1965 Volvo 1800S

Swedish Hot Rod Project SOLD!

Story of this Project Car

The History of this Volvo 1800S, #13797

I invested three years into this project, but ran out of time and money and needed to sell it before I returned to school in the Fall, 2004. I am sold it off as a package with nearly everything needed to complete it.

I bought this Volvo 1800S in October, 2001. The previous owner got it as a restoration project in 1979. Prior to this car, he had rebuilt several Volvo 140s, but this was his first 1800.

Check out the pictures from his restoration here.

This is how it looked when I got it:

He started by rebuilding the engine and removing the interior and exterior trim. After reinstalling the engine, he repainted the car in 1980. So the paint is older and not perfect, with some minor scratches and small cracks, but still bright and shiny and looks good even up close. He never finished reinstalling the trim or interior, never drove the car apart from the lot at the paint shop, and stored the car in a garage for 20 years. After he passed away, I bought the car from his son. It was missing the passenger seat, and some miscelleneous bits, but had several extra sets of bumpers and such.

The original chassis number is 13797, which means it was the 13797th 1800 produced (they started making them in 1962). According to the other letter codes, the original color was light blue, but by 1979, it was already an orangish red, and was then repainted cherry red. It is a four-speed manual with an electric overdrive.

Unfortunately the 20 years of storage took its toll. First, it was left with gas in the tank, causing rust and leaving a nasty turpintine substance remaining. I have thus cleaned, derusted, and resealed the tank. Worse, there was sufficient moisture below the car to rust out the subframe components of the unibody construction. While the body and floorboards are solid, the subframe is structurally unsound. The project has been held up waiting for my body man to replace the entire bottom of the car, but I've given up on him after 3 years. He started tearing out the floor as you can see here:

I was planning to make it an outstanding and fun daily driver, with period American hot-rod wheels, Recaro Porsche 911 leather seats from the 1970s, the much cooler early 1800 egg-crate grill and cow-horn bumpers, and a superb audio system. I have run out of time and money, however, and must sell this awesome project car to someone who can finish it.

The Volvo 1800

The Volvo 1800 is best known as the car driven by Roger Moore in the 1960s British TV series "The Saint." The body is an Italian design (the same designer who created the Karmen Ghia and others), and it featured the first 4-main-bearing engine, which holds the Guiness Book's World Record for the car with the most miles (over 3,000,000 and still going!).

What has been done do far:

The following list is everything that has been done to the car seen in the photos:

Rebuilt and Repainted Engine with less than 100 miles since rebuild.

Rebuilt and Synchronized Carburetors

Adjusted Valves, New Points, Rotor, Plugs and Plug Wires

New Fuel Pump, Water Pump, Thermostat and Clutch Master Cylinder

Rebuilt Gas Tank (cleaned and checked for leaks, relined & sealed, repainted)

Rebuilt Heater (cleaned and pressure checked, repainted, new foam and rubber gaskets)

Rebuilt Radiator (cleaned and pressure checked, stripped, polished and laquered, new cap and rubber mounts)

All New Coolant Hoses

All Fresh Fluids, New Air and Oil Filters

Brand New Optima Gel Battery, also new main power and grounding cables.

All New Brakes (new front calipers and pads, machined and painted rear drums, new drum shoes, new rear slave cylinders, new master cylinder, new stainless steel braided brake lines, new high-performance brake fluid, new parking/emergency brake cables)

What needs to be done

The major stumbling block for this project was a slow body man--I'm not a welder myself. Unfortunately, when the car was stored 20 years after its 1980's restoration, there was some moisture under the car, which caused rusting in the framerails of the subframe. While the floorboards themselves are largely entact, the subframe needs to be replaced. I have all of the pieces to replace the entire bottom of the car: right/left floorboards, right/left inner/outer rocker panels, right/left framerails, right/left jackpoints, right/left rear crossmembers. But the guy who promised to install these has been "too busy" for the past three years, and so I had to sell the car.

The car also needs the interior replaced. I have the original dash and interior panels and armrests, but all in poor condition. I have stipped the armrests down, so they just need to be covered with vinyl and maybe add some foam. The whole interior can be purchased new, or recovered by an upholstery specialist.

This car would also make a good donor if you already have a solid body, and want to refit it with all new and rebuilt parts! It would also make a great donor for a race car or radical hotrod project!

For an exceptional daily driver, that wile be like a brand new 1800 when you finish, all you need is to find a body shop that will replace the metal for you, then put the rest of the car back together!

What parts are included

In addition to the parts pictured above and already installed, I have the following pieces needed to complete the project:

Rebuilt all exterior lights and horn (cleaned, polished, with new foam and rubber gaskets, new bulbs, replaced all cracked lenses, new H-4 headlights). Also a brand new set of "bullet" style rearview mirrors, used on Triumphs and Austin Healeys of the period. These can often be found on the earlier Jensen 1800s as well. I think these look much cooler than the original mirrors, and could either be mounted on the doors, or on the front fenders.

 

A complete set of chrome trim in good to excellent condition. When I bought the car, it was missing some pieces, or some were not in good condition, but all of these have been replaced.

 

Three sets of bumpers. Yes, THREE sets! Two sets are the earlier "cow horn" style of bumpers (I have a bracket, but no center piece for the two nicer front horns). These are the ones I intended to use. One set is correct for this model year, the "straight" variety. One of each set are in good condition, but could be rechromed as desired.

Four grill surrounds and an "eggcrate" grill. I may still have the original stamped aluminum grill, but it is in poor condition. The "eggcrate" grill is in good to excellent condition. Three of the the grill surrounds are in fair to rough condition, but one is smooth and dent-free and ready to be rechromed or painted--it also fits the eggcrate grille (which I intended to use).

All new front and rear end suspension components including: upper and lower ball joints, full set of front & rear polyurethane bushings, rear axle limiting straps, shock mount bushings, new front wheel bearings.

A complete stainless steel exhaust system. I had some aluminized header paint left over after restoring the headers, and painted the entire exhaust system with it. Also included is a brand new pair of chrome exhaust tips.

A pair of reconditioned and recolored black leather Porsche 911 Recaro sport seats from the 1970s. These are much more comfortable and sporty than the original seats, and have working mechanical adjustments and flip forward for entry to the back seat. My plan was to have the body shop fit the Porsche seat rails when they replaced the floor. The original passenger seat is missing, but I have the original drivers seat, in poor condition but a good candidate for rebuilding.

A brand new black carpet set. I also have a black center console from the later-model 1800s which has been restored and repainted. It will fit the '65 and provides a center armrest and a place to put change, drinks, etc.

All new rubber hood gasket, trunk gasket, door windlaces, and door window rubber scrapers and felts.

The original wheels and a complete set of hubcaps (not pictured). I planned on using the wheels you see in the pictures, but will be selling these seperately.

What parts are NOT included, but available (for extra $$$)

In addition to the parts listed above and included in the auction, I have the following items available (the price listed is for whomever buys the whole project and is below the reserve I will ask for in seperate auctions):

A set of four vintage ET Radial Spoke aluminum wheels, painted back and lacquer sealed, in excellent condition. They are 15x7.5" wheels with a 5 on 4-1/2" to 5" bolt-circle unilug, which fit the 1800 just fine as you can see in the photos. I also have a set of NOS chrome plastic hubs for them. They have been mounted and balanced with a new set of Dunlop SP Sport A2 all-season high-performance tires, with P205/50HR-15 tires in front and slightly taller P195/65HR-15 tires in back. They come complete with an extra set of unilug washers (for the midsized 4-3/4" bolt circle), new chrome lug nuts and new valve stems. As you can see from the pictures, these look great! ($700)

Brand New IPD sway bars ($250)

Brand New Progressive Rate Front Springs from Vintage Performance Developments. The progressive-rate springs offer better handling and a more comfortable ride than IPD sport springs by getting progressively stiffer under increased compression. These lower the car about 1", but I also have the washers to jack it back up 1/2". They are powder-coated blue to match Bilstein shocks. ($150)

Brand New IPD Overload Rear Springs. These add 1/2" to the rear height and increased stiffness to the backend by 20%. They are painted blue to match the front springs. ($100)

A complete set of window rubber (for windshield, wings, rear and rear-quarter windows) I was only going to use these if I repainted the car or tinted the windows. ($200)

A complete and SUPERB stereo system. The centerpiece is a brand new JVC Digifine KD-SH55 CD-player head unit (200W). I chose this one because it has a brushed aluminum face which matches the 1800 dash, and it uses a blue LED illumination which is nearly the same shade as the light-blue gauge faces on the 1800 dash. Rather than cut-out the stock radio mount, I got a vintage AM Volvo radio for the dash (which can be wired as an input to the JVC) and a radio mount to put the JVC under the dash. This will keep the vintage look, and hide the radio from would-be theives. There is also a JVC 12-disc changer and pair of Pioneer 6x9" rear speakers. I also have a pair of brand new 8" Infinity subwoofers and grills. The plan was to cut holes for these between the trunk and rear seat (they will fit and not interfere with anything, also these are designed so as not to require a special subwoofer enclosure). To drive the subwoofers, there is a Blaupunkt PA-2100 (200W) amp. It is designed to be smaller and produce less heat than standard amps. It can easily be mounted in the trunk, between the woofers and below the 12-disc changer so as to loose very little trunk space with everything installed, and form a totally kicking system! I also have a sizeable amount of sound insulation materials (for firewall and trunk) and a new chrome antenna. I spent nearly $800 on this stuff, and most of it is still new in the box! ($600)

 

I am a Volvo enthusiast, and will gladly help you find the best and cheapest sources of parts and advice which I have spent the last three years learning.

I'll be happy to answer any questions or concerns.