Volvo rear suspension options

What options are there for the rear suspension on a 240?

I know the popular one here is to add turrets and put in proper struts, then attach the cage.
But for me, I dont have the ability or do i know people with the tools for me to borrow to do this
So it feels like a bit much for a first-timers car.
I keep wanting to look into a cage builder, but i stop myself: oh, wait i have to hack at the body first.
I feel overwhelmed by the idea, honestly.

Would I be making a serious mistake by going a less exotic?

Thank you,

Rob R.

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Enablers, All of you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2014 03:32AM by BobOfTheFuture.

I would start with reinforcing the lower control arms in the rear. Easy to do, and great gains. You could probably get by with better shocks and springs in the stock location.
Just go old school and run some Monroe load leveling shocks. They might break the shock mounts at some point though. Grab some off a suburban or whatever else fits a Volvo and then add some air to stiffen up the rear.

I have never rallied a Volvo, so I'm not sure how long it takes for the stock mounts to be ripped of the chassis.

The annoying thing with the stock Volvo suspension is the way the shock is way forward on the lower spring pan-arm.
From a control point of view its a good thing-that's why they did it and stuck with it so long.
Pl;aced half way up the arm that point moves slower than right back at the axle....so if one is on bumpy and washboard-y gravel roads---which in the 60s a substantial part of all roads were in Sweden ----a junk shock---which everything but Bilsteins were in the 60s-----will move slowly even when the wheel way back there hits sharp edges like a pot hole of washboard, and if it moves slower, it will TEND to cavitate less at the slow speed than if it was at the axle.

But if we want to do anything, like LONGER travel the original distance between the mounting bolts kinda locks you in to stock eyelet center to center lengths..
See as travel goes up, the length of the body of the shock goes up too..so given the distance between the mounts if we have a longer body it'll move up and basically want to bash into the upper mount---a bolt hanging out in single shear.

It's a good design and it is what we did on mx bikes around 1974 to increase travel from 100mm at the beginning of 1973 to 145-150mm...and by the end of the 70s the shock was placed at the front of the swing arm--a big 19" lever which meant vastly , insanely harder springs to have the WHEEL rate relatively soft--and mind boggling damping rates.....but by slowing down the rate of movement of the shock shaft, we gained unbelievable improvement in the quality of movement---especially on hard surfaces that tended to break up and develop square edge bumps...

And when road bikes started using similar designs, THEY got better.

BUT a moto-cross frame is designed for accomodating the suspension--it really is designed around the suspension...but a production based CAR is another thing.

IF we want decent travel and the ability to set the height and use an off-the-shelf shock, then you might want to "mod the bodyshell once" so you can : get the travel, get the right valving--which knowledge of how with the shim stack to get a lot of "blow off" or "by-pass" to deal with square edge bumps has naturally advance in the last 35 years (That was always the No1 issue even way back in the 70s when we were going to longer and longer travel*), adjust height, swap springs, and above all use an off the shelf shock rather than a 24-002967....


Now if that doesn't make sense there is a PN which is allegedly available, valved right...about $170 each...
Spring rate is really low--about 105 lb/in, don't know the free length.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Where's pictures of Al's rear turrets? I'm guessing they're the Tim Taylor ones. I happen to have a pair of those for sale if you want to replicate that.

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Grant Hughes

You can kinda see it here..

Second pic is just a nice picture.

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Grant Hughes

First of all bob sorry I haven't posted the info on the seat mounts. I got till april 1st to move my car out of the garage so I've been frantically working on it between work. Once I got that sorted I will finish writing it.


Now I will probably get cut down for giving a few suggestions because I'm young and stupid but… here we go.

You say your overwhelmed by the idea but I would like to know more on the why. Because I was at first very apprehensive to the idea as well.

Can you do any sort of welding?
Do you have a place to work on the car?
Do you have an angle grinder (electric) and do you have something of an idea on how to use it.
Are you capable of measuring shit?

Depending on your answer's here you may actually be able to pull this off. But in my opinion one has to sometimes face the truth that they don't have the means to do it themselves. In which case id suggest two things.

1. John lane does rather well in his 240. Ignore the power, because even in my very limited experience Im willing to bet that there is no way that thing puts it all down until 130mph+. I understand it is running a non turret setup. Obviously couldn't be that bad. Talk to JVL maybe just maybe he can do up a set of shocks to bolt into where the stock ones were.

2. Find a fabricator who could build and install the turrets and 4 link. Think about trying to find an off road guy as the 4 link thing should be a very familiar sight to him and he could very well take one look at it and go "well thats it?"

That picture of Al's car hurts.

John, We have talked, you don't have to convince me (again) that a set up like that is better than the stock points.

Grant, I am interested. I guess I could just jump both feet into it...
Those work with the JVAB stuff?

Eric,

I have some low level welding exp via my A&P, but no space to work or welder. Ive been prepping this volvo in my aunts driveway, which is no longer availible to me anymore.
I have found ads for renting garage space, its always 200+ a month and with a no work stipulation.

I guess I could ask some offroader guys, Maybe someone I know knows one.

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Enablers, All of you.

M Volvo is still stock rear with HD Billys. Having driven it pretty damn hard on a gravel road, I can say it works well enough. If I was to leave it that way I would strengthen the arms, put in those nice Spherical parts that replace the goofy arm to axle bushing ( I destroyed those), weld on some shit to make the upper shockmount double shear, and strengthen the attachmet where the upper arms go to the body (I think Al failed those a few years back)

I think the Hardys car is still stock rear, and it has done 30 or more rallies. We all don't have names that end in ...inenn

Quote
phlat65
I think the Hardys car is still stock rear, and it has done 30 or more rallies. We all don't have names that end in ...inenn

That car's closer to 130 than 30. I am not exaggerating.

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Self-righteous douche canoe

Quote
phlat65
... weld on some shit to make the upper shockmount double shear, and strengthen the attachmet where the upper arms go to the body (I think Al failed those a few years back)

This. Double shear the top mount, or that little peg will likely rip out.
The top torque rod mount isn't very substantial, it's almost always under tension, and it sees some high loading. It is pulled on when the car is in go mode, as well as when the wheel hits something while traveling forward (which is probably the highest load).

So, to do the turrets, you need to add mounts to the axle as well correct?
Are the long 4 links also required, or a seperate mod?

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Enablers, All of you.

Quote
BobOfTheFuture
So, to do the turrets, you need to add mounts to the axle as well correct?
Are the long 4 links also required, or a seperate mod?

Turrets are KINDA linked to 4 link...
If you replace the lower spring pan with a tube---well whaddya gonna attach that shock to now?
Huh?

As for the weld-y brackets I have the 4 link brackets ready for both Volvo Dana 30 and for Toyota 8" and shock brackets, too.

Hey Bob, everything arrive for your clutch?

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Well if you can even slightly weld practice a bit and you should be ok. If your not comfortable tack it in and then have someone who knows what there doing weld it up.

Hmmm if you don't have a space to work that would be a major issue. I have not got to the point where I need a garage to rent but I may be in the future. Joining the local rally scene helped out there, I have one contact I can go to for a garage that I can work in. Im sure If I actually tried I could find a couple more.

Ill take lots of photos of me doing this turret thing to try and help you out. Wish me luck... because I am jumping into this with the pointers from some old guy on the phone, photos and a diagram tim taylor posted when building Al's car.

Quote
Eric Ewert
Well if you can even slightly weld practice a bit and you should be ok. If your not comfortable tack it in and then have someone who knows what there doing weld it up.

Hmmm if you don't have a space to work that would be a major issue. I have not got to the point where I need a garage to rent but I may be in the future. Joining the local rally scene helped out there, I have one contact I can go to for a garage that I can work in. Im sure If I actually tried I could find a couple more.

Ill take lots of photos of me doing this turret thing to try and help you out. Wish me luck... because I am jumping into this with the pointers from some old guy on the phone, photos and a diagram tim taylor posted when building Al's car.

Turret:


Overlapping flat weld is the easiest weld in the whole world.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Or the simplest, a tube:

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.