All images sourced from: Speedhunters.com

If you have never heard of Norway’s Gatebil Festival, you are missing out on some of the wildest builds you will ever see. Trust us, we see wild builds every day, but this ’78 Volvo 242DL that the folks from Speedhunters recently brought us from the annual event, stopped us dead in our tracks.

Think of Gatebil like a massive track day festival. Anyone who has a vehicle and a license, can drive on the 3.2km Rudskogen race track. They divide the participants into four groups: Streetcars (both with or without plates) Exclusive (sport cars and hyper cars) Drifting and drifting PRO (Pro is for selected drivers) Gatebil Extreme Racing and Time Attack cup, not to mention they also crown the World Powerslide Champion.

So it’s no wonder that you come across rides like Joachim Muri’s Viper V10 powered ’78 Volvo 242DL. Which would be impressive, but what Muri did next took it to a whole new scary level.

Life started for this Volvo Frankenstein with a built 383ci Chevy powerplant. However, the engine for whatever reason, always had some issue and Joachim decided it was time for a more modern and reliable V8 swap.

And here’s where we usually say that Joachim purchased a reliable and affordable LS engine. But not so for this Volvo. Rather, at the urging of a friend, Joachim sourced and purchased a 8.3L Viper V10 to shoehorn into his Volvo. You would expect that the over 500 horsepower on tap would have been enough for the 242DL… not for Joachim.

Joachim had big plans for the V10. So he disassembled it all the way down to the bottom end, bored out the cylinders, and then went with Ross low-compression forged pistons and Ksport H-section connecting rods. Now at 8.6L, the V10 was now ready for what was about to happen next. Joachim fabricated custom exhaust manifolds that were capable of housing a pair of Turbonetics T4 P60 turbochargers and the 45mm external wastegates.

When it was all said and done, with 14.7 psi of boost the V10 now produces an earth shaking 1141 hp. At a more reasonable 9.5 psi of boost the mill is still capable of creating 911 hp. With all that horsepower the team had to beef up the transmission and chose to go with a reinforced Tremec T56 six-speed manual transmission.Inside, the Volvo’s only concern is functionality instead of aesthetics. Joachim who apparently has a background in rallying, opted to go with a full 14-point World Rally Championship style cage. The entire factory floor section was cut out and replaced with a stiffer piece of sheetmetal and of course tied into the cage. In front of the driver, a simple Auto Meter drag-style tachometer rests on a rollcage cross bar, while a custom center console houses the five remaining gauges that keep tabs on the powerplant.

Joachim actually goes on to explain that his 242DL isn’t even finished yet! He plans on outfitting some carbon fiber on to the body and envisions a whole new fuel system for the vehicle this winter.