Very newbie question here (looking at buying a 240 wagon) - how interchangeable are the various petrol engines fitted to these cars? If I buy a mid 1980s model with Fuel Injection, can I easily replace the motor with an older carburetted one?

the blocks & heads are all pretty interchangeable, however in canada & most of the US it's illegal to put in an engine older than the car. you might want to check your local laws. even the 1970's cars came with fuel injection, it was only some of the older base models (read low power cars) that cheaped out w/ carbs. if you wanted to upgrade the fuel system, i would get a k-jet equipped car & swap in the turbo k-jet system. k-jet is the cis or mechanical fuel injection system, you can spot it by the rubber hoses leading to the injectors vs. a steel tube rail.
keep in mind that downgrading to a carb would require lots of extras like a new intake manifold, wiring, etc. and multiple carbs can require a lot of maintenance.
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-- '82 245GL, B23E, K-cam, under restoration, 350k km --

I've never looked at one or driven one, but from the specs (and various rantings on the s'bricks list)... it doesn't seem that the carb'd engines were significantly worse than the base FI models... supposedly they had more low end torque.

FWIW K-Jetronic is the "CI" setup, CIS is the electronic crap stuck on there to "smooth" out the idle.

From what I can tell the injectors on my brick have individual metal lines leading to them versus one big metal rail with a few rubber hoses off of them. The other obvious difference is the injectors being in the block versus intake manifold.

- alex

'85 244 Turbo

"The other obvious difference is the injectors being in the block..."

Head, not block.
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Volvo 240 Links

well the carb'd models were rated between 94&104HP whereas the fuel injected systems started @ 104 and went up to 140 (b23e h-cam?).
should have specified that i was comparing the k-jet to the later lh-jet systems. the k-jet being much simpler for someone familiar w/ carbs although it lacks the nice computer information codes.
do you have a picture of your system ? i don't think i've seen anything quite fitting your description, but then again, i haven't played much with the turbos.
try this link
http://www.volvoworld.com/engspecs.html
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-- '82 245GL, B23E, K-cam, under restoration, 350k km --

The old carb'd cars had more stock horsepower, too. The B20B was rated at 118hp and 123 lb.-ft. torque. That's more horsepower than a stock B21 or B23 n/a motor with either K-jet or LH-jet.

And after having to pop for $500 for an air mass meter, $450 for a wire harness, $150 for a (used) computer, etc. I'd gladly take a pair of SU's over the LH injection system in my '86. You could have both carbs rebuilt (or replaced) for less than what a new OEM air mass meter costs at the dealer.

Gotta be a reason that more people don't retrofit D-jet to their Amazons and 1800s...

With enough time and money, you can do almost anything. From a practical standpoint, I'd be concerned about passing your local emissions tests if you "downgrade" the engine from FI to carbs. In the US, '85 was the first year for the B230F engine in the 240 (except for the '85 B21FT turbo engine -- but '85 was the last year for the 240 turbo option).

From a mechanical standpoint, you can drop any of the B21/23/230 engines in and they'll bolt up. But you'll have a rather detailed and tedious chore matching up the required electrical, electronic, and fuel subsystems to the chassis systems.

With a bit of care and preventive maintenance, the FI system should work very well and very reliably. Why not stick with it?
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Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)