Later on, this engine was designated the F. A more fuel-efficient 1–barrel version produced 77 hp (57 kW 78 PS). This SOHC engine with a 2–barrel carburettor produced 89 hp (66 kW 90 PS) and 109 lb⋅ft (148 N⋅m). Bore was as for the VC, 80 mm (3.15 in), but stroke was increased to 98 mm (3.86 in). Output varied considerably depending on market and installation, in a 1981 UK-market B1800 it is 84 hp (63 kW 85 PS) DIN at 5000 rpm and 13.7 kg⋅m (134 N⋅m 99 lb⋅ft) at 2500 rpm. It was all new in 1975 (pre-1975 1.8 Couriers got the earlier, long-stroke VB engine) and has an alloy eight-valve head on an iron block.

The VC is a 1.8 L (1,769 cc) overhead camshaft inline-four, with a bore and a stroke of 80 mm × 88 mm (3.15 in × 3.46 in). This is in contrast to the successor engines that were designed for transverse front-wheel drive applications as had become the trend in the late-1970s and early-1980s. They were fitted to rear-wheel drive models in a longitudinal arrangement. These engines are only the predecessors to the F-series engines, in no other way related. It was built at the Miyoshi Plant in Miyoshi, Hiroshima, Japan. Only the petrol 8-valve and 12-valve shared the same gasket pattern.

These heads came attached to multiple variations of the different blocks and strokes. There were four basic head types within the F range, the diesel SOHC 8-valve ( R-series), the petrol SOHC 8-valve, petrol SOHC 12-valve, and the petrol DOHC 16-valve. Introduced in 1983 as the 1.6-litre F6, this engine was found in the Mazda B-Series truck and Mazda G platform models such as Mazda 626/ Capella as well as many other models internationally including Mazda Bongo and Ford Freda clone, Mazda B-series based Ford Courier, Mazda 929 HC and the GD platform-based Ford Probe The F engine family from Mazda is a mid-sized inline-four piston engine with iron block, alloy head and belt-driven SOHC and DOHC configurations. IHI RHB5 VJ11 with air-to-air intercooler (some versions)

Mazda zb engine manual