Twenty-three years now with the four-cylinder cars, but once in a while I’ll look at the V8 forum, since I’ve had vague ideas about doing a VolV8 swap. A couple of months ago, I saw a post titled “740-LT1/Tremec 6-spd for Sale”. The GM LT1 V8 was offered in Corvettes, Camaros and Firebirds in the early/mid-90’s. Iron block, alum. heads, and around 275-300HP. I emailed the seller, the car was still available, and the more he described it the better it sounded. The engine conversion into a ’89-740 Turbo wagon had been done by a retired engineer who liked Volvos. This seller was the second owner. It was California smog-legal, which I took to mean that the builder was quite meticulous about the job, and in doing everything right.

Turned out that the seller lived in Fountain Valley (LA area) and I recalled that Mark Stites’ (he posts as “Rule 308”) indy Volvo shop was nearby. The planets were aligning! A phone call to Mark and to the seller set up an inspection and Mark liked the car overall, while advising me of a few concerns. I sent a deposit, and 7 weeks later flew to LA to pick up the car. I headed north on 101, stopping in Thousand Oaks for a visit and tech session with Sten Lindgren, the original owner who did the V8 conversion, then continued on to the Bay Area to attend my daughter’s graduation at UC Berkeley. (Yay! -just one more to go.) She had a drive and now wants a V8 conversion in her 240. I headed north for the border and home, a 1600-mi distance. Happily no problems, other than trying to keep my right foot under control…..

I checked fuel economy over a stretch of I-5 that I had done about seven months ago in my non-turbo 940. Same road, same 70MPH speeds. It got 24.9MPUSG over the 533mi. stretch from Medford, OR to Bellingham, WA, 4MPG less than the 940. The six-speed T56 trans helps - 70MPH is just over 1600 RPM with the original 3.31 rear axle, and 205/55-16 tires.

Driving the spectacular high mountain passes of the Canadian Rockies on the homestretch was a real treat. Where my N/A 940 struggled in the slow lane, the LT1 just vaults up hills with a touch of the throttle. Passing other cars or merging from on-ramps is a hoot, as the fierce acceleration is completely at odds with the plain white Volvo wagon’s looks. The builder even removed the “Turbo” badge from the tailgate.

I took it to the dealer here for the safety inspection required of all used cars brought into Alberta. When I picked it up, the service manager told me all activity in the repair bays stopped for about ten minutes when the tech rumbled in with the car! The Volvo techs all said the conversion was an excellent job.

Downside? It really doesn’t feel like a Volvo – more like a Firebird/Camaro…it’s taken on the character of the engine. It’s not as light and crisp in the steering/handling, undoubtedly due to the extra front end weight. I’ll see how the long term experience with the car as my daily driver works out. I’ll post again after a few months of this.

--
Bob (son's 81-244GL B21F/M46, dtr's 83-244DL B23F/M46, my 94-944 B230FD and 89 745 (LT-1 V8); hobbycar 77 MGB, and a few old motorcycles)