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From Britain Via Sweden: 1962 Volvo P1800

Volvo, that Swedish builder of sober, reliable transportation dabbled in sporting cars as well with their Sport P1900 and later the P1800 coupe. An example of a rare, British-built Volvo P1800 is for sale here on Hemmings Motor News in Portland, Oregon for $20,000.

Today, Volvo has assembly plants around the world but in the 1960s they were at their production capacity in Gothenburg, Sweden and a new factory under construction in Halifax, Nova Scotia was still some time away from opening. A contract assembler was needed to build a low-production sports coupe and after being rebuffed by Karmann in Germany, Volvo negotiated a contract with Jensen Motors in West Bromwich, UK to build 10,000 units.

Production began in 1960 and Volvo almost immediately regretted the decision to contract with Jensen. Body panel fit, interior trim items and other problems drove Volvo to cancel the contract after 6,000 were built. Production was transferred to Sweden and the model name was changed to P1800S to mark the occasion. With their low production numbers, British-built P1800s are rare and sought after as collectible cars.

The seller of this P1800 says that he “is getting too old to do a restoration.”  P1800s aren’t the easiest cars to restore especially the bodywork. The front section is one large assembly of welded pieces that encompass everything from the grill to the windshield. It would take a skilled restorer to make repairs correctly and there are rusted-through places on the lower front fenders. Corrosion is evident on the rocker panels and a large area around the trunklid.

The interior is all there but it is in a poor state. The upholstery material is not all that unusual so a good trim shop should be able to make up new upholstery and keep it original looking. In the meantime, the jacket covering the driver’s seat may be a buyer’s bonus. It is said that the Jensen-supplied chrome trim is superior to the later Volvo trim in that some of it is solid brass that has been chrome plated. There are items that are unique to the British-built P1800s so the buyer would be wise to take a careful inventory.

This is the tough-as-nails 1,800 cc four cylinder pushrod engine that generated 100 horsepower when new. The standard transmission was a four speed manual and a Laycock de Normanville overdrive was an option. The seller does not state if this car has O/D, but it would be a desirable feature.  Those familiar with classic British cars will notice the twin SU carburetors which are dead simple to rebuild. This is indeed a rare beast, but the $20K buy-in is steep, considering the work ahead.

Comments

  1. Avatar Bob_S

    Way over priced.

    Like 7
    • Avatar Dave at OldSchool

      Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

      Like 0
  2. Avatar Bob_s
    • Avatar Nathan Winslow

      Wow, that’s a beauty. This does a great job of illustrating how grossly over-priced the subject car is…

      Like 1
  3. Avatar Richie Rich

    This is a $4-5k project at best. The British versions are NOT more desireable even though the build quantities are less. There was a good reason for that!

    Like 8
    • Avatar Tiberius1701

      Absolutely..because they were crap. Plain and simple. These cars rusted totally unlike their Swedish built brethren.

      Like 1
  4. Avatar leiniedude Member

    ‘the $20K buy-in is steep’ I am with you Rodney McDonald. Pretty car when done right. Nice article Rodney. Thanks, Mike.

    Like 2
  5. Avatar Alan (Michigan)

    Holy Smokes!

    That ask is way too close to what the car would be in CLEAN, Driving condition!

    Check out the one with the longer roof (Beautiful Car!)
    https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/volvo/1800es/2154841.html
    Or for LESS: https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/volvo/1800es/2147604.html

    Like 2
  6. Avatar ron

    flipper.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Rex Kahrs Member

    The Jensen cars just seem to have a mystique about them, it’s inexplicable, but probably due to the low number of cars made by Jensen, as Rodney mentions.

    Parts get a premium too. A set of those hub caps would sell for $1500.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Dave Mika Member

    Just to chime in, yea, 20k nearly made me shoot coffee out my nose.

    Like 4
    • Avatar Tiberius1701

      Well you have to take in account that this is Portland.

      Like 0
  9. Avatar zimme008

    Folklore has it that these were built on the same line at Jensen as the Sunbeam Alpines.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Guy Barkley

    Theres alot of difference between 1962 and a1972 chevy in price and so the same would apply here to the Volvo, besided remember (The Saint)

    Like 1
  11. Avatar Sicurvetro

    As the big trend with classics seems these days, very early production and limited build quantities help set them apart from the rest of the ‘bulk’, even within a model series. And great design doesn’t do much harm either!
    Although Jensen’s quality might have been somewhat compromised, most of the examples today are or will get restored eventually. And in a proper and complete ‘rotisserie’ restoration process, such quality-issues usually play a lesser role in overall costs, in i.ex. comparison to a similar later/’Swedish’ car in maybe slightly better condition rust-wise.
    I have one, and I am planning on spending much more than “usual” over a professional ‘concours’ restoration on my ‘Jensen’ version (originally ‘graphite’ exterior and red interior). I will not even think of the hours involved!!… I just think the design is simply fabulous, and the model -especially Jensen-built- is way undervalued and deserves to be recognized! Maybe I’m crazy, but I believe in this car’s future!! – and it’s ‘Saint’ approved!!
    And yes, for right now, 20K seems a little steep by ‘a few’ thousand at least, but for how long??
    PS: check last weekend’s Bonhams Auctions in Monterey and a very strong USD 92.400 (all in) for a P-1800 ES. -and that’s not even for the more beautiful ‘Jensen’ car… ;-) ;-)
    saluti, Antti

    Like 2

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