View Single Post
Old 09-17-2024, 03:35 AM   #1 (permalink)
ademonrower
Ademonrower
 
Join Date: Feb 2023
Location: Germany
Posts: 42
Thanks: 26
Thanked 30 Times in 20 Posts
Aero and driving mods for Volvo 240 Wagon 34 mpg

Car: Volvo 245 GL, late 1979, with B21A gasoline motor (carburetor), 107 bhp, manual transmission with ONLY 4 GEARS!

Latest results (long run): US mpg 34, or UK mpg 41... (6.9 liters/100 km), yes, it is possible

Here are my "physical mods" - see also the uploaded picture:
- Front lip (standard 240 one)
- Sheath going from front lip to the plastic under-engine pan, thus closing most of this gap, and reducing turbulence - made myself
- A-pillar sheaths, made from curved-section PVC, painted and attached via custom fittings under the rubber seal of the windshield, and on a convenient thread-point in the A-pillar itself, where the radio antenna used to be :-)
- Sheath bridging gap between front-edge of gas tank and the front edge of the rear bumper, thereby closing this gap, and reducing significant turbulence because of the bumper. Made of aluminium D.I.Y.
- Flow-extender mounted on the tailgate (tricky D.I.Y., but managed it, and the solution is actually quite easy - advice availabe on request :-) ) This, and the previous, mod probably makes the most difference: extends flow so that turbulence occurs further removed from the back window pane, therefore less suction and hence drag.

Tyres: 185/80 14C, with 3.0 bar pressure

Driving style: long run with mixture of country roads and motorway, always doing pulse and glide where possible, particularly down-hill. Motor still running when gliding, because I don't have a vacuum cylinder mod to charge up for the servo braking, and I can't foresee making one.

Note, all the physical mods are very sympathetic to the classic nature of the car, and really do it a service. The front and back spoilers look so natural that all of the 245s should have been fitted with them :-)

So, whaddya think? :-) Lemme know!

Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	V245_earlymodel_aero_mods.jpg
Views:	46
Size:	29.3 KB
ID:	35130   Click image for larger version

Name:	A-pillar_cowling_V245_1979.jpg
Views:	53
Size:	28.6 KB
ID:	35131   Click image for larger version

Name:	Front_lip_V245_1979.jpg
Views:	46
Size:	73.2 KB
ID:	35132   Click image for larger version

Name:	Closure_gap_front-lip_engine-pan_V245_1979.jpg
Views:	43
Size:	51.8 KB
ID:	35133   Click image for larger version

Name:	Tailgate_flow_extender1_V245_1979.jpg
Views:	50
Size:	33.4 KB
ID:	35134  

Click image for larger version

Name:	Tailgate_flow_extender2_V245_1979.jpg
Views:	46
Size:	36.1 KB
ID:	35135   Click image for larger version

Name:	Closure_gap_gas-tank_rear-bumper_V245_1979.jpg
Views:	44
Size:	51.2 KB
ID:	35136   Click image for larger version

Name:	Closure_gas-tank_attachment-strut1_V245_1979.jpg
Views:	40
Size:	41.0 KB
ID:	35137   Click image for larger version

Name:	Closure_gas-tank_attachment-strut2_V245_1979.jpg
Views:	43
Size:	41.6 KB
ID:	35138   Click image for larger version

Name:	Attachment_closure_gas-tank_bumper.jpg
Views:	29
Size:	49.3 KB
ID:	35139  

  Reply With Quote
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to ademonrower For This Useful Post:
aerohead (09-19-2024), Joggernot (09-23-2024), NachtRitter (09-20-2024), Safaol (09-21-2024)