I guess I'm asssuming you have a late model engine available, otherwise you'd be asking which engine is the best candidate for an easy upgrade to your car.

I have a 1964 PV544 which arrived in the US with a B18 and manual transmission.

When the engine finally needed an overhaul (at over 300,000 miles) the decision was made to 'upgrade' to a B20 and automatic trans from a 1975 140-series car.

The engine had the Volvo fuel injection system, which was probably just fine, but as a U.S. Government-trained computer tech, I decided to go with the Carter SU-H6 carbutator setup. I've worked on old cars all my life, and prefer stuff you can 'fiddle' with as opposed to stuff that a computer controls!

As my car sits now, it has a B20 engine, Volvo automatic transmission, SU carbs, MSD-6A ignition system, Crane cam with electronic advance control, head and intake reworked by a friend at Eidelbrock, and the stock 4.11:1 rear gears.

Looking under the hood, you'd have to be damned familiar with older Volvo engines to tell that it's not totally stock; the only giveaways are the 'B20' cast into the side of the block, the innocuous transmission dipstick, and the blocked off fuel injector ports. 99.9% of people looking at it think it's original and stock. LOL!

Originally, the stock B20 put out about 110 horsepower, as I recall. I can guarantee that I'm pulling at least 160 from it now. The local drag club has runs each Friday night, so one day soon I'll go over to the airport to see how fast it actually is.

I know I can outrun most Ricers on their best day, even with the lesser H.P.

The upside is this: The engine now has over 100,000 miles on it and uses NO oil between changes. It drips a few drops when parked, but I will deal with that as soon as my brother gets off his duff and buys a power washer so I can clean the underside of the car and determine where it's coming from. Obviously not dripping when it's running - no wet oil on the undercarriage, - so it will be fun to figure out what the problem is.

I'm getting 30 mpg in town and at least 37 mpg on the highway. No slouch when it comes to squeezing the last bit of energy from each gallon of gasoline!

You may be looking for an entirely different drive train. I like what I have because 1.) it was so easy to install, and 2.) the whole setup works so well as a unit.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. The slant engine sounds a little tough to me, but that may be the right thing for you to do.

Good luck!

Steve,
SoCal Desert