The seller of this 1966 Volvo 122S coupe claims that it’s original and was discovered in the original owner’s garage, where it had been parked for many years. It looks to be extremely clean, but has a few dents and dings here and there. With 125,000 miles on the odometer it’s hard to believe it could be in such nice shape, but Volvo did build these to last. It’s located in Vancouver, Washington and has been listed here on eBay.
The interior looks intact and complete, but is showing some wear. It appears to have fared the year’s well and still looks great inside and out. The seller doesn’t state whether the paint is original or not, but the Caribbean Cream paint goes well with the Olive Grove Green interior. The exterior decals are stick-ons and can easily be removed to return it to original.
For ’66, the 122S was powered by Volvo’s built proof 1.8 liter five main bearing B18 straight four. While it wasn’t extremely powerful in stock form, it proved to be extremely durable and was capable of producing a respectable amount of power, making it a popular choice for vintage racers. With 125,000 original miles on this engine, we would recommend an overhaul before putting it through its paces at the track.
This Amazon should make a fantastic driver and could even be made into a great weekend track car or vintage racer. The seller started bidding at $4,000, which seems about right for a clean two door driver 122S. We would want to check out the seller’s claims before shelling the money out, but even if it isn’t a garage find survivor, it still could be a good deal for a fun Swede.
~ i very much admire this Amazon but the ‘boy-racer’ livery is a disappointment. the 122 Volvo topped out at $5,100.00 [reserve not met] with 13 bidders earlier this week;
http://www.dailyturismo.com/2013/02/5k-1966-volvo-122s-one-owner-fake-racer.html
http://offer.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&_trksid=p4340.l2565&rt=nc&item=251229783948
How does a car not sell because it didn’t meet the reserve when the eBay ad says no reserve ??? Something’s not right.
ad says ” LOW reserve” not NO reserve
We must be looking at a different E-bay – mine says no reserve in large print and that it goes until Feb 28th – shows no bids yet and opening bid required of $4,000. Something seems confusing
Very nice, looks solid, will see what “Princess peach” is expecting for this & I could do without the boy racer stuff but that’s me.
The old Volvo’s sure were good cars. Simple, nice looking and very stout. The seller should lose the numbers and stripes,
“dude, it ain’t right”
I owned a few of these back in the ’70s, and as Rancho said, these are very stout. Being stout, they are also relatively heavy. The engines are well tuned for a basic economy sedan from the ’60s, but a performance car they aren’t. The suspension is too soft and the car moves around on the suspension and tires if it is driven fast. But performance isn’t, or shouldn’t be, the point of owning one. They are simple, but the build quality is exceptionally good. The engines / drivelines are almost unbreakable, the interior is plain but high quality (very thick, quality vinyl on the seats), and they are very satisfying to own as basic transportation. The first thing that a person who knows these cars would do after buying it is to remove the boy racer decorations on it, and then just enjoy the vintage experience of using it as a daily driver.
I owned a couple of these in Sedan form and one 67 wagon, and they were all fantastically bomb proof cars. I bought the first one for $35 back in 76 or so, when I worked for Leitzinger imports in State College, PA.. It had no revierse when it was traded in and needed exhaust work. I dropped the pan on the trans, changed the filter,…..and…..amazingly, the trans not only worked flawlessly after that, it never faltered again in years of use and abuse from my brother an myself.
I traded it to my brother for his Pentax 35mm camera at some point, and he drove the hell out of it in upstate New York. The front fender eventually both rusted out from all the road salt used in those days, and Bill (brother) popped on a set of fiberglass fenders. years later, he sold it with well over 200,000 miles on it. I think it brought $400. Those cars were a tough act to follow for Volvo,………well,…….Maybe all the rear drive Volvos were a tough act to follow, when it came to reliability.
Brian in Austin
PS. My 67 122S wagon ended up on both the front and back covers of the Volvo Club “Rolling” Magazine in December 1992. I had sold the car years earlier, so it was great seeing my car featured on both the covers.
I wonder if Colin Powell (SecStateRet) still has his 122S. Until I saw who owned it, I couldn’t figure out how a Volvo owner could get a picture of his car at the front door of the Pentagon.