(engine revving)
- Volvos are safe and they're boring
and they're slow, right?
Despite its reputation as one of the most vanilla
family trucksters around, the Volvo 240 is actually
a sick platform for speed.
Today we have one of the cleanest, most custom
Swedish sleepers around.
Hold onto your lingonberries,
we're going indestructible bumpers to indestructible bumper
on this 1983 Turbo Volvo 242 DL.
(upbeat music)
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(synth music)
Volvo doesn't exactly have a reputation
for making fast, sporty cars.
The Swedish company is better known for pioneering
safety features, things like crumple zones
and three-point seat belts.
Their boxy and humble 240 model debuted in 1974
with an ultra-simple design.
It quickly established its nearly indestructible nature
and became a runaway success.
Most 240s were powered by weak,
uninspiring four cylinder engines.
They were mostly advertised as safe and reliable.
Smart suburban folks bought 'em
because they were utilitarian and sensible.
What most people seem to forget was that Volvo
also raced in Group A,
and despite their truly brick-like aerodynamics,
they surprised the hell out of their competition.
- [Narrator] Volvo now in the lead
and beginning to pull away.
- By the time Volvo 240s had won multiple
touring car championships all over the world,
they were known as flying bricks.
With all that racing success going down,
Volvo started advertising their boxes are sporty and fast.
The potential was certainly there,
and a little group of people knew that.
Swedish car lovers.
You know the type.
They're kinda like cult members.
Just look at Jesse, he has three of them.
Two of them are the same model, year, and color.
The Volvo 240 is the same thing to people who grew up
in Sweden that the Fox Body is
to people who grew up in America.
And Alex, this car's owner, he's actually from Sweden.
The 240 is rear-wheel drive, it's easy to work on,
parts are easy to get, there's even a company
that makes new stock 240 parts under contract from Volvo.
Better yet, it's a lot easier to slip under the radar
in a flying brick than a pony car.
Though Alex rode in his family's 240 wagon jump seat
as a kid, he bought this 242 DL for himself
here in the states.
The still-glossy, mostly original, single-stage paint
is very descriptively named white.
(chuckles)
That right there tells you everything you need to know
about Volvo 240s.
To put that in perspective, Lexus currently sells a car
painted in eminent white pearl.
Mm!
The 1983 DL trim was the base model with no sunroof.
A slightly lighter and less leak-prone platform to build on.
The blocky '80s headlights and grill were ditched
in favor of the more classic-looking single round units
and a darker grill from the '78 model.
It also has the desirable sleeker flat hood
from an earlier year.
This Swede rides low thanks to some custom coilovers
with adjustable Koni race strut inserts
and Bilstein dampers in the rear.
You're about to find out that Alex
isn't your typical wrench monkey.
He custom-designed, hand-built,
and at least touched almost everything on this 240
other than its boxy body.
Now these wheels are a special bit of kit.
They're sort of like the optional factory Volvo
16 by seven five spokes, but Alex wanted that OG look
in a bigger rim, so he cut the five-spoke centers out,
grabbed a set of 17 by eight two-piece BMW wheels,
and figured he'd put 'em together,
which turned out to be a lot easier said than done.
The results look awesome.
(funky music)
Behind the bespoke five spokes
are Brembo four-piston calipers with custom adapters upfront
and B5 Audi S4 calipers in the back.
All four rotors ride on custom rotor hats
and have custom dust shields fabbed up by Alex.
I bet this thing can stop even if it drove
into a spilled truckload of slimy dead Swedish fish.
Two JZ engine?
Oh (beep)!
All right, it's not a two JZ.
It's a Frankenstein two J Swede.
This is a 2.8 liter inline-six turbo short block
from a 1999 Volvo S80, wearing a non-VVT head
from a 1995 Volvo 960.
The intake plenum right here
was adapted from a Chinese copy of an HKS manifold
for a two JZ, and that goes into a custom-adapted set
of E46 M3 individual throttle bodies.
The 240 is now drive-by wire using a BMW S85 B10 actuator
that rotates in reverse on a preposterously complicated
bracket Alex had to make himself.
What you can see are the Garrett GTX3067R turbo,
custom twin scroll exhaust manifold,
Tial wastegates, and tailor-made
carbon fiber strut tower brace.
All of this is controlled by a Link G4 Plus Xtreme ECU
and Alex and his brother rewired
the entire car from scratch.
That alone took about 200 hours.
Running 14 PSI on 91 octane, everything adds up
to a very entertaining yet totally reliable
320 rear-wheel horsepower and 320 foot pounds of torque.
The most amazing part about this engine bay
is that it looks totally OEM,
like this stuff always belonged here,
even though none of it ever did.
The power goes through a five-speed manual
from an NA Mark IV Supra.
Just about the only things left on this car
that are original to it are the rear half of the driveshaft,
the gas tank, and the steering column, that's it.
(upbeat music)
The interior was also completely gutted and redone.
The whole color scheme was changed back to black,
the dash is flocked for a rallied vibe,
and the headliner and rear shelf are lined with suede.
Recaro seats give the driver more support
while also giving the cabin a sportier look.
The shift nob was made by Alex and designed to look stock.
A period-correct Blaupunkt head unit
paired with MB Quart speakers
pump out all the ABBA or Cardigans or Eagle-Eye Cherry tunes
your Swedish music-loving heart desires.
The centerpiece of the dash is a Hondo CBR1000RR
motorcycle cluster with a new laser-engraved gauge face
to match the new engine's RPM range, so that's super sick.
'Cause this (beep) doesn't rev to 14,000 RPM.
Now for the best part.
I get to fire up the smorgasbord of mostly Swedish goodies.
(engine starts)
Mm!
(laughs)
I can just feel that turbo spool up.
I love the driving position.
All right.
I need to buy a Volvo for sure.
I'm gonna go Gregslist right after this.
Volvos might have a stodgy reputation,
but their cult is growing every day.
People are waking up the performance potential
in the lightweight, rear-wheel drive bricks.
There are Volvo clubs and all-Volvo car shows,
there are Volvos with engines swaps and turbos
kicking ass all over the drag strip,
drift circuits, and the internet.
There's an undeniable satisfaction in building a sleeper
and surprising some unsuspecting drivers,
especially if they're behind the wheel
of a traditional sports car.
The next time you pull up to a Volvo at a stoplight,
I'll bet you're gonna take a closer look.
(engine revs)
- Ah, did you miss the holiday shipping deadline!?
Ah, no problem!
Introducing Donut digital gift cards.
Put numbers in the computer, give it to your lovey dove,
and he'll be rockin' Donut by January.
(upbeat music)
- Hey, thanks for watching Bumper 2 Bumper
and thanks to Alex for bringing his car out.
Check out our podcast, Past Gas.
We'll probably talk about Volvo at some point.
And if you haven't checked out HiLow, we took two cars,
built one with cheap parts, one with very expensive parts.
It on YouTube now so please check that out.
I think it's an amazing series,
most fun I've had in my life.
Be nice, see you next time.
(electronic music)