Ok , I have asked this a thousand times.

Give me (about) 5 steps towards a performance upgrade for an 89 240 (auto trans).

Start with the cheaper stuff please. I know sway bars nad shocks are in order here..

The suspension stuff is well covered.

For performance, salvage a 240T exhaust and adapt it or have a 2.25 or 2.5 inch exhaust made or buy IPD's sport exhaust. Buy headers and a new cat in the same diameter as the exhaust or salvage a 740/940T cat. Add a cold air intake to the airbox with larger pipe and remove any obstacles in the present box (and check the preheater thermostat). Advance the ignition timing 2 degrees and run premium gas. Convert to an electric primary fan. Buy a Unitek underdrive crank pulley. Buy a Unitek head and cam package (expensive, but worth it; if you cannot afford this, buy a Unitek Phase One cam). Install a 740/940T torque converter if you now have an AW71 without lockup. If you have a lockup, contact MVP to learn whether a higher stall lock up converter is available. If you have a non lock up AW71 and want to go one step further than a turbo converter, buy the MVP converter (you will like this). If you do not have 3.91 rear gears now, salvage and install them. If you want to buy new gears, buy 4.10s or even 4.27s.

Also read the article on adding a turbo to a nonturbo, at the Turbobricks website under mods or articles.

Philip Bradley

Buy IPD sway bars and skip the other 4 steps. They really do make a big difference. I don't really think it's worth doing major engine modifications because of the cost and lack of power to begin with. The only engine related upgrades I've done is an Amsoil air filter and an IPD sport exhaust, and it was mainly because I needed to replace both of those. The brakes on a 240 are already good, so there's probably no real need to upgrade them. That just leaves the suspension to focus on.

1. IPD sway bars (or turbo sedan 23mm/21mm bars to save some money)

2. Tires. wider if possible, and lower profile if possible. Dunlop, Yokohama, and Bridgestone have some good performance tires for not a lot of money ($50-$90 each). I'm using 205/55/15 Bridgestones on 240 turbo wheels.

3. Upper strut brace. The increased rigidity provided by an upper strut brace is noticable during cornering, and I feel it is a worth while addition if you want to improve the handling after adding sway bars. Another thing I like about the strut brace is that it only takes about 30 minutes to install with basic tools, and no alignment is needed after installation.

4. Shocks and/or springs. Bilstein or Boge Turbo Gas, depending on how much you want to spend, and Jamex springs if you ever decide to lower the car, stiffen the suspension, and further increase performance. If your current shocks are in need of replacement, raise the priority of new shocks/struts.

5...Once you get past the major upgrades, and you still want more from your car's suspension, you should start with the smaller add-ons. Upper chassis braces (GT braces), lower tie bars (IPD) or a lower brace (one piece, from Cherry Turbos), poly suspension bushings, performance swaybar endlinks, and whatever else you can find to help the car hold the road better will help (less weight, wider tires, lighter wheels, and maybe a sport seat to hold you in place).

John

O.K. my sense of your questions is what performance mods can be done inexpensively.

1. Get a Turbo front sway bar from a PNP yard. I picked one up in Sacramento, CA, for about $15. I added poly bushings and links for about another $30. The Turbo sway bar is a 22 MM vice 25MM for the IPD, but still a major improvement.

2. Replace the shocks, Boge Gas turbo seem to be the consensus between price and performance. Thats another $200 plus labor to install the front

strut cartridges if you don't do them yourself.

3. Inspect the brakes, if the flex lines are cracked, replace them with stainless steel, about $120 for all six. Then you'll have to flush the entire system. At the same time, repack the front wheel bearings. They are such a PITA that they are frequently left with out service for long periods of time.

4. Replace the Timing belt and the tensioning bearing, about $60. Also often overlooked. If you're going to push the engine a little harder, this may be the first thing to go.

5. Replace the plugs, cap and rotor. An alternative is the IPD kit which includes wires, fuel, air and oil filters, and the t-belt (but not the bearing) for around $120.

6. Assuming you do 5 instead of 4, get some 740 steel wheels (6x15) and go to a higher performance tire in a 205/60 or 65 x 15. Some chassis' won't take this large a section. I've seen alot of folks who believe 195/55 x 15 is the size to use.

I thinks this is a fairly modest budget, and it proceeds on the theory that the chassis and brakes come first, and assumes the front and rear suspensions are otherwise in good condition. Hope this helps.

Dean

is the right replacement

1. Do not drive against the wind.

2. Do not drive uphill.

3. Do not carry passengers or cargo. Eliminate all extra weight, spare tire, seats, exhaust system, etc. In fact your car may go faster if you are not in it.

4. Glass is heavy. Take it out. Also the aerodynamics will improve with flow through ventilation.

5. Check the Surplus Store for a strap on rocket booster pack.

6. Go buy a Mustang.

glass ain't weight, it's downforce.

Also wind resistance. Really he should chop the whole top off the car, but I thought I should introduce the idea gently.

Of course with the rear seats removed, one is now free to push the driver into a more reclined position. With the top off and back gutted, mid-engined 240 is the only real solution. Pesky tranny tunnel begone! Now reclined driver can be pushed forward, down, and to the center. A little paper mache and carbon fibre will bring forth a nice tight fairing over the engine to delay flow seperation off the back of the beast, further pushing down ye olde coeff of drag.

note: removing heater blower to make the car center driven will also save on time and money later down the road. win-win situation.

sounds like you've done this before...please post any pictures of your

project and procedures that you think would save time. I'm looking

for an afternoon project for Pres.day.

yes, use a Sawzall. As this will place the fuel lines mighty close to yer head, order one each of everything marked "stainless" from earl's. It should take two to three hours, all things considered, if you change your oil and plugs as you do it.

I'm also trying a new method of spraying a bromide solution on the body panels. hoping that the corrosion will only enhance the evolutionary aspects of the 240. As things rust and fall off, weight is reduced. If those things were truly needed and missed, i replace them. If not...then they fall by the wayside. NY state assists with this by coating the roads with massive quantities of salt.

Personally I would just get a turbo car or transplant a V8 into it.

However...if I had to modify an NA car:

Engine

Complete tune-up EVERYTHING needs to run well (read as NGK plugs K&N air filter, mann oil filter (my preferance), throttle cleaned out, injectors cleaned out, etc)

Exhaust

Turbo or NOx

Cam and adjustable timing gear

Up the boost or prep the engine for a larger shot of the juice

etc...

Suspension

iPd sway bars, GT braces, lower tie bars, bushings

Some sort of performance tires

Lowering springs

Bilstiens all around

Its going to be hard to make a low displacement, high weight, no forced induction car fast. I'm sure others will disagree with me here, but I say prepare for a B230FT, B21FT, or V8 transplant.

Best of luck in whatever you decide to do,

Will