They did??? Not in my experience. The only reason that motor should
fail would be from infrequent oil changes and not keeping up with
maintenance.
Most in the US died young.
http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Volvo_200_V-8.html
Our 240 Volvo
We purchased a diesel Volvo with the sole interest of installing a V-8
for this conversion manual.
Our goal was to do an engine swap that was repeatable, and functional.
The parts for the swap had to be easy to make and/or readily available.
And we didn't want to change the feel of the car.
This Volvo originally had a diesel engine and an automatic
transmission. It had about 110,000 miles and the engine was worn out
and would not start in cold weather. The Volvo diesel engine was
actually built by Volkswagen and was never noted for its durability.
The nice part about this car is that it is complete, and it is
unmodified. The diesel Volvo has the advantages of coming with
suspension and brake components that are compatible with the V-8
because the diesel engine is fairly heavy. The disadvantages of the
diesel car are that the fuel system, and the exhaust system (heat
shields) have to be changed for the gas engine. The electrical system
is also a bit more work to hook up, compared to a gas car.
As you can see in the above photo, the V-8 installation looks nearly
stock. The engine is a 305 throttle-body-injected V-8 from a 1991
Camaro. Almost all of the parts are available from Volvo or Chevrolet.
This is what makes the engine swap so repeatable, and so stock looking.
In this photo, the battery had been relocated to the passenger's side
to improve balance, and to allow using the battery cables that came
with the 1991 Camaro engine. Later, the battery was moved to the trunk
to improve front/rear weight distribution. The windshield washer
reservoir and the coolant recovery tank were relocated to where they
fit best. The air conditioning hoses were also re-routed. The firewall
required no hammering, but the transmission tunnel needed lots of
hammering to accommodate the 700-R4 transmission.
The V-8 added weight to the car. With all options (air conditioning,
power windows, sunroof), 700-R4 automatic transmission, heavy duty
trailer hitch (about 35 lbs), full tank of gas, rear mounted battery,
IPD swaybars (about 15 lbs heavier than stock), and 2-1/2" exhaust; the
car weighs about 3325 lbs and the weight distribution is 56/44
(front/rear). The published curb weight for the Volvo is listed at
about 3120 lbs, so taking into account that the sway bars and trailer
hitch added about 50 lbs, the V-8 added about 150 lbs. The weight
distribution is close to stock, and it is much better than the
late-model V-8 Mustangs and Camaros which typically have a weight
distribution of 58/42.
The car has a heavier feel than a 4-cylinder car, but it does not feel
much different than a diesel car or a V6 car. It doesn't even feel very
fast, although it accelerates quite well. That phenomenon is referred
to as refinement. A quiet, smooth car typically feels slower than it
really is. Conversely, a noisy, vibrating car often feels faster than
it really is.
Improved Merging Power!
With the standard 3.31 gears, 195/70-14 tires, a 700-R4 transmission,
and the stock Volvo 2 inch diesel exhaust, the car would do 0-60 mph in
8.1 seconds. The 1/4 mile took about 16.3 seconds with a trap speed of
84 mph. Changing to a 2-1/2" exhaust improved the 0-60 time to 7.7
seconds. The 1/4 mile took 16.1 seconds with a trap speed of 86 mph.
These are real numbers, not hyped up numbers used for magazine articles
or advertising purposes. In overdrive (.70:1), engine speed was 1900
rpm at 60 mph. Driven conservatively, gas mileage averaged about 18 mpg
with either exhaust, trip mileage (freeway travel at 65-70 mph) was
about 22 mpg.
A Borg-Warner 5-speed transmission with a .63:1 overdrive was then
installed. A lightweight flywheel (16 lbs) from a TPI Camaro was
installed to reduce weight, the car weighed about 70 lbs less than with
the automatic transmission. Although the car felt much quicker, 0-60
mph takes 4/10 seconds longer (about 8.1 seconds) because it takes
about 1/2 second to shift from one gear to another, and two gear
changes are required to get to 60 mph. The quarter mile takes 16.2
seconds with a trap speed of 87 mph. In fifth gear (.63:1), engine
speed is 1700 rpm at 60 mph. Driven conservatively, gas mileage
averages about 19 mpg, and trip mileage is about 24 mpg, which is not
surprising considering this same engine and transmission in a 1991
Camaro is EPA rated at about 17 mpg city and 26 mpg highway, although
the Camaro has taller tires (26" diameter) and a taller rear axle ratio
(2.73). Depending upon which magazines you believe, the performance and
fuel mileage is comparable or superior to a Turbo-Intercooled 240
Volvo.
We installed an NOS (Nitrous Oxide Systems) throttle-body nitrous
system to see how the car would hold up with some real power. The car
has run a best quarter mile in 14.8 seconds at 95 mph with no
mechanical problems. These times are very close to that of the 1994
Camaro Z28 with the 275 horsepower LT1 engine. It would be very
expensive to get a Volvo engine to put out that kind of power.
???? That's a new one... Don't understand the connection to ice at
all.
Actually the 6 cylinder diesel was used for many years in europe.
Couldn't have been that bad. I suspect most of the problem was from
owners not knowing frequent oil and filter changes could not be skimped
on, fuel filters had to be attended to, and injector/glow plug problems
needed to be attended to and the all important cam belt had to be
changed.. The unfortunate myth about diesels being low maintenance may
have caused some owners to ignore required work. But taken care of it
was a decent if underpowered motor.
Why would you want to put an diesel engine designed for industrial or
commercial use into a passenger car. You would be paying a lot for an
overbuilt design that in all likelihood would not be designed to power
a lightweight car well at all. Most industrial diesels are constant
speed power plants and not designed for rapid acceleration demanded in
automotive applications. And to refer back to the original comment it
would be heavy as the dickens. You would have to redo the suspension
or live with driving downhill all the time.
The Volvo that is used in some Land Rover swaps appears to be an
inline four with a redline of somewhere around 3000 rpm and weighing
around 600 lbs, which is SB Chev territory. It is not like putting a
Cummins or a 53 series Detroit in there. I think this engine is common
to small construction and genset use. I don't know its model
nomenclature. Figured you Volvo types would.
The Mercedes five cylinder OM 617 is the best and most available old
diesel in the US but it has a front bag sump that presents clearance
problems. Isuzu, Mits and Nissan make good diesels of this size range
too but they are only available in industrial or lift truck trim here
so you would need to do a fair amount of swapping over of accessories,
brackets, etc.
I have driven pickups and Blazers with Detroit Diesels. They are a lot
of fun but the blower noise gets old in a while.
joint venture with