Hello,
Has anyone ever heard of putting a B23e motor from a 242 as well as the 4 speed with od tranny into a 142?
I think it would result in a cool little car but am not sure about the practical working out of it.

Sure, the tilted motors fit with the right transmission. Why not just use the M46 that came with the B23? And do you have an "E"?

Yup,
the engine i have is still in my 242 and is a B23e with 140 hp and high performance exhaust etc.
Runs great. So the B23e will just go in with no mods?
I am sort of a beginner with Volvo's!

You'll have lots of fuel related things to deal with unless the 142 is an "E" and I suspect that might be what Craig was referring to. The 142 E was fuel injected so will have an electric pump. The other B20s had mechanical pumps so no return line and no high pressure pump.

Yup, that's what I was referring to, if you don't have a 142E then you'll need the bits that Dale has mentioned...and if your B23E puts out 140 hp, I'd be stunned. I've got one and it doesn't pull like a freight train.

My 242 pulls pretty hard......
Will the fuel pump and all that stuff from my 242 work? It is a great running car with all the mechanical parts. all that is it missing is about 25 % of the sheet metal due to rust so i hav eall the parts!
I just dont quite know where to go from here. as i dont really know much about this sortof thing yet.

Sure with a little work. You'll need the fuel lines and pumps from your 242. Not sure if your 142 has an in-tank pump or not (see my previous post requesting info on what sort of 140 your working on). If you have a carb'ed car then you'll need an in-tank pump to feed the main pump and you'll need to plumb in a return line.

Take the fuel filter and bracket from the 242 and figure out where to mount it on a 140 (look for a few pics from the web...POW)



See where he's stashing the fuel filter?

I'm assuming at this point that you've removed the drive train from the 242 and have it sitting beside you...complete with wiring harness etc. Take the rad and hoses etc. Note that the pic shows a not so brilliant location for the ignition box - you'll do better.

Then get your Green Manual or Haynes out and figure out how to convert the 140 main engine harness to fit up to the 242 engine harness (there isn't much there - but we don't want to do this ghetto style do we?). Then with the fuel and the wiring sorted, put the B23E into it's new home and transfer things like the air filter and hook up the exhaust. I'm not sure what parts of the drive line will swap over as I don't know if the 140 got the Dana 30 (I think it did), so take the drive shaft off your 242 and swap it to your 140 (hope the centre bearing has somewhere to go - probably fits). Change the u-joints while the drive shaft is on your floor.

Hook up the speedo and you're good to go.

Re my performance comments, these cars weigh around 3000 lbs and motivating them with 140 hp is the performance equivalent of a kick in the nads. It won't shove you into your seat like a turbo car with 40 more ponies will and it will need revs to make power. For 1981, getting that sort of power out of a 4 banger was pretty respectable (in league with small V8's of the time) - but lets not kid ourselves here, it isn't a muscle car or a particularly sporty car (that doesn't mean it isn't cool) and I'm not being a downer. I'm just saying that for the trouble, doing a turbo swap into a 140 (see above) is more fun per hour spent.

Craig

Also look here:

https://www.facebook.com/GeneralLeif/photos

This is a 142 race car run by KLR142 (who's in Portland but joins us for fun on this board from time to time). They've used a B230, but it's basically the same swap.

Thanks guys......for all your input.
someone just put an offer on my motor so it looks like i will no longer be doing that build!
Thanks anyhow!

You can have some pretty good fun with a B20 as well, from mild mods to turbo/supercharged. Very strongly built basic motor. Start searching if that interests you...

Your B20 can be built to a nice reliable 160 hp for less money than doing this to a B23E. I've posted a how to engine build thread somewhere...http://calgaryvolvoclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2699

This B18 is a stock spec "D" grind with a little more head work (better breathing) and more cam and more compression you could surprise a lot of people. I'd sell you my B20, but I'm not sure you'll want to pay the price and I'm pretty sure I don't really want to sell it as I'm emotionally attached to it.

Thanks for all your input guys...this is giving me a few more options!

I presume you've seen the video?

I'm going to reserve comment until we hear what the budget is...is that car still for sale?

Not sure if it sold or not...

The video...

http://youtu.be/6BjI1lG2q4A