FS: VOLVO P1800, 1971 parts car or needs full restoration (P1800E)

I bought this classic VOLVO in 1976 & drove every day 'til i got my
pick-up truck. Unfortunately it got flooded in Hurricane Fran & needs
full restoration or would be a great parts car. the seats are great,
the wheel "beauty rings" are perfect, all the trim pieces are there,
there is some rust on the fenders & hood buit they are all whole & in
good shape. I am in Fuquay Varina, just south of Raleigh NC. I can
send pics. Price is very negotiable. I'd like to see it get a good
home for it was a lovely car to drive. email:

 

Volvo didn't made a P1800 after 1969. They did make an 1800E with
electronic fuel injection. I had one. Great car. Then in 1972 they
also had the 1800ES which was the fastback version. Then in 1973
production stopped. The E was always mistook for a Karmann Ghia just
like the P1800 was. The Ghia was introduced in 1955 and the P1800 in
1961. The P1800 was designed by (you guessed it) Ghia.

Reviews stated: "There is an element of understeer and with the steering
being heavy, can at times be hard work at town speeds." That is an
understatement. It was hard work parallel parking it.

The most famous 1800 was used by Roger Moore in his TV role as "The
Saint". The producers wanted a Jaguar 'E' type in 1962, but when they
couldn't get one, Volvo saved the day and the rest is history.

 

First two years of production the 1800s were built by Jensen in
Wolverhampton England.

All the best, Peter.

700/900/90 Register Keeper,
Volvo Owners Club (UK).

 

Correct, Peter as in 1963 production was moved to Sweden. The Jensen
built cars were a nightmare due to shoddy body construction. They
leaked everywhere and were unreliable on even a misty day. Drivetrain
was fine but the rest bad--and that's not a shot at the Brits, just an
honest comment. Postwar Britain had many labor issues back then and
the workers were unhappy.
Actually, when full production and assembly went to Sweden the car was
then known as the 1800-S as of April 1963 and I had two of them.

While it's true that many still refer to any 1800 manufactured before
1970 a a "P" 1800," only the cars from before April 1963 be called a
"P" series. Note that only the Jensen built cars are "P's" and 6,000
of them were built.


They did make an 1800E with
Yes, as I recall Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection was introduced to
some Volvo cars in the North American market in 1970.

Initially it was a disaster for the dealers, as the ECU's were
primitive and had frequent failures. I was in my first year of
university at the time and working for a Volvo dealer--and spent a LOT
of time driving to pick up angry customers who were stranded in their
new and expensive Volvo. I usually did that in my 122 wagon as most of
the new FI cars had a tough time in extremely cold weather.

Eventually the ECU issues got worked out--but Volvo may have lost a
good few customers for life as once the car was out of warranty a
replacement ECU was over $500--and that was a lot of money back then.

To be fair to Volvo, any other manufacturer who implemented D-Jet had
the same issues.

Then in 1972 they
Hmmm..I'd call it a wagon or estate rather than a fast back, but
that's just me.

Then in 1973
Sorry, but the 1800 was designed by Frua in Turin--not Ghia--and never
once did anyone mistake any of my 1800's for Ghia, and that includes
folks who knew nothing about cars but had seen a Kharmann-Ghia.
Hmmm...I never had a hard time with that but then again seldom wished
to put it sandwiched between two other cars. Dead on aboout the
understeer though, as Volvo saw it as a safety issue for typical
drivers and felt until at least 1993 that understeer was good.

I can say my 140's and 240's from pre 1976 were harder than a pickup
truck to parallel park.
True, and here is a bit of C&P from saint.org:

The Volvo Car Corporation supplied the "The Saint" television
producers a total of five P1800 models for use on their show. Volvo
happily supplied the first one in 1962, registered as 71 DXC, within a
week of its being requested.

In 1964, Volvo moved production of the P1800 line from England to
Sweden, and sent one of the new 1800S models, registration 77 GYL, to
the set of "The Saint&qout;. The first car was then chopped up for
better interior shot access.

Three years later, in 1967, Volvo supplied yet another car. This car,
however, didn't get much use as it was wrecked in a crash fairly soon
after its arrival. The production company did manage to salvage some
of the parts, and used them to update the 1964 car with the new
straight bumpers, chrome, and more modern trim rings for the wheels.

A short time after the crash, Volvo supplied two more cars. One,
registered as NUV 647E, was used for Roger Moore's personal use, and
the other, NUV 648E, was used for filming.

Production numbers for the 1800 series:

Make Total
P1800 Jensen models 6,000
1800S models 23,993
1800E series 9,421
All 1800 coupes 39,414
1800ES wagons 8,078
All 1800 series cars 47,492

My favorite was my 1971 1800E as it was 130 horsepower and ran like
stink with a better cam and some suspension work. Got 30 MPG in town
and 37 on the highway. Only downside was the cheesy looking "contact
paper fake wood" on the dash. I'm looking for another as an idiot 18
yr old girl hit me head on while I was at a light stopped driving
Daddy's big 1980 Buick.

I like to keep things original but will do a very nice burled wood
veneer on the dash of my next 71 1800E.

Regards,

Doc

 

I misspoke, the ES would be called a hatchback, not a fast back. The ES
was so popular that it was a shock when they discontinued the 1800.
There was still a waiting list for ES's.

A combination of ideas between Jan Wilsgaard, the then chief stylist,
Helmer Petterson, a consultant to the company, Helmer Petterson's son
Pelle more famous as a boat designer, together with Italian designers
Frua and their associates Ghia, was presented to the chief executive,
Gunner Engellau for his consideration. Eventually two Frua built
prototypes were completed, one of which was displayed at the 1960
Brussels show, the other at New York. Hence, Frua's design associates
Ghia designed the 1800 and Frua built the prototypes.

 

wow, guys, you amaze me with your intimate knowledge of this great car!
I was glad to hear, Doc, someone else acknowledge a 1971 P1800!
(Right or wrong, I generally have dropped the final "E" off of its name
since I replaced the blasted injuectors with Webers.)

 

Hey Doc, it is great to see somebody out here so knowledgable about
these cars.
Please consider my car - i do have a coupla pics - I seem to have bent
the front grill but the body work is all good - minus some rust. the
engine & transmission all USED to work great - all the parts are still
there. Let me know if you want to see pictures - email me -

 

My 2 cents: The ES is a "shooting brake". Thought technically any
station wagon/estate car is a shooting brake, it is most often
associated with the 2 door and more "sporty" wagons.

Ron/Champ 6

1963 8E5 Champ (Champ 6)
1995 VW Passat (Vanilla..yuk)
1994 Volvo 850 (Tilley)
1973 Volvo 1800 ES (Hyacinth Bucket)

 

Is the car still for sale? And what are looking to get out of it you can email Pictures too please