Theres only one guy on this board thats put a v8 in a 240 though i know of a couple around calgary. Im sure matt will chime in.

My only advice is regarding the chassis. Having recently stripped and scrapped my own 242 project that was only on the road for two years after spending alot of time and effort on it MAKE SURE IT WILL LAST! I thought mine was pretty good but after one winter it was clear there was going to be more rust than i could manage. Of you are ok with paint and body work you will be better off.

Welcome!

As Athal said Matt (Uglyduck) is the only one on our group who has done the 240 swap. Mine is a 740 swap

www.volvord.com

Whatcha wanna know?

Mine was a Ford so I don't know how much knowledge will transfer, though.

Got a time machine? That car disappeared long ago...

as easy as....

Well...

I didn't use a single kit part, being more the DIY kind of guy. My car was a 302+.030, H/C/I 5 speed. I used the Explorer front end, which pulls the belt and accessories back about an inch, for added clearance. Still not much room. I built my own accessory mounts and serpentine drive system, built my own motor/transmission mounts, etc. I used a V6 radiator with a 3 row high density core, shrouded, with the biggest fan I could fit, and it still didn't cool as well as I wanted. I used the later style Ford power steering pump with the remote reservoir, again because I could make it fit. I used Megasquirt fuel injection, ran it through Magnaflow cats & mufflers, and a true dual 2.5" exhaust with some old but solid 1.5" 'long tube' headers.

The car ended up heavy, probably heavier than a Mustang, but it didn't start out that light either. I'm sure the iron heads, copper radiator, and steel motor / accessory mounts didn't help, but whatever. Neither did the power windows, dual exhaust or the 13" S60R brakes. The weight distribution went out the window, and the car didn't handle nearly as sweetly as it did before. It went pretty well and sounded fantastic, and I guess that's the #1 reason why most people do it, but I had lots of engine troubles, the clutch cable kept melting running past the header, and I hated the heavily overdriven T5 5th gear and overall the package never satisfied me, so I blew it into a million pieces.

If you do it right, use lots of aluminium, and keep it simple, I'm sure you can chop 100-150 lbs off what I built. The stumbling block of the Chev/240 is, in my opinion, the rear mount distributor. I never even RAN a distributor, so it probably would have made no difference to me, and had I considered that to begin with, I would have thought seriously about a 350 though the added weight still bugged me about that.

Be sure it's what you want before you spend all that time and money, and be ready to work out a bunch of bugs and live with the downsides. Ian's spent the better part of 10 years messing with his V8 car, is on his 2nd engine, 3rd intake/carb setup, 3rd set of heads, 4th or 5th camshaft, 2nd transmission, (all $$$) and hundreds of hours planning and executing all the little things that make it look nice and perform reliably. Personally, if you want a V8 there are a TON of options out there with bigger engine compartments, tougher rear axles, and space for more radiator. They all came with V8s to begin with, and that's my point. Buy a Fox body or an F body and you're 100 miles ahead. If you want something different, do a G body or a Crown Vic.

Oh, and I think you're all forgetting about Alex (frepea) up in the Chuck, with a 302 (soon to be 347) 245.

Edit - The result of me doing the V8 swap is to remind me of how GOOD the Volvo turbo engine really is. Develop it properly and it would outrun any naturally aspirated 302 or 305, and won't complicate your life nearly as much. Build a strong turbo-specific B23 or B230, get a decent header and a properly sized turbo, stick a good transmission behind it, and you're gonna surprise a lot of knuckle draggers.

Boy do you know how to cheer someone up
What Matt said is true, although I love the way my car has evolved and everything about it I am sure I would not do it again.

I guess I will chime in........I have the 347 ford powered 245,and has already been said,it definately is a labour of love.I would say,if you like a challenge,go for it,the Ford swap is "fairly" easy and does fit nicely underhood,although I have seen a 350 wagon and it looked like that fit fairly well to. I can only speak for the 5.0 swap, the enginetranny mount(s) look fairly easy to make,and that will be the easy part,hooking it all up will be time consuming (my car is fuel injected) although I had to do it again I think I would have went carbed. You will have to source a radiator (got a nice aluminium one off ebay),front sway bar(mustang gt one can be modded to fit,what I have),driveshaft(I have an adapter on the diff nose,so I use a modified,again,Mustang piece)
You will also have to think about uprating front springs,urethane bushings throughout the back end for sure(the stocky rubber things are simply not up to the job,even when new,to the new found torque your going to have) If you can find a complete,cheap running 5.0,it will have most all the stuff you need,(has the correct oil pan to fit) and transplant away,if you keep the thing stock or within the capabilities of the Ford electronics,it will make a reliable daily driver.I really had no issues with mine until I upped displacement,then things start to go haywire (lifters,camshaft,tranny broke,oil leaks,and I am still trying to get a "good tune" into it....Hmmm,seems to be all the Ford crap that has caused me trouble) So, Yeah,you could just go buy a Mustang/camaro/Dodge,etc,But where's the fun in that. Alex.

Much easier to buy a car with a V8 already in it. I see clean ones that get hauled to the repo yard for raw financial reasons (can't make the payment) or legal reasons (owner loses license/no insurance...and so on)...make friends with someone in that field.

242s rust like crazy. Sunroofs as volvo did them on 240 sedans aren't so great...heavy, rattly, jam easily.

I'd argue the motor is one of the better parts of all things 240. The car will rust away, accessories will need major attention, and all the electrics and seals will long be outlived by the motor. Driving an old 240 feels rather medieval, but the motor is pretty decent: simple, reliable, low cost, easily repaired, decently quick and fits like it should. Granted, many 240s may well not have been running right or maintained nicely for years now, so plenty have tired motors too.

Carbs are neat for marine or appropriate in cars they came in to keep things simple and original. Other than that, I'm new school all the way, at least from a raw technical standpoint. Fuel injection is mostly better...the best of OE FI will run just as good at 100F in denver as -20 at sea level pretty much, at a 30 degree incline over all kinds of bumps, with a turbocharger even. Most carbs require a compromise somewhere for optimal performance in any one field.

If it is what you want go for it

If you want my opinion DO NOT waste your money on the Converse kit (my experience in a politically correct way http://www.telusplanet.net/public/gilesij/Volvord/about.htm). My experience and many others I have corresponded with over the internet will confirm my opinion. All the bits you need are relatively easy to fabricate, wiring is also fairly simple. If either the fabrication or wiring scare you I would not recommend you do the conversion, that is the easy part, sorting out all the little problems after the fact are huge and you have to be able to address these problems yourself unless you have unlimited funds to pay someone else.

Sorry, I don't want to appear negative but if you saw the email I recieve from people around the world about their V8 conversions and the problems you would understand. If done correctly the conversion can turn out excellent, but be prepared to spend a lot of time and even more money if you want something that is reliable, safe and looks good.

Just fyi ive got a good 2.3 turbo motor sitting in my garage lookomg for a home. Only about 40,000km on a full rebuild with all the strongest and best bits possible.

Gotta love those hi-res images...