Owned By a Shipbuilding Lt. Governor: 1975 Volvo 164E
Celebrities and politicians have to purchase cars just like the rest of us. However, does the ownership of a car by such a person make it more valuable or desirable? Is there a sliding scale based on their level in society? Is an Elvis Presley Cadillac more desirable than a Jerry Seinfeld-owned Porsche? Would a car owned by Richard Nixon be worth more than one owned by Gerald Ford? Is there a point where one’s notoriety does not affect whatsoever the sale price of their used car? Do you think this well-cared-for 1975 Volvo 164E sedan may have some enhanced value given that it was formerly owned by a shipbuilding magnate who went on to become the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia? Come to think of it, is a Volvo an obvious choice for a Canadian shipbuilder?
Regardless of the owner’s fame, a Volvo of this vintage would be a fine choice for anyone looking for a solid automobile. Older Volvo automobiles have a stellar reputation for build quality and safety. The Volvo 164 was designed as a luxury version of Volvo’s workhorse 140 sedan. Instead of the inline four-cylinder engine in the 140, the front end was modified to accept a 3.0 liter inline six to compete with Jaguar’s six-cylinder sedans and other luxury cars in this price range. Being a Volvo, emphasis was placed on safety with unibody construction, crush zones, and various other safety features as standard equipment.
Volvo steadily improved the car until production ended in 1976. Fuel injection was added in 1972, a facelift in 1973, and side guard door beams for additional crash protection in 1974. The car was also offered with either a four-speed manual transmission with overdrive or a three-speed Borg Warner automatic. This automatic was widely considered to be inefficient and coarse, but having an automatic was crucial to being successful in the luxury car market. Surprisingly, many of the car’s mechanicals were updated in 1975 just before the end came for this model.
The car you see here appears to be a well-optioned late version of the 164. The ad gives us few details as to how it was equipped. Despite this omission, we can see that it does have an automatic transmission and a leather interior. Many of these cars came with power windows in the front and manual windows in the rear. We cannot see if this car is so equipped, nor can we verify that it has air conditioning. The pictures do reveal a car that has been exceptionally well-kept over the years. The seller does tell us that it is completely original, was garaged its entire life, and has a scant (for a Volvo) 90,615 miles on the odometer.
While not mentioned in the print section of the ad, the seller does provide us with information that the car was owned by Clarence Wallace. Wallace was a Canadian World War I veteran who was wounded in action during that terrible war. His father owned Burrard Dry Dock in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company ended up being a major shipbuilder and repair facility in both World War I and World War II. Mr. Wallace ended up running this firm after his father’s death. He was later appointed Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia in 1950. His term ran until 1955, and sometime after he established a winter residence in Palm Desert, California. It was there that he passed away in 1982. While we are not told if the Volvo seen here was the car he drove until the end, it is curious to see that the car has made its way across the United States to the Catskills area of New York at the time of this sale. Regardless of how you feel regarding his ownership enhancing the value of this Volvo, one has to admire his taste in automobiles and how fastidious he was in caring for it.
Are you in the market for a solid automobile with a previous owner with some notoriety? If so, this well-kept 1975 Volvo 164E for sale on Craigslist in Callicoon, New York may be a car of interest for you. This garage-kept Volvo with just 90,615 miles on the odometer is being offered at a reasonable $10,500. Thanks to Mitchell G. for the tip on this very nice car.
Auctions Ending Soon
2006 Ford Mustang Saleen S281 SCBid Now1 days$15,000
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now4 days$100
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now4 days$3,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now4 days$500
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now6 days$4,000
Comments
I had a white 1972 164E with the automatic. It was an outstanding highway king of the road ride. The automatic was sluggish around town though. I’d buy this one if it had the 4 speed with O/D in a heartbeat.
I don’t think I have ever seen a 164GL with the manual transmission. This does however have A/C. Compressor is mounted high on the drivers side of the engine. 1975 cars had Bosch D-jetronic fuel injection. Volvo switched to K-Jetronic mechanical injection in 1976. D-Jetronic was the first electronic fuel injection built from patents purchased from Bendix in the late 50’s. Used batch fired injectors triggered from separate points mounted in the distributor. It was a speed density injection system but all analog in nature. So no redundancy if a component failed or went out of tolerance. Definitely more maintenance needed to keep the system happy Vs. K-Jetronic that followed.
Who cares? What I enjoy is big shots standing in line at the DMV just like us regular schmoes. “Bricks” were great cars, but the past owners are usually no merit, not to me, anyway. Okay, maybe Roy Rogers Jeep, but that’s it.
You may be cool, but are you shipbuilding LT. Governor cool?
Our two kids are four years apart, which meant once one of them was done abusing our old 240 wagon, it was the next kid’s turn. It survived both with flying colors. I drove it infrequently. One time, I drove on the freeway and it was reving out to go 50 mph. I asked our daughter if she noticed anything about the car and she replied, “yeah, it uses more gas.” It turned out that the relay that shifted the overdrive had failed- a $2.00 fix at Pick and Pull. Our son was a notorious cheapskate, so every time I took the car, it was on fumes, requiring that I put gas in it. It felt a bit weird putting $1.00 worth of gas in it, in an attempt to teach a lesson. I told him that it was probably cheaper for me to rent a car to go to the grocery store than to fill his car up every time I used it. After years of seeking divine intervention to pass smog tests, we had to beg the same smog guy to fail it so we could turn it in to the State for $1,500, way more than we could sell it for. It was like taking your old horse to the rendering plant- sadly, the end of an era.
We had 2 164 carb versions. Great road cars with great seats. Not too hot around town, but great reliable cruisers. My nephew used #2 for his band group hauler. That trunk was huge. There’s one near me not running that’s good for parts.
Lovely looking car. I’ve always loved Volvos of the 1960 and 70s. If only more pictures were posted.
Greetings All,
I had one of these with Automatic, AC, heated leather seats, with vinyl sides and a sunroof.
Too bad they didn’t have someone else make the 12VDC motors?
Their build quality sucked on those units
Both blower motor and wiper motor were replaced with new more than once with new. The labor to liberate the blower was ridiculous because the disassembly was monumental.
The car served me well enough that I had the rear floors replaced.
Liked the 6 better than the 4 though not a big difference in performance. The fuel injection was nice.mounted a gage on the loop on the engine and replaced the regulator.
I think every 1975 Volvo eventually ends up in the Catskills or Hudson Valley. The area is lousy with them. They are the automotive equivalent of stink bugs in the Northeast.
Pretty funny!
This car is the exact twin of my brother’s 164. The only thing missing from this car are fog lights in the front.
The last year for the 164 was 1975. The model was produced for two markets only that year…the US and Japan. The PRV V6 that would appear in the 264 had not been Federalized by the time the 2 series was ready to roll, hence the need for Volvo to ask the 164 to soldier on for another year. I believe all 164s had power front and crank rear windows….Saab did the same thing with the Classic 900 until they figured that folks that wanted power windows wanted them on all four windows, starting in 1985.
My brother’s car has the slushbox……I despise that gearbox with every fibre in my being. It shifts like a box of rocks, it’s noisy and you have to drive your foot through the floorboards to get the unit to downshift into passing gear. Despite the B30 under the hood. The car is not fast off of the line…..lots of sound and fury, but very little forward motion until you get up to about 30 MPH, at which point, the engine wakes up and the car starts to move out. Handling is about what you’d expect….you won’t win a gymkhana with the car. But, the 164 is solid, sure and fun to drive. I can’t take Lady Elsinore anywhere without being mobbed by old Volvo fans and people that had 144s.
If we had more room up here in the barn, this might be a cool addition to the fleet!
Had three of these the first year I started buying and selling volvos on the side.. Actually lost track of them at 100.. Had one the same color.. Pretty cars. Was on a visit to S cali in 85 touring Hollywood hills homes. Jimmy Stewart was at the end of his driveway getting his mail. Had a 164, our tour van waved, he waved back. Was so cool..I actually live about an hour or so from the catskills
one of my most liked ownerships (heavy use of IPD) was an ’82 wagon. Nearing the end of the companied’s legacy. After 20 yr I said “good company”
and bought an 850 for the FWD needed by a new to me house purchase. Just like MB ‘90s down fall wolwo’s next gen was a failure. Not sure how they do w/the Chinese ownership but hope they do (again like MB) better now. Companies can change (+ & -).