Attention vintage Volvo shoppers! Great deal on aisle three! It’s a car I know well, the 1967 Volvo 122S in two-door form, with 83,000 miles, the twin-SU B18 motor and a four-speed manual. It’s here on Craigslist in the San Francisco Bay area, with a $6,800 price that’s low for a car in this condition.
As an owner of seven or eight east-coast 122S sedans and wagons, I can attest to their mechanical longevity and their ability to prodigiously rust. The fender bolt-on points go, the rear wheel arches, the frame members, around the headlights. The 1800s rust even more, and are far more costly to repair properly.
But this California car is not exhibiting much rust at all. The owner says there are “just a few bubbles on the fender,” and that it has “very solid undercarriage, floors and trunk.” That’s borne out by the photos. Fenders are easily replaced on these cars—they bolt on and off—and fiberglass replacements are available. The nose piece is also a bit bent, but those too are easily replaced. The car seems to have led a gentle life as it acquired 83,000 miles—not enough to seriously threaten that robust B18.
The interior is not bad. The seats have some staining/damage, and there are splits in the dash pad—almost inevitable in these Volvos. The grey carpeting is not original—they had rubber mats—but it doesn’t look too bad.
The car was repainted “years ago” and the light blue is holding up fairly well. There’s a little dent ahead of the driver’s side wheel well. The bumpers are still shiny. The rear overriders are missing—they tend to get mangled in parking disputes. Also, AWOL is the chrome windshield surround–possibly a sign the glass was replaced at some point.
Also missing is the cigarette lighter, but they’re easy to find. The headliners get punctured by sharp objects, but this one is holding its own. Some of the ’67s have brake boosters, but this one doesn’t. Single-circuit brakes, so keep that fluid topped off.
The bottom line is that this old Volvo is going to give some happy buyers 100,000 miles of fairly trouble-free driving.
No cigarette lighter, deals off,,the Snowflake would say. Always had a hankerin’ for a 122. Can’t you just see me? Tweed jacket with leather patches, little drivers cap, Meerschaum pipe( it IS Colorado), clumping along, not a care in the world. What RAM dually?
Volvo back then always seemed a decade behind. When I had my 1958 444, it was styled like a 40s car, the 122, in the 60s, was like a 50s car, they pretty much fell on deaf ears until the 140 series. That changed everything, but these had a meager following. The late Colin Powell drove 122s. I suppose it’s the simplicity of a 50s car that is the attraction to me, a wagon would be nice, but not in this lifetime. Great find.
Colin Powell? Now, if you’d have said Colin Chapman drove one? That’d seal the deal!
I interviews Colin Powell about his Volvos. Lovely fellow.
If I remember right,they were advertised as lasting
10 (or was it 11?) years back then.
If it’s as good as it looks in the pictures,I’m surprised
it’s still for sale.Not a bad price,plus you could load it
up with cool stuff from IPD.
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-1960s-uk-volvo-magazine-advert-85326929.html
The 1966 Volvo P1800 holds the Guinness Book of Records at 3 million miles! I saw it and the owner at a car show a few years back.
https://info.westerncentralny.aaa.com/blog/high-mileage-vehicles-racked-millions-miles
It outlasted its owner, who passed a few years back.
Solid looking122 and it’s a 2door. This car looks like it’s had some work in the past. The trunk shut lines look like it’s been closed wrong. The trunk itself looks like the automatic badge has been peeled off and the car converted to a 4 speed. A look inside at the right side of the steering column confirms it. The next owner may want to finish the job and add overdrive, suspension upgrades and a set of Panasports and tires. I’ve owned 2 wagons and 2 sedans in the past. They are easy to maintain and engaging to drive. Price is right on this one. Why not?
’67 was the last year for the 122, replaced by the 140 series in ’68 at least here in the US market.
1970 was the last year for the Amazon/122.
1968 was the last year they were imported to the US by Volvo.
I have 2 1968s here.
A bunch more safety stuff that was harmless and included a tandem master cylinder, steering column that separated (unlike the 67 style that fractured my skull), headrest and more.
Never had a 122 had a 65 PV544 and then a 68 142 with ac 4speed and overdrive the 142 was more refined and modern but nowhere near as fun as the 544 ironically both cars were totaled in wrecks by my older sister she did not get a scratch in either wreck definitely well built cars
Was this same car here on BF a month pr two ago?
Howard, what is special about the station wagon 122?
Not exactly in my wheel house, but I totally understand, why this car is so appealing.
what is special about the station wagon 122?
You can carry 10′ pipe or conduit, it does go into the passenger footwell. It’s meant to haul with the tailgate open. Upper tailgate has 3-4 positions to adjust the (ac) air flow. When I got my 68 Amazon Estate (station wagon), It got sway bars, shocks, wider wheels and tires, dumped the floor dipper for a latching relay controlled by the turn switch (wire is there waiting to be used), progressive rate overload springs, alternator replaced the gennie, Marchal headlamps and Later we added a D type overdrive. It came with a heavy fabbed trailer hitch. We took a leisurely trip out of state with it and brought a 245Turbo home on the tow dolly. It did so well, we started pulling a 16′ tandem axle trailer. After adding an electric brake control, it has pulled 6-8K lbs. The 4.56 rear end makes these feats possible with the Volvo 4.
Want a list of some of what it’s hauled in the last 30 years?
Not too shabby a deal . Car and price very attractive. Probably won’t last long. Car shows very clean condition.
I enjoyed a ´67 2 door 121 and a ‘70 2 door 122s, both wonderful. Did a lot of work on both. Crashed one on the way to Paris, sold the other for a trip to Rio ! I miss them to this day.