The period of 1930 is the rapid expansion period of Volvo trucks. From an ordinary start, to the production of high-performance engines, large loads, multi-axle modern vehicles. This is golden decade of Volvo. Round nose
The round-headed trucks launched at the end of 1939 as 1940 may be Volvo's most successful truck models before the appearance of F-series trucks in1970s. These trucks all look the same and have many models, which are used in all aspects of transportation.
At first glance, there is no difference between these trucks, but in fact they are different. For example, the front lengths of the latest three cars are obviously different, and the earlier two cars are equipped with gasoline engines (or Haiser Mann engines or gas engines).
Today, vehicles look unique, but the appearance of round-headed trucks was deeply influenced by the appearance of American, British and German trucks at that time. This is not surprising, because the1930s was a decade in which shape design played a prominent role in the product design process, and the design trend spread from one country to another. The influence on the design of almost all truck products may come from every manufacturer.
This series of trucks was not full of bright prospects when they first started production.
1939 released the first model at the end of World War II. This means that the sales of civilian truck products will soon become slow. Fortunately, the demand of military customers has greatly increased, and Volvo has become a supplier of the Swedish Armed Forces. During World War II, thousands of standard round-headed trucks were delivered to the military, all of which adopted simple design and all-wheel drive.
After World War II, this series of trucks was a great success. The most successful model is LV 125 series, and more than 10000 sets have been sold. For a time, the number of trucks increased greatly, but it was far from becoming the main mode of transportation (at that time, railway transportation also played a leading role).
Although the shape is the same, the power and strength of these round-headed trucks are quite different. The basic engine is an ordinary 90hp side valve engine, and the horsepower of the gasoline engine with overhead valve reaches 105bhp. There are usually Haiser Mann engines that use lower-cost fuels to choose from, and gas engines were equipped during World War II. Although the performance is limited, it can still maintain operation when gasoline is only supplied to the army.
This series of trucks was produced from 1939 to 1954 for 15 years, and there is no change in mechanical structure except some details. More than 40,000 round-headed trucks have been produced and sold, which is considered as the limit of truck consumption (compared with today). The pointed car is quickly accepted by people because of its powerful functionality and conformity with the design trend. When developing heavier pointed trucks in 1940, the existing design is superior to the new design of lighter advanced trucks, especially when LV79 uses the same design as LV76 and LV78 trucks. This has been replaced by the pointed trucks in 1938 and 1939.
LV 1 1 series trucks are the transitional products between Volvo light trucks and heavy trucks. In fact, the chassis of LV 1 1 is the same as the heavy trucks of Volvo car family, and the transmission system components (made by Volvo) are all tried and tested parts of classic cars, which are very reliable. For example, the components of LV8 series trucks have been verified for several years. The latter was eventually replaced and updated to LV 1 1.
Although the mass of LV 1 1 is relatively large, the pictures of 1940s often show that such vehicles are used in heavy-duty applications such as construction and transportation, and the chassis components such as frames, suspensions and sedan chairs bear relatively large stress, especially at that time, overload is regarded as a normal phenomenon.
LV 1 1 has become a standard Swedish truck (not exported much, because this product is firm but expensive compared with cheap but not durable foreign competitors). In 1947 (LV 105 was successfully introduced), it was modified twice. Subsequently, LV 105 was replaced by L20 series trucks. This change is very small. When it was replaced by L34 series trucks, the popularity of this generation of trucks and their parts meant that the chassis and parts of L20 series trucks were used again, except the hood, fender and advanced design cab. One of the most fundamental features of World War II is that in the war, self-driving cars, trucks and combat vehicles (usually with good off-road maneuverability) replaced the roles previously played by animal-drawn vehicles for the first time.
With its rich resources, Volvo has been growing and becoming the main supplier of Swedish military transport equipment during the period of 1939. The most advanced vehicles are TVA, TVB and TVC, which are used as heavy tractors for artillery and air defense weapons.
TVCA is the first all-wheel drive car produced by Volvo. It is developed on the basis of TVZ/TVB, but two key changes have been made: the front control design and the addition of front axle drive.
Because TVC needs excellent off-road performance, it is natural to limit the overall size of the car body and try to distribute GVW evenly on the three axles. For this reason, a wide cab is set at the top of the engine, which makes the driver have a good vision and the internal passengers get satisfactory ride comfort. This unique four-wheel drive truck also has some other advanced features. This spacious passenger cab is very necessary for the use of vehicles, because it not only serves as a tractor for artillery and anti-aircraft guns, but also needs to transport soldiers to combat positions.
The chassis design is exactly the same as TVA/TVB. Central frame with cylindrical structure, independent axle, 6-wheel all-wheel drive and large-size off-road tires.
The engine of TVC is the same as that of its predecessor TVB, both of which are 140bhp7.6-liter gasoline engines. TVC is very popular because of its special functions. Although its front part is heavy, which often causes the steering wheel to sink into soft ground, the strong traction of the rear axle of dual-drive can overcome this shortcoming and ensure its excellent off-road maneuverability.
TVC has served in the Swedish armed forces for a long time, and there is basically no change except changing to the window where members have a better view. The engine was replaced by a super horsepower 10L gasoline engine, which was developed for the diesel engine of l39 Titan Heavy Truck. Although Volvo is a developing manufacturer, it became a diesel truck manufacturer late. This is not only an opportunity, but also because GUSTAF LARSON, one of the co-founders of Volvo, is a follower of Jomas HESSELMAN, the inventor of Hesselman engine. Unfortunately, this means that Volvo has become the latest manufacturer to provide users with diesel engines, even though the performance of genuine diesel engines at that time far exceeded that of Heisman engines.
Despite this, the initial plan to develop and produce the first diesel engine was finally introduced in 1940, but World War II delayed Volvo's launch of diesel engine products.
The first Volvo diesel engine was named VDA (Volvo A Diesel Engine), which adopted the same pre-combustion structure as most engines at that time. Initially, VDA planned to adopt more efficient direct injection. The test was carried out before the production of direct injection VDA, and it was found that this type of VDA was difficult to start in cold weather. Therefore, in order to ensure good reliability and long working life, the pre-combustion VDA is finally determined as 1946. This model was released in the autumn of 1946 and soon became the hottest truck in Sweden.
LV 15 series trucks are basically the same as the gasoline-powered round-headed trucks introduced by 1939/ 1940 for the first time, but larger and heavier diesel engines need a larger hood, which makes it easy to distinguish diesel trucks from round-headed trucks equipped with gasoline engines and hessman engines.
Although the output power is only 95dhp (from 1949 to 100bhp), LV 15 series trucks (and L24 series trucks with the same appearance) can be competent for heavy transportation tasks, including construction transportation and long-distance transportation, and sometimes even use three-axle and trailer.
1950 determines an important step (engine development direction) when pre-combustion VDA engine is replaced by direct injection VDC engine to improve fuel consumption economy (at first it is only an alternative to reduce costs). This kind of engine is the ancestor of modern high-performance Volvo diesel trucks, buses and marine engines (VDC engine is actually applied to all aspects, even Volvo vehicle products like road shovel! )
LV 15/L24 series trucks and 1953 were replaced and updated by L38/ Viking trucks. By the mid-1940s, it had become an obvious trend for heavy trucks to use diesel engines. And this is very strange for Volvo. They have been focusing on the research and development of selman engine, because the research and development cost of Haiser Mann engine is lower than that of diesel engine.
The first diesel heavy truck-born on demand
Today, perhaps we must emphasize that until 1945, the cumulative output of Volvo heavy trucks is still very small. Most Volvo trucks are light and heavy. They made Volvo profitable, so that it had enough financial resources to develop its later automobile production business, which did not begin to make a profit until the early 1950s.
L29 series trucks are extremely strong, but the output is very small. 1946' s first powerful diesel heavy truck is naturally based on L29 series, and its appearance is largely at the request of Swedish National Road Association. In the severe winter in Sweden, they need a powerful vehicle to shovel snow and build roads. (The postwar period is the climax of Swedish road network renewal)
Simple and efficient
The design of L29C/V (C stands for civil use and V stands for road association vehicles, that is to say, trucks used by other urban road associations) is simple and efficient. The existing L29 heavy truck has been improved and strengthened, and the engine compartment has been added to accommodate the huge and powerful Volvo diesel engine. At first, it was a pre-combustion type, but in the later production of this type of truck, it was replaced by the advanced "VDF" direct injection machine.
LV29C/V, a successful compromise, 195 1 was replaced by L39Titan with modern appearance, and it was mainly L29C/V-at least in the first five years. Driving L29C/V is very hard, because there is no power steering. In those days, truck drivers really needed a strong physique.