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Coil on plug conversion for distributor cars?

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

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twinvolvos
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Joined: 15 August 2017
Year and Model: 2005 v70xc
Location: Twin Falls, ID

Coil on plug conversion for distributor cars?

Post by twinvolvos »

I would like to get rid of the distributor on both my 1994 850 and 1998 V70. Can anyone advise me on the process and parts needed to make this kind of conversion? Will I need to change the head, ECU, ainstll a crank trigger wheel, or???

Klausc
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Post by Klausc »

Not worth the effort or cost. I guess you could buy a 1999 with a broken tranny and then swap the head, ECU, wiring harness, throttle cable replacement, etc. A single distributor costs less than a single coil over.
Klaus
If I had a larger garage, I could have more Volvos.

shaker_chi
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Post by shaker_chi »

Any reason why you would want to convert?

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erikv11
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Post by erikv11 »

For turbo cars yes, you can swap just the ECU, drop in a harness and the coil packs, but the tuned ECU is not cheap: http://vasttuning.com/coil-on-plug/
'95 854 T-5R, Motronic 4.4, 185k
'98 V70, T5 tune-injectors-turbo, LPT engine, 304k, daily driver
'06 S60 R, 197k
'07 XC70, black, 205k
'07 XC70, willow green, 212k
'99 Camry V6 :shock: 153k
gone: '96 NA 850 210k, '98 NA V70 182k, '98 S70 NA 225k, '96 855 NA 169k

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RickHaleParker
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Post by RickHaleParker »

Vast has a $300 Plug and Play conversion kit for 850’s and C70/V70/S70’s, your still need to source your own coils.

http://vasttuning.com/coil-on-plug/
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1998 C70, B5234T3, 16T, AW50-42, Bosch Motronic 4.4, Special Edition package.
2003 S40, B4204T3, 14T twin scroll AW55-50/51SN, Siemens EMS 2000.
2004 S60R, B8444S TF80 AWD. Yamaha V8 conversion
2005 XC90 T6 Executive, B6294T, 4T65 AWD, Bosch Motronic 7.0.

twinvolvos
Posts: 5
Joined: 15 August 2017
Year and Model: 2005 v70xc
Location: Twin Falls, ID

Post by twinvolvos »

I am planing to swap the engine from the 850T into my 1973 Triumph TR6 making it longitudinal instead of transverse. The rest of the 850 is pretty trashed. I also have a Honda S2000 6 speed transmission to couple to the Volvo engine. The distributor will run into the firewall so going to C.O.P. seems to be the best solution. Also planning to get around 315 hp from the 5 cylinder which will be 3 times what the TR6 "tractor engine" currently has. Any performance mods to achieve that goal will be appreciated also. I will check on the Vast package, thanks.

tryingbe
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Post by tryingbe »

I'd go with megasquirt or microsquirt.
85 GLH, 367 whp
00 Insight, 72 mpg

Klausc
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Post by Klausc »

twinvolvos wrote: 18 Dec 2017, 20:35 I am planing to swap the engine from the 850T into my 1973 Triumph TR6 making it longitudinal instead of transverse. The rest of the 850 is pretty trashed. I also have a Honda S2000 6 speed transmission to couple to the Volvo engine. The distributor will run into the firewall so going to C.O.P. seems to be the best solution. Also planning to get around 315 hp from the 5 cylinder which will be 3 times what the TR6 "tractor engine" currently has. Any performance mods to achieve that goal will be appreciated also. I will check on the Vast package, thanks.
Now that makes sense! I thought you were doing this just to complicate a simple engine. In a TR6? Wow, that should really move right along. Make sure you replace the RMS and find a good place to tighten down the coil overs.
Because you will no longer have a check engine light and finding a turbo ECU with manual tranny is hard to do, you will need an OBD port to check all of the codes that will come up.
Good luck! Let us know the outcome, this project sounds real interesting.
Klaus
If I had a larger garage, I could have more Volvos.

twinvolvos
Posts: 5
Joined: 15 August 2017
Year and Model: 2005 v70xc
Location: Twin Falls, ID

Post by twinvolvos »

Thank you all for the helpful advise. Klaus, I'm not sure what RMS stands for. I plan on transferring as much of the wiring harnesses as necessary to make everything work. There is some information on converting these engines to longitudinal orientation on the internet but not as detailed as I will probably need. I picked up a 1995 960 since it has the bell housing, oil pan, motor mounts and water line tubing that I was told would be necessary for the job. The 960 will eventually get a V6 and auto trans from a Newer Camaro. Any additional information will always be appreciated.

Klausc
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Post by Klausc »

The engine Rear Main Seal, replace with OEM only.
Take your measurements again, the distributor only needs a few extra inches and you will have to make new engine mounts for the TR6. You won't have A/C, and you might want to consider a smaller inter-cooler that sits low in the air scoop to give you more room. BTW, rerouting the air flow from the turbo through the top of the I/C will reduce a lot of the Turbo plumbing and reduce lag time.
Klaus
If I had a larger garage, I could have more Volvos.

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