I have been looking at this project for some time. Just recently several of you assisted me in getting my 780 flood car out of storage and on the road. Now I am working on another 780 B280F engine and am beginning the rebuild/modification project to make this a 200+hp engine for my Delorean. I have learned a lot and would like to share what I have found and get comments, or possibly convince others to try this set of recipes.

I will begin this with a few requests, I am looking for a set of Volvo B280E cams. This is a European only variant of this engine and the cams are reported to make a large difference.

Anybody out there have any experiance with buying rebuild kits for this or the Monaco/Eagle/Renault PRV engines? I have found Clevite, but that is the only source I have found.

I am going to be running this engine with a MegaSquirt and Spark engine controller and a waste spark system scavanged from a GM or Ford system. No distributor, but will be using an optical sensor in the old distributor.

Start with a dead B280F engine from a 760 or 780. This is the infamous PRV engine. V6, all aluminum steel sleeved block with 4 bolt mains. Even fire with just less than 2.8 liter displacement. I have not seen his posts in a while but, John Layne got me started on this project and much of this info is from him.

This engine, plus Dodge Monaco PRV sleeves and heads (lots of them out there). Plus either a Clevite Master rebuild kit including cams and pistons 9.5:1 compression, or a rebuild kit plus a set of custom pistons providing 10.5:1 compression. There are many variants for this engine, mostly used in Renaults and Puegot cars. Some in stock form generate over 250hp.

I'm spewing here, but there are several flavors of modifications that are quite doable;

1) Just put the engine in a Delorean and build a set of headers. 25 to 40 hp over the Delorean b27 engine and the engine will not eat it's cams because of oil starvation.
2) Port the exhaust and install headers. 40+ hp.
3) Modify the Eagle/Monaco/Renault heads. (Z7X, 711 to 715 assemblies) Mild porting, the valves are HUGE compared to the B280F heads. Use the B280F cams or the Monaco cams. The Monaco variety will give better low end torque, but much lower high end.
4) Use the Monaco heads plus the Volvo B280E cams. This is a European version of the engine and was installed in the 760 and 780 made for Europe. Hard to get in the US, but they are out there. Adds about 20+ more hp. (147+40+20=207+hp) and we have not increased the displacement.
5) Rebuild the engine using the Monaco sleeves, .020" over pistons (Clevite kit), Monaco heads with Volvo cams. Displacement increases from 2849 (90.9 X 72.9) to 2946 (93 X 73) (Bore x Stroke). This will give you 9.5:1 compression.
6) Same as #5, except use custom pistons to provide 10.5:1 pistons ($155 each "Ouch")
That is it for the version that will work in a Delorean. Below is the crazy Hp stuff that would make your 760 or 780 a Wolf in sheeps clothing.


7) Build a turbo engine. Same as #5, but buy forged rods and 8.5:1 pistons ($155 each for pistons plus another $500 for rods = $1400). This can be a sign turbo 350hp or a twin turbo at 700+hp and 700+ foot pounds of torque. This would be the ultimate John Layne version and John has not found a transmission or rear end that will hold up with this durable and crazy powerful engine.

I would love to hear your input and I will post on this project as I progress.

im interested in putting a b230 volvo engine in my delorean. does anyone know if this engine can bolt on properly to the delorean stock transmission?

-J

Bolt in? Well........No.

Is it possible? You bet. Lots of work. Not cheap.
What are your goals? You want 150 horses with a smooth idle? You can have this with using the Premier three liter block without internal mods.
Clean up the exhaust ports......as in all PRV two valve engines they need help!!
Use the throttle body as installed on the Volvo B-280. It will bolt right up to the Premier/Monaco intake manifold and is much larger then the Monaco throttle body as well as placing the throttle plate at an angle that will make it easy to do an air filter in your D.
Buy the headers that DMC Houston is selling and install them. Just do it.
Get yourself a programmable fuel and ignition system that will allow you to use the trigger wheel that is used on the Premier and adapt as needed. I use Electromotive for the wasted spark arrangement. No distributor. This is a GOOD thing.
Want more power? B-280E cams with the Volvo rocker arms P/N 271617 will give noticeably more top end. With the B-280E cams you will then 'get' to adjust the valves. The Premier/Monaco engine uses hydraulic lash adjusters built into the rocker arms. They work good, but the cams are intended for a 'Merikanski boat like car with an automatic box. Yuck.

In doing any of these engines you will have to transfer the lower case from your D's engine (everything below the centerline of the crankshaft) to your new engine. *Presto!! It is more or less a bolt-in.
All of your accessory drive from your D can be bolted right onto the Premier or B-280 engine.

I would not build one of these engines without the 93mm boresize of the Premier engine. More displacement is always our friend as long as the rules allow it.

Have fun with your project.

John Lane. Oh.....the figure is 500 horses guys. Heehee.

my Guess is yes, since the Volvo V6 and 4 are interchangeable. I also understand. From reading about those who have put the Volvo I6 in 240s and 740s, is that they will bolt up also.
Check this link from turbobricks:
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=41789
To see pix and description.

my Guess is yes, since the Volvo V6 and 4 are interchangeable.

I believe that the bell housings are different between the PRV-6 (B27/B28/B280) and the Red Block engines (B21/B23/B230). Since the AW-70/71 transmissions were fitted to both series of engines, getting the proper bellhousing shouldn't be a problem for Volvo applications using the AW-70/71 transmissions. However, -putting a Red Block (B230) engine into a Delorean and getting it to mate to the stock transmission might be a bit of a problem...

From reading about those who have put the Volvo I6 in 240s and 740s, is that they will bolt up also.

The White-Block (I-6 and later engines for FWD vehicles) engines and the Red-Block engines have different bolt paterns and thus different bellhousings. If you look closely at the TurboBricks post, you'll notice that he's using the AW30-43 mated to the I-6. That particular engine and tranny combo was pulled directly from a 960, which was the only rear-wheel drive chassis to receive a White Block engine.

I don't doubt that you can put a B230 engine into a Delorean, but you may either have to have some modifications done to the Delorean bellhousing, or swap in a transmission and appropriate bellhousing from a Volvo application (M46/M47/AW70/AW71).

God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
--
'87 Blue 240 Wagon, 261k miles.

The stright 6 in the 960 will not fit in a Delorean without a great deal of work. I have one that I am starting to work with to put into a P1800. The b230 engine will not bolt up to the transmission, but I guess you could build a transition plate. The B280 will bolt in, I am doing it. I had not thought of putting the b230 engine in there. Folks put GM v-6's, Northstar engines and the Northstar V-6, so I guess that you could install anything with enough time and effort.

If you want to build a B280 engine, let me know and we can compare notes.

I'm not very familiar with the non-Volvo PRV-6 applications, but dropping a B280 into a Delorean as a replacement engine (and keeping the original B28 FI/Ignition/Intake) would require some custom fabrication since the intake manifold, heads, fuel injectors, and ignition system are all different and will not plug-and-play with each other (many modifications were done to the head when the B28 evolved into the B280, including removal of the distributor gear from the right camshaft). If you used a donor B280 and kept the B280 intake manifold, exhaust manifold, and distributor, you should be able to get it into a Delorean with out too much trouble. -you'll still have to deal with the problem of the K-Jet to LH-Jet Fuel Injection incompatibilites.

If you need the part numbers of the B280E camshafts, I believe I might have them at home in one of my service manuals. I don't think you'll get 20+ horsepower out of just a camshaft change (probably more like 7 to 10), but it's worth a shot. Also consider using the special straight-intake B280E heads (not used in all B280E engines, but some of them) if you're looking for better breathing in the top end of the RPMs. The B280F heads and some B280E heads havenswirl inlet passegeways just below the injectors that yeild better air/fuel mixture before reaching the valves. This does give better fuel economy and low end performance, but can be restrictive when trying to draw in large amounts of air at high RPMs. The special straight-intake heads were equipped to select B280E engines that were destined for markets/countries that had highways without speed limits (I.E. Autobahn/Germany, etc).

I don't know how many PRV-6 twin turbos are out there, but I heard a rumor that the Volvo R&D labs in Sweden built two functional prototypes. I don't know what happened to them or if the information was documented and relased to the public, but it might be worth following up on.

FYI, If you're looking for extra engines to play with, there's a guy on eBay who's parting out a pair of 780s right now. Email him direct if you'd like to pick up an engine or two.

Azureblue has a mentionable suggestion, it is possible to install a White-Block 6 cylinder from a 960 into an earlier 200/700/900 vehicle (it's been done by a few people). That multi-valve engine offers a lot of HP just in it's base form before modifications/porting/turbocharging.

God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
--
'87 Blue 240 Wagon, 262k miles.
'88 Black 780, PRV-6, 149k miles.

Some one up here (in Canada) put an eagle premier engine (3.0 litres) in his 760 after the motor blew. The main reason he did this was the parts were much cheaper! He said the bonus was the extra power. An extra 300cc would help anyway you choose to go and also cheaper is always better! I'm not sure what kind of power the eagle premier made but it sure would have more torque tahn the 2.7.

I would like the part number for the b280E cams. I have not been able to find them. I also like the volvo straight 6 from the 960, but it is just too long to fit without chassis modifications and it will not bolt up. It will fit my P1800 after we get out the torch....

Our Delorean is getting a MegaSquirt and Spark fuel and ignition control system which will be monitored by a tablet computer that will be installed into the dash. The Delorean was a flood car and we are working to make it better rather than show/stock. We are using a B280 engine with Monaco heads with lots of porting. If I can find the "E" cams, that is what we will use, or we might have a set made to that specification. I still have not decided on pistons and rods, although John Lane has nearly convinced me that I need forged rods. I have quotes on rods and pistons, but my math says that the stock rods will do if I don't ask for too much and don't turbo charge.

I rebuilt a Volvo Bertone with a B280 engine and get over 150hp (rear wheel dyno) from just a little porting and TLC. We are starting at that point with the Delorean PRV engine, which will have the best of the b27, b280 and the Z7X/715 3.0 engines.

The Renault Clio rally car looks to have a PRV variant engine with twin turbos and seems to be quite popular. I don't think they brag that it is a PRV variant, but I am not aware of another Renault V-6 engine. A side from Volvo, the PRV has had almost a million lives and some versions were turbo charged with excellent results. This is a pretty tough although much maligned engine. The good news is that the bots are out there because nobody wants to work on them. A b280 engine with 100,000 miles may need bearings or seals or cams, but it is probably quite rebuildable and where else can you get cross bolted mains in an aluminum block?

Renault retired the old PRV in 1997, when it was replaced by a completely new 3.0 liter V6 - Which is the same engine used by Peugeot and Citroen as well. Clio V6's came out after that, so I'm assuming that they have the new PSA six cylinder in them.

Renault was more intrested in the idea of turbocharging the PRV. They started in mid-80's with the Renault 25, and that evolution ended up with Safrane Bi-Turbo 4WD in 1994 (Twin-KKK turbochargers generated 280hp). Few hundred were sold during its two year run.

If you're going to that much trouble, then why not stick in the new turbo V6? I think it is in the s60.

Sorry, I did not see your message earlier. The newer turbo engine would make sense, as do many of the other engine options. There are a numder of great options for the Delorean as we are getting more hp from smaller more relaible packages.

I met John Lane on-line and he is the fellow that got me suckered into playing with this orphaned power plant. John races, or at least used to race this engine in his highly modifed form. I am fairly well convinced that John Lane is right and that this is an pretty incredible block with a misrepresented history. Volvo did not pay enough attention to this generation of the PRV engine. John Delorean would have killed (maybe literally) to have the b280 availible in 1980. The Delorean is a dog because it starts out with less than 120hp, oil starved cams, poor water pump circulation and all of the problems that you get when you put an engine in the back of a new car.

Some of us are still fairly well convinced that a rear engine is more than appropriate. The Porsche 911 more than makes up for the Fiat X/19, the Corvair, the Fiero and the Delorean as it was delivered. I doubt that my Delorean will ever compete with my 911, or even my 914 for that matter, but it should be able to be quite a nice highway car with enough that I can pass when and where I want to.

I am staying away from turbo as it adds a lot to the budget and will overwhelm the cooling design that I am using. I turboed a Fiat X/19 long ago and it went to the grave early. It is just very hard to get hot water pumped 10 feet forward and 10 feet back quickly enough. So, the old adage, "no replacement for displacement" is being applied. At some point, someone will be able to turbo this Delorean and the engine will be string enough to support it. John Lane got well over 600 hp. The Deloren does not have a part on it that will stand for that kind of power for very long.

oops-it's a straight six T, but it should go in.