Volvo B16 Engine
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Volvo's first
overhead valve An overhead valve engine, abbreviated (OHV) and sometimes called a pushrod engine, is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with flathead (or "sidevalve") engines, where the v ...
passenger car engine was the
inline-four A straight-four engine (also referred to as an inline-four engine) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout ( ...
B4B of 1944 and its descendants, the B14A and B16. These were cast iron engines, and used just three
main bearing A main bearing is a bearing in a piston engine which holds the crankshaft in place and allows it to rotate within the engine block. The number of main bearings per engine varies between engines, often in accordance with the forces produced b ...
s.


B4B

Introduced in 1944, the B4B displaced and powered the
Volvo PV444 The Volvo PV is a series of two-door, four-passenger car models — the PV444 and the PV544 — made by Volvo from 1947 to 1965. During World War II's early stages, Volvo decided that a new, smaller car that could deliver good fuel economy would ...
. Series production started in 1947. The B4B was a departure for Volvo who had not produced an automobile with a four-cylinder engine in nearly 20 years. The B4B was equipped with a single down-draught
carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter) is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Ventu ...
. Suppliers of ancillaries included
Autolite Autolite or Auto–Lite is an American brand of spark plugs and ignition wire sets headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Autolite products are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Until 2011, the Autolite brand was a part of ...
(ignition distributors and generators),
Zenith The zenith (, ) is the imaginary point on the celestial sphere directly "above" a particular location. "Above" means in the vertical direction (Vertical and horizontal, plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The z ...
and
Carter Carburetor The Carter Carburetor Company was an American manufacturer of carburetors, primarily for the automobile industry. It was established in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1909 and ceased operation in 1985. Founder William Carter started experimenting with a ...
s, and Bosch (ignition distributors, generators and starter motors.) At the time of introduction, the B4B produced . In 1950, the camshaft profiles and valve mechanisms were modified, increasing output to . The third and final version appeared in November 1955 and had redesigned head, camshaft, valve springs, and pushrods. Power increased to ; this version remained in production until autumn 1956 when it was replaced by the new, larger B16 variant.


B14A

The B14A was essentially a twin carb version of the B4B. These two engines were nearly identical, except for the induction systems. The B14A carb system was supplied by the British SU Carburettor concern and the carbs used were designated HS2. These diminutive carbs, familiar to any English sports car fan, improved the
acceleration In mechanics, acceleration is the Rate (mathematics), rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Acceleration is one of several components of kinematics, the study of motion. Accelerations are Euclidean vector, vector ...
and overall performance of the B4B which in turn accomplished Volvo's corporate desire to make the
PV444 The Volvo PV is a series of two-door, four-passenger car models — the PV444 and the PV544 — made by Volvo from 1947 to 1965. During World War II's early stages, Volvo decided that a new, smaller car that could deliver good fuel economy would ...
cars powered by these engines more attractive to the American audience, whose attention Volvo hoped to gain. While B14A engines are considered rare in the US setting, they were even rarer in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. The production run lasted for one year. Some of the earliest P1900 roadsters were built with B14s but many of the short production of 67 of these open
fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...
cars received the replacement for the B14 — the B16.


B16

The B16A and B16B (single carb and twin carbs respectively) were a bored out development of the B14A which in turn was sired by the B4B. These engines were fitted to the
PV444 The Volvo PV is a series of two-door, four-passenger car models — the PV444 and the PV544 — made by Volvo from 1947 to 1965. During World War II's early stages, Volvo decided that a new, smaller car that could deliver good fuel economy would ...
in its final two years (1957 and 1958), the
Volvo PV544 The Volvo PV is a series of two-door, four-passenger car models — the PV444 and the PV544 — made by Volvo from 1947 to 1965. During World War II's early stages, Volvo decided that a new, smaller car that could deliver good fuel economy would ...
in its 1958 introduction, as well as the companion estate and van versions known as Volvo P445, Volvo P210, and
Volvo Duett The Volvo Duett is an automobile from Volvo that was in production from 1953 until 1969. The name ''Duett'' was intended to signify a car that could be used as a delivery vehicle during the week and as a comfortable sedan away from work. The Duet ...
. A new Volvo automobile introduced in 1956, known in some markets as the
Volvo Amazon The Volvo Amazon was a mid-sized car that was manufactured and marketed by Volvo Cars from 1956 to 1970. It was introduced in the United States as the ''122S'' at the 1959 New York International Auto Show. The Amazon shared the wheelbase, tall ...
or
Volvo 122 122 may refer to: *122 (number), a natural number *AD 122, a year in the 2nd century AD * 122 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * ''122'' (film), a 2019 Egyptian psychological horror film *" One Twenty Two", a 2022 single by the American rock band Bo ...
was the first production Volvo to sport this engine in any significant number although some of the later examples of the short-lived Volvo P1900 were also fitted with them. Other applications of this engine found use in marine, industrial and agricultural settings. The
Volvo BM Volvo Construction Equipment - Volvo CE - (originally Munktells, Bolinder-Munktell, Volvo BM) is a major international company which develops, manufactures, and markets equipment for construction and related industries. It is a subsidiary and bu ...
T425 tractor is one such example of a non-automotive use for the B16. The exterior of the B16 resembled that of the B14, which it replaced. The block and the cylinder heads appeared to be similar at first glance. The B16B sported twin SU HS4 carbs, notably larger than the B14A's HS2 carbs. Also, the remote oil filter attached next to the water pump on the ignition distributor side of the engine on the B14 had been relocated to a housing under the intake and exhaust manifold side on the B16. The
exhaust manifold In automotive engineering, an exhaust manifold collects the exhaust gases from multiple cylinders into one pipe. The word ''manifold'' comes from the Old English word ''manigfeald'' (from the Anglo-Saxon ''manig'' anyand ''feald'' old and ref ...
which dumped centrally on the B14 now was made to exit towards the rear of the B16 manifold. In automotive applications, the B16 was featured from 1957 to 1961 model years although in marine and industrial applications it was used for a number of years after. It was replaced in 1962
model year The model year (sometimes abbreviated as MY) is a method of describing the version of a product which has been produced over multiple years. The model year may or may not be the same as the calendar year in which the product was manufactured. ...
cars by the 5 main-bearing B18 engine of 1.8 litres which had been first seen by the automotive public in the 1961
Volvo P1800 The Volvo P1800 (pronounced ''eighteen-hundred'') is a 2+2 (car body style), 2+2, front-engine, rear-drive sports car manufactured and marketed by Volvo Cars between 1961 and 1973. Originally a coupé (1961–1972), it was also offered in a shoot ...
sports car. With the discontinuation of the B16 also came the end of 6 volt electrical systems in Volvo cars.


See also

*
List of Volvo engines Volvo Cars has a long reputation as a maker of straight engine, inline (or straight) engines. This list of Volvo engines gives an overview of available internal combustion engines. When Volvo started in 1927, they ordered their engines from the en ...


References

* {{cite web , url = http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/Volvo_Books/engine2.html , work = Volvo Books , title = Chronology of Volvo Engine Development , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060116020013/http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/Volvo_Books/engine2.html , archivedate = January 16, 2006 B4B Straight-four engines Gasoline engines by model