the aftermarket coil overs handle added weight of an engine swap?

for a few years in the 240 series, Volvo sold it with a diesel power plant. The front suspension was beefed up to accomodate the increased weight of the diesel engine. Early 80' I think. easily researched.

One thing that you could try without too much expense is to put in a rubber like NASCAR teams use. They take them in or out as the track situation changes during practice, and even pull one out during a race..

There are also metal knuckles you can add.

Try a vendor like Summit Racing

My 82 242DL (282GT!) has been V8 powered for 22 years. I've scaled the V8's that have been in mine. Pretty sure that cast iron block/head Chrysler V8 longblock is in the 475-525 lb range depending on what kind of intake and exhaust manifolds are on the car. I've gotta think that's 150-200 lbs heavier than the Volvo 4. Likely your bell housing/tranny combo is heavier than stock too. I run a full Kaplhenke suspension on mine -- Eibach springs, Koni Sport shocks with adjustable perches front and rear. The beauty of going to a set up like this is you can CHOOSE what spring rate you want in 25 lb/in increments. www.bneshop.com .

As Derek mentioned in his response, if you're generally happy with the ride height and handling of the stock suspension, you might want to simply start with a quality set of dampers. Bilstein HD's or Koni Sports. Change them at all 4 corners - what happens at the front affects the rear and vice versa. That should stop alot of the wasted motion.

For a bit more sport -- go to IPD and order a set of their sport springs. About 30% more spring rate than stock with a little bit of lowering. And, of course, the dampers mentioned above -- stiffer springs require more dampening rate. Adding a larger front sway bar would also likely contribute to settling the front end down as well.

Bounce is controlled by the shocks, not the springs. Having said that, it would be good to know the difference between the weights of the V8 and the Volvo 4. GLT struts have stiffer springs and stronger damping and you might be able to swap those in. I'm not saying that they would be ideal.