New member with a 340 and some strange ideas

Post by **5lab** » 29 Dec 2004 04:18 am

thats not very low if you think about it - 4750 (or whatever it is) is pretty near the redline

Post by **huskyracer** » 29 Dec 2004 09:39 am

Yes, The secret is out! I do indeed work for power engineering, I would be more than happy to set up carbs for you. The power delivery in my b14 is more like a diesel, it makes a load of torque (comparatively speaking ) then runs out of steam at about 3.5k It will rev on to someware about 6 maybe 6.5k but its a fairly usless exercise, seems much better to short shift and use the torque people in the street give you funny looks if you go past them doin 6k in a 340

Post by **foggyjames** » 30 Dec 2004 02:11 am

What sort of cost are we looking at? I'd most likely fit them at a mates place in Bedford, then limp the last 50 miles or so. The jetting *ought* to be correct, but we'll see. They're Solex ADDHE 40s, if that makes any difference to the jetting kits you need.

I can't do anything on them until after Easter due to strict insurers

That sounds like the B200K power delivery! Volvo tend to go for that kind of power curve in general (as I'm sure you've noticed!) - just one of the chaps on the VOC forum said the B14 was a revvy beast.

cheers

James

Post by **5lab** » 30 Dec 2004 10:57 am

imo the b14 has a much flatter spread of power than the b200k - theres a bit more high up.

Post by **huskyracer** » 30 Dec 2004 01:11 pm

Hi james, if you could get the car to me on a sat afternoon, I can set it all up on the rollers, jets are no problem, as you can imagine keepin jets for every carb in the world is a bit tricky, so we tend to re drill the jets already fitted, so you wont need to buy loads of jets etc. As long as it's a saturday p.m. and the boss has gone home tuning work is done out of a passion for fiddling with strange cars and beer money. hope this fits your budget

let me know when you get it all up and running and we can make the apropriate arrangements.
cheers
Iain

Post by **foggyjames** » 30 Dec 2004 10:47 pm

Crikey Iain...beer money is my favourite price! As I think I said above, I can't do anything for a few months courtesy of my insurers, but I'm certainly planning to go ahead. The carbs look to be in very good shape, but I've not got around to stripping them down to confirm the condition of their workings. However, I have another pair for spares

I would like to do a power run before I change anything, so I can see the before / after effect, so maybe that could swell PE's coffers a little? What does a 'diagnostic' power run (the kinda thing you do at club meets, etc) usually cost?

What do you mean Hugh - the B200K has more top end than the B14, or the other way around?

cheers

James

Post by **5lab** » 30 Dec 2004 11:32 pm

b14 doesnt drop off as much near the high end

Post by **huskyracer** » 31 Dec 2004 05:59 pm

A power run is normaly £45 + vodka&tonic, that gets you 3 power runs, the first two for me to get used to the car and check the fueling (and boost if turboed) and the third run to record the figures. This is what you get at a r/r day. If you wanted a full diagnostic / tune It would normaly set you back £125 + the dreaded and any parts.
As and when we do yours its no problem to do Before mods runs as I need to do a couple of runs as it came in the door to sus out what needs to be changed/altered anyway. So if you really feel the need to empty your wallet a bit it'll be £45 but Thats an option we can discuss on the day!

Just for referance, Rolling road days cost:
£45 per car up to 10 cars,
£40 per car up to 20 cars,
£35 per car up to 30 cars,
£30 over 30 cars.

I might be able to sort a bit of a discount for V3M, if interested! We have done 3 or 4 rolling road days for the V.O.C. Its quite funny watching caravan owners run for cover as there engine goes past 3500rpm for the first time in 200,000 miles

Post by **foggyjames** » 01 Jan 2005 04:37 am

The difficulty would be I'd like to get a power run on the current carb / cam, etc....and I think I'd be taking the piss a little if I started changing my cam outside your workshop! I suggest I pop down at some point in the coming months and get a power run done on its own...
...Then I'll come back early in the summer with a pair of carbs, and we can fine-tune them (if necessary), and do an 'after' power run. There are some question marks over the ignition system (its mapped....so will it be wrong for these carbs / hotter cam? probably!), so it'll be interesting to see if we can spot any problems there. There is also a question mark over the fuel pump being able to keep up, so it'd be good to keep an eye on that. I have a fuel pump which is matched to these carbs, but I'm not sure if the extra flow comes from a pressure-check valve in the pump, or from greater lift on the cam which drives it (which I don't have).

Am I reading too much into this stuff? How much detail do you guys tend to go into in terms of planning for this kind of project? Is it more a case of slap it on and see if it works with my existing ignition setup, or do I need to get a programmable ignition setup (or at least a conventional mechanical advance system which can be adjusted). Neither of these is a problem! Likewise with the fuel pump - do we try it and see if its a problem, or fit an uprated pump as a matter of course? I'm a little unsure of the way things are done, and several people have told me to relax and not worry about it...which isn't the way I like to operate with engineering!

cheers

James

Post by **huskyracer** » 01 Jan 2005 11:54 am

HAPPY NEW YEAR 340pw

Yeah, you need to relax guy!
Seriously, you would be suprised just how forgiving the internal combustion engine is to having random bits chucked at it!!
The fuel pump will very likely be more than up to the job, If it isn't Then it will only become a problem under heavy load and wont stop you driving the car normaly, So personaly I would not worry about this, Its very easy to check the fuel pressure under load on the dyno which will show us wether the pump is up to the job. I dont think they would have increased the pump flow by using a bigger cam to drive it but I suppose it is a possiblity, If this was the case then it would proberbly be best to fit an electric pump. The ignition mapping will not be right, but I think it will be very very close. Ignition timing changes (ie swinging the dizzy or mooving the pickup) will get you 99% of the way there. I used to own an xr2 (sorry) That was very heavily modified, bored & stroked to 1905cc, big valve head, piper 285 cam & twin webber 40'sThis was more than happy on the stock xr2 distributor it used to make 155bhp 150 lbs/ft 50% more than standard.
You wouldn't be the first person to change a cam in the drive

But I see what you mean, 01895 255699 is the number to ring to book it in for a power run, ask For Iain in the r/r. (I seem to remember a bloke changing the garbox on a 4x4 sierra in the drive once!!!)
Project cars from power engineering are more often than not the result of us '' slapping bits on'' Then developing things from there. The truth is, if you get too deep into the theory unless your name is David vizard You will end up with a lot more questions than answers and a head full of maths

Cheers,
Iain

Post by **redline** » 01 Jan 2005 03:26 pm

I used to use Power engineering when I lived in Harrow in the late eighties /early 90's, they were a great bunch of guys ,I had a tricked up 1100 MK1 fiesta at the time and they sorted out all the brakes for me including fitting an xr2 rear axle and sorting out the handbrake , vented discs uprated pads and braided brakelines. the thing nearly stood on its nose when braking. The important thing was they spoke to you and not at you like so many garages because they actually enjoyed what they were doing

Post by **foggyjames** » 02 Jan 2005 03:00 am

Right, I'll take a chill pill! I guess all we can do is measure what happens and take it from there

The dizzy is fixed, but the pickup can be moved (a little)....although I'm not sure how easy this will be!

You can see from my above post how excited I was about PE - your reputation goes before you!

cheers

James

Post by **huskyracer** » 02 Jan 2005 07:28 pm

Thanks for the nice comments about P.E, Since long before I joined the company It's main aim is to help enthusiasts rather than sell you as much as possible, and were trying to keep it that way. Has your car got a renix ignition system?

Post by **foggyjames** » 03 Jan 2005 03:27 am

Yes indeed - I am burdened with Renix!

cheers

James

Post by **Lonewolf** » 03 Jan 2005 06:43 am

Can the ignition with the renix be advanced/retarded easily? just curious as i wanted to advance it by 2-3 degrees and it wouldnt do much harm as the car only drinks premium anyway.