Cars from the 1970s fall outside of my personal range of vehicle eras I tend to collect for no other reason than being a child of the 80s. But if I were to step outside my preferred timelines, the Volvo 1800ES would be among the first I’d buy. This car was a shot heard ’round the world for Volvo loyalists when it was introduced, seemingly breaking tradition with how most Volvo vehicles were marketed sold. The 1800ES was sexy, as were the advertisements at the time, seemingly indicating you could be safety-conscious and stylish, too. Check out this clean 1800ES listed here on craigslist in Oregon City for $22,000.
The seller claims he bought this 1800ES off of his brother’s estate, and that his sibling was the only registered owner up until that point. Mileage is listed as being under 36,000 and alternations are said to be nominal, with no real deviations from stock noted aside from a recently replaced windshield. These shooting brake versions of the P1800 coupes took a shocking concept – a Volvo that looked like it belonged on the streets of Milan, not Stockholm – even further, as the stunning design was made even more polarizing with the addition of an estate-style roof and the signature upper glass hatch. The rear window itself is work of art, if you’ve ever seen one up close, and the interior is quite handsome, too.
Despite all of this eyeball appeal, the 1800ES remained charmingly Volvo everywhere else. A bulletproof B20 E four-cylinder engine featuring Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection provided thrust, with power and torque rated at 112 and 115 lb-ft, respectively. Later cars may have gotten a bump to 125 horsepower or thereabouts, but it can still motor along nicely regardless of exact specification. The seller notes that this ES has been properly gone through following his acquisition of the vehicle, with extensive fuel system work (I would assume the car had been sitting) along with “…..new water pump, fan and hoses, new bearings in drive line, new coil, new spark plugs and wires, new battery, new tires.”
Rust is said to be nominal and limits to some isolated spots in the body panels, but the seller doesn’t seem concerned. The clean condition of both the interior and exterior suggest years of ongoing care and careful storage, even if the mechanical bits suffered from some lack of use. The 1800ES market is a funny one as this is far from a mainstream car and many vehicles from the 60s and 70s are beginning to soften a bit in the market. A recent Bring A Trailer sale for a similarly preserved example sold for $18,250, so the seller may be a touch high in the current environment, but it doesn’t detract from this vintage Volvo’s appeal. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the find.
I would have owned one after returning from
South East Asia if I could have found one the color I wanted. To this day I think the ES deserves a spot in my top 5 list of car designs. Did spend some time on the race tracks in a 235 hp car that looked great and won a lot of races.
Agree….always liked this wagon….
Marilyn Cole got one for being Playmate of the Year 1972!
Hubba Hubba…..! (erm-the car, I mean!)
What is an “estate style roof?” That one is new to me.
Clean example of one of Volvo’s more stylish offerings, but I’m not sure I believe the mileage claim.
Agreed. Look at the picture of the passenger seat.
Jury’s out on mileage, I think. Volvos have million-mile odometers, and this one’s first number is zero. Seats swapped? Likely. I’d do it, too,
I’d sure like to know where the rust is. On these things it’s like being pregnant…
I’ve worn out a bunch of 145’s (1969, 1970), and these tractor engines just don’t give up.
Yes, I’m not suggesting the odo has rolled over. But I’m not discounting the possibility of a drive cable being disconnected for extended periods of time.
Lovely looking car. Although I was way too young at the time to drive a car, I remember seeing cars like this Volvo P1800 ES. It’s too bad it didn’t last long before being discontinued. As nice as the Volvo 140 series was, this would’ve made a sporty addition to the line up. Volvo has been known for building safe and durable vehicles. Fine. There’s nothing wrong with that. We all need safe, durable cars. But you can produce safe and durable sports cars.
Peter I agree with the concern about the mileage. the passenger seat and the under hood look does not support that number.
What I want to know is, how is the speedometer reading 36 miles per hour without being running and no key in the ignition?
What I want to know is, how is the car doing 36 miles per hour not running and no key in the ignition?
I have owned and restored and sold one of these (in the tan gold color) and from looking at this tend to believe the mileage claim. Mine was also a low mileage example that had sat for many years. Even with little use, the front seats suffered greatly and had to be recovered. I think the quality of the leather sourced by Volvo maybe was a problem… just my thoughts.
It probably sat because the FI systems on these were not very good and hard to diagnose.
I thought we’d been through this enough times that everyone writing for BF was in the loop. One more time:
The “P” 1800 refers to the first 6000 cars produced in England for Volvo, for 1961 into 1963.
In ’63, Volvo was unhappy with the quality of the English-built cars, so they brought production of the model to Sweden, and the car was now referred to the 1800S. The “S” being Sweden.
In 1970, the B-20 engine became fuel injected, and now the car was referred to as the 1800E.
In 1972, the wagon or “estate” version came out, and thus that model was referred to as the 1800ES.
There is no P1800S, or P1800ES, or P1800E. The designations are P1800, 1800S, 1800E, 1800ES. How do I know this? I’ve owned twelve of them.
Thanks for this, Rex. I copied it and put it in a Word doc on my hard drive :-)
Keep it up!
12 of them, eh? More than Henry VIII and Liz Taylor. Hope the divorces weren’t as painful.
That is a lot of changed water pumps.
The P on the identification for the model was dropped when the company stopped using bodies made by Jensen in 1963. So this is an 1800, not a P1800.
I remember seeing this Volvo at the NY International Car Show as a concept car. I remember thinking how cool it was that the entire lift gate was glass with no metal frame, although I had doubts that would make it to production as usually the really cool stuff doesn’t. And here it is on a production car. Good for you, Volvo.
Ford did similar with the Pinto Runabout.
If this has the original engine it is a B20F, not an E. The B20E was a high compression offering that was retired after ‘71.
I concour on the mileage.I currently have ten vintage Volvos in my car barn,four are coupes and ES cars.My one owner 34,000 mile car has the same leather wear only worse.Look at all the other characteristics of the interior-no cracks on dash,crisp door cards,rear carpet not “too ” faded,gauges are crisp and clean…..
tops for me (“Wagonman”) as is the MGB-GT, others of my prime car watching age (12 – 22 y/o). The P1800 was on TV w/’Simon Templar’ (’The Saint’). But estate, wagon, etc all ways got me (along with no/short rear deck, fast backs). “All that in 1 car? And a wolwo too!?!” I’d get rid of the ipd logo tho… 8^ ) Find a hot intake (may B 4 Keihens?) co’s ele OD/5 speed, beef up the rest?
Thnx for pic/write up.
So many languages spoken here…
When I was a kid we went to CT every summer to visit relatives. Always saw these cars on the road in that area and always thought they were the coolest cars back then.
The short-lived Volvo C30 had a rear hatch reminiscent of the 1800ES. Always thought that was a nice touch.