Collectively, Endlessly: A 2JZ-Swapped Volvo 740 Drift Monster

What was the preferred automobile in your hometown whenever you had been rising up? For Pål Ivar Frigstad, early ’80s Volvos dominated the roads in Høvåg, Norway. Particularly these with a turbo.

As an alternative of watching cartoons or studying comedian books, Pål would ask his mother and father to purchase him automobile gross sales magazines. He’d pore over them, searching for modified autos to encourage his personal mannequin automobile creations. Tinted home windows, painted rims, and makeshift subwoofers made out of folded coloured paper had been sufficient to maintain him busy… for some time.

At simply 10 years previous, Pål started tinkering together with his first automobile, although his efforts weren’t all that severe on account of his younger age. By 18, he took on his first main undertaking: an Opel Calibra.

Following the Calibra, in 2009, Pål acquired a 1988 Volvo 740 that he nicknamed BADVOLVO. What started as an unregistered undertaking regularly reworked right into a drift monster.

Pål’s journey with the Volvo has seen its share of challenges, largely on account of rule modifications. When he first started engaged on the engine bay, there have been no particular guidelines in regards to the firewall. Like a lot of his fellow drifters, who had been modifying or relocating their automobile’s bulkheads, Pål eliminated most of his Volvo’s firewall so he may reposition the engine way back to doable, constructing all the pieces else round it. Nonetheless, later rule modifications pressured him to return the engine bay to its authentic kind.

What’s not authentic is what now resides within the bay: a completely cast Toyota 2JZ-GTE VVTi engine constructed by Widmer Motor in Norway.

Pål spared no expense on the engine, which is undoubtedly his favourite facet of the automobile. For a private contact, he even CNC-machined his Frigstad Motorsport emblem onto one of many red-anodized billet cam covers.

The three.0-liter inline-six boasts a powerful array of elements, together with Wiseco cast pistons, Eagle H-beam connecting rods, GSC Energy-Division S2 billet camshafts with Brian Crower adjustable gears, and GSC valves, springs and retainers. The listing is in depth; see the spec listing on the finish of this publish for all the main points.

A Volvo constructed for observe use isn’t full and not using a huge increase injection. For this, Pål chosen a Precision 6870 Gen2 turbocharger mounted on a {custom} chrome steel manifold with a v-band connection, paired with a 60mm Turbosmart wastegate. A {custom} Garrett-cored intercooler with two compact Spal electrical followers retains the consumption cost recent.

Engine water-cooling is dealt with by a {custom} system with 20 liters of coolant capability. The crux of the setup resides on the rear of the automobile, the place a big aluminum radiator with two Flex-a-lite followers and a Meziere (208l/min) water pump is mounted.

With 826hp on faucet, Pål’s Swedish brick wanted a driveline as much as activity. He has that courtesy of a Sellholm Tuning MPG 5-speed sequential gearbox with a triple-plate clutch and a modified Volvo 1031 axle with a {custom} Sellholm 2-way limited-slip differential and 31-spline axles.

The suspension contains a bespoke four-link and Watt’s linkage, BC Racing coilovers up entrance, and 3-way Proflex coilovers designed particularly for this automobile by Sellholm within the rear.

Different points of the construct that should be up to date on account of regulation modifications embrace the roll cage and the roof, which was formally fiberglass however is now metal once more.

Inside, the {custom} work is clear. The 6-point cage is tightly fitted within the cabin, and the fiberglass dashboard is flocked. The {custom} Woodward steering column mounts a custom-engraved Sparco wheel with a snap-off hub and push-to-talk change for the intercom. Pål sits in a Sparco Circuit seat, the passenger in a Sparco Dash, each secured by QSP 6-point racing harnesses. Important information is displayed on an ECUMaster ADU7 digital sprint.

The battery has been relocated to the place the again seat as soon as lived and is housed in an aluminum field. The MaxxECU Race engine administration system and PDM field are on the passenger facet.

As a remaining contact for the inside, Pål repurposed a pair of Speedhunters x TAKATA Racing tow straps he bought in 2014 as light-weight door pulls.

The outside has acquired vital updates, too. Initially, the fender arches had been metal, sourced from a BMW E46 M3, however have since been changed with custom-molded fiberglass equivalents.

For weight discount, the entrance bumper, hood, fenders, doorways, trunk, and the Group A-inspired ducktail are all in fiberglass, too.

After 15 years of evolution, challenges, and perseverance, Pål and his Volvo have turn into inseparable. He advised me that he’ll by no means promote the 740 however will concentrate on new builds, beginning with a BMW E46 M3 and finally aiming for a Nissan Silvia S15.

If his subsequent undertaking is something like this Volvo, I’m positive we’ll be seeing Pål on Speedhunters once more.

Alen Haseta
Instagram: hazetaa