Volvo P-544
Race Setup and History
Competed in the 1970/71 Trans-Am season
This Volvo P-544 raced in the Under 2.0 series as well as the Trans-AM 2.5 series in 1970 and 1971. The original driver was Jim Chambers. An interesting side note is that Chambers would not allow the BS class designation on the car and used SB instead! The car was discovered after 15 years in a barn and restored by Dick Reynolds who actively campaigns the car today (as shown above). Check out the series of photos of the car prior to restoration.
Strong Points
Weak Points
Common Setup
Internet Sites
Classic VolvoBooks
Essential Volvo Amazon and P1800 : The Cars and Their Stories 1956-73Forty Years of Selling Volvo
by R. M. Clarke
Volvo Gothenburg Sweden
by Christer Olsson
Chilton's Repair and Tune-Up Guide : Volvo,
1956-1969
by Chilton Automotive Press,
out of print, use locator service
List of all Volvo books on Amazon.com
The PV-544 can be traced back to the early 1940's when Volvo decided to build a small, cheap car. That car became the PV-444. Design and construction began in 1943 and as early as the first of September 1944 the car was shown to the public for the first time. The production was supposed to start in 1945 but lack of materials made that impossible. Production finally began in 1947 with a goal to build 12.000 cars. While waiting for the production to start, the first prototype, with registration-number 011777, was driven all over the country (Sweden) doing road tests. But Volvo did not just let the car drive all over the country just for testing, they made the test into a tour to all 76 Volvo dealers in Sweden. Volvo had only planned to build 12.000 cars, but thanks in large part to the tour, 10.000 were sold before the production started
In the late fifties a lot of people thought Volvo would replace the old-fashioned PV 444 or even retire it. In 1956 Volvo had released the new, bigger Volvo 121, 122 or Amazon (as it was called in Sweden) but that wasn´t allowed abroad for copyright-reasons. Finally on August 25, 1958 showed the replacement for the 444.
The PV 544 wasn´t really a completely new car rather it was an updated 444. It had bigger windows and included a wrap around windshield. The interior was completely new with padded dashboard and "safety" steering-wheel, the back seat now had room for three people. The rear lights were much bigger and looked like the sole of a shoe. Bigger brakes began with chassis number 207866.
In the Swedish market the car was sold in four versions 54403 Standard, 54404 Special II, 54405 Special I and 54406 Sport. The Sport was the sportiest and the Special II the most luxurious. The Standard and Specials four-speed transmission. In U.S the car was called 54408 (B16B engine and 4-speed) and 54409 which actually had the sporty B16B engine and a three-speed transmission. The 544A is the by far most produced of the PV-544 variants. From August ´58 to August ´60 in incredible 99,494 were built.
PV 544 B - The B-model didn´t differ very much from the A-model. It got a new upholstery and new sides in the back-seat. The gearboxes were new, both all-syncronized. M30 had 3-speed and M40 4-speed. It was built from August ´60 to August ´61, there were 34,600 built.
PV 544 C - The C-model was updated on several points. The most important new feature was the brand new B18 engine. It was a completely new construction with five bearings and 75hp in the standard version and 90hp in the sport version. The electric system now had 12 volts. The front turn signals were moved further out on the fenders and the headlights were now asymetric. The hood-hinges were changed and the net in the grill was not as close as earlier, and it got new red "B18" emblems in the grill and on the trunk-lid. The scale on the speedometer now reached 180 km/h.. There were 37,900 built.
PV 544 D - Very little change. The most noticable is the new hub-caps with a red circular area in the middle with a V in the middle of that. Volvo started to spray the body with oil to prevent corrosion. There were 27,100 built.
PV 544 E - New plastic, inner-roof. new valve cover with the oil-cap placed in the front rather than in the middle. Non-reusable air-filter. Bigger control-lights and green light on the instruments. The tire-dimension was changed to 6.00-15" (earlier 5.90-15"). There were 24,200 built.
PV 544 F - New silver-colored wheels with oval cooling-holes. New hub caps with a black field in the middle with a "V". The "B18" emblems were removed. New emblems on the grill, sides and back. No cooling-curtain. 17,300 were built
PV 544 G - The last model of the PV. The Sport engine now had 95hp and the sport model got 165-15 radial tires. The last PV, the only black Sport ever built left the factory on October 20 1965 and was retained by Volvo for the the Volvo museum in Gothenburg (where is resides today). Only 4.194 were built..
Saving a Vintage Racer (a special thanks to Dick Reynolds for supplying us with so much info on this car)
The first 2 photos show the extent of the restoration that will be required. The second 2 are from the original race period of the car. Note the SB on #41, no BS for this guy!
