1989 Volvo 340DL Clio F7p 1.8 16v Swapped "Valver"
After owning the 1.4 for a while, the F7 Clio Swap..Had to Happen..
...or in this case, be bought!
I saw this come up for sale by accident really while browsing and it basically ticked the F7p Swap dream list- Better yet, the owner lived nearby.
After seeing the car in person and having the owner take me out in it - the deal was done, I had to have it!
The paintwork wasnt as nice as my first one despite it being the same colour, but I could overlook that with everything else that had been done to it in mind. The other funny thing was, my neighbours didn't even know it was a completely different car I bought when I came home with it!
...Little did I know this dream would turn into a nightmare with a bottom end failure shortly after I bought it.However, this led to some great fun and times with friends coming round and my dad being handy to help repair it, I also made some lifetime friends in the Volvo 300 community that I wouldnt have otherwise if it wasnt for this catastrophic engine failure.
Sadly, it was too long ago I had this to video and get decent footage, but i managed to find this little clip after the engine swap was done of its first test i think!
Spec List
The Spec and mod list of this car was extensive compared to my first Volvo 340 and it had pretty much everything done to it you would want to do outside of converting the suspension to coilover or multi-link suspension - which a few were doing on the scene at the time, however, they were usually focused track or drift cars rather than road cars.
This was almsot an AMP Performance parts/engine swap special at the time as he started his business with these cars way back when- So All Credit to Adam at AMP Performance for all the time, effort and work he did on this car and many others at the time
He now works on Sports cars, Supercars and everything in the middle!
The Spec list as follows:
Engine:
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Mk1 Clio 1.8 16v F7P Engine
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AMP Performance Custom Wiring loom to get dials and odometer to work with engine swap
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AMP Performance Reversed inlet manifold with custom air filter set-up to keep the heater box (esential for the winter months of de-misting!)
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Full, Custom manifold back stainless steel Powerflow exhaust with a center box.
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Walbro fuel pump
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DriftMoto Heavy Duty Engine Mounts
Suspension:
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Front is on 220Lb springs that are 2" lower than standard, along with Gaz top adjustable shocks.
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The rear has been lowered by 1.5" also with adjustable Gaz shocks.
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Polybushed Droplinks, Top and Bottom Suspension Mounts on Front an Rear
Interior:
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Back of the car was Stripped out but carpeted to keep it more civil and less rattly
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Sparco Sprint Bucket Seats
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OMP Corsica Deep Dish Steering Wheel
This was a thoroughly enjoyable car to drive that felt planted, steady and well balanced with the gearbox in the back.
It made you wonder why this car never came in a twin cam GTI version like a lot of its contempories in the 80's!
This engine swap was possible since Volvo's of this era shared a lot of components with Renault and i think this would've been elevated to a classic with this engine and gearbox in the back like this if Volvo did it!
Pictures
