I after driving a 1958 PV444 1960 until selling it in 1967, I have just bought my second one. It is a "project car" and I'm now figuring out what I have here and some basic directions to take on the restoration.

As to "what I have here": The first three lines of the data plate say P44408 1958, 169133, 19. From the info in Volvo World web site I think I understand these - a 1958, U.S. spec 444 with black exterior with chassis number 169133.

The fourth line says 19. I believe this is the upholstery code, perhaps for black (the car has black and white rear seats and trim and solid black front seats but I do not know if this is original). Does anyone know where I can learn what this code 19 means and what the original upholstery would have looked like?

The fifth line says 12-130. Any ideas as to what that means?

The title shows the vehicle ID as "B16B493859434". That sounds like an engine number to me. But the engine has no number on the left side of the block (where I thought they were). On the right side of the block it has the numbers 6986 and below that 403800. These are cast into the block and I suspect they are casting part numbers - I see that the head has the number 403805. Can someone tell me where to find the engine number?

As to "basic directions to take on the restoration":

The engine is not running and has almost no compression (30-50 pounds) which was not helped much by adding some oil to the cylinders. The valves all operate normally when cranking and have the correct clearances. I expect that I will have to disassemble the engine, measure, check and rebuild it.

This brings up the "basic directions to take on restoration" question. I plan to use the restored car to run around town in and drive for short trips and maybe do some autocrossing in local events, just for the fun of it.

There is available locally a complete but too rusty to restore 544 with B18 engine/drivetrain and usable front center section (radiator, center sheetmetal, etc.). My inclination is to stay with the B16B stuff and just keep the car original (and "stock" for autocrossing). But I would appreciate some thoughts about a possible B18 upgrade from some of you who have experience with these cars. Would the upgrade to B18 make a huge difference in the way the car drives and runs? Is the B18 a lot cheaper to rebuild?

Thanks for the patience with this long post.

Very interesting post this one!. I've been through all of it beginning with a 544 6volt 4.56 3speed B16A (single Zenith). I changed to a B-20 and "plumbed" the radiator over the the correct side with 90 degree hose bends, some clamps. and a length of pipe. Then the O/D and a newer 4.11 rear axle and on and on. 12 volt, yes! New lights, yes! Disc brakes, Yes! (there's a setup on Ebay), I always worried about cooling and most recently with the one piece fiberglass front clip, I turned to a 240 radiator and push fan actuated inside with a switch. I like simple and this is simple. I had to open the grill area (because it was fiberglass) and had no internal panels to direct grill opening air to radiator face. I thought this was a problem where the air can go "around" the radiator and miss the cooling effect. Nope! I only turn on the fan when I'm at idle for 10 minutes and there's no air passing through. As for the choice of 544 or 444...I'd like to find a rust free 444 for all the mentioned reasons of classic split windshield and dashboard. But the chances of one of those is remote but if anybody has a 444 dash...let me know! I'll be getting my 544 shell in the spring 2004 and I think that would be nice with my 1800ES speedometer in the middle. Does anybody have pictures of a great 444 dash?
http://www.georger.com/544_volvo_front_end.htm
Christopher Virgilthevolvo Georger

Sorry that I've jumped in too late to this interesting message thread. I much prefer a stock restoration. It's a great challenge and very rewarding during the restoration process and afterwards. I own a pair of PV444 "E" models equipped with B4B and all of the stock components. The most I plan to do with one is to convert it into an "ES" model and change the color from export black to maroon. You asked for a picture of a real 444 dash - follows. As well, here's the current condition of both cars: http://www.cvolvo.com/PV444/

Happy New Years to all and pleasant Volvo thoughts for the future... Cam
--
Cam a.k.a. CVOLVO.COM

CAM, Seeing your interest in the older 444's, I have a comment to pass along. In my search for a restorable 444 these pass few months I followed up on a 1957 that was advertised in the Rolling - the U.S. Volvo owners club. It was listed as a complete car, swedish spec, less engine and transmission with 63,000km. The seller sent me pictures and I believe that it was very restorable. It had the earlier grill, teardrop tail lights mounted above, not in, the rear fenders and a rear bumper with two little overriders framing the license plate with a horizontal bar joining them. It even had the turnsignal lights on "B" pillars. I think it may have a 544K. In talking with the seller he told me that it had been brought to the U.S. by Volvo for use as the top car in a five or six car stack they took around to auto shows sometime in the 1980's. He said that they stacked these up with 444 at top, then 544, 122, 140x, 240, etc. down to whatever they were introducing at the time.

I passed on it because I wanted to return to the car of my youth - a 1958 U.S. spec 444. But this one was tempting to me. He still had the car when I returned the photos to him in mid December. The sellers name is Michael at 845-623-3224 near NYC. He was asking $600.

Wrong grille. wrong grille, wrong grille

John, I have the correct grill but rather like the plastic and style this one has. There was a time when "Custom" cars and "Hot Rods" were not crate motors, new chrome, and sombody else doing the work. They were putting a Cadillac V8's where a stovebolt 6 was and Desoto grill bars on a Ford. Remember I drive this car everyday in the winter in Buffalo and there are other cars on the streets with me who slip and slide in the snow and salt. I have about 5 original grills and even have one I bought new, placed it on the car, and have watched it rust through. That's what yout get when you use cars for transportation. I have this grill and can buy another on Ebay anytime I want a spare. So I say.... For my application and in my humble opinion...
Wrong Grill.....Right choice!

Christopher

There seems to have been some inconsistancies from state to state back then about titling cars... and having one titled to the engine can be a real pain if you want to do an enging swap. I would strongly recommend jumping through some hoops and get that title changed to the chassis number... before you pull the engine.

I've got an old Jaguar that was also titled to the engine number. Problem was I didn't realize that until I had the engine out, and completely apart. What a PITA that was to get sorted out what with the only reference I had that my title belonged to my car was the cylinder head... and I was planning to change cyl heads...

Good luck with it... should be a neat car when you're done.

-Matt

Oh... and I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the front seats should have matched the two tone upholstery in the back...

The B16 is very nice, nicer in many ways than a B18 or B20, but some of the parts are a real swine to get hold of. It actually isn't much down on power to a standard B18. The problem is the 3 bearing crank, fine when used in A road type applications. However if you use it in a situation where it is revved for a sustained period of time, like a high speed motorway cruise, the 3 bearing crank starts to flex and you run the bottom end.

Bearings are readily available, as are pistons now. Camshafts, followers and oil pumps are "interesting".

Regards


Pete

I did this to a 58 444 back in '76 (yikes!)
At that time I had worked on a lot of B18 544 and 122, already had a 61 544 with B16 that I'd rebuilt (and the rear seal still leaked), and so decided that I'd build a 444 (cooler dash than 544 and that split windshield) with the best of what I'd come to love on the later volvos.
1) HS6 carbs more sophistcated and easier to adjust, maintain, source parts, etc.
2) B18 parts more readily available and less expensive almost across the board.
3) I wanted to put in an overdrive which was fairly easy to mate up to B18 - a necessity if you want to tool down the road above 60. (rear ratio is 4.56 as opposed to 4.11 in 122 or later 544)
4) all the advantages of 12V (remind me of what they are)
5) that pesky rear seal problem solved with later neoprene seal and modified housing.

The only tricky bits were:
1)nose swap and larger radiator - good idea - do this. Your hood will then have a spring loaded helper and not blow over on you while you're working on it. For ten years I had a replumbed B16 radiator which would tend to overheat in traffic in the summer.
2) you may have to modify the clutch linkage mount to the body to get it to line up with the B18 bellhousing
3) wiring the tail lights so that you can run signals, running lights and brake lights on one 2 filament bulb.
4)fuel gauge to run on 12 volts, which I was never able to effect.
5)use the motor mount brackets from the B16
6) get 12 heater fan motor
7)replace the vacuum wiper motor with a 12V motor and adapt the mounting plate to allow for the linkage connection
8)temp gauge sender reaches and threads right into B18 head
9)I put a T into the block to feed the oil pressure gauge, as well as an idiot light
10) get yerself a later brake master (wagner part) and find a reservoir from a later 544 which you can mount up on the firewall. The stock 444 has reservoir integral and is impossible to check/fill. I also swapped out the rear brakes from the backing plate outwards - larger cylinders and better adjusters
11)save the12V horns, dash bulbs etc. (heck, take the whole harness if you can)


The idler arm on the 444 is mighty wimpy relative to the later 544 and 122, and tie rods/steering box/center link are specific to B16 equipped bodies.

I believe that I obtained a used wiring harness from a 12V 544 and completely replaced the old harness in the 444.

I never felt bad about bastardizing the car - I viewed the changes as stock upgrades, which in fact made the car more reliable, and definitely more fun to wwrk on (there is nothing as simple and satisfying to work on as a B18 with HS6 carbs in good shape) The B16 was just ornery and in many ways (much less refined carbs, monster 6volt generator, very expensive water pump, etc.) more work and less fun to work on.

Go for the swap

"The only tricky bits were:
1)nose swap and larger radiator - good idea - do this".

When I read the other replies it seems that not doing so would be a bad idea...
Anyway, I hate a engine that tends to overheat as well as an electric fan that runs most of the time. What exactly is involved (in detail) in a nose swap and which (544?) parts would I need? I've just put a B20F/M40 with 544 axle in my '52 444 but it isn't ready yet.

Gert,
If you are going from a B16 to a carburated B20F, I would suggest that, if you could at all swing it, you put an M41 higher on your list of priorities than the nose swap. I drove Amazons with B16s for 25 years and never felt the need for an overdrive. Then I got a PV with a B18 (which I later swapped for a B20) and after four months driving it couldn't wait to put the OD in. Admittedly, between A'dam and Utrecht at 5 pm on a week-day you, probably, won't miss it, but once you get out to where the thing can stretch its legs it's going to make all the difference in your enjoyment of the car.
Cutting the tunnel is a big bug-a-boo, but it isn't all that hard to do, and , if you put it back together again correctly, the car's rigidity won't suffer.
Bob S.

In the 444 you don't have the hand brake on the tunnel to worry about, so it would be easier to put in an 1800 tunnel and have the remote/short shifter. Unless you like the more classic look of the long shifter.

It was a lot of effort putting an M41 into my 544, but it was worth it. The freeway speeds around here are 75 - 80 mph, and I no longer feel like I'm torturing the engine.

I am aware of the benefits of an M41. Back in 1979 I already put an overdrive box in an MGB, later I fitted a fivespeed to a 1954 Morris Minor and a 1948 Riley RMA. I bought my PV444 with the intention to modify it and I made a study of the options. Starting from a 544 would have been a lot easier, but I very much prefer the looks of the first 444 with split front & rear windows. An M41 was one of the first things I acquired.
Before the 444 I had a '74 Corvette for some years, lots of power, but just not old enough to my taste. But that car made me fall in love with automatic transmissions.
When I discovered that Volvo used fourspeed automatics (from appr.1983 on) I tried to find out if that (AW70/71) could go into my 444. Then I would have my ideal car. Just about everyone I talked to advised against it, but I did not want to listen and bought an AW71. After measuring it all up the best I could, I came to the conclusion that it should be feasible. The last doubts definitely disappeared when I saw the projects of Dennis Flynn and Bob Melville.
However it will take a lot of cutting and welding, which I don't do myself, so someone else should do that for me, which makes it an expensive and, for that matter, a lengthy job. The car is immobile now for 18 months and I don't want to wait another couple of years, so I decided to fit an M40 which goes straight in. But only temporarily, to be able to drive until I've saved enough to get the AW71 installed. And perhaps one day the finishing touch and ultimate conversion: a supercharger from V-peformance.

Just to put something straight: My car did NOT have a B16, but a B4B, the engine that was originally mounted from 1944 until 1957. This may never have been exported to Norh America. But it has only 44 bhp, 1414 cc and one Carter carb, so you don't want to know what you've missed. They were reliable however and proved a very adequate means of transport in Europe of the immediate post war era.
If you want a view my car, go to http://www.bearmanmotorsports.com/30994a.jpg

I built a 544 that was originally a B16 with a B18 a while back. A picture can be seen on Paul's site http://people.delphiforums.com/snotzalot/volvo/pete.htm

Anyway I kept the original nose and hood, the wings are the same. The radiator is actually easily big enough to cool a B18 or B20 given a decent core in it. There is one advantage over keeping the B16 nose, it allows you to easily fit a pusher fan inside of the front panel. he B18 nose has a dirty great spring that makes that harder.

The only thing with the B16 rad is that the outlet is on the wrong side, I had it moved when I had the rad recored. I ended up modifying the hinges for the hood, as you can see the carbs on the car are altered to give more room for the tubular banana branch manifold, I altered the other one to give more clearance for the alternator. I do have some pics somewhere.

By all means swap the bonnet and front panel, just be aware it isn't the only option.
Incidentally using a 940 style small starter motor solves the clearance problem on the original master cylinder.

Regards

Pete

444 and early 544, both with B16 engines like what was in your 444 had a smaller radiator. The nose/center section for these were different in a couple of ways than the later 544 B18 model. The earlier nose was built to hold the narrower radiator, and without tearing the thing apart to fit the larger B18 radiator (from either 544 or 122), the easiest remedy is to find a nose and hood from a B18 544. The added benefit from this swap is that the hood is raised and lowered with the aid of a coiled spring built into the front of the nose centered in front of the radiator, and the connections to the hood are smaller and beefier. They connect to the hood way up front, the sucker won't blow over on you in a breeze, those flimsy oval tubular supports on the earlier set up, fatigue, rust, and break, they're in the way when working on the motor, (and they might interfere with the carbs or other gear on a B18.) I had bought a NEW nose from Volvo back in '76 for something like $75, and didn't make the swap until '92.(I had planned to wait until I could paint the car, etc. etc.) For all those years I ran a B18 with Dtype OD, with the B16 radiator. The bottom outlet tube is on the wrong side for a B18, so I had to move it and solder a patch over the old hole. This setup worked fine except for the hottest days in the summer in stop and go traffic. I'd just turn on the heater and get even hotter.
The nose swaps right in, bolts right up. The hood latch mechanism indexes fine and pulls that thing down snug. There're a lot more B18 radiators around as well (remember, same radiator in B18 544 AND 122) I still have that earlier radiator in the basement. You'll be glad you did this, mostly for getting the better hood setup, unless you're in a hot locale in stopa nd go traffic a lot. Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with. Where are you located?

Danny, I'm located in the Netherlands. Do you want to come over... ;-)
BTW, did you use the original fan when you ran your B18 with B16 radiator?
Would it be a solution for all circumstances to install the original fan and an electric one as well?

I used the stock 4 blade fan on the water pump, and like I say it cooled fine except when stuck in traffic in HOT weather. I believe, but don't remember, that the B16 was a 2 bladed fan - is that possible?

What Pete says about being able to use a pusher fan in front of the (B16) radiator makes sense - I think you could solder a threaded brass insert at some optimal location in the radiator, into which you could thread a sensor which would acivate the fan. My feeling was that when they manufactured the car with B18 and larger radiator, they knoew what they were doing and overheating wasn't a problem. If you can't find a B18 544 nose, I'd just install your motor with the B16 nose and radiator (after moving the lower outlet to the passenger side), and see how it runs for you. And then keep your eyes open for a B18 nose and hood.
I bet your buddies at Scandcar could find you one for not too many Euros. There's got to be one waiting for you in a barn not more than two hours from where you are right now! You just have to let it know where you are, and that you're willing to rescue it.

On the subject of fans, let me just throw this out to add to the confusion. My B18 came with a two-bladed fan ("62) and I worried about the temp needle creeping up into, and sometimes beyond, the 3/4 position on hot days and when idling. So, I went to a four-bladed, then a five-bladed, and, finally, a six-bladed. None of this made a damned bit of difference in how the temp needle behaved. When put in the B20 I went through the same exercise with the same result -- I even tried the two-blader, just for the hell of it. Now I've I stopped worrying about it. As far as I'm concerned, if it doesn't boil over, its doing fine.
Bob S.

In any discussion involving an old Volvo overheating it must be mentioned that the original temp gauges can be very innacurate after 40 years. You can't really be sure it's overheating unless it's actually boiling and spitting out coolant. Either that or you double check it with a real thermometer.

B16 and B4B had 2 bladed fans. I had the radiator modified already some time ago just the way you describe -including a provision for a fan sensor.
You are right, it won't be a problem to find a B18 nose and hood over here, but I will not go and look for it until I've tried all other options.

You could just keep the B16 nose and get the B16 radiator recored to increase its capacity (and swap the lower inlet to the other side). Or just get a complete custom radiator made to fit the space for a little more. You could leave off the water pump fan as it is mostly useless without a shroud unless the engine is revved up past idle, in which case you are probably moving anyway. Replace it with a thermostatically controlled pusher fan in front. I got a used 15 inch fan on eBay for about $25 that has a temp sensor with a spike probe you just push into the radiator fins - it works great. It never comes on when driving, if it sits still on a hot day the fan comes on for about 30 seconds every 4 or 5 minutes.

For my 1800, I simply got a fan that uses a capillary tube slipped into the upper radiator hose for a sensor -- no modifications to the radiator necessary.

An electric fan will only cure overheating in slow/stop-and-go driving. If your car overheats when being driven fast the fan won't do any good at all - as the radiator gets as much air as it can handle from the wind hitting the grille.

I have no first hand experience, but my gut feeling is that finding parts for a B16 is going to be a lot harder than finding parts for a B18. I've nover driven a B16 engined car, but people say they are sweet running engines. Just not a whole lot of power.

If you are planning on putting in a B18 you certainly might as well just go straight to a B20 - they are the same (practically) externally and fit into a B18's spot perfectly, and have a nice extra helping of power. Might as well get ~20 more HP (all stock) for all the effort.

My car has a 2.2 liter big bored B20 engine with a B16 front end and small radiator. It's cutting it a little fine on cooling capacity - on a hot day it will gradually overheat if driven hard for a while.

Originally my car had a stock B18, and it was a bit slow and I had to find semi trucks to hide behind on the highway to keep up with the 75 - 80 mph pace without absolutely flooring the accelerator pedal. When I put in the bigger engine it started off a sort of chain reaction series of upgrades as the added oomph made other aspects of the car seem lacking. So over time I added wider tires and wheels, IPD sways front and rear, Bilsteins all around, an M41 (OD) tranny, and 122 front disc brakes to keep the handling and gearing balanced with the engine.

I've got a B16 in a 61' 544 I've neglected for some time. The engine is solid--damn near rock solid. If your in the NC vicinity I could be persuaded to part with it a reasonable price. Egrayjames@nc.rr.com