240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Moomoo]

Originally Posted by Othen

… actually Dan drove very well - all the way to Newark before the dual carriageway became a motorway.

Good lad, that’s a fair hike!🏆

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

PS. I did find a replacement rheostat (actually it comes with the panel, fog light switch and main light switch) for just £12.50 (delivered) on eBay. It is for the spares box... but just in case I ever decide to fix it. I also found a spare passenger side electric window switch for the same price - also for the spares box... just in case :-).

The spare electric window switch showed up in the mail the other day. The old one was still playing up a bit - working only when it felt like it - so I swapped it out (which took about a minute). I'm pleased to report the problem seems to be completely fixed, the window moves up and down controlled by both switches now - a good result for £12.50.

:-)

[Bugjam1999]

Originally Posted by Othen

My original intention was to fit solid state points - but the set up is in such good condition it seems a pity to loose the originality. I’ll see how much trouble the CB points turn out to be.

Alan

Whilst of course there’s nothing wrong with the mechanical points setup in principle, you may struggle to find good quality replacement points and condensers, since there are only pattern parts available now. Obviously enough, poor quality ignition parts are the source of various poor running issues.

I’ve fitted a few accusparks to a few different cars and they’ve all been totally reliable.

Cheers

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Bugjam1999

Whilst of course there’s nothing wrong with the mechanical points setup in principle, you may struggle to find good quality replacement points and condensers, since there are only pattern parts available now. Obviously enough, poor quality ignition parts are the source of various poor running issues.

I’ve fitted a few accusparks to a few different cars and they’ve all been totally reliable.

Cheers

Thank you for that, this forum is so useful at garnering first hand experience - which is of course the best.

I fitted an aftermarket set of points that cost just a few pounds, seemed to be well manufactured and were an exact fit. I don’t know how robust or reliable they will turn out to be - I hope I don’t find out the hard way :-).

I keep vacillating between keeping things original (because everything is so neat and tidy) and changing to a solid state solution, your endorsement makes me lean towards changing. The cost is only £35, so that is not an issue.

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Thank you for that, this forum is so useful at garnering first hand experience - which is of course the best.

I fitted an aftermarket set of points that cost just a few pounds, seemed to be well manufactured and were an exact fit. I don’t know how robust or reliable they will turn out to be - I hope I don’t find out the hard way :-).

I keep vacillating between keeping things original (because everything is so neat and tidy) and changing to a solid state solution, your endorsement makes me lean towards changing. The cost is only £35, so that is not an issue.

Alan

A couple of questions about the points Alan - did you smear some HMP grease on the dizzy cam and add a few drops of oil to the felt pad in the centre of the shaft underneath the rotor arm? The oil runs inside the shaft to lube the shaft bearings and tyhe grease helps prevent premature of the fibre/plastic heel on the points - i've known this heel to wear out to the point where the gap closes to zero after less than 1000 miles if the grease is forgotten.

Also i believe you still haven't fitted a new condensor? This is another common cause of premature failure of the points and also an FTP situation.

With all this in mind, i'd strongly vote towards fitting an Accuspark or similar contactless system, it will be much more reliable and keep the timing set where it is for much longer, the only factors influencing the ignition timing then will be wear in the distributor (the effect will be negligible if you set the timing with a strobe as that would take into account the wear) and the timing belt stretching slightly as it gets older. Again, that would only really have an impact towards the end of the timing belts life so you could more or less fit and forget the contactless system apart from lifting the rotor and dropping a few drops of engine oil onto the felt pad at oil/filter change time.

Better still, find the electronic dizzy and ignitor/ignition amp module from a later 240 and retrofit it, would look more original and would all be Volvo parts (apart from maybe the ignition amp if someone has replaced with an aftermarket jobby) so would still look right.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

A couple of questions about the points Alan - did you smear some HMP grease on the dizzy cam and add a few drops of oil to the felt pad in the centre of the shaft underneath the rotor arm? The oil runs inside the shaft to lube the shaft bearings and tyhe grease helps prevent premature of the fibre/plastic heel on the points - i've known this heel to wear out to the point where the gap closes to zero after less than 1000 miles if the grease is forgotten.

Also i believe you still haven't fitted a new condensor? This is another common cause of premature failure of the points and also an FTP situation.

With all this in mind, i'd strongly vote towards fitting an Accuspark or similar contactless system, it will be much more reliable and keep the timing set where it is for much longer, the only factors influencing the ignition timing then will be wear in the distributor (the effect will be negligible if you set the timing with a strobe as that would take into account the wear) and the timing belt stretching slightly as it gets older. Again, that would only really have an impact towards the end of the timing belts life so you could more or less fit and forget the contactless system apart from lifting the rotor and dropping a few drops of engine oil onto the felt pad at oil/filter change time.

Better still, find the electronic dizzy and ignitor/ignition amp module from a later 240 and retrofit it, would look more original and would all be Volvo parts (apart from maybe the ignition amp if someone has replaced with an aftermarket jobby) so would still look right.

I have an electronic distributor from a B230 that would fit perfectly Dave, and also a spare igniter module left over from the RB project, all I would need is the little wire that runs between them to make it a 1987ish electronic ignition system (as the RB was). I’ll mull that one over - the accuspark system would be much easier to fit and should last the rest of the Barge’s life - so that is very tempting. Given that I have all the parts and it would only take me a couple of hours to convert the whole thing to a B230 system that is also a possibility.

I’m planning to sell the B230 block plus the K-jetronic system once I’ve salvaged any parts (starter, alternator, distributor etc) and smartened it up for sale. Having already sold the gearbox it doesn’t owe me much :-).

Alan

[BicycleBoy]

Originally Posted by Othen

I have an electronic distributor from a B230 that would fit perfectly Dave, and also a spare igniter module left over from the RB project, all I would need is the little wire that runs between them to make it a 1987ish electronic ignition system

Little wire, but at £42, not a cheap one (fancy rubber connectors):
https://www.classicswede.org/shop/24...wiring-harness

[Othen]

Originally Posted by BicycleBoy

Little wire, but at £42, not a cheap one (fancy rubber connectors):
https://www.classicswede.org/shop/24...wiring-harness

Gosh, that is a bit expensive for a few wires. I dare say that if I decided to go that way I could get the cable from the chap I bought the B230e/AW71 from for the price of the postage.

:-)

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Bob 1967

Is there a possibility that when changing the points, a PO mislaid the original screw and fitted something that "fit"?
I would assume (I know!), that Bosch being German would be metric.
But my Volvo has imperial and metric threads, depending on the parts group.

The plate that the points sit on is removable afaik ,with two small screws.
Closer examination upon removal, would possibly reveal if it was cross threaded.

Mine with accuspark fitted..


Rotor arm removed for clarity.

As I said above, thank you Bob.

The screw in question is the slotted head at the top of your photo, the one used to adjust the points gap. I’m pretty sure it is the original and it isn’t cross threaded. The only issue is the slot in its head is a bit worn each way. It would probably be good for two or three more points adjustments. This time I've included a photo of the screw:



... on reflection it isn't too bad, and would probably do for quite a few more adjustments yet.

I’m tending to think it might be better to convert to solid state points, both you and Bugjam have endorsed them and the cost is very low (£35). This seems to be the correct item for my JFU4 distributor and right handed CB set:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363401865643

:-)

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

As I said above, thank you Bob.

The screw in question is the slotted head at the top of your photo, the one used to adjust the points gap. I’m pretty sure it is the original and it isn’t cross threaded. The only issue is the slot in its head is a bit worn each way. It would probably be good for two or three more points adjustments. This time I've included a photo of the screw:



... on reflection it isn't too bad, and would probably do for quite a few more adjustments yet.

I’m tending to think it might be better to convert to solid state points, both you and Bugjam have endorsed them and the cost is very low (£35). This seems to be the correct item for my JFU4 distributor and right handed CB set:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363401865643

:-)

I've decided to go for the electronic points conversion from Powerspark (cost just £35 delivered) and have ordered a kit.

I think that makes most sense. It will look just like the CB set up from outside the distributor and would be trivial to convert back to CB points and a capacitor should some future owner want the original system. It will mean I don't have to fiddle around setting and changing CB points ever again.

I did weigh up the pros and cons of fitting the Bosch JHFUD4 electronic distributor I have from the B230e motor. I'd have to add the ignitor box (and hence it would look less original) and that pesky cable might cost me £50. I can also probably sell the Bosch JHFUD4 distributor and box of sparks for £75.

The decision is made: I'll get that fitted in a spare half an hour towards the end of this coming week.

:-)