more power from my 1.4 340?

[spike4073]

just wondered if anybody knows of ways to make the 1.4 engine in a 340 more powerful....fitting a turbo ....perfofmance air filters...interested to know about any and all tweaks you may know of...(short of a engine swap).......thanx

[stevo48]

Given the fact that your car is going to be "getting on" a bit I would imagine the general wear of the engine is not going to make it a feasable project for a turbo, you could fit a performance filter and a big bore exhaust which would make it sound as though it is going faster but the mid range 340's were never built as a performance car.

[spike4073]

alltho i am aware it is getting on a bit i cant help thinking it could handle a turbo as untill i got it it was owned from new by a pentioner who hardley used it (only 55000 on the clock)...and looking at the service history they realy looked after it ....it is as close to mint as i have ever seen a 340 dl

[Clan]

what i'd do is fit one of the later renault 1.4 engines with injection which should bolt in easily. Or use some renault tuining bits , You can convert the engine to the early Renault Gordini 93 bhp specification but these parts are quite rare now . Another option find a wrecked R5 turbo and use the parts from that although the fuel system blowing through a single carb is pretty pre-historic ! but will give you 120 bhp .. also the larger 1700 or 2000 engines from the 400 can be fitted ... The old B18E engine is a cracking 115 bhp 1721 cc engine ..

Volvo did have an R-tuning kit for the B14 in 1981 it was a camshaft , jets for the carb and a bigger front exhaust pipe painted blue , and R Tuning badges it was supposed to give 90 bhp ... but the tappets always rattled ..
Plenty of scope ! however the late 1984 onwards B14 4E was not bad it would do 93 mph ... it had electronic mapped ignition , and electric fan and larger bore twin downpipe to increase bhp to 72 bhp

[TonyS9]

Turbo's really require reduction in compression ratio, oil feeds, custom manifold and so on so it not a simple job. There does seem to be some interest in using small high power engines, but for me the easiest thing to do is get a 360 GLT. The engine will last forever and the drive and other mechanicals are rated for the power. If you still want more power and are capable a 700/900 series turbo engine will fit with some modification.

I did a load of things with my first 340, the best was to replace the rear box with a cherry bomb. The mid section has almost no restriction and is like the cherry bomb. I just got the cherry bomb welded to the old broken bit of rear pipe after the back box had rusted off. The sound was great, better than 360 without a rear box.

Other things like semi-synth oil and Bosch super 4 plugs help it rev nicely.

removing the air filter or at least having a clean one also helps.

[Clan]

The 360 lump ( 115 bhp GLT ) is heavy and not that powerful , the 1.7 (80 bhp in carb form , 90 bhp with a decent exhaust ) feels quicker to drive ( it will do 105 mph ) especialy the very first 1986 model year they had a high compression engine . Its all about Power/weigh .. You would need a 2.3 turbo for real power which would see off a well developed 1700 ... Then the 1700 would always be more nimble due to its lighter weight . The rubber jointed prophaft should cope if treated with respect , i knew of one witha CVT and renault 5 Turbo conversion , it was seriously quick in acceleration terms I find a 1400 with decent tyres a delight to drive fast on twisty roads and although rolls a touch it digs in and there is plenty of grip and balance . I have heard a lot of people say the rear end slides on 340s , I thought strange as all the new ones i drove never had a problem ,but all the ones i have seen since about 1995 are on budget / unknown make tyres , the correct tyres really make a difference ...

The 360 has a weak link in the transmission too the coupling between propshaft and gearbox input shaft , not sure how long that would cope with big turbo power .

Yes there is a trend now in small high power engines , look out for the 1600 petrol S 80 coming soon ... ( 180 bhp ) nothing new though ,i was running a 998 cc turbo engine in the 1980s for a long time with 175 bhp ...

[TonyS9]

Not sure I agree with any of that, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have had pretty much all the models and years as well as driving many of them brand new (but not owning). The fastest of all was the 84 GLT 3 door (lowest weight, highest torque) and certainly nimble when new. As with many sports cars they might tend to get a harder life on the suspension than a 1.7.

I never bothered tuning the 86 1.7 I had, there were plenty of 360s then and they already have wide bore exhausts/lower harder suspension, alloys etc and are bomb proof. The later post 87 360s are a bit more girlie, with lower compression and PS.

[thealchemyst]

just drop a renault 5 gt lump in! yes their old tec but they have huge tuning potential, just be prepared to replace the headgasket! common failiure after tuning.

[Clan]

The R5 Turbo wont fit directly as the turbo conflicts with the heater casing . I took great pains using bits from both B14 and Gordini to fit a non turbo early gordini 1397 into my 343 .

[thealchemyst]

Originally Posted by Clan

The R5 Turbo wont fit directly as the turbo conflicts with the heater casing . I took great pains using bits from both B14 and Gordini to fit a non turbo early gordini 1397 into my 343 .

i would modify the heater or just take it out!
or take out the standard heater set up and drop a compact kitcar heater under the dash.
also you could make a different manifold moving the turbo to a more suitable place as you would have to make a custom downpipe anyway might aswell put the turbo where you want it!