Engine Putting the Windsor on a diet

[BeaverMeat]

I have a 1989 5.0L H.O. and T-5 swapped into a 1981 Volvo 240 sedan. The engine is pretty much stock. The owner installed a "high rise" lower intake manifold will the O.E. upper plenum (haven't been able to find what brand it is as most aftermarket lower intake manifolds won't accept the O.E.)

This swap only adds about ~100lbs over the original Volvo four-banger and transmission. Me being picky about weight distribution I'm wanting to lighten the engine.

I know aluminum head will take ~40-50lb off the engine weight. Water pump is ~2lbs. Mini starter is ~8lbs.

What else can be done without getting heavy into the internals? I.E. pistons, crank, etc.

 

[General karthief]

Street cruiser or race car?
Aluminum heads are a big ticket weight wise, don't know what the suspension components are made of,

 

[2000xp8]

Not sure what you mean by high rise intake (maybe it has an intake spacer?.
If it's fuel injected you will want a new intake to go with the heads regardless.
The heads are the only real engine mod that will take significant weight off the engine.

You could also move the battery to the trunk to offset the weight.

 

[7991LXnSHO]

How much do you have to spend on this project?

http://www.mustangandfords.com/parts/mdmp-0810-ford-aluminum-man-o-war-cylinder-block

 

[BeaverMeat]

Street cruiser or race car?
Aluminum heads are a big ticket weight wise, don't know what the suspension components are made of,

Will probably change the intake and heads to a GT40/Cobra set-up eventually. I'm not looking for big power overall... 300hp at the crank is good enough for me.

It's actually my daily driver family hauler... lol. Only racing will be track days at Vancouver Island Motorsports Circuit. I'm not much of a drag or circle racer. Wanting to loose some weight up front to correct the F/R imbalance from the swap. I like a nimble car.

Not sure what you mean by high rise intake (maybe it has an intake spacer?.
If it's fuel injected you will want a new intake to go with the heads regardless.
The heads are the only real engine mod that will take significant weight off the engine.

You could also move the battery to the trunk to offset the weight.

Yeah, it's a 1989 5.0 H.O. with EFI. I don't know what was done... he said "high rise intake". It could just be a spacer or a product that's no longer available. The swap was done in 2000. I'm still waiting for the car to be delivered so I have done an inspection. This week!!!

Yeah, I'm doing a battery relocate or just a lightweight battery along with a mini-starter.

How much do you have to spend on this project?

http://www.mustangandfords.com/parts/mdmp-0810-ford-aluminum-man-o-war-cylinder-block

The swap is already done. At this point I'm only interested in bolt-on mods for the engine. The heads and intake being the most extreme. It already had exhaust.

All my money is going towards a proper suspension tune

 

[2000xp8]

That's just a stock intake. Hard to to tell, but at most it has a small spacer.

If you search MichaelYount (here or just or on the internet), you will likely find volvo 5.0 info, if i remember correctly he was big on mustang volvo swap's although i heard somewhere it now has an LS3

 

[BeaverMeat]

That's just a stock intake. Hard to to tell, but at most it has a small spacer.

If you search MichaelYount (here or just or on the internet), you will likely find volvo 5.0 info, if i remember correctly he was big on mustang volvo swap's although i heard somewhere it now has an LS3

perhaps there is some terminology lost in translation. The “lower intake” was changed AFAIK... it could be a spacer, or a product that’s no longer offered. This was done 20 years ago.

I’ll get the car and paperwork in hand when it finally get to my driveway. The “upper intake”, or “intake plenum” is the stock one with a larger throttlebody.

 

[BeaverMeat]

Well, I got my hand on it finally. Yeah, it's the OE lower intake. Old Rick was confused about the fuel injection system of the 5.0L. He said it was "throttle body injection with a high rise intake". No biggy, he's just old school.

It does have a BBK 70mm throttle body... I had to adjust the idle speed to around 750-800 so it would idle nice and not be as finicky off the start.

I guess a GT40 heads and "cobra" intake are in order. I'll see if I can find a used set instead of buying new from Ford Racing.

 

[96pushrod]

The water pump is most likely aluminum already so there’s no use to change it. Starter will net a couple of pounds, not that much of a difference.
The ps setup is fairly heavy, and if you changed to a victor Jr style intake with an elbow it would drop a few lbs over the stock upper.

Doubt you’d notice any of this weight loss though.

Cool car though, sweet to see a Volvo with a v8

 

[BeaverMeat]

Once I install coilerovers I'll notice the weight difference. I’m not much of a “strait lime/circle” guy. I like both kinds of corners... left and right. From what I feel it needs an adjustable pan-hard bar and stiffer rear springs. It’s solid, but wobbly.

I will need to change the final gear ratio dow to 1.31 or 1.54 (Volvo numbers). The '89 T-5 1st gear is way too short with 3.73s. I'd keep the 3.73s If I get lucky enough to find a '93 Cobra T-5... I'm not buying a new one from Tremec.