Amazon: looking for tips on restomodding

[Shywaz]

Hi Volvo fans!

Been busy digging info on restomoding, but the more i search, the more confusing it gets, lots of different info and opinions. So please help me out with the right direction, hopefully, based on your experience.
Looking forward to build/restore Volvo Amazon, and as far as i'm concerned, for my ultimate goal, the most appropriate way to do is to get a donor car, and swap everything from it. Would like to stay in Volvo family, but if its far too complicated - could do with any European/Japanese model. (US cars are nice too, but its hard to get parts as i'm located in Europe) So which donor make/model would be the best to achieve the following:

- 350-400hp, pref. Naturally aspirated or supercharged, in worst case turbo (would like to avoid cutting/modifying firewall)
- Manual or auto with manual mode Transmission (cutting or welding driveshaft is acceptable, modding transmission tunnel too), plus vlsd differential
- Independent air suspension front and back (wider track is not a problem)
- Brake discs all round with ABS and traction control
- Power steering

I know this will require tons of modifications and lots of custom jobs as there is no direct swap, but some helpful hints would make my garage time easier.
Thanks!

[packers1712]

Wow! If you are aiming for N/A 350 - 400bhp then your not left with too many options, 5litre+ V8 at a minimum I would say!

There is a chap currently fitting a 350 small block into one in the UK and someone has already done it stateside, probably be worth trying to find build threads for either of them.

I'm not sure what options you have if you go supercharged - 4 cyl or 6cyl V or inline, whatever you choose is going to be a challenge if you don't want to mod the firewall (bulkhead here in Blighty)!

The other obvious mechanical/safety mods will be whatever is required to deal with that sort of output for the brakes, steering and suspension!

Good luck!

Doug.

[Juular]

Toyota 1UZFE sounds ideal as it's fairly small and light and in standard form you're looking at in the region of 300bhp. There's a good supercharging community too. Some of the LS400s came with air ride.

Electric power steering is a bolt on mod if you were keeping the stock front end, but it sounds like you may be looking for more. I'm not sure what's involved in changing to rack and pinion but I imagine some major changes to the subframe are in order, and if you're going for ABS it may mean a complete change of setup anyway.

The Volvo 240 rear axle is a common swap with off the shelf brackets, and gives you rear discs and a sturdy axle. Some late 240s also have ABS.

If you're looking at staying in the family your only options for big power are the T5 and T6 (..but turbo) or the Yamaha V8 in the S80.

[Burdekin]

Realistically you aren’t doing that changing parts. Realistically this is a bodyswap, check this group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/332774808873843

There’s a lot of folk doing it. MX5 and BMW M3 possible options. Your HP range will be pretty much undriveable with the weight of the car on air bag suspension. Low to mid range torque makes a better street engine than high rpm HP.

[123GT-AMAZON]

Roof chop on eBay atm with power plant fitted 🤣

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285205880...Bk9SR9K9tYTlYQ

[Shywaz]

Originally Posted by packers1712

Wow! If you are aiming for N/A 350 - 400bhp then your not left with too many options, 5litre+ V8 at a minimum I would say!

I currently drive 3.5L N/A with ~300hp, its a V6 - so there must be something that fits

Originally Posted by Juular

Toyota 1UZFE sounds ideal as it's fairly small and light and in standard form you're looking at in the region of 300bhp. There's a good supercharging community too. Some of the LS400s came with air ride.

The Volvo 240 rear axle is a common swap with off the shelf brackets, and gives you rear discs and a sturdy axle. Some late 240s also have ABS.

If you're looking at staying in the family your only options for big power are the T5 and T6 (..but turbo) or the Yamaha V8 in the S80.

thanks for the direction! how strong is 240 rear axle? what power it can take without stress?

Originally Posted by Burdekin

Realistically you aren’t doing that changing parts. Realistically this is a bodyswap, check this group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/332774808873843

There’s a lot of folk doing it. MX5 and BMW M3 possible options. Your HP range will be pretty much undriveable with the weight of the car on air bag suspension. Low to mid range torque makes a better street engine than high rpm HP.

yeah, i know that FB group, but there is rarely somebody doing an Amazon swap...

right now my car has ~300hp, but sometimes it feels just not enough (the car weighs ~1600kg) so Amazon with less weight and similar power should be a sweet spot. Also, I wanna be low when I need to, and high when roads are bad - so I don't see myself adjusting coils every single day, that's why I'm thinking of air-ride.
Also, the car I'm planning to build/buy is more like a weekend fun, not a track car - so as long I can use it on streets - it's fine with me.

Originally Posted by 123GT-AMAZON

Roof chop on eBay atm with power plant fitted 🤣

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285205880...Bk9SR9K9tYTlYQ

Damn... the steering wheel is in the glove box... (I drive it on a "wrong" side of the road)

[packers1712]

Originally Posted by 123GT-AMAZON

Roof chop on eBay atm with power plant fitted 🤣

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285205880...Bk9SR9K9tYTlYQ

The advert says MOT exempt - how?

I currently drive 3.5L N/A with ~300hp, its a V6 - so there must be something that fits

Just to clarify 300hp and 350bhp are very different things, your 300hp car probably has around 270bhp that's nearly 100hp less than you say you want for the Amazon, about the average output of the car originally!

Doug.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by packers1712

The advert says MOT exempt - how?

Doug.

It is correctly registered as a 5400cc motor car with DVLA, so I'm guessing the civil servants in Swansea didn't notice that 5400 was a bit mote than 1800 Doug!

[Rustinmotion]

I think you need to decide why you need that much horse power, let’s face it bagged 50 year old suspension is never going to be a track focused car and you don’t want bagged suspension for drag racing so I’m guessing it’s more for show than go, that’s fine your car your money but a lot of the time the end result is so compromised it’s not fun to drive
For a nice driver I’d look at MX5 or later Volvo which would be 200 ish bhp, or Honda S200, I had an S2000 with a rotrex fitted putting out just shy of 400bhp or if you can find one a straight 6 from an M power BMW that’s 340 out of the box nice torquy motor if a little heavy
I would think it easier to fit an inline engine even with two extra cylinders than a v

[packers1712]

Originally Posted by Othen

It is correctly registered as a 5400cc motor car with DVLA, so I'm guessing the civil servants in Swansea didn't notice that 5400 was a bit mote than 1800 Doug!

I don't thank there is too much joined up thinking between government departments, so I doubt it is even on anyone's radar (wow I really am sounding like an old man), not that I'm particularly trying to promote VOSA clamping down on potential rule breakers of the MOT exemption rules but if you are going to go to the effort of creating some legislation at least attempt to enforce it!
It would be a comforting thought that all of the "heavily modified" cars on the roads were safe and I think this legislation was created to try and help achieve that I just don't think its policed!

Doug.