Estate Sale Find: 1972 Volvo 1800E
Formerly part of an estate sale in New York, this 1972 Volvo 1800 is just some body work away from being beautiful again, alright so maybe it needs a little more than that. The car is currently in Andover, Massachusetts, and the seller has a clear title posted, but no VIN or miles are listed. You can take this Volvo home for $5,400, or an offer, or a trade. The seller seems willing to work with you. Thank you, AMXBrian, for the tip. You can view more on Craigslist.
Mechanically, the seller does not say if the car can run or drive, although they elude to the fact that it could be a daily driver if cleaned up. The 1,986 cc, inline four cylinder engine is connected to a four-speed manual transmission. Factory options on the car include fuel injection, disk brakes, and air conditioning. It might not take a whole lot of work to get this little Volvo back up and running.
Inside, the car is actually quite stunning. The tan interior is in surprisingly good shape and at first glance, almost doesn’t look like an early ’70s interior. According to the listing, they say that everything appears to be original. After some cleaning, the tan interior would look nice with a new paint job on the exterior. The seller says that the car is a true barn find, but thankfully it looks like no critters have claimed the interior for their home.
These cars have always had a soft spot for me. It has a sporty enough look, but is still somewhat plain and simple that it can easily get you attention, but not too much. There is part of me that also wonders what it would be like to drift something like this? It would be interesting to stick a high horsepower engine in it and see what happens. At that point though, you might garnish a little too much attention.
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Comments
So they put it up on a lift and then didn’t post any underbody photos? The rust on the left front fender and left rocker panel doesn’t bode well for what they chose not to show. Was the dollar devalued since last time I went shopping?
I guess it’s good the car didn’t split in half on lift. It could of been a drive on though 🧐
The side pictures tell the story of rockers and door and inside supports surely too.
I’ve had a ’65, 2 66’s, ’67, ’68, and a ’70 for 26 years and I’ve never heard of the lifetime warranty, although there may be.
This rust of this car is way too far gone unless you are a masochist.
Volvo created the policy last year. The intent is to get owners of 5-10 year old cars to have their cars serviced at the dealerships. They didn’t exclude older models
Let me do more than “allude” to the fact that this car is NOT a P1800. The “P” designation applies to the Jensen-built cars in the first 3 years of production.
When Volvo pulled the plug on Jensen and moved the production of the 1800 to Sweden, the model became the 1800S. In 1970, when the car went from carburetion to fuel injection, the model was then designated the 1800E. The wagon version is the 1800ES.
The subject car is an 1800E with a B20 engine.
“…minimal deep rust on the driver’s side…” Ah.. is that like “a little pregnant”?
Roger Moore drove one of these in The Saint tv series. Supposedly it was his all time favorite “movie car”. He also owned one in real life.
Those are not Volvo seats.
Those are indeed Volvo seats, correct for the model year 1972. Kinda fluffy looking I know, but they’re correct.
They are the original, but with naugahyde covers. Ugh.
Disc brakes and fuel injection are not options, BTW. Hopefully, the transmission is a four-speed + overdrive. And yes, those are Volvo seats – the ’72 coupe (only) shared seats with the ES.
Yes hope it has overdrive, very buzzy at freeway speeds without it.
1800 series Volvos are rust-prone, and I’d want a careful inspection of the underside. Still, it’s complete, and Volvo does a good job of supporting these cars with replacement parts.
You know what else? This car is, and I’m not kidding: UNDER FACTORY WARRANTY! Yes, Volvo put all of its late model cars under a lifetime warranty, including these.
I took my 1800ES to the local dealer for a show, and the mechanics all came out to see it. You would have thought I arrived in a flying saucer, and I suspect they don’t have the skills to service either mode of transportation.
What does Geely’s new warranty for cars approaching fifty years of age cover exactly?
Supposedly everything a new car warranty would cover
I’m not sure how it works in practice
I am going to sue the Estate for not taking better care of this one
I’m pretty sure the seat cover material is correct. I am not aware that leather was an option.
My 1973ES has leather buckets up front, and a vinyl bench in back.
I think that you want a close look at the surface rust, get the car up in the air and look at its bones, and then make a decision. Buy it and join the Owner’s club and you’ll get all kinds of help and get to know where the parts are. These are nice cars.