How hard would it be to go +T with a B200F?

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Hi all,
I love my 744 as it is, but would certainly enjoy a little more grunt. I know it’s not straightforward with an LH 2.4 NA car, but what work would be required to go +T on a B200F motor? I’m in no hurry to do it as the car is running like a peach, but I’d like to know if it’s feasible so I can plan onwardly.

I know an engine swap to a B230FT would be simplest, but I’ve done a lot of work to the current motor and it’s running so well I wouldn’t want to swap it out.

Any thoughts would be very welcome!

[classicswede]

The hardest part of doing a +T is fitting the turbo oil drain.

With the block on the bench I prefer to drill and tap the block. If wanting to do things with the engine in situ then most likely a drain into the sump would be best. The rest is easy

[360beast]

Do you need to fit the turbo cylinder head for the sodium filled valves?

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Thanks guys!

Is this a job a specialist would do for a price? If so, what sort of money (roughly) would I be looking to part with to have it done?

I’m reasonably adept at mechanical stuff but for a field like this which I don’t know much about, I’d rather have it done by somebody who knows their onions and won’t balls it up!

[classicswede]

Originally Posted by 360beast

Do you need to fit the turbo cylinder head for the sodium filled valves?

No not needed

[classicswede]

Originally Posted by AllHailKingVolvo

Thanks guys!

Is this a job a specialist would do for a price? If so, what sort of money (roughly) would I be looking to part with to have it done?

I’m reasonably adept at mechanical stuff but for a field like this which I don’t know much about, I’d rather have it done by somebody who knows their onions and won’t balls it up!

Do you have all the donor parts from a turbo?

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Originally Posted by classicswede

Do you have all the donor parts from a turbo?

I don’t currently have anything beyond the car in its stock trim-I’d need to source the turbo and whatever ancillaries required.

[Laird Scooby]

I might be wrong on this Phil but i think there is a 940 B200 LPT that is essentially the same engine as yours with a low pressure turbo added.

I think the ECU is different, Pg18 of this pdf shows different numbers for the ECU :

http://www.myvolvolibrary.info/Tech_...DataPocket.pdf

Given the amount of work involved to add a turbo, i think i'd look at going for a B230FT to get the maximum "bang for my buck" but buy a donor 940 to get the bits from - that will give you the engine, turbo, exhaust front end, ECU and any associated extra wring, all the induction hoses, intercooler, radiator (if it's different) and a whole pile of spares to sell on to mitigate the conversion cost.

According to the figures in that "Data Pocket", your current engine is 111bhp, the B230FT is 165bhp and a similar increase in torque as well.

There are other ways of improving the performance without adding a turbo, i'm not sure which cam it is (i think it's the "V" cam from the B230E) but one cam from the range is about as close as you can get in the stock range of cams to a high lift cam. Fit that and clean up the inlet and exhaust ports with a die grinder (don't go mad, just smooth them out to get rid of the roughness), clean and lap the valves, clean the inlet tracts in the inlet manifold so they're also nice and smooth and you'll probably get a useful 10-20bhp increase, just from "optimising" your current engine, maybe a little more.

It's all down to how much work you want/have time/funds to do really.

[classicswede]

The B200FT is a high pressure turbo. The factory pistons do have a slightly lower CR but as long as you dont go silly with boost the higher CR is not a problem.

The B200 does have the advantage of being more resistant to det than the B230


You are going to need
Turbo with manifold and oil/water hoses
Exhaust
Intercooler and hoses
Turbo intake manifold
ECU's
Suitable injectors
I would also suggest a cam change to make the most of things

If staying NA a change of cam and free flowing exhaust will help liven it up

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Thanks Dai, that’s really useful info. I think the +T is a good plan for the future but funds are a little short at the moment for majorish surgery. I’ve already gutted the cat which made a very noticeable performance difference, and I like the idea that both you and Dave suggested of throwing a higher lift cam in to liven it up a bit more. Which cam would you recommend? Would clearances need to be reset after a cam change or is it a bolt on and go job?

My mechanical nous is reasonably limited (I’ve raced karts for 26+yrs and maintained/built/tuned my own engines, but have only done regular maintenance stuff with cars) but changing a cam should be no problem!