I never quite understood the reasoning for swapping a Volvo engine for a domestic V8 in a Volvo. I'm old enough to somewhat remember that Paul Newman (a great actor and race driver, for those of you too young to remember who he was) popularized, if not actually invented, the concept. But really, one of the things I liked about my Volvos were their longevity and reliability. I had lots of Chevy V8s when I was a teen through my early adulthood, before I discovered Volvos. But they always had problems: hydraulic lifters collapsed, carburetors ran rough, mechanical fuel pumps sprung leaks, rocker arms developed wobbles, etc., and I was always replacing points and condensors and plugs (although adjusting points on Delcos was a breeze with their little metal "window" for adjustment with a dwell meter while the engine was running! Loved that!).

I bought my first brand new car, a '73 Volvo 164, I was hooked. Sure, the B30 needed valve lash adjustments now and then, and the '73 still had points (without the nifty Delco-style window, unfortunately), but with (albeit it early generation) fuel injection that engine would just run and run well, from sea level to the passes over the Rockies (we took our first summer vacation in it, criss-crossing the U.S.). Of course, I've been owning Volvos ever since (although I have also dabbled in M-Bs, a 300E and 190E2.3 as well as a grey-market GWagen), and one domestic car, a Shelby GLH Turbo jsut for fun -- you see, I am not adverse to speed and power, it's just a matter of the whole package.

Yes, I could imagine a V8 140 (or 240) would be quite a dragster at a track, but that wasn't what Volvos were meant for. To me, owning a Volvo is a statement, and putting a domestic V8 into one seems contradictory -- it just seems wrong. Volvo did it, but because the car in question was really heavy (e.g., the XC90). But putting a twice the horsepower in a originally decent handling and safe car is kind of like changing a sleek sailboat or even a power cruiser into a cigarette boat (makes me think of the Lobster Boat races in Maine, where these boats are useless for anything other than racing). I'm not saying there isn't a value in having some more power, but getting it from a domestic V8 seems not just somewhat excessive but also antithetical.

But if Paul Newman approved of it, I guess it can be a viewpoint with which some will agree.

A final thought, though ... perhaps a different perspective, one with which I can relate and agree. I myself love to tinker with the car (as I image almost everyone on this BrickBoard), and if putting in a V8 is just an exercise to fulfill a hobby or to just give one something to do, to fill his hand with a wrench and have fun, then that's fine -- I've done some crazy and extravagant things just to carry out my urge to tinker. Sometimes it isn't the destination that's important, but how you spend the time getting there -- so go for it and enjoy the project.

'Nuff written.