Group A Volvo 240 - Info and pics thread

[VolvoGroupA]

I'm looking for photos from the time when Volvo 240 Group-A raced in Asia during the mid 80's. Any photos are of great interest! As specially photos from Japan 1987 from the Fuji 500 race! I would be most great full for any help with this!

So photos from:

Japan, Fuji 500 -85, -86 and -87.

China, Macau -85, -86 and -87.

Kindest regards

Björn Ohlson from Sweden!

[VolvoGroupA]

But I've learned now that the wider back fenders was done here i Sweden not in England with TWR.

[BrendanMcF]

One of my pictures of the RAS Sport Volvos from 1986(?) at Silverstone Tourist Trophy:



I probably have a few more, I'll see if I can dig them out.

[VolvoGroupA]

Originally Posted by BrendanMcF

One of my pictures of the RAS Sport Volvos from 1986(?) at Silverstone Tourist Trophy:



I probably have a few more, I'll see if I can dig them out.

Very good photo of the R.A.S Volvo!

Please send them to bjorn.ohlson@240grupp-a.se! I would appreciate if there were higher resolution available!

[BrendanMcF]

I'm happy to post a few low res pics Björn, but why do you need high res?

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by BrendanMcF

I'm happy to post a few low res pics Björn, but why do you need high res?

Brendan please may I ask that you discuss specific matters with Bjorn through private messaging or emails so that we can keep the thread moving along about the cars and the period etc?

Many Thanks
chunterer

[KA]

Originally Posted by GBRM

Apologies for the delay:-

Motorsport News 10th October 1984 - VOLVOS FOR BRITAIN?
A passing sparrow recently informed us that a leading British Saloon Car Championship preparation expert is currently nurturing a couple of Volvo 240 turbos, with a view to honing them into GpA trim for next year.
Although our enquiries have been unable to track the cars down to an exact location, our source suggested that they were being considered for British GpA, to avoid clashing interests in other saloon car areas.

Motorsport News 7th November 1984 - ROUSE; NO VOLVO!
"No, that is completely misinformed," commented Andy Rouse last week, about rumours that he was preparing a Volvo for use in British GpA next year.
Rouse conceded that he had spoken to Volvo GB, "but it isn't really interested, so I think you can safely say that's a non-starter."
As yet, Rouse isn't in a position to announce what he will be doing in 1985, but expects to make a decision within the next few weeks.

Going back to rumours of Volvos in the BTCC, I've just been working back through 1984-season reports in Performance Car magazine, and the Rouse Volvo rumour turns up in one of those as well, although it's stated as being no more than a rumour- don't recall which issue without them in front of me, but probably pretty much contemporary with the denial in MN.

I'm not sure what it says about the state of the BTCC at that time that the UK importers of so many manufacturers weren't interested in getting involved- Volvo GB weren't interested in a Rouse Volvo, Nissan UK didn't want to know about Graham Goode's Bluebird, VW GB had withdrawn any support for John Morris' Scirocco or Alan Greenhalgh's Golf after '83 etc, to say nothing of the rumoured Renault UK entry from around 1983/4....

[Jesper OH]

I have been wondering about the Volvo vs. Eggenberger issue for a few days. Was Volvo Motorsport simply a bit naive in letting Eggenberger go because of the WTC-system described by Björn. I'm sure BMW, Rover, Jaguar, Ford and others had issues with "their" teams. Holden surely did and very publicly sacked Peter Brock. As I know Volvo had been delving in rallying in the 1960s - don't know how official the effort was - doing rallycross in Sweden and later Europe from the late 1970s with a very hands-on approach and dealing with the drivers/entrants directly. The ETCC situation of 1983-1984 seems to emulate this approach, but by hiring Ruedi Eggenberger for 1985, Volvo certainly stepped up to the game in a proper way. The fact that they didn't like his autonomy, his independence, tells more about Volvo than Eggenberger.

Never knew the sponsorship issue was a point of choosing RAS for 1986, but looking back it makes sence. The '85 Eggenberger Volvos must have been financed more or less totally by Volvo.

Had Volvo continued in 1987 I think they would have been soudly beaten by BMW and Ford just like the rest of the touring car fraternity learned. By around 1990 Dane Jørgen Poulsen was mentioned to have plans to race the new Group A Volvo - a 4WD turbocharged 7-series - at a time when Nissan presented "Godzilla".

When the Tom Walkinshaw evolution Holden Commodore VL was finally presented in late 1988 it was said to have a massive reduction in the cW coefficient - the measure of air resistence. I think it was 0.34 while the standard VL had a 0.43 measure. Don't know the figure for the former VK-series, but the VL, despite its sleeker look, was said to be not much of an improvement in this department. With TWR having done some inqueries into the Volvo 240 Turbo they had the cW-figure measured as well and it turned out to be the same 0.43 ..at a time when Audi 100 and Opel Calibras turned up below 0.30 figures.

Like it's contemporary BMW 6-series, Rover SD1 and Jaguar XJ-S, the Volvo 240-series was presented in the mid-1970s. But the 240-series was based on the 1967 140-series, so was quite an ancient car by the mid-1980s.

The Volvo 240 Turbo Group A car is still one of my all time favorite racing cars. The Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Prix car being another - succeeding when it shouldn't.

Jesper

[VolvoGroupA]

Jesper,

From one thing to another thing. Do you know of any lists with Special Saloon results or photos from Ring Djursland 1995? I'm currently looking for a rebuilt Volvo 240T group-A, white whit Nordica Stripes, blue rollcage and BBS-centerbolt. If you can I would be great full if you were to find mostly preferred photos or a name of the person from that moment!

Thanks in advance!

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by VolvoGroupA

Jesper,

From one thing to another thing. Do you know of any lists with Special Saloon results or photos from Ring Djursland 1995? I'm currently looking for a rebuilt Volvo 240T group-A, white whit Nordica Stripes, blue rollcage and BBS-centerbolt. If you can I would be great full if you were to find mostly preferred photos or a name of the person from that moment!

Thanks in advance!

From your description it sounds as the car of Knud-Erik Sørensen. I have had a look in "Motorsport '95" - on of those christmas specials with recaps of seasons. The book has the top-10 results of the Danish SSC championship, but the only Volvo driver to appear is Jørgen Poulsen in fourth. Erling Haagerup would likely have been a third Volvo driver at the time, his car I believe to have been the former Group A car of Gert M. Rasmussen, again a former Swedish Volvo Turbo Cup car.

Jesper

[BrendanMcF]

Thought you guys might like this

For those interested, my gallery is now up from the 1986 TT

[KA]

Great stuff Brendan- just had a look through the TT album- certainly brings back a few memories! Did you cover the '85 TT as well- or any BTCC pics from the same period? I'm sure they'd be very welcome in the various Group A & BTCC threads...

[chunterer]

Yes echo that, some fabulous stuff from the exit of Stowe, and some rear end views with the cars off camber cornering hard!

[Jesper OH]

Yes, some surpricing new angles and great clarity. Looking at the #1 Volvo a few posts back seems to remind me that the suspension collapsed explaining the tape job - Silverstone was never a good hunting ground for the Volvos.

Jesper

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by Jesper OH

Yes, some surpricing new angles and great clarity. Looking at the #1 Volvo a few posts back seems to remind me that the suspension collapsed explaining the tape job - Silverstone was never a good hunting ground for the Volvos.

Jesper

I thought the relative lack of success there odd, considering it was a power circuit, something the 240's had the advantage of?

[BrendanMcF]

I didn't cover the 85 TT as far as I can remember(!) but I did attend quite a few BTCC/Group A races, including the Donington ETCC race. I'll post more images when I get to them. I'm adding new galleries most days, just added some Prod Saloon images and a few classic Gerry Marshall shots.

Glad you enjoyed the gallery guys, thanks for the kind words.

[Splendid Cat]

Originally Posted by chunterer

I thought the relative lack of success there odd, considering it was a power circuit, something the 240's had the advantage of?

I don't think it was a great surprise to be beaten at Silverstone in 85 and 86 by TWR. After all, this was where the bulk of testing was carried out by Walkinshaw.

[KA]

Originally Posted by Splendid Cat

I don't think it was a great surprise to be beaten at Silverstone in 85 and 86 by TWR. After all, this was where the bulk of testing was carried out by Walkinshaw.

the Rover always seemed to go well at Silverstone- TWR ran them at the TT 4 times (1983-86) and had three wins from four starts.
The Volvos had the edge on power, but the Rover V8 probably wasn't too far behind, and the SD1 probably had a lot less drag than the 'Flying Brick'...

[BrendanMcF]

Would it also be fair to say that the Rover handled better than the 240, and was kinder on it's tyres, especially the rears? The Rover's certainly didn't lift their wheels as much, and ran much closer to the ground.

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by BrendanMcF

Would it also be fair to say that the Rover handled better than the 240, and was kinder on it's tyres, especially the rears? The Rover's certainly didn't lift their wheels as much, and ran much closer to the ground.

Thought of something similar. Here's some dimensions of the two cars in their basic form

Car:	Rover SD1	Volvo 240
Wheelbase	282	265
Track, front	150	143
Track, rear	150	136
Width	177	171
Height	135	143
cW-coef.	?	0.43
Homologated Group A weight	1185	1035
Group A rim width	11"	10"

The height of the Group A versions would likely have been lower and with wider tyres the cW-coefficient even worse.

I believe the SD1 had a cW in the mid-30s but can't find a figure right now. In all other aspects the Rover seems to be the better proposition on a flowing high speed course like Silverstone. The Rover was also very effective on Spa-Francorchamps. A stop-go circuit like Zolder seemed to be Volvo territory though, winning all three races from 1984-1986.

The Rover might have been heavier, but likely with a much lover centre of gravity, and with wider wheels placed further apart than the Volvo, would suggest overall better handling caracteristics.

Jesper

[KA]

That makes sense- it's a pretty vague recollection after 20 years, but as quick as they were, the Volvos did sometimes look at bit of a handful, compared to something like a Rover or 635...

[BrendanMcF]

Looking through my photos, the Volvo always appears to be taller than the Rover, and looking at their relative sill heights, with a greater ground clearance. This is an example, there are few others in my '86 TT gallery

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by BrendanMcF

Looking through my photos, the Volvo always appears to be taller than the Rover, and looking at their relative sill heights, with a greater ground clearance. This is an example, there are few others in my '86 TT gallery

Excellent picture there, Brendan, as it demonstrates something I forgot to mention in my previous post. The Rover and most other Group A cars always seemed to have the wheels lined more or less to the edge of the wheel arches, but not the rear wheels of the Volvo thanks to the very low line arch. The rear track must simply have been relatively narrower than on other Group A cars thanks to this feature, a heritage from the previous 140-series. In all kind of modified classes the 240s usually have the rear wheel arch cut out for a wider rear track.

Jesper

[BrendanMcF]

Probably explains the 10" rims, compared to the 11" rims on the Rover in your previous post.

[Jesper OH]

Originally Posted by BrendanMcF

Probably explains the 10" rims, compared to the 11" rims on the Rover in your previous post.

At best, yes, but looking at small 1600 cc Golfs and Corollas on their skimpy 6.5"-7" rims still had the wheels close to the edge. Forgot to mention that the 10" and 11" rims mentioned was the maximum allowed, not necessarily what they ran, but should give an idea of what size of tyres the different manufactures were running.

Jesper