i have seen just few 940's with a native block distributor like a 240. all were manufactured in canada for the american market and i was told they were 1993 left over 240 engines after 240 production stopped.

my daughter owned a 93 with that setup

Dear Dom's940,

Hope you're well. Further to Chris Mullet's helpful post, I'd add that if the non-working block-mounted distributor is removed, the opening needs to be closed with Volvo Part #1336764 (cap plug).

While this part no longer is available from a Volvo dealer, it might be had from a salvage yard. Even if a hole has to be drilled in it, to extract it from the engine block, that removal hole can be plugged with an ordinary bolt and nut.

Alternatively, a brass plug of the right diameter, tapped into place with a block of wood (or hard plastic) will seal the opening.

Before removing the surplus distributor, clear the area around it with brake cleaner and then compressed air, to keep dust/grit from getting inside the engine.

I don't imagine any harm will result from leaving in place the non-working distributor.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Very interesting. The car was only built with one distributor, either on the back of the head (cam driven) OR on the left side of the engine (I-shaft driven). Looks like a previous owner must have either swapped a different head onto the original engine block or they replaced the engine block and retained the original head.

If it's a Rex ignition then I would "guess" it had the cam driven distributor from birth and someone installed a different engine block.

Are you compelled to switch over to the I-shaft driven distributor? If so, why?