My '78 242 L33 turbo build

Thanks! Slow progress is better than no progress I guess

New valve covers, coils, coil brackets, plugs, wires, boots installed today. Still waiting on the parts for the PCV system.

Nice work, looks really clean

Thanks guys! I figured out the radiator hoses today, and did some engine wiring. Somehow I missed that I have a 8 pin throttle body plug but a 6 pin throttle body...guess I need the expensive adapter cable.

Hydroboost unit showed up today Unfortunately it did not come with the pushrod assembly, so I have to find that somewhere.

I posted the results of the rad hoses in my other thread, but will repeat it here to keep everything in one spot.
Upper radiator hose: 1998 S10 upper rad hose, trimmed at both ends
Lower rad hose: Jeep CJ7 6 cyl lower rad hose
Steam vent: Porsche 944 Turbo reservoir hose

The solution to not having a PCV on the valve covers showed up, Earls baffled oil cap and Radium swivel.

Well, that didn't work. The Earls cap fits cast Holley valve covers, not fabricated ones. Fabricated valve covers have a M32x2 thread, which apparently is unique and no one makes anything that fits that. Guess I will be drilling holes in the valve covers to ventilate the crankcase. This covid nonsense has really slowed me down financially, but hopefully have some progress soon.

Anyone have an extra 40 ft of 8AN fuel line? Haha

If anyone is interested in the Minilite replicas hit me up. They are 14x6, 5x108, direct fit on any rwd Volvo.

Love the progress! Looking good!

The Minilite wheels are sick, probably not economical to ship them though

Thanks! Ya, pretty sure shipping that far would be a deal killer. If it wasn't so expensive to remove the tires it would be more worth it.

Nice project.

Will follow along.

Are you using a T56? I noticed you trimmed the shifter hole forward. I have an identical swap, but ended up having to cut the floor and move the shifter hole back about 1.50-1.75". Just curious what the difference may be. Anyway, I love the build. Great attention to detail. Keep up the good work.

Thanks! The transmission is a TKO600. It has several shifter positions but the original location turned out to be closest. I have no idea why shifters end up in different locations. My engine can not move toward the firewall any more, it has about an inch clearance.

Today I got to work on the hydroboost brake booster stuff. For those who don't know, it is basically hydraulic instead of vacuum, run in my case by the Corvette power steering pump. The hoses will be joined with the power steering lines. The point of doing this is to gain room for the valve cover and coil packs.

The unit is a rebuilt one from Rockauto, original fitment was an early '90s Astro van. It does not come with a pushrod for the master cylinder, so I found a kit on eBay. This kit is universal, meaning the pushrod is very long and made to be cut to length. Instructions for cutting this down included with the kit assume you are using a traditional Chevy master cylinder. I am using a '94 Mustang Cobra master cylinder so I had to figure something else out. Of course I failed at this and ended up about 0.554" too short. No problem, the cutoff piece just needed to be sized as a spacer.

The Mustang master cylinder does not fit, but if you make the mounting holes into slots, it fits perfectly.

Another consideration is the firewall mounting pattern, 3 1/2" square, so it needs new holes to be drilled. I didn't get there yet, but I did make a reinforcement plate for the interior as the booster is heavy. Made a gasket as well. Here is some crappy pics, I'll add an assembled pic later.

Forgot to mention the pedal side obviously needs work as well, not sure If I want to weld it or thread it to accept the Volvo linkage. And the protrusion of the housing might require a spacer of some sort.

The hydroboost unit (and yes I hate wearing shoes at home haha)



Slotted master cylinder



Cut down (too far) pushrod





Fix for the short pushrod



Reinforcement plate and gasket

Is there a particular reason for using hydroboost? That setup doesnt really seem to be saving you a whole lot of room over the standard booster and is just going to add a bunch more plumbing and failure points....plus, if you lose a belt, you lose power brakes. Had a friend lose his 03-04 cobra swapped fox due to this.

The valve cover does not fit, especially with the coil pack on it. I have 3 different sets of valve covers, none fit with the coil pack. I have coil relocation brackets, but no good place to put them.

If I lose the belt, I lose all engine accessories. The brakes should still work, just not nearly as well. Pull the ebrake if absolutely needed, while engine braking. It does add 2 hoses, well one if you count the vacuum booster hose as one. I gain around 4" of clearance, which I think is substantial.

That is a legit concern, but losing a serpentine belt is unlikely if it is in new and kept ingood condition and all the pulleys are new, as they are. Maintenance will be key to reliability of course.

Did a bit more work on it today. I removed the clevis end from a Volvo booster and drilled it to fit the Astro booster rod. This allows the clevis to slide on the shaft so I can determine the length needed. I will weld it in place, and it will be ready to install. I just have to drill the firewall still.

I'm hoping to find a different fluid reservoir that sits level.

What engine mounts did you use?

STS Machining engine mounts. People say Giffen mounts give a bit more space (height), but I don't see how that is possible. Even with my Holley pan I had to move the vent tube on the steering rack, you could slide a piece of carboard between the rack and the pan. How can it be any lower without custom oil pan work? IDK

2turbotoys said:

STS Machining engine mounts. People say Giffen mounts give a bit more space (height), but I don't see how that is possible. Even with my Holley pan I had to move the vent tube on the steering rack, you could slide a piece of carboard between the rack and the pan. How can it be any lower without custom oil pan work? IDK

Click to expand...

Giffin is building mounts for my Gen5 engine (L83) right now... he uses the Holley 302 series pans with his mounts.

Not sure how he does it, but he does.

That pan is what almost everyone uses, and what I have on the car. It is not possible to mount the engine lower using that pan.

Interesting to see you slotted the master cylinder. That would solve my problem of trying to fit my stock master on a different booster, but I was nervous about removing that much mounting material. Is the consensus that a slotted master is ok?