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As said, do all the routine tune-up items first to give a proper baseline. You may find that these alone give a good performance increase - not to mention fuel economy. The stock Volvo air filter is quite large for the size of the engine, so I doubt a K&N would make a difference you could feel. The only way to increase air flow through a given number of square inches of filter media is to reduce its per-sq.-inch restriction. That means larger pores in the media. Which equals bigger dirt particles passing through.
Same kind of reasoning for the exhaust. The stock rig is not that restrictive given the displacement and power characteristics of the engine. A "performance" exhaust will only deliver benefits at higher RPM's and large throttle openings (well, duh.), so you decide if you want the increased noise 100% of the time for a small power benefit 5% of the time. If so, I'd get the "Turbo" exhaust parts (axle pipe, rear muffler, tailpipe, from FCP-Groton, and get a muffler shop to bend up an intermediate pipe from cat to axle pipe. This duplicates the IPD system at less cost.
I think the best bang for the performance buck in the 240's is to target the suspension first. Install new bushings along with all the shiny new parts. You'll really notice the effects of those dollars. And do some more homework on the shock/strut purchase. I've chatted with a couple of the more knowledgeable contributors to this board who have had poor experiences with the Bil "TC" units - quality/fitment issues. For the Spring makeover on my son's 81 we're going with IPD sway bars and Boge ProGas shocks and struts.
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Bob (81-244GL B21F, 83-244DL B23F, 94-944 B230FD; plus grocery-getter Dodge minivan, MGB, and numerous old motorcycles)
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