We recently celebrated BF’s 5th birthday, which got us reminiscing about some of our first finds! So when I spotted this P1800, it was a flashback to the very first post I ever wrote and to the early days of this site. This Volvo looks to be a survivor like the one from 5 years ago, but this one isn’t quite as nice. It’s definitely a barn find though and it looks extremely solid! It’s said to run well and just needs to good freshening. Find it here on eBay in Sachse, Texas with a current bid of $8,300.
I’ve had the pleasure of working on several Volvo from this era and have always enjoyed the experience. They are well designed and built machines. I wouldn’t call them sports cars, but they are fun to drive, versatile and can be quick with a little work. P1800’s are more sporting than most of their Swedish siblings and have the interior to prove it. They do have one short coming and that’s rust issues. Amazingly, this car is solid and will just has a little surface rust to deal with. I’d get it treated right away though, before it becomes an issue. Who else here is a fan of the P1800? Or are there other Volvos you’d rather have?
It’s either an 1800S or a P1800. P1800 was only ’61 and ’62 and was built by Jensen in England. In ’63 production moved to Sweden and they changed the name to 1800S. This is an 1800S…
I have had 5 1800s since 1978. Sold my last one of 25 years a few months ago and now have my keeper 544 of 5 years which I found on this sight.
Love my Volvos through the years …I have had many other brands to collect but somehow they just suck me in!
I’ve never owned a foreign car but have always been a Volvo 1800 fan. That and the 3.0 CS BMW top my foreign car bucket list.
Wow what a nice car! You got to love the no rust option.
Even at 99,999 miles (which probably means “lots of miles but I don’t know exactly how many”) this Ebay car has ultra low miles compared to Irv Gordon’s similar P1800 with 3,000,000…three million miles.
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/18/irv-gordons-volvo-p1800-has-hit-3-million-miles/
From my experience with these drivetrains in the 122 series they are rugged and long lasting, but I have heard that the Jensen built P1800 bodies are prone to rust.
This car looks really good for a 50+ year old, especially the underside. The paint you could live with by protecting it against further deterioration by waxing and parking under cover, and then calling the result ‘survivor quality’.
The starting problem might be simple. These won’t start easily unless the chokes are working, so start looking there for the problem. The drivetrains are rock solid and this one looks good. The non-op OD might just be an electrical problem getting juice to the OD unit. Sounds like there will be a number of electrical problems to sort out. That and the interior might be the most time consuming to deal with. Parts of the interior look crusty and I would want to make it more appealing before using it much. But at a bit over $8K so far this could be a good buy for someone who wants an affordable survivor that doesn’t need everything.
Over $10.2K now with 2 hours left. Probably worth it. All issues seem to be minor.
ended at 13,200.00
In MY opinion one of the best cars of all time, looks, reliability, driveability.
It’s funny that with some cars the older they get the better they look. That’s what I see in the top photo above that Josh picked for this feature.
Good for whoever won this auction. This seems like a good car at an OK price, everything considered, and it will probably appreciate over time, especially if its needs are addressed.
I, too, have recently acquired a strong taste for these, and have snagged two project coupes that I’ll be restoring. One was the mossy 70 featured by Barn Finds a few years back. Still collecting misc. parts. They are pretty simple to work on, so I am looking forward to this project.