Hi.

I finally gave up on my long quest for a normally aspirated 745 with M46 or M47.

Instead, I settled on a 1987 745T. It is all refreshed with lots of new bits. Sold to me by a top-rated Volvo factory trained tech. Good car, and the price was way less than one would pay to have a beater car refreshed as this one.

But I don't really like the performance of the car. It is WAY too fast for me.

I know it will get me in a lot of trouble with the police. That's why I was looking for the 114hp version.

Everything I see on the 'net tells me how to make a Turbo car faster. Nothing to make it slower.

Aside from changing the pistons and removing the turbo (effectively creating a B230F), are there things I can do to make the car slower?

Can I make a wastegate adjustment for less boost or something? Any other ideas?

I can't say enough for well respected power. My 87 740 NA w/ stick is almost powerful enough to be safe. Do i still get tickets for it? Yes, ask the two MA State troopers who bagged me because i wasn't paying enough attention. Power isn't really a big factor on what gets you tickets, rather responsibility (i'm not very responsible :) )

Power really is a safety factor. Although it was only 114, it was still much more than my 82 wagon ever was. So things like onramps and handling maneuvers become progressively easier. that extra little kick lets me move the rear end out when it needs to be, where as it was a struggle in the wagon. Has that saved me before? Yes. Long story, but it has. More importantly it saved my passengers as well.

Ironic that you had jsut hte opposite problem as I, who was looking for a 740/240 turbo sedan for about a year and a half before i settled on my baby.

OK, since you don't wanna switch with me,
though my car is really SLOW.

Here are some points which might help you:
1.) use 87 octane fuel
2.) change ignition timing,
ask your mechanic to what degree
3.) buy a radar detector
4.) for additional weight
carry at least 1 spare tire,
100 lbs of metric tools,
a box of california vine
and a keg of beer in your trunk
(it helps also over the thirsty time)
5.) glue a cork of a vinebottle
under your gaspedal
6.) and most important:
let your wife or kids drive!

Good luck

The Autowerkes in New London CT has a 1990 745 (non-turbo) 5-speed ...
it's under $5K. They are out there, obviously this one's far from home, but I'd rather drive 22 hours than pull a turbo myself. You won't find one newer than 1991. They are, as you say, pretty rare cars anyway. The older ones are easier to find. I'd recommend you sell it and get the car you really want if you just can't keep your speed down.
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE, 91 244: 808K total

Hi
Do you wanna switch our cars?
I have a 1986 normally aspirated 745 with autotrans
which is exactly what you need.!
I drive to you whereever you are in US
and you get my car with a full tank of 87 octane fuel!!
You'll make a good deal with that!
Greetings

700 with automatic is easy to find. But a 700 with stick shift and non-turbo is hard to find.

As one who got the same feeling when I first bought my '91 (whoa, hang on!!), over time, you will learn to drive it very conseratively.

I average 23mpg ... the highest of the three I drive regularly.

Leave it the way it is ... it'll be easier to adjust the driving than the car.

-- Kane ... the daily driver is the '74, so it's not like I spoil myself.
--
Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40

I read all the posts and think cutting the power / boost is a really bad idea. Buy a cruise control(Genuine Volvo is the best) and use it and a radar detector too. You won't help gas mileage by cutting HP, an engine that's slaving away or "lugging" is not efficient and will drink gas!
My good running stock '87 745T pulled a 1500lb trailer load of furniture plus wife(not that heavy),dog, tool box and everything for a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people. This was a 700 mile trip with the cruise set at about 73mph and it averaged 23.6 MPG.
My advice; have some fun-get it out of your system and settle down and drive sensibly. You don't want to be in the situation where you need it and don't have it! Trust me-when you're looking at the grill of a guy about to T-bone your left side after running a red light what do you think your last thought is going to be?

This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. This is like a man complaining that his such and such is too big. Not something I've ever heard.

If you want to make your car slower, wedge a little block of wood under the gas pedal or if you must do something mechanically interesting, this seems like what you want, drill and tap a hole under the gas pedal and put a bolt in there. Then the sluggishness of your car is easily adjustable. Don't laugh, that's what the Army does to keep people from driving trucks too fast. Its elegant really, the one's not smart enough to figure it out shouldn't be driving fast anyway.
--
John 16:33

Final point says it all (Jn 16:33)
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

First I'd like to state I think what you're trying to accomplish is somewhat silly. If you're only trying to avoid tickets, just drive it in a more sedate manner. I drive a 240 turbo, manual transmission, with a silly looking dual exhaust tip setup (the exhaust was not my doing). I'm 20, and as such a young'n I assume I drive a bit more aggressively than you do. So far no tickets in the Volvo (none in the other cars either). A concern about gas mileage OTOH would be a lot more justified (especially if your car had an autobox).

Here's what I would suggest (in descending order of my preference):

- Drive in a less agressive manner. Without overdrive I can get about 21mpg if I drive nicely, no tickets -- only times (3x) I was pulled over was for registration tags (bored cops.. long story).

- Sell the turbo car for your ideal car, and the turbo as a bargaining factor ("hey, wanna trade up to a turbo?").

- Buy a normally aspirated car with an autbox and swap in a manual (this is surely less work than converting a B230FT to a B230F). A 940 may be easier to find, but slightly more difficult to swap due to LH-Jet 2.4.

- Install a "g-valve" so that the boost comes on sooner, and then set the max boost down to something like 1 or 2 psi.

- If you must keep your car, and must avoid the turbo, don't rebuild your engine to normally aspirated specs. Go find a B230F in decent shape and do that.

Where are you that a 700 wagon is so difficult to find?

- alex

'85 244 Turbo | ~145k miles

"Where are you that a 700 wagon is so difficult to find? "

Michigan. Most 700's I see are automatic here. I think most were in total.

Ah.

Well swapping over a manual will likely be a lot less effort than swapping in a normally aspirated engine (no fuel system differences or on the pre LH-2.4 no ECU differences either), and for sure a lot less effort than trying to spec your B230FT with different pistons, cam, etc.

A little tip: try letting it lug a little bit. Shift at about 3000 - 3200 RPM, maybe as low as 2500 for the 3-4.

- alex

'85 244 Turbo | ~145k miles

Here's my take...de-tuning the car is not a good idea for a few reasons. One is that however you achieve the lower level of performance you're going to alter the way the car accelerates in bad way. This could be dangerous if the car is too sluggish on the highway or stalls when pulling through an intersection. If you turn down the boost things like this could happen because the compression ratio is so low. I really have to ask though, why? I can't even begin to imagine how many variants of turbocharged Volvos are on the road. I have yet to hear of an epidemic of Volvo drivers not being able to help getting speeding tickets. In stock form (especially with over 100K) they really aren't that fast. They do have some pep to them and of course you can get a speeding ticket in anything, but still-it's a 3000+lb car with 160 HP. My upcoming turbo buildup should hit about 215 HP at the flywheel-still no serious street machine.

Later,

Matthew

Try adding a gallon of water at every fill up, or if that doesn't work, remove spart plugs, one at a time, until the car runs like you want it to. (Yes, there is a smart a** in every crowd . . . sorry).

Well, I hate to offer unwanted admonition, but the car is ONLY fast
when you tromp the gas. To make it slow is to make the assumption that
your own judgement is not good enough to know when you can drive fast
and when you cannot. (Sounds like liberal politics to me, and YES, I
am keeping my .50 calibre rifle which I will use at appropriate times.
Meanwhile it remains in the attic, unloaded and separate from powder stores
and percussion caps.)

I submit that a few expensive traffic tickets might develop the required
sensitivity to those situations that might bring on involvement of law
enforcement agencies. If you want a slow car, get a Fiat 600, a 444
with original engine, or a 54 Chevy with auto tranny. Personally the
ability to jump out of a hazardous situation is of great value and I don't
plan to forfeit it just because I happen to have a lead foot. A lot of power,
properly used, is an excellent safety feature on the highway as well as in
town.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

The following response is from someone who just got his first ticket in 17 years (59 in a 35) and. conicidently, had recently purchased a 940TI wagon:

Isn't a driver adjustment much easier than any mechanical mods? You might need the power to get out of a dangerous situation...

Jim Weiss
83 245T, 90 760TI, 93 940TI (so far, an uncontrollable vehicle)

This sure is a strange request. But from a guy who did just the opposite, my suggestion would be to adjust the wastegate to a lower setting. The trouble is it will still be fast on the highway, which is where I get my tickets! If you remove the turbo, the compression is too low to be barely driveable. You could try an intake restrictor or block the gas pedal so it won't go to the floor.

Rene
--
1988 745 GLE B23FT M46 (J-P Type combo). Toronto. 380000Km. Suspension upgraded and lowered . 1982 242 GLT project (B23ET LPT to be included) Also in charge of GF's 1986 244

"This sure is a strange request."

Indeed. But when you can't get the car you want, you are forced to make do.

"my suggestion would be to adjust the wastegate to a lower setting."

What would be the lowest level of boost where the car would still be driveable?

"What would be the lowest level of boost where the car would still be driveable?"

Only you can answer that question. My son doesn't consider his car driveable with the slight loss in performance of an automatic transmission. Most people would think his car was a hotrod (1984 760T).

Okay, what I meant was:

What level of boost (in psi) would get me down around 115-120hp?

My rough guess, going on the reduced compression ration, would be about 2 psi, to make up the difference. Don't forget that'll be a SLOW spooling 2 psi because the wastegate will start to open almost immediately, bypassing the compressor.

Rene
--
1988 745 GLE B23FT M46 (J-P Type combo). Toronto. 380000Km. Suspension upgraded and lowered . 1982 242 GLT project (B23ET LPT to be included) Also in charge of GF's 1986 244