Behind the wheel of Volvo’s mid-engined success

As Volvo celebrates its centenary, Richard Sharman takes a look back at some of the most versatile products built on the Swedish manufacturer’s mid-engined chassis

If you grew up in the 1980s and ‘90s, or even the early 2000s, and someone were to ask you what was the most iconic chassis and mid-engine combination of that era, then unless you’re a lightweight chassis fan, your answer would most probably be the Volvo B10M.

If you didn’t grow up during this 10-litre engine era, then you might be wondering what all the fuss is about! Well imagine a chassis and engine that can be used in everything from a midi-coach to a double-deck coach and pretty much every type of service bus in between.

Where it all began

Volvo has been selling passenger carrying vehicles (PCVs) in the UK since 1971; prior to that the marque had only been seen on heavy goods vehicles as tractor units, and this was all thanks to Jim Keyden and Jim McKelvie who had started importing them in 1967 under the Ailsa Truck brand, the PCVs coming later under the Ailsa Bus brand. Hence the front-engined Volvo B55 double-decker service bus being known as an Ailsa, with the first of those being registered in March 1974.

However, prior to B55 the first sign of a mid-engined coach from the Swedish manufacture was announced as the B58, with Volvo coining it as a luxury coach/ dual purpose express bus chassis.

On 6 June 1972 – after some months in storage – Volvo registered the very first B58-56 in the UK as BUS 653K. This initial demonstration vehicle was bodied by Alexander with a Y-type body and built to Scottish Bus Group (SBG) specification. It was fitted with a K19 five-speed gearbox (more on this later) with an interior built to dual purpose specification with 49 seats.

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Following on from its tour of the SBG for demonstration purposes, it was later sold to Parks of Hamilton which owned it for a year from March 1975. It then had a run with independents including Morecambe-based Battersby Silver Grey, Smith & French of Broad Oak, and then Trathens by 1977.

By October 1978 it had arrived with Aston’s Coaches, Worcester and later gained a Duple Dominant dashboard. By 1983, this one rare chassis and body combination was to receive a makeover that could not be undone. The Alexander Y body was removed, the chassis extended to 12m and sent to the Van Hool factory where it received a brand new Alizée body.

This gave the vehicle a new lease of life and without doubt extended its working life, with many european trips undertaken at Aston’s before being sold on again in 1987, by which time it was re-registered THU 864.

Experiencing the B58

In 1997, Aston’s was seemingly fond of the first B58 and re-acquired it. Three years later, during a short stint driving for the company, I had the pleasure of experiencing this vehicle for myself. I had been driving the newest coaches on the fleet during night shifts, but had been offered some overtime on a weekend to take a group of passengers from Worcester to Bristol Airport. This was during high season, so the only coaches left in the yard were those normally allocated to schools and contracts. I had requested the B58 for this run, and the office happily granted it.

By this time the registration of BUS 653K had been sold on and ended up, rather fittingly, on a Volvo 344DL car dating from 1981. The B58 was now registered THU 684.

Whilst the Van Hool Alizée body was pretty much like thousands of others out there at the time, the cab was a different matter. The switches for the lights, door and so on were all fairly standard, but the actual dash binnacle itself was slightly different. The standard speedo was to the right, but the old school B58 instrument showing air pressure etc had been retained to the right, with the original Volvo rev counter in the middle.

The lovely early era Volvo two spoke steering wheel had been retained, but returning to the topic of the gearbox, what sat before me was not a push button auto or a manual gearstick, but what looked like a Bristol VRT semi-automatic gear selector mounted on the steering column.

I was more than familiar with a Bristol VRT gear selector, although not when mated to the power provided by the TD100 Volvo engine. Pulling out of the yard, the first thing you noticed over the standard experience of driving an Alizée with a B10M chassis is that the B58 is rather bouncy on the front suspension in comparison. I seem to recall that the gear ratios on the B58 were not particularly short, but you did have to start in first gear every time. Opening it up, the first impression I got was that it was extremely quick on acceleration, with only a slight pause required between gear changes. The gear selector unit also included the traditional round red light to inform you when it was in neutral.

Fully loaded with happy holiday makers, the 53 passengers had no idea of the heritage of this important vehicle as the B58 held its own on the M5, happily sitting on the limiter all the way to the airport. I returned happy in the knowledge that I had driven such a historic vehicle.

Aston’s kept it in the fleet until 1987, when the private plate was retained and, having lost its original registration, it was given the mark OAB 254K by the DVLA prior to being sold to enthusiast-run Village Green Motor Services of Snobdon which re-registered it VIL 4057. It spent the next 10 years with the company before being acquired for preservation in 2016, although it is believed it was, sadly, scrapped in 2019.

Whilst BUS 653K was the UK’s first B58, it was technically the first delivered in Scotland; England’s first B58 was LBW 185L, delivered to Oxfordshire-based Heyfordian Travel in November 1972 with a Plaxton Elite body, with reports at the time noting it was priced at £13,427; oh how times change!

According to ‘Bus Lists on the Web,’ 1,292 Volvo B58s were delivered between launching and 1982, with the touch of irony being that Aston’s Coaches not only ended up with the first B58 for many years, but it also took the last brand new B58 chassis is March 1982 as Plaxton-bodied BAG 201X.

Introducing the B10M

Coming off the back of the B58, a heavyweight chassis and engine with air suspension that was like a Rolls Royce compared to the lightweight Fords and Bedfords of the day, the B58’s successor was already set up to be a success, based on many operators already moving over to Volvo for touring and long distance work as its popularity and reputation gained ground.

In October 1980 it was announced that the B10M was to be offered alongside the B58, and was initially offered in 12m length with the same TD100 engine but a lighter chassis, and an option of a 12-speed ZF splitter box or a standard six-speed manual gearbox. A special uprated edition was also offered, coined the TD100DD and offering 262bhp.

Whilst we all know the B10M was a huge success, it must be remembered that during the 1980s it was up against the extremely well established Leyland Tiger and other heavyweights such as those from DAF and Scania. But that said, the ‘80s and ‘90s were a time of change and those dominant manufacturers that had ruled the UK market for decades were now facing competition from many different angles.

Scanning through the chassis lists for the B10M, what is clear is that it really opened up the market for European body manufacturers such as Jonckheere, Caetano, Berkhof and Van Hool, with the more traditional British-built Duples and Plaxtons mixed in.

So it wasn’t just the chassis market that the B10M caused a stir in – it also led to a number of exotic body manufacturers building a vast array of products on the Volvo platform as time went on. What excited UK operators were that those European models were offering a totally different sort of product to what they had been used to, and each with their own unique style.

These early ‘80s models, such as the Jonckheere Jubilee, Berkhof Esprite and Everest, Caetano Algarve, Padane ZX – of which only seven were built – the rare Irizar Urko and Pyrenean, the Ikarus Blue Danube and of course, the Van Hool Alizée. Did Irizar miss a trick, I wonder, by not continuing to body Volvos in the UK, especially when it is an option to pretty much all of the rest of the world? Answers on a postcard to our Peterborough office!

UK standard-bearers

Whilst those European models may have been different and exciting for UK operators, the B10M sold extremely well under Plaxton and Duple bodies.

The interesting thing is that it was a chassis that spanned a number of different model ranges, for example it was introduced early enough to appear on Duple’s Dominant, Goldliner and Carribean, all the way through to the 320 and 340 – the last coaches produced before the Blackpool manufacturer ceased. Meanwhile, Plaxton produced a large number of models on the B10M, all the way from the Supreme and Viewmaster, through to the Paramount, Premiere and Exaclibur.

From a passenger’s perspective, the Volvo B10M was just as smooth under either body, but there was a few differences. One of my local operators growing up was Worth’s Coaches of Enstone, an operator that is well known and renowned, and no strangers to these pages. Looking back, I used its coaches almost daily on its stage service at the time, and the company’s love for the B10M meant that it operated multiple models from both manufacturers.

The first new B10M at Worth’s was registered in March 1982 with a Dominant body, this coming less than two years after it had purchased three B58 57-seat Supreme IVs which were mainly to be found on the stage services. All were solid vehicles, although the Dominant seemed somehow more comfortable with a higher window line, and had a better ride quality with the lighter B10M chassis under it.

One of two B10Ms from the same era was Duple Caribbean 2 B663 AFC, registered in May 1985 and later re-registered 774 DJB. The other was a used example from Wallace Arnold in the form of C121 DWR, registered in April 1986, and later gaining numberplate 551 DJB. These were two examples of of the English coach builder’s bodies at their finest.

These featured the early style dash binnacles, with the round instrument that illuminated red when the handbrake was applied, and had the newer style steering wheel.

Rare

I didn’t realise until I came to write this feature that the Caribbean 2 was only ever built on four Volvo B10M chassis, the rest seemingly being Leyland and DAF-based. The Caribbean 2 had come a long way from the Dominants and Goldliners that had come before it. The Caribbean 2 was an extremely comfortable coach to travel in, with deep seat cushions and a well-appointed interior that also featured an offside rear sunken WC. What is even more remarkable, and a testament to Volvo’s chassis and engine quality, is that this very vehicle is still alive today and in use as a race car transporter registered RJI 8917.

The Paramount 3200 II was also a nice place to be, and with this coach being ex Wallace Arnold, it had doors on the overhead lockers, orange curtains, was carpeted throughout from ceiling to floor and it had those slightly firmer seats than the Duple.

What made them great coaches though, was undoubtably, the chassis and engine combination that was underneath them; everything about the B10M made it the perfect touring coach, the Volvo engine delivered plenty of power, whilst the chassis dynamics and luxurious air-suspension also gave a smooth ride no matter what the terrain was.

Behind the wheel

Up to this point I had only been a passenger on the B10M, but as I gained my PCV licence in 1998, I got to drive many of these B10M-based models. I soon realised that it wasn’t just a good coach to travel in, but an excellent one from a driver’s point of view too. Early experience was with ex-Wallace Arnold 1988 and 1989 models, and then a coach that truly upgraded the experience for the driver, the Plaxton Expressliner, built on the B10M chassis and based on the Paramount 3500 III for National Express; not only was the rear window replaced by one large fibreglass rear section with the National Express logo sunk into it, but it also gained a manual gearbox mounted on the drivers seat to give shorter shifts; it worked a treat and transformed the driving experience to make it even better.

National Express specified the B10M GL chassis with the THD102KA intercooler engine, which developed 262bhp, and driven through the G7 seven-speed gearbox for the Expressliner.

The interior specification for Rapide routes included 46 Remax reclining seats, parallel lift side lockers, and a servery, hostess cupboards and hostess flip-up seat at the rear of the vehicle, whilst the driver benefited from a drivers wardrobe and locker at the nearside front by the entrance.

Some years later, I got the opportunity to occasionally drive a very original 1988 example when we where short of drivers. It was a delight to drive; E804 DPN had been new to Eastbourne Coaches and appeared to have been looked after through its life by the operators that had used it. It had plenty of power, despite being some 22 years old by this point, and an extremely light clutch; it was a delight to drive in every sense. In addition, the B10M engine was super-reliable in all weather conditions, helped by having the white cold start button, situated next to the red engine stop button on the dash.

The Paramount 3200, 3500 and Expressliner on the facelifted mark 3 model were later replaced by the new generation Premier 320, 340, Expressliner 2 and the range topping Excalibur. Unfortunately, the Duple story came to an end during the 320 and 340 era as they ceased in 1989.

The new Plaxton models on the B10M chassis were a complete change to the outgoing Paramount models, the modernisation of the range saw soft trim out and plastic trim in, and the dashboard and switchgear also saw a huge change. Large chunky push buttons had replaced the familiar switchgear used since the Supremes in the early 1980s.

Whilst the Premiere 320 and 340 were really the next generation of B10M on the Plaxton body, the Excalibur was the head turner, and although the Paramount range didn’t really have a top of the range body, like the Supreme era had the Viewmaster, the raked back front of the Excalibur made it stand out and the early ex-Parks of Hamilton J-HDS batch were great to drive, and for me that was the ideal combination. They drove really well, but also benefited from excellent visibility, great chassis dynamics and the rather quirky rear window which curved into the roofline, which was also heated as it was single-glazed.

Still Top Gun?

By the time the mid to late 1990s had arrived the B10M had seen a change. The vehicle radiator had been moved to the side, behind the nearside front wheel. This led to a number of changes to bodywork styles, but also had a positive effect on low driver position models. For example, the Berkhof Excellence went from having an awkward box next to the dashboard which contained the radiator up to 1995, to having a clear entry platform from the following year. This also benefited the Jonckheere Deauville. Not only that, but it was a vast improvement for the driver who, if you know your B10Ms, had to listen to a roaring radiator fan in hot weather. The movement of the radiator solved those issues.

By 1999, the B10M was still going and in fact a marketing campaign based around Top Gun was launched offering a new 24-month warranty and a free 12-month ‘powercare’ package.

By this point the B10M was using the DH10A 9.6-litre, six cylinder, four-stroke turbocharged and intercooled engine with three power outputs, the SE at 245bhp, the GL-285 and GL-360 with their respective horsepower. The B10MT tri-axle chassis was also in the range, along with a shorter B9M, which had been around for many years, mainly under short Plaxton Paramount 3200s.

B12M arrives

However, in 2002 the B10M had gained a big brother, the B12M, the manufacturer announcing that: “The Volvo B12M, the innovative replacement to the legendary B10M, has been developed specifically to meet the ever increasing demands for economy, performance, safety and minimum impact on the environment, whilst at the same time retaining the highly popular mid-engine chassis layout.”

Volvo immediately made the B12M available with six main body options, Jonckheere, Berkhof, Sunsundegui, Plaxton, Salvador Caetano and Van Hool.

It was coined as it’s ‘long distance runner’ and benefitted from a new more powerful 12 litre Volvo DH12D horizontal engine with power outputs of 340, 380 and 420bhp, a ‘space frame’ chassis, manufactured from stainless steel with built-in through luggage locker behind the front axle, Volvo’s BEA (Bus Electronic Architecture) electrical diagnostics and data system, a driver’s area incorporating a menu-driven information panel, disc brakes all round with EBS, ABS and traction control as standard.

The B12M marked the end of the road for the B10M, which was Volvo’s very last mid-mounted engine chassis. The company then concentrated on rear engined coaches, and that continues today.

This feature has only been a tiny glimpse of the history of the B10M as 10,803 chassis were built for the UK market alone, and they have had bodies fitted to them from almost every coach and bus manufacturer going throughout the years, and of all types and sizes. But what we do know is that the B10M will go down in history as being one of the best mid-engined coaches to ever grace the road, not just in the UK, but the world!

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