- Oct 27, 2006
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Here's the sitch :
My dad (immigrant from Sweden in 1969) has a Volvo 262 Bertone, around an '80 model I guess (they're all the same IIRC). It's in excellent overall condition, good body, decent paint, good interior, but hasn't been driven in ~10 years or so.
These things are pretty rare, and this one is a 4-speed manual w/overdrive, which is apparently even rarer. It's a weird mix of Swedish Design, French Engine, and Italian interior and styling touches. All in all, cool in an odd way. Looks like the classic 2-series with a dropped top.
What I'd like to do, along with my brother-in-law, is fix the car up to be a weekender/fun car, or at least get it going.
Here's what I remember :
The motor (which is widely reputed to be a POS) had trouble before it stopped running, think it was overheating, possible water in the oil, etc. As they don't have a very good reputation, I'd rather not replace the unit with another one of the same type (which would probably be super hard to find anyway).
Rebuilding it is also probably out of the question, due to various factors that aren't worth further discussion.
So, want to do a motor swap, with either :
(1)- A 2-series motor and wiring harness/etc from another Volvo. Either donor car or crate + parts. This would probably be the easier route, though not as fun as :
(2)- GM 5.7 Motor swap. Need lots of stuff for this one, totally different wiring, exhaust setup, transmission, various mounts, etc, etc, etc, etc. Plenty of possibility here, but I wonder how much work it would be. I've read about it being done, but no idea on the time/cost.
Anyone have thoughts or suggestions here? We're working from a budget of ~$5k, our weekend time, and in the DFW metro area. 2 guys with moderate experience on cars (tons of bolt-ons, a tranny swap on a CJ, timing belts, taking heads off to send to machine shop, etc).
My dad (immigrant from Sweden in 1969) has a Volvo 262 Bertone, around an '80 model I guess (they're all the same IIRC). It's in excellent overall condition, good body, decent paint, good interior, but hasn't been driven in ~10 years or so.
These things are pretty rare, and this one is a 4-speed manual w/overdrive, which is apparently even rarer. It's a weird mix of Swedish Design, French Engine, and Italian interior and styling touches. All in all, cool in an odd way. Looks like the classic 2-series with a dropped top.
What I'd like to do, along with my brother-in-law, is fix the car up to be a weekender/fun car, or at least get it going.
Here's what I remember :
The motor (which is widely reputed to be a POS) had trouble before it stopped running, think it was overheating, possible water in the oil, etc. As they don't have a very good reputation, I'd rather not replace the unit with another one of the same type (which would probably be super hard to find anyway).
Rebuilding it is also probably out of the question, due to various factors that aren't worth further discussion.
So, want to do a motor swap, with either :
(1)- A 2-series motor and wiring harness/etc from another Volvo. Either donor car or crate + parts. This would probably be the easier route, though not as fun as :
(2)- GM 5.7 Motor swap. Need lots of stuff for this one, totally different wiring, exhaust setup, transmission, various mounts, etc, etc, etc, etc. Plenty of possibility here, but I wonder how much work it would be. I've read about it being done, but no idea on the time/cost.
Anyone have thoughts or suggestions here? We're working from a budget of ~$5k, our weekend time, and in the DFW metro area. 2 guys with moderate experience on cars (tons of bolt-ons, a tranny swap on a CJ, timing belts, taking heads off to send to machine shop, etc).
