Engine and gearbox swap on an early 850 (92)

alexandre2701 · Post by **alexandre2701** » 09 Feb 2021, 00:13

Hello all, I am new here and this is my first post.
I have been looking at an early Volvo 850 which for a while was one of the only 3 Volvos in my country (I currently own the two others, a pair of 460s with a Renault carbureted 1.8L engine). The 850 has been kept in storage for about 15 years by the previous owner who kept it in his workshop the whole time, he bought it with a blown engine and damaged gearbox (auto). He has recently been trying to sell the car for around $2250 in my local currency, if you exclude the lack of an engine the car is in fantastic shape, original paint, seats and wheels (pretty sure original tires as well) as the car only has 42,000 KM on the odometer. I gave the body a thorough look and seems rust free most likely due to the fact it was kept indoors.

Onto the reason why I am writing this, I was looking into swapping in a T5 engine (B5234T) and a manual, ideally an M56 or M66. I know it would probably cost me more than what I paid for the car but its the only 850 around and wont be able to import and register any other one (can bring one in but only as a donor as I wont be able to register it). My main concern would be parts availability and the harness/ECU for the new engine, I cant find any for sale and its getting frustrating. I know for sure I wont be able to reuse my existing engine harness as it is a 2L N/A auto car.

I only have a deposit on the car for the moment and am choosing to look into parts first. Researching all of this really made me love Volvos honestly (as if the solid sound of closing the car's door didn't already make me love them). It honestly pains me to see a car in such condition unable to be driven, I am not incredibly experienced with working on cars and might have a local mechanic (who is known for clean engine swaps) help me build it as I intend to turn it into a daily.

I am still searching for parts so if anyone know/has any parts that I might need (engine and parts for the manual conversion) I would be very interested in them. I might also need help from someone to go look at parts/donor cars as I wont be able to go do it myself (I don't mind paying for your time and transport fees if you would be willing to do it).

It might not be the turbo wagon I dreamt of, but I am looking forward to getting her back on the road.

P.S some details I forgot to mention
-I asked my local volvo dealer for a quote on parts but only supplies parts from new so I fear it might be a dead end
-The car is RHD
-I only have access to 95 octane (pump fuel)
Thanks in advance for any help on this

Post by **misha** » 09 Feb 2021, 03:25

2250$ is a LOT for a non runner with bad engine and transmission no matter in what condition it is...plus it was in the storage for all that years.

Even if it runs....all kind of problems you could imagine would show after it's driven for a while.

Not worth all that money....even if it runs and drives.

Cookeh · Post by **Cookeh** » 09 Feb 2021, 04:20

2250 MUR or 2250 USD (90,000ish MUR)? If the former, that is insanely cheap! The easiest approach, and the one to guarantee you some sort of spares, would be to import another one as a parts car. This gives you the engine and gearbox that you require, as well as all the accessories and wiring harness. It also provides you with spares driveline and suspension parts should you need them.

95 octane is fine for the B5234T, it's what they were tuned for from factory.

alexandre2701 · Post by **alexandre2701** » 09 Feb 2021, 05:29

misha wrote: ↑09 Feb 2021, 03:25 2250$ is a LOT for a non runner with bad engine and transmission no matter in what condition it is...plus it was in the storage for all that years.

Even if it runs....all kind of problems you could imagine would show after it's driven for a while.

Not worth all that money....even if it runs and drives.

Its my only option if I want an 850, I have been talking to the seller. Basically negotiating the price down, I am trying to get the car for around $800

alexandre2701 · Post by **alexandre2701** » 09 Feb 2021, 05:45

Cookeh wrote: ↑09 Feb 2021, 04:20 2250 MUR or 2250 USD (90,000ish MUR)? If the former, that is insanely cheap! The easiest approach, and the one to guarantee you some sort of spares, would be to import another one as a parts car. This gives you the engine and gearbox that you require, as well as all the accessories and wiring harness. It also provides you with spares driveline and suspension parts should you need them.

95 octane is fine for the B5234T, it's what they were tuned for from factory.

Its $2250 US, I have been negotiating with the guy, the maximum I am willing to pay would be in the $1200s. I am basically pushing the fact he has been trying to sell the car for a while. On the other hand I did get the 2 Volvos 460 for 12,000 MUR ($302). They seem to have a Renault 17 engine and some carburetor off a Datsun 510. The car just needed a new pulley tensioner, battery and new carburetor and started right up after I flushed the all gas. I mean it even passed MOT, which surprised me. I mean the car still had mold on it for crying out loud, I cleaned her up since then, spent more than I paid for car to get it repainted a very nice dark blue and have already been getting offers for the car though I don't plan on selling it anytime soon.

Concerning the donor car its what I was thinking about doing but I wasn't able to find one in the neighboring countries. It would also mean I would be buying the car sight unseen which I am not sure about. Most decent cars I found where in the UK and would cost me a fortune in shipping as well as not being the spec I was searching for. The only models I keep on finding are either 2L auto or 2.5 AWD models, no 2.3T which is starting to get me worried about even finding a car for spares. I mean I am not going to tear down a good condition 850 T5 just for spares (Ideally, I might have to resort to that with how I cant find a SINGLE B5234T despite people supposing selling a lot of things right now).

P.S I found a wiring harness from a V70R, would it fit on the 850 ?
Wish me luck I guess

Post by **Chuck W** » 09 Feb 2021, 17:03

I think you have a rough road ahead, given your limited access to parts, etc.

The wiring is going to be your biggest hurdle, IF you can find compatible parts. The engine harness would need to be from an 850 (through 96 or 97, depending on when the 850 to S/V70 switch over was in your area) The engine harness unplugs at the ECU box, so of you have the proper engine harness, that is the easy part. The harness from that V70R (a '98MY, I assume?) is going to be "close", but different enough to add more difficulty. The '98's are M4.4 ECU cars, which would also work in place of the M4.3 ECUs found in the 850 HPT cars (with some minor adjustments)

Even at that, there are going to be a few extras that need to be added to the body-side of the wiring harness. You'll need to get familiar with wiring diagrams.

Honestly, if you insist on pursuing this, your best bet is going to be a running 850 turbo donor, even if it's LHD. That would have the bulk of the parts you would need for the swap, and then you could adjust for whatever is different for the RHD set-up.