Two-Engine Project: 1960 Volvo PV544

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The Volvo PV Series was conceived during the World War II years as an economical means of transportation to address the pent-up demand for Swedish car buyers in the 1940s. Production began on the PV444 in 1947 and migrated to the similar PV544 in 1958. The seller’s 544 from 1960 recently emerged from storage where it had been since 1992. The motor spins, but the imported car does not run and will likely need a complete restoration (or at least be revived as a daily driver).

Buyers usually opted for the 2-door, 4-passenger version of the automobile, though a wagon was also available. Across 18 years (1947 to 1965), some 440,000 copies of the 444/544 were built and many made it to the U.S. as imported automobiles were growing in demand. The PV developed a following because it was dependable and sturdy and it was not unheard of for them to pass the 100,000-mile mark with ease. The 444 used a 1.6-liter engine while the 544 jumped to 1.6-liters. The cars migrated from 3-speed to 4-speed manual transmissions.

The seller’s edition comes with two engines – one in and one out – for the buyer to get the best one running. This Volvo traveled 77,000 miles before it went into hibernation more than 30 years ago. The transmission is said to go into all the gears, so hopefully repairing it will not be on the to-do list. The seller included a bunch of extra parts, including doors painted in an alternative color.

We assume rust is to be found, and the orange paint (original color?) is past being just faded. The white/black interior has seen better days, but cheap, pull-over seat covers could work if you opt to go the daily driver route. Located with a clear title in Galion, Ohio, this PV544 is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $2,449. Have you ever owned one of these automobiles? Thanks for the tip, Barn Finder “Ted”!

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Comments

  1. Thomas Stricker

    Sarcastic displacement bump?

    Like 1
    • Terrry

      Actually the displacement went up from 1.6 liters to 1600CCs.

      Like 5
  2. james sartor

    Always wanted one of these with 46-48 Ford grill, tail lights, and trunk chrome plus a Flattie just to hear the usual “experts” discuss it. You could charge admission.

    Like 2
  3. Beyfon

    Yes, I have owned a few PV544 and it was also the car my dad owned when I was born. They are quite good drivers, in Sweden you saw them as daily drivers up until sometime around 1990. They drive very similar to an Amazon 121 or an early 140, so they are a lot more modern than what they look like. This one looks pretty rough but they are simple cars so probably still not too difficult to get driveable. No, the color is most certainly not original. As a side note I think it is incorrect to say that they existed as a wagon. The Duett looks quite similar but is technically quite different with a separate body on a light truck frame while the PV is a unibody design.

    Like 8
  4. Howard A. Howard A.Member

    Merrily we scroll along, scroll along,,wait a minute, hold on here, ( sound of screeching tires) can’t let this one go by. In case some are new here, live under a rock, or just poor retention skills, my 1st car was a 1958 444. It has a few differences over the 544 which had the one piece windshield, bigger back window, different gauges, 4 speed instead of 3, but that’s about it. My brother and I seem to differ on the story, he said he bought it for $25 for himself, but I thought $50 and was for me. I don’t recall me getting it from him, but the car was in a junkyard, and all that was needed was a coil. These were very popular, mostly among the college set, and were actually plentiful. My brother got another one he sold to 2 college gals for $50 in the 70s, the neighbor had one, and we got one for parts, no motor, but put the 4 speed in the 444, after cutting the main shaft that was an inch longer than the 3 speed. The B16 is a wonderful motor, and I never did anything to it, despite the car had a lot of miles. Perhaps the author meant the 444 used the B16, but in 1961 became the B18. Most 544s had a B18. By todays standards, the car is an antique. It doesn’t get the best mileage, poor brakes, not the fastest, but Volvo used to issue badges for every 100K( I think), and it was not uncommon to see these with 3 or 4 badges on the grill. Being a ’58, I could very well have had one of the last 444s, but at the time I didn’t care, and moved on to my Valiant projects. It’s true, you never forget your 1st,,,um, car.

    Like 9
    • jwaltb

      Wow, how could I not have known that Howard’s first car was a 444? A thousand apologies.
      I’m older than Howard, been on BF longer, but don’t sound off near as much. I had 2 544s in my younger days. Don’t remember the years, but I can tell you that the 444 never had a B18, and that many 544s had B16s, including both of mine. Wiki says the engine was introduced in 1962.
      Great cars, built like tanks, easy to work on. I once tried to change the water pump (outside) on mine in Winnipeg when it was -15. I ran out of time and had to get it towed to a garage where I completed the job after it thawed out.

      Like 2
      • jwaltb

        In truth, I think it was 15 above. Still too cold to get it done in time. I was in my girlfriend’s parents’ driveway- no, they didn’t like me-, and had to run into the kitchen every 15 minutes to warm my hands a little. Foolish youth and young love can’t overcome everything…

        Like 2
      • Terry

        Not sure of your age but our family competed in several IIRA races in Winnipeg and Thunder Bay in the late 60s early 70s with a 544 and an 1800. Good times with crazy Canadians. We went through 20-30 544s and 444s back in those days.

        Like 0
      • Howard A. Howard A.Member

        Huh, how ironic, I don’t like you either. I get your sarcasm, you are my BFs nemesis, and not sure why. I get along with just about everyone here, except you. Longer than me? I don’t think so, and I never said 444s had a B18, and you contribute nothing but negativity. If I was the staff, I’d ban you in a second.

        Like 0
      • jwaltb

        I’m nobody’s nemesis, I just don’t like strutting and misinformation. I can assure you I’d been getting BF years before you started showing up, but who cares? You can be the big man. Enjoy it!

        Like 0
  5. Kenneth Carney

    Bought one in 1969 for the munificent
    sum of $25. And as Howard would say, it was a backlot special that the
    dealer wanted gone because in those
    days, foreign cars were often dumped
    on used car lots due to their poor build quality and availability of new parts. (I grew up in the Midwest where folks still hated the Germans and the Japanese) But as it turned out, it didn’t really need much of anything except new brakes and some serious cosmetic work along with a new interior. When Dad and I
    fired it up, it ran like a swiss watch!
    And other than not being used to a
    Swedish 4-speed, Dad said it drove great. I gotta say that poor car was a
    rather sorry sight to behold. It was
    painted 5 different colors and had an
    old shop towel stuffed into the gas
    filler where the cap should’ve been
    with the interior that looked like a mouse buffet. My parents were really
    cool letting me buy it provided I kept
    my grades up, so I’d hit the books before dinner, do my chores, and then,
    if I had time, I’d be out in the garage
    working on the car. Dad also had Don
    Grimm, a family friend and car nut, look it over and give me pointers as to
    how the body works should be done–
    especially since this was a foreign car
    and replacement body parts were
    almost non existent in our neck of the woods. Don told me that if I got the
    car ready, he’d spray the rew primer
    coat for free as he had some spare paint that had to be used before it expired. And while that was going on,
    Mom andy kid sister stitched up a really nice brown naugahyde interior
    from the stuff they covered booths with in restraints. After new floors were put in, we went to Carpet Land to see if they had any scraps of brown
    carpet that they wanted to get rid of.
    We got some of that brown low nap
    carpet and some of last year’s padding to boot. After getting the
    interior squared away, we took the car
    to Don’s house and had it primed. By
    then, it was April 1970, and I knew I had to get the car done before I went
    out on my first road trip playing music. I was just about to take the car to a cheap paint shop when my
    future BIL showed up with a case and a half of Tropical Turquoise spray paint thst he had left over after he
    touched up the ’65 Impala he was driving then. Long story short, I painted the car myself and wound up with a pretty good 10 foot paint job.
    Wpund up selling the car for $850 to
    a kid I went to school with and his father was impressed with my car and bought it forthwith. As time went
    on, Dad and I would sell a lot of cars
    to kids in my highschool. We built a
    good reputation for selling good safe
    Cars to the kids and their parents.
    And that’s the tale of me and my 544.

    Like 10
  6. Bryan Colleran

    In the early 70s, I had three or four of these that I usually bought for $150 to $300 dollars. They were all grey and I had just one set of plates that I put on whichever was running best at the time. They were all ’64 or ’65 models with the B18 engine. On one memorable occasion in ’72 or ’73, there was a gas price war going on locally, and I filled up from empty, gave the guy $2 and got 30¢ change. I loved those 544s.

    Like 1
  7. Robin Rich

    This looks like a great deal baring any structural rut. Everything appears to be there. For a total restoration every part you’d need is available from VP Auto or Classic Volvo Restoration…but…There’s so much that’s easily interchangeable from 122a and 144s. A motor swap to a later displacement and an overdrive transmission is a bolt in affair. Front disc brakes from a 122 are easy or four wheel discs from a 144 is doable with a wheel swap. This car wouldn’t last ten minutes in California. I’m forwarding this to younger friends who may be looking for a project.

    Like 5
  8. Richard Nepon

    Back during the gas shortage days, I pulled many 544s from scrapyards and backyards and sold them through a pay phone at a gas station closed on weekends. I’d get them running, redo brakes, clutch hydraulics, tires and exhaust if needed. Sold a bunch at. Good profit. Helped that I was an authorized Volvo mechanic.

    Like 0
  9. Frank BarrettMember

    Back in the late 1960s, a friend had one, and we decided to overhaul the engine. Lacking a garage, we worked outdoors, using his daughter’s swing set as an engine hoist. It buckled in the middle, and she was very upset.

    Like 1
  10. Big C

    Was Vovo’s advertising tag line for these cars “Suddenly, it’s 1942!”

    Like 1
  11. Dave

    Wow, the other day we had the 122S and now a 544! I mentioned my four Volvos then, but this 544 brings back a totally different memory from before my Volvo days. In the early 70’s I was in N California, Mendocino County, working on a ranch with what were referred to then as “disturbed children”, who ran the gamut of newer labels. One art teacher drove a 544 Volvo. She was not beautiful but voluptuous and wore short shorts in the hot weather, similar to a R Crumb drawing. We developed a connection. Hippy cars they were. Right on!

    Like 2
  12. Steve

    Had a 57 myself. Went to the lot to look and saw a “hole” in the side of the engine (wasn’t real smart on cars just motorcycles). Turned out to be just a freeze plug missing. Cost me 125 WHOLE dollars. Damned thing would start cold and then “never” start warm. Dad said it had a “closed” ignition system, so I didn’t even try to fix it. Dumb kid stuff. Years later I realized dear old dad didn’t know squat about it or Volvos and today I could fix in abut 30 minutes (Home mechanics time must be multiplied by a minimum factor of 3). Definitely had that whole “48 ford” look too. Might be interested but this one is in O(rust is us)hio so….bummer as they used to say. ;-)

    Like 0
  13. Popawfox

    Just curious…would a chevy or ford V-8 fit between the shock towers? Asking for a “friend”.🙂

    Like 0
  14. Popawfox

    Would a small block chevy or ford fit between the shock towers?

    Like 0
  15. DRV

    Yes, a small block fits with little modifications. but the small tranny hump can be a problem .
    I had a 62 b16 in 1980 that I loved. I drove my 64 1800 yesterday that is original down to the air in the original spare. The gearing is so low in both that I only notice that the revs feel more natural with the b16.
    The 62 was a door prize at a car show in 1980 and it may still be in the barn I left it in southern Ohio in 1982.
    They are great drivers and cheap to keep.

    Like 1
  16. DRV

    Yes, a small block fits with little modifications. but the small tranny hump can be a problem though.
    I has a 62 b16 in 1980 that I loved. I drove my 64 1800 yesterday that is original down to the air in the original spare. The gearing is so low in both that I only notice that the revs feel more natural with the b16.
    The 62 was a door prize at a car show in 1980 and it may still be in the barn I left it in southern Ohio in 1982.
    They are great drivers and cheap to keep.

    Like 1
  17. Popawfox

    Well, since a small american v8 will fit between the shock towers I’m assuming the tranny hump could be modified with some sheet metal work to fit a 350 turbo trans or a c4. I would also assume the rear end would need mods or completely replaced to handle the extra torque of a v8. And a driveshaft would have to be “engineered” to fit. After ALL that, would the body twist into a pretzel the first time a burn out was attempted? Asking for a “friend”.🙂

    Like 0

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