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A 1962 ad for a Ruddspeed Volvo Amazon, B18, 4 door.
As seen in a Autosport ad from December 7th 1962 for the 1963 Volvo Amazon Ruddspeed.
"1800cc 5 Bearing crank pushrod 4 cylinder. Lead Indium Bronze bearings. Ruddspeed sports cylinder head with large valves, flowed and compression 95/1. Ruddspeed stage one exhaust twin outlet. Ruddspeed modified and lowered suspension with Koni S/Absorbers. Manufacturer's Guarantee extended to cover these modifications."
1964 Volvo P1800S review
Evening Argus'. Wednesday. September 9th. 1964
EVEN MORE ZIP FOR THE VOLVO AND QUIETER TOO
By ‘Mac’
You might wonder why anyone should want to bother with “hotting up” the Volvo P1800S coupe. After all. It is Sweden's fastest production car and at £1.651 the most expensive Volvo model, and it will cruise happily all day at a steady l00 m.p.h.
But K.N. Rudd (Engineers), Ltd., of High Street, Worthing, are just itching to send people along to their associate company, Ruddspeed, Ltd., at Ford Aerodrome to have Volvos “breathed upon.”
The Ruddspeed P1800S can be regarded as the excellent Volvo car with a great deal more acceleration, which mean that higher cruising speeds are more readily attainable, and even greater refinement than is provided with the normal Volvo car.
PART EXCHANGE
You can spend up to £200 with Rudd’s on improving your Volvo if you have all the improvements carried out to a new car, a bit more if your own car is converted, without having the advantage of being able to let Rudd’s give part exchange values on unused parts which are replaced by their modified components.
The last word in Ruddspeed Volvos is a 140 bhp P1800S, which is quieter and more flexible than the original version, as well as being so much quicker in getting up to its cruising speeds.
It does not cost as much to ring this car to the peak of Ruddspeed development as, for instance, a Volvo 121 saloon, which begins life with a 75 bhp single carburettor engine and drum from brakes.
The P1800S already has many items of equipment fitted to it when it leaves the Swedish factory that Rudd could otherwise provide later. In theory there is nothing on the Ruddspeed P1800S which I tested which cannot also be fitted to the cheapest Volvo.
Items which are standard on a P1800S and which can be added to the cheapest Volvo are an overdrive, sports type silencer, oil cooler, servo-assistance for the brakes, carpets in the interior (all Volvos except the P1800S have rubber floor covering), locking petrol filler cap, spare wheel cover and a remote control gear lever.
In addition, of course, the P1800S has an engine output of 108 b.h.p in its standard form, and the early stages of Ruddspeed development work bring the power output up to a figure of this order.
To take the P1800S to the full Ruddspeed specifications entails a good deal of extra specialised work.
There are modifications to the cylinder head, a new camshaft, a new exhaust manifold system of separate outlet pipes (on this model Rudd’s are currently using the standard silencer system, but could also fit a silencer of their own specification) and, in the ultimate conversion, a pair of twin choke Weber carburettors fed from a cold air box taking its air through a large-bore pipe direct from the front grille of the car beside the radiator.
The cylinder head (£19 10s. For the exchange unit) has a higher compression ration than that of the standard head, going up to 11 to 1, compared to 10 to 1 used normally, and it has carefully modified combustion chamber and ports to give easier flow of gas and more efficient burning.
The camshaft is the Ruddspeed “SS” type, costing £12 15s. To modify and providing increased valve lift and more overlap than the normal camshaft. The exhaust manifold is a four-branch unit costing £17 17s. And it feeds into a down pipe, which bolts o to the existing silencer of this model, which is efficient both in silencing and releasing exhaust gases.
On the car tested, a pair of side-draught twin-chokeWeber carburettors, of the type used in most models of racing ar these days all over the world, replaced the usual twin S.U. carburettors. They were fed from a cold air box (£9 9s.) and were not at all noisy. The cost is £78, with allowance of £15 on the S.U. carburettors when the conversion is carried out to a new car.
Without checking it against a stopwatch, which reveals that the car will reach 60 m.p.h. in nine seconds when accelerating from a standstill, you might be a little disappointed in the Ruddspeed P188S. It obviously goes quickly — the way in which you leave the other traffic behind is clear evidence — but it is so smooth, quiet and flexible that there is none of the drama which is often associated with performance converted cars.
You can use overdrive top gear from under 30 m.p.h. and it will whisk you away effortlessly, and keep on accelerating well until more than 100 m.p.h. is reached. The maximum of 112 m.p.h. is not particularly high but must be partly due to the use of overdrive and the low final drive ratio which is fitted.
The effect of this is to make it impossible to reach maximum speed in direct top gear, because you would then over-rev the engine, while you cannot achieve maximum revs in overdrive.
It does mean, however, that rapid acceleration is available to nearly 100 m.p.h. in direct top, and you can drive as hard as you like in overdrive, knowing that you cannot over-stress the engine.
Part of the credit for the effortless and quiet manner of the Ruddspeed Volvo’’s ride must be taken by the “Silent Ride” kit of sound-deadening materials which had been applied to it. It cost £10, and must be worth all of it.
The test car was also fitted with a set of knock-on wire wheels, which entails the fitting of special hubs. The cost is £89 (£20 less with allowances for removing parts of new cars).
A further refinement was a set of Koni shock absorber (£17 10s. — less £1 10s. On a new car), which with the Pirelli Cinturato tyres, which are standard equipment on the P1800S, helped to make this car simply cling to the road when it was both dry and wet.
Prepared as a Ruddspeed model, the P1800S becomes a particularly rapid car in which its grand touring nature has not been spoiled in any way but has actually been enhanced.
Wire wheels and two small emblems are the only exterior indications that this Volvo P1800S is a Ruddspeed version. More performance and even greater refinement are the differences, Details: Two-door, two-seater, fixed head coupe. Prices: standard model £1,651 2s 11d, (inc tax) plus £217 1s, for Ruddspeed equipment. Engine< Four-cylinder, pushrod ohm, 1,789 cc, 140 bhp. Top speed 112 mph. Fuel consumption 18-25 mpg. Average 86 miles per £. Dimensions: Length 14ft. 5 1/4in.; width 5ft. 7in.; height 4ft. 2 1/2in; turning circle 32ft.; weight 24 cwt.
Renault Dauphine
We thought it might be interesting to show some of the old articles on various Rudd modification. Rather than try and read the small text we have retyped the article for those of you that might find it interesting.
DEVELOPING A SALOON CAR ENGINE
By Ray Dilley
A visit to K. N. RUDD (Engineers), Ltd., is like a Sunday afternoon treat. At their showrooms in High-street, Worthing, you can feast your eyes on the cream of British and Continental high-speed cars.
Few automobile distributors offer such a glittering array of the elite, yet this organisation have not forgotten the family man, the man who wants high-speed motoring at low cost. To satisfy this demand,Ken Rudd has gone to work on the Renault Dauphine.
It is easy enough to "soup up" a standard saloon. Shave the cylinder head; fit four-branch exhaust and two S.U. carburettors, and you're there. At least, you might think you're there. But you could find that the engine is hard to start, and bumpy in the rev. range. And the petrol consumption is liable to become heavy. To do the job properly three essentials are required: time, equipment, and skilled engineers. Rudd's have them all.
THREE-FOLD
They started back work on Renaults in 1955, and their aim with the Dauphine was three-fold—they set out to increase the brake-horse-power of the engine throughout the entire rev. range, they wanted to keep the petrol consumption the same as on the standard model when driven under normal conditions, and they meant to improve the road-holding qualities as required for extra speed.
The first steps in the development of the engine entailed slightly increasing the compression ratio from 7.8 to 8.3, enlarging the inlet valve size, balancing the combustion chambers and fitting anti-surge double valve springs. But the real secret of the power lies in the design of the camshaft. Rudd's have designed their own. The engine modification also includes a twin-inlet four-branch manifold, with straight - through silencer, twin S.U. carburettors, and air cleaners.
The only real way to assess the power in an engine is to place it on a dynamometer which measures the actual brake horse-power. The following chart illustrate how the brake horse-power of the Dauphine engine has been developed, and covers the complete rev. range.
At 4,000 revs. an extra eight brake horse-power is obtained.
Standard Model Ruddspeed
Revs. B.H.P. Revs. B.H.P.
2,000 15 1/2 2,000 16
2,500 19 1/2 2,500 20 1/2
3,000 23 3,000 26
3,500 24 1/2 3,500 31
4,000 27 4,000 35
4,200 30 4,200 38
5,000 42
My first thought after hearing about these engine modifications went to the factory guarantee. Was it still applicable with the Rudd modifications? Although the Dauphine in its standard form is seldom ever the subject of a guarantee claim,Renault will not expand their guarantee to cover modified vehicles.
RESPONSIBILITY
Rudd's will, however, accept the responsibilities of a manufacturer's warranty under the same terms and conditions, providing the vehicle is supplied by them and the tuning kit fitted in their own workshops. The modifications to the suspension concerns the rear suspension only which has been lowered. It gives the rear wheels a negative camber which helps to overcome the over-steer tendencies I experienced when cornering in a standard model. When I tested the standard model recently I was extremely impressed with it’s road-holding capabilities. But the Ruddspeed modifications to the rear suspension improves it even further, and makes controlled drifting through corners very easy. One of my few criticisms of the standard Dauphine was that it was fitted with a three-speed gearbox. The engine modifications by Rudd completely remove any doubts I had in that direction.
Acceleration is very brisk, and I still don't know speed what the top speed is! The speedometer is marked up to 75 miles per hour, but the needle had far passed this mark, and was dipping down into the wave gauge! I gave Dauphine two speed testa. The 0 to 60 miles per hour from a standing start was accomplished in 17 seconds, an incredible time for such a small engine. I tried a measured quarter-mile from a standing start and came up with very creditable 22 seconds.
SHOPPING CAR
Back the town after these sprightly road, moments on the open the Dauphine lost its Grand Prix exhaust bark. Once more it assumed the guise of a shopping car with no lumpiness in the carburation and a second gear capable of idling at 10 miles per hour. It all adds up to one of the few really successful developments of a standard saloon engine that have I had the pleasure to test. How much extra does all this cost? A standard saloon three-speed gearbox priced £689, and Ruddspeed form, €747. Optional four-speed gearbox model in standard form is £699, or in Ruddspeed trim £757.
Original factory photos
We were contacted recently by Em, the daughter of Peter Rose who worked at Rudds from the late 1960s until it closed. He had a small collection of wonderful Ruddspeed items, included were various items like these photos of a Ruddspeed Volvo Amazon dash panel, a 4 branch manifold set up and the dash from a RHD Volvo 140 series car.
A RUDDS of Worthing Buick Skylark RHD conversion
We wonder if this car is still around? Were there any other Buicks that were converted?
Club 10 Rudds Volvo
Back in 2012, Derek Scott who is the Secretary Kent Section of the VOC, sent us these photos of a 'Club 10 Rudds Volvo' tie,
He said: “The 'Club' reference maybe something as mundane as join our club and get 10% off all your bills when your car is serviced by us”. We'd love to know if anyone remembers these ties or know when and why they were made.
Ruddspeed radiator decanters
In the 1960’s, Ruddspeed Ltd., became involved in the manufacture and distribution of a series of beautiful radiator-inspired liquor decanters. The case were heavy chromium-plated metal surrounded a glass container with a simple radiator cap. They varied slightly in size, but were approximately 7.5” (19cm) in height. The series included – Mercedes, Bugatti (with black & chrome grills), Jaguar, Rolls Royce with flat screw radiator cap and one that features the Spirit of Ecstasy and Bentley with green, charcoal and chrome radiator grills. These luxury decanters were sold by Harrods of London and other high-quality shops and garages in the UK, in the 1960s.
Each came in it’s own display box with a note:
The Ruddspeed decanters were copied over the years, but the genuine article is not hard to identify, as each has a metal backing plate which has a cut out section showing the glass bottle, where the level of liquid can be seen. The backing plate has the text “Ruddspeed Ltd ( England) Reg. Design No 910435”, or “909777”. If the text is missing, it is most likely a copy. The Bugatti decanter was later copied by a French firm, and it is fairly faithful to the Ruddspeed version. The Bentley examples appear with either a black or green wire mesh grille.
We often get asked about the value of these decanter, as always this varies depending on the condition. We have seen examples for sale from £350 to £500 but with pitted or worn chrome, to nice examples that sell around the £600 to £900 price range very good examples that might sell for £1200.
2024 - A new beginning
After an initial soft launch of the new website a few months ago, I think we can officially say we up and running. The idea of resurrecting the Ruddspeed brand has been talked about between Steve and myself for the past 10 or 15 years.
As mentioned in the intro text, Steve Gray from Brooklands Cars Ltd knew Ken for many year due to his ownership and work restoring his racing AC Ace - RPO 826 and had many stories of Ken. With Ken’s blessing, Steve took on the now forgotten Ruddspeed brand with every intention of doing something with it…but work and life got in the way and it sat on hold for many years.
I (Peter) met Steve through my advertising a Volvo Amazon project that I originally had bought from Tony Barrett (the old Volvo guy) about 4 month before, it had a Ruddspeed B18 engine and dash fitted from another Amazon (that had been parted out). I knew very little about Ruddspeed and was only selling the car as I had too many projects at the time.
Steve had bought the project for a client that wanted to race the car, but the car was too big a project for his client. I stayed in contact with Steve, and about 12 month later I bought the car back with every intention of restoring it. I had it transported to Brian Gue at Amazonia, but sadly under the shiny paint work the car was past saving. But we did save that engine and dash. I ended up putting the engine into a red LHD Amazon that bought from Brian, I owned that car for a few years before selling it to someone in France (it is listed under the Replica drop down menu).
In about 2007 when I moved to Switzerland for work, Steve and I talked about resurrecting the brand, so I created a simple website with a few of the images and text I could find and it was easy to update. Then in 2012 Steve had the website rebuilt and updated, we created the first blog on anything we found or were sent, all this was posted on the blog. Unfortunately the company responsible for updating the website had folded in 2018, so we in turn lost access to the site and the blog. We then used Facebook for updates, the website stood dormant until mid 2023 when I started working on an update/refresh.
For now it’s main purpose has been to keep a record of all the cars that passed through the Rudds workshops. We have complied a Ruddspeed Registry and would love to hear of any more cars that were given the Ruddspeed treatment. Going forward we have some ideas and plans on replicating some of the Ruddspeed items, we have two original Ruddspeed Volvo Amazon’s that will be restored to their former glory, a possible new Ruddspeed AC Ace continuation project and the story of our newly created Ruddspeed Volvo Amazon that has been entered in the 2024 Peking to Paris event.
