Hidden Issues? 1968 Volvo 1800S
It is quite possible that no other vehicle manufacturer has tried as hard to change the public’s perception of its image than Volvo. Long seen as a company that produced staid and safe cars, Volvo has also been capable of producing some pretty sporting offerings over the years, and the P1800 was probably its first dedicated attempt to enter the realms of a sporting vehicle. This 1968 1800S is going to require a dedicated individual to return it to its best, so let’s take a look and see exactly what is going to be required. The Volvo is located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. Volvos have their own strong and dedicated following, and this would no doubt help to explain why bidding has been so spirited on this particular car. There have been a total of 39 bids submitted, and this has pushed the price along to $6,375. In addition, there are 132 individuals who are currently watching the listing.
The Volvo is finished in Black, which I believe might be its original color. The car appears to be complete, but the next owner is going to be facing some work if they wish to return the car to a pristine state. Starting with the rust issues, it appears that this has impacted both rear quarter panels. There are several options available in this instance. Complete replacement panels are available, but they do run out at around $550 each. Another alternative to consider would be to purchase patch panels to address the issues. I have located a retailer who can supply a two-piece set that can be purchased for around $310 per side. However, rust might just be the tip of the iceberg with the Volvo. When you take a look inside the engine bay, there is evidence of some previous damage around the inner fender area on the passenger side. This looks like some form of significant accident damage and some of the repair work and the welds look to be of pretty poor quality. The rough finish is something that I am less concerned about than I am about the quality of the welding work. If the welds that we can see look pretty poor, it makes me wonder what we can’t see below the surface. I would be very inclined to thoroughly inspect the Volvo before I would be willing to part with any cash.
The interior of the Volvo has been the recipient of some pretty significant modifications, and it will take some work to return it to standard configuration. The bucket seats don’t appear to be original and are upholstered in an interesting combination of black vinyl and grey cloth. The headliner has been changed to match this, but the door trims remain original. The rear seat has been removed completely and in its place, an upholstered box has been installed which houses, amongst other things, a set of aftermarket speakers. The original radio has been replaced by a radio/cassette player, and there is also an additional voltmeter installed in the dash. This might be a good piece of insurance because none of the needles on the original gauges appear to be hanging in the right place. This suggests that the gauges aren’t in great health, and may require replacement.
The 1800S appears to be mechanically complete, and the owner says that it does run and drive. The engine is the B18B 4-cylinder unit. This has a capacity of 1,782cc and produces 115hp. These horses find their way to the rear wheels via a 4-speed manual transmission. These are a pretty robust engine, and while the car is said to run and drive, the owner admits that it will need some work on the carburetors to bring it up to its best. This is also the photo that caused me the greatest amount of concern with the car because you can graphically see the issues with the inner fender that I was referring to earlier. That looks like some pretty rough and ready repair work to me.
I want this Volvo 1800S to be a good car. I want to be wrong about my beliefs surrounding prior accident damage, but I fear that I’m not. Take a long look at the photos, because I will be interested to hear what your thoughts are.
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Comments
Those wheels are stock 1986 Ford Ranger – Bronco II items. They are worlds apart from their original intention!
Not a bad look, just a peculiar one!
I have to agree, not a bad look. Wheels pop-up on many different kinds of vehicles. My 1985 Bronco II came with them.
An interesting precursor of Volvo becoming part of Ford’s premium auto group.
Does anyone else see a similarity in the body style to a Studebaker Hawk? It just occurred to me while looking at the first two photos. No wonder I’ve always liked the looks of these, even though I’m not into foreign cars that much. These are beautifully crafted automobiles.
Bucket list car for me and black is a very flattering shade on these however the paint is shot on this one.
I don’t see the welds in the pics but the rust is scarry on it. These cars rust internally in weird places BUYER BEWARE
These are rust magnets. There is a guy on eBay who parts them out and probably has the panels. The engines go for ever. These are 4 speeds with an overdrive.
Body was designed in Italy by Frua . They were later acquired by Ghia.
These are great cars.
An earlier car, NOT a 1968. The single circuit master cylinder and the intake manifold without humps give it away immediately along with the two spoke steering wheel. The serial # shown in the text and visible on the ID plate in the engine compartment peg it as a 1966 car. The alleged mileage is probably fictional also. If it hasn’t rolled over, it’s probably because of the speedo drive regularly malfunctioning. The current bid far exceeds the value of this sad survivor.
rapple, good observation. What are these worth? I see prices all over the board.
@On and on. Good question. I was being very subjective with my value comment based on my past experiences. They have been appreciating in recent years. According to Hagerty, one in “Fair” condition is worth around $11k. This one’s condition is well south of their description of “Fair”. The seller’s minimal comments about it’s condition (“lot drives”?? “need carbs adjusted”) don’t inspire confidence in its road-worthiness. Very nice driver quality examples seem to be selling up in the mid-high teens these days. If you could get this one in that shape for an additional $10k you’d be doing well….. and doing most of the work yourself! Take a look at some of the recent auction results for these on BaT to get a better sense of the recent market.
thank you, sir.
No matter how much I like any car, ANYTIME that I see rust and corrosion on INTERIOR screws/knobs/trim/etc., that to me is a warning not to be taken lightly.
The possibility of electrical gremlins exists already, due the age of the components, so add in moisture intrusion to really bring on the headaches. It has been said before that the rust you see is not nearly as bad as what you CAN’T see!
Obviously one of the past owners opted for the “buy here, pay here” exotic tire/wheel combo treatment to up the rarity factor……
I drove my 1800S for years as my DD on a 90+mile a day commute. Great car overall, not a speedy sports car but excellent road manners. So I still love them.
This ONE: has had a lot of changes and combined with the rust problems [they all have rust] a restoration to stock is not likely a course to follow here.
The styling of the body however invites some great restomod creative thought.
I have just purchased an 1967 P1800S – totally disassembled, but seems to have all major components and a number of new OEM parts in Volvo boxes. I was not looking for this project, but it found me. The reason I bought it is this: I bought it from the second owner, who says he bought it in 1972 (title was issued in 1978 but previous owner thinks it was when he got a new loan). It was taken off the road and disassembled in the mid 80’s (last registered 1986). The body has been sanded to bare metal. Everything is fully visible and… there is NO evidence of rust or accidents. I see one or two very minor dinks. B18 Motor was reportedly rebuilt, and enlarged to 2 litre (not sure of details). Anyway, this is the perfect start for ground up restoration – or – paint the body, park it next to a rusted out P1800 and transfer all the parts over (and I have boxes of what is reported to be all the parts for this car). Anyone interested…? Happy New Year!
Where are you located?
Utah – about 30 mins from SLC.
I have owned an 1800S, and parted out another 10 basketcases. Rule #1 with this model is to get it on a lift and look underneath. Rust repair on this car will cost a King’s ransom. It will rust inside, outside, under the chrome, you name it. They are especially prone to rust where the floors meet the rockers under the corners of the windshield.
In my opinion, it would be foolhardy to bid on this car without undercarriage photos.
I am a 20+ year owner of 2 1800-series cars. The present bid has already far exceeded it’s value. This car needs MUCH work to restore it based on the limited photos provided. Assuming the underside is just as bad – I would say this is a $3k car at most.
As interesting as these cars are, they have not appreciated much. I’ve had long conversations with hardcore 1800 owners (I personally love the look of the P1800ES wagon, but not the way it drives.) Nobody claims to know why they aren’t more popular. Well….part of the reason is because there were major quality issues as the early ones (I think) were outsourced. Oh, and they are seriously underpowered. The bidding on this one is way, way way more than the car is worth in its current condition. I am not plugging them, but Merit Cars over in College Point, NY usually has a couple of decent project 1800s. Hey BF writers, if you are going to write about BHCC, then you should include Merit Cars and Gullwing Motors in New York. They both have a lot of “barn finds”.
“they have not appreciated much”
Actually in recent years they have appreciated quite a bit – but only premium original examples that are 100% correct and in near-perfect condition. If this car was in that condition, it could easily sell for $25,000-35,000. And sure, you could restore this car to that condition, but it could cost that much or more.
It’s a 1967 https://volvo1800pictures.com/PHPMaker/WebSites/1800_2020/chassislist.php?cmd=search&t=chassis&z_Chassis=%3D&x_Chassis=21102&z_Model=%3D&x_Model=
BAT does a lot of P-1800’s. Good place to figure values. Also eBay completed sales .