1971 Volvo 1800E P1800 Nice Original

Up for bids here on eBay is this very nice Volvo P1800 with great history. The car was purchased new by a lady in Northern California who special ordered the car for European Delivery.  She picked the car up in Europe and toured with a friend before having the car shipped back to her home in Northern California. The car remained with its original owner until 2013.  This car is a textbook example of what happens when pride of ownership meets Volvo build quality.   Not only is it in excellent running order. it is 100% rust free and original. a West Coast survivor car that's been cared for from day one.  

The car has had one repaint in its original color of California White.   This is arguably one of the best P1800 colors.   The paint quality on the car is good driver standards - it shows a few chips here. a touched up scratch on right front fender by headlight. and there is some minor overspray on some of the rubber seals if you look carefully.   The paint has good lustre and shine and overall presents very well. it's good enough for local shows but not so perfect that you'd be afraid to really get out there and drive it.   

The body on this P1800 is very straight with no dents or areas of waviness. I was told the car was hit in front. although from the inside there is no paint cracking or evidence of damage. although the seam under the lights is smooth. I have pulled the trunk cardboard and all the original paint appears intact at the rear. The undercarriage is likewise solid and original.   I have inspected the car from top to bottom and have found zero rust issues. pretty remarkable for its age.   Panel fit is all good with consistent gaps.  Clean trunk area.   The trunk exhibits no rust issues. one look under the parcel shelf and you can tell that this trunk was never wet.

The glass is in great shape. windshield has some small chips and a wipe mark from wiper on passenger side. the windshield and side windows are Volvo branded and are clear.   Tires are new Yokohama Avid with just a few thousand miles on them.   The side trim shows a few little waves. doing their job I guess.  It has been pulled. straightened and polished. but you can see it is not perfectly straight.  All of the chrome on the car is in good shape with no pitting other than very minor pitting at the rear bumper near exhaust.    None of the bumpers have any dings or dents. another testament to this car's charmed life.  

Lights and lenses are all in excellent condition.   The car comes with the CA blue plates issued to the car in 1971. they will be included with the sale.   Also included are many receipts for parts and some work done.  

The red interior completes this classic P1800 color scheme.   The seats are in excellent condition with no splits. tears or scuffs as they were re upholstered in correct red leather.   The carpeting shows some areas of wear near foot pedal if you look carefully. overall though it's hanging in there amazing after 43 years.   The lower dash pad has one split above the original steering wheel that has been sealed. A replacement cover is included with car purchase.   Step plates are in good original condition. Door panels are terrific. nbsp;driver door top cap was recovered. Headliner was replaced and looks great.   Original seat belts are in excellent shape.  

Nice steering wheel with no cracks.   Back seat is excellent. side panels present well.  Rubber support straps under rear seat pad have aged out.  

All gauges and lights work correctly. with overdrive switch and indicator light.   The heater and fan have been cleaned and pressure checked. heater box was waxed and sealed and is ready to install.  I have a problem with being too hot so have not installed and have not missed it yet.  Will be glad to install for purchaser with sale if interested. Hi beam relay works. but no hi beams. have not inspected yet for burnt out bulbs or repair needed.  No wiper washer bottle. but sprayers are on car.  Wipers work fine. Radio is just a face plate as radio was not hooked up.  Have the Radio that came with car in what I assume is working condition. but there were no speakers in the car so have not tested.  

The B20 motor was rebuilt about 4. 00 miles ago along with being balanced. it fires right up and runs super.   I have been using the car on a regular basis to find and sort out all the bugs and it drives brilliant.  This Volvo cruises comfortably with power to spare - it runs down the road straight and true. brakes well. handles great.  shifts perfectly and the overdrive makes long distance touring a pleasure.

The motor has the dual Weber upgrade with a new Webcon long runner manifold and new ITG filters complete with tuning by a West Coast Weber expert.  The new Pertronix electronic ignition means no more points to look after.

The undercarriage shows new urethane bushings on the sway bar. New Bilstein front shocks. new rear shocks. and a good exhaust.   Floorpans and rockers are all original and just as nice as you'd want to find them. a standout example of Volvo's venerable P1800 series.

Here are some more details about the car and it's history if you still want to read.  The lady loved the car and it was her daily driver.  After 211 thousand miles she decided she wanted to spend some money on the car and to freshen it up including an engine rebuild so it would last another 200K miles for her.  Her brother is a mechanic and took on the job.  Unfortunately after tearing the car down. nbsp;sourcing and purchasing many new parts. and having the engine rebuilt. he stalled out where the car has sat apart for over 20 years in his garage in San Jose California.  So not quite a barn find. but certainly an excellent garage find.  I have pictures documenting the uncovering. repair. and rebuilding of the car.   As I am retired I have spent the last seven months re assembling. removing the mechanical sins of the past. and rebuilding the car with great care to preserve the "day two" condition of the car as too how she had the car as an original owner.  This means I have used volvo parts wherever possible. and have even used some pre owned cosmetic parts to maintain an even patina where visible. and new parts for all the running gear and wear items.  So the car has had a lot of effort expended to complete a sort of body on restoration while preserving as many original parts as possible.  Reading the concourse rules for various shows the car appears to be eligible for somewhere between preservation class and survivor class depending on the event and it's specific rules.  
The amount of parts and work done is exhaustive. but here is a list of what I recall.  The radiator was recored. with all new rubber hoses and flexible oil lines that touch the engine.  As she wanted the car as reliable as possible. nbsp;the engine was rebuilt using a newer head with hardened seats to be able to run on the lower octane gas than was available when the car was new.  New Distributor from Volvo.  New custom made Stainless Steel exhaust tips.  She also did a Weber conversion to get rid of the problematic Fuel Injection.   For the astute eyes that noticed the automatic badge. she converted the car to a manual as the Auto had been rebuilt several times along the way and she wanted more reliability.    The Transmission was replaced with a low mile rebuilt unit from an exact 1971 car so all the parts and numbers are correct.    I just completed installation of a new dual weber installation as the single weber left the car a little lacking in acceleration for my taste. although it got 32 MPG on the freeway with the two barrel.  The weber set up alone with tuning was over two thousand dollars and the carbs were freshly rebuilt by one of the most respected Weber technicians on the West Coast.  The car does accelerate better in third gear than it did in first so I am very happy with the results of going to the dual carb set up.
There is new flywheel that was lightened for a more responsive drive. new clutch. pressure plate. and throw out bearing.  There is a new speedometer drive box. and the Speedometer was rebuilt by Palo Alto Speedometer and has a one year warrantee.  The speedo was re set to zero with the rebuild. I have pictures and documentation as to the original mileage with the Rebuild. The drive shaft was inspected. rebuilt. and balanced.  
The brake master cylinder was rebuilt. and all the rubber brake lines were replaced along with thorough flushing and new fluid. Any loose rubber bushings were replaced. The front and rear springs were replaced twice to get the proper ride height and attitude.  
The Car had a radio without speakers so I left it that way. it is wired for a radio.  The heater had been removed. so ditto. left it out after doing a rebuild as mentioned above.  Trunk springs have been removed. she thought they rattled so she had them removed. There are what may be original Volvo rubber winter floor mats.  They are Volvo branded. just do not know if original.  They are not in car. but are included.    It appears most of the Fuel Injection is intact with the exception of injectors and manifold. There are 2 bins of spare parts that will be included if you are interested.
For those of you who like rarity besides just being a very clean original car as best I have researched out there were about 1/3 the number of 1971 1800E models in the White with Red interior combo as 1965 Shelby GT350's.  Then factor in the Automatic and it is closer to 20 cars. and with European delivery it is probably one of one.  The grill and Gold valve cover are interesting in that she insists that is how the car was delivered.  I did read in one book that this grill started in 1971 in Europe.  The wheels were updated to the 1972 style steel wheels as they are a bit wider and they match the grill for a 1972 look. The original 1971 wheels are included with trim rings.  The trim rings alone are almost $800 to replace new.  
Do not miss out on this unique opportunity to acquire this car that has never been offered for sale on the open market.   Feel Free to email or call Tim at 408-578-8232 and ask any questions.  Will be glad to show car or send specific pictures you may want.  I have sold cars and parts to Europe and Austrailia.  Can help coordinate for you some. but you have to have your shipper pick up at my home. From what I see of the market good original cars are very rare indeed and often bring more than restored cars. For those who want to ask. Reserve is set much lower than cost of a restored car.  I am only offering for sale as have several other restorations to do and am getting distracted with spending too much time on this car.   $500 deposit is required within three days. balance of funds within seven working days of close of auction unless other arraignments made or will cancel transaction and refund will not be returned. Car and title released when funds clear bank.  Good luck Bidding.    
  

On Jan-28-14 at 22:41:39 PST. seller added the following information:

No access to computer for next two days. so will not be able to answer questions.  Just remembered the Clock keeps accurate time. but is a bit temperamental. Some times works fine for months. other times stops if car is parked awhile.  I had checked on repair. they only replace with quartz guts. so kept it original.  

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