The Buchka 242 Daily Driver

[Greyscale]

Thanks for the answer, Pat and Alex. A true testament to how commonly they fade!

 

[mopar318]

I called them and asked, they have a minimum order of four pieces on custom pistons. I would end up paying more for one extra than I did for the entire set of five.



As Pat mentioned, they are just faded original housings.



Thanks dude. My patience runs thin sometimes, as evidenced by the cruddy flaked and peeling paint on the brake calipers



Thanks! I can post the 3d model I made. I ordered the cap from protolabs, printed in black ABS-like plastic on a high resolution SLA 3d printer. They definitely aren't the cheapest around though, I'm sure you could find a local shop to do it for less money than I paid. I was mostly just lazy when I ordered it, the convenience of protolabs is hard to beat.

The letters are just filled with several coats of white Testors enamel paint from a hobby shop, then sanded down flush with the radiused top surface.

I wouldn't mind puting that cap on my m47 car. That would make it even more difficult to steal.

 

[Jyromefedx]

Do you have any lengthy videos of this engine purring? You tube doesn't provide much for b6304 engines and I am nearing desperation to hear one Idle and go underload.

 

[Alex Buchka]

Unfortunately I don't have any videos like that. It sounds like an inline 6

 

[HiSPL]

Here's what it would sound like.

This car uses the B6304 and an M90. Not sure what the exhaust is, but kinda sounds like duals.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mT52ciRH9TA

 

[Jyromefedx]

Wow, it is so harmonized and tame sounding. As compared to my rough b23e. It does have some nice rumble under acceleration though. Thank you.

 

[Alex Buchka]

Did some major service on the car this past weekend. I've been having an oil consumption problem since the get-go with this engine and it appears to all be drawing through the PCV system. Chris made some changes to the system when he put the engine together that I tried to put back to stock but there was always a lingering feeling of something being off. I replaced all the PCV components with OEM parts to get a new baseline, will have to re-evaluate in the next 1000 miles or so.

Also put in a new clutch. The twin disc Tilton I put in as a stopgap (back in march ) has been marginally livable, both in pedal effort and modulation. When starting from a stop it would either rattle the car to death or squeal like a stuck pig. Also pretty sure my left leg is now significantly stronger than my right from basically doing a one legged squat every time I disengaged the clutch.

The new clutch is a re-built Quartermaster Rally-V with a softer diaphragm spring and full face organic discs supplied by Powertrain Technologies. The engagement is buttery smooth and the pedal effort is now only slightly stiffer than a stock clutch. Very happy with how it drives.

Karl was a huge help and machined up some delrin bushing to replace the clapped spherical bearings in the rear shocks. They had quite a bit of slop and every bump would cause significant clunking noises inside the car. The bushings completely silenced all the noise and the car is now damn comfortable to ride in. The reduced NVH makes the car feel much less harsh, even with the 500lb/in front and 250lb/in rear springs.

Also did some mock up on the GSXR ITB's I bought from Mike Jr a while back. The thermostat housing needs to be massaged a bit, and I might need to move the power steering reservoir to make room for a proper plenum to make this happen.

 

[MikeJr.]

Good to see the TBs on the engine. I can't wait to see how they sound.

I hope the spacing on them was ok. I was looking at the S60 thermostat housings. They are a little straighter.

 

[HiSPL]

Its like I'm watching my dream volvo being built right in front of me.

B6304 with ITB's and a 5 speed in a 242. Leave it NA and drive the wheels off it!

 

[Alex Buchka]

Good to see the TBs on the engine. I can't wait to see how they sound.

I hope the spacing on them was ok. I was looking at the S60 thermostat housings. They are a little straighter.

Spacing was 90% there, had to machine a few of them down a smidge to get it all lined up. Engine has an S60 thermostat housing already. I machined the TPS mounting boss off the first throttle to get it as shown in the photo, still need to take more off. I think there might be enough fat to trim on the first throttle to get everything bolted up. Will definitely need a remote reservoir for the power steering if I want to get a plenum on there.

Its like I'm watching my dream volvo being built right in front of me.

B6304 with ITB's and a 5 speed in a 242. Leave it NA and drive the wheels off it!

Thanks dude. Will definitely be going turbo at some point down the line but that's pretty far off right now. I want to build another motor for that and the funds just aren't there.

 

[jrode34m5]

I can't wait to see it running. pls make it hapen soon!!!! good job keep up the good work!!!!

Which year t6 engine is good for boosted application and tuning(chip tuning).

Are there any cams available for this engine, like 264* for turbo app?.

Thanks

J rod

 

[Alex Buchka]

Not much new to report, mainly just been putting gas in it and driving it to work every day.

The car was getting pretty dirty so in preparation for the Davis show I had a local shop do some detailing. They did a much better job than I have the patience for.

Caravaned it up to Davis from LA with Chris (duder) and his wife. We made a pit stop on saturday and cleaned the bugs off our cars.

The show was great fun and the guys at the Golden Gate VCOA chapter really pulled out all the stops. Kudos to them for putting on a great event. Also nice to see lots of familiar faces and catch up.

Ended up getting second place in the modified 240 class and the IPD choice award which was a very nice of the guys from IPD. I've never won anything at a car show before so it was definitely a surprise getting anything at all, especially considering the car is my daily driver and certainly not a show piece.

I've got some stuff in the works which should be update worthy, hopefully I can get that stuff done faster than the 6 months since the last update.

 

[Harlard]

You need to post your DWood shot. Congratulations, and it was a pleasure to meet you.

 

[Råda]

Congrats! It's such a nice car

 

[Duder]

The Davis show results shouldn't be surprising; they were hard earned and well deserved. I think you've found the right balance between show-winner and daily driver!

I mean, 3.5 years ago when I saved it from the crusher, this car was running a tired B23, blown out stock suspension and brakes, and had a nasty interior...now it's a sharp lookin' strong runner.
"Unique and creative" according to the IPD guy (paraphrasing).

The drive up was fun; sorry about spraying your car with particulate matter though. I'll post some trip notes and pics in my project thread soon.

 

[FezMonki]

I have a question.
I have a B230FT with M47 in the car right now.
I also have a redblock M90, a whiteblock M90, and its 6cyl engine out of a 960.
If I went through the trouble of putting the redblock M90 in soon, and probably roll with it for a year or two, do you think that dropping the whiteblock and M90 would be ""pretty straightforward"" in a far away day?
What I guess I'm asking is, are the two M90's identical and would the 6cyl fit if the M90 ended up where the redblock one is (firewall clearance)?

I can deal with having to make the engine work after, custom manifolds etc, but I can't deal with huge fabricating and especially fitting head aches, I already had my share of those with the 142 and ended up giving up.

Does Red M90 -> Sort out hydraulic clutch -> e-fan -> whiteblock everything sound like a sane person path?

I'm pretty much deciding what junk I want to keep in my garage and what not, and you seemed like the most appropriate to ask.

That is a damn sweet ride by the way.

 

[Tuff240]

I can deal with having to make the engine work after, custom manifolds etc, but I can't deal with huge fabricating and especially fitting head aches, I already had my share of those with the 142 and ended up giving up.

If you can't put one in a 142, a 240 isn't going to be much easier. Just stick with the redblock. It's a better motor anyways.

And making custom manifolds is way harder than making some simple motor mounts.

 

[FezMonki]

If you can't put one in a 142, a 240 isn't going to be much easier. Just stick with the redblock. It's a better motor anyways.

And making custom manifolds is way harder than making some simple motor mounts.

The problem was mostly finding a blacksmith that wasn't a complete retard, I could draw the supports just fine. In this case the box section supports seem much more achievable, and there is less in the way on a 240. Also, I wouldn't be making the custom manifolds myself.

But I guess you might be right about the redblock.

 

[VQ]

I love the work. But talking like making calliper mounts, making 2 peice rims, the throw out bearing arrangement on the w58. Etc etc on top of every other job. Well, it's not how most people manage this sort of thing, as we aren't engineers with European training.

Not to take away from the work you do, but you guys are very fortunate to have your life situation.

 

[kampman]

lol, look how far you had to stretch to come up with something to hate on re: this project

Pretty sure the Buchkas know exactly how good they have it and they understate the difficulty/significance of what they come up with for their projects for humorous effect.