Timo was known as the B20 King, and hand on heart – it is hard not to have a soft spot for these sacred old pieces of machinery.
And they were Made in Sweden. They look, smell and breathe Swedish engineering from a bygone era. A very good era, when a spade was a spade and people understood that Swedish industry had to thrive – and that it needed affordable electricity to remain competitive. Which was, and still ought to be, fairly logical.
Sure, the cars and engines may have gone out of production. But the quality was good enough that they are still alive and working today. That speaks for itself – Swedish quality.
And somewhere along the way, an era came to an end. Many Volvo enthusiasts say the same thing I do – the last of the real Volvos disappeared when the final 940 rolled off the production line in 1998.
Not that there is anything particularly wrong with the white-block engines, but that front-wheel-drive business was never what we wanted. Imagine if the 850 Turbo had instead been rear-wheel drive, with a longitudinal redblock under the bonnet, 16 valves, four-valve technology and a proper exhaust manifold… history might have looked rather different.
So hats off to all of you who still look after these treasures, refuse to give up on them, refuse to simply climb into an electric car, and refuse to be separated from the memories and all the fun these cars have brought us over the years.
Just like you, I refuse to let go of something that genuinely carries both culture and history, despite twelve years of people trying to wear me down in the battle over the old workshop and everything else…
Exhaust manifold production is not ending. Yes, it is on a smaller scale than it once was, but it is still Made in Sweden, and the craft has continued through a generational handover.
Right now I am still making Timo B20 exhaust manifolds, Type 2 and Type 3.
Same recipe as always.