One small thing if you go look for wheels for the 1800.
They had 2 different bolt pattens. One up to 1969
(5x4.5") and one for the later ones (5x4.25"). VIN
number break is 30001 and higher. Other ways to tell
the later are rear disc brakes & fuel injection engine.
Weight of the B18/B20 engine is 155 kgs (342 lbs) which
is the same as the R 1600 with cast iron head.
Volvo advertizing in the 1960's said "It's a kind of soup'd
down sports car". But they dont have to be slow. My cousin
had a P1800 that did the 1/4" in 13.8 seconds on street
tires and a well tuned B20 engine. Performance and handling
are not bad but it's not like 240Z which is better than a 911.
The model year I like best is 1970 (VIN 30001-32799) with
4 speed + overdrive (M410 gearbox) and fuel injection.
Unfortunately, many also came in the ugliest color ever used
by Volvo, mustard yellow. Looks like baby poo.
About 37000 coupi's were made. The first 6000 bodies were
made at Jensen Motor Co in England. The production was moved
to Sweden for M.Y. 1963. The S in 1800S stands for Swedish built,
not sport. Bodypanels were made in England up to 1969. From 1970
the panels were stamped out at Volvo panelworks in Olofstrom.
The car was designed by Frua in Italy. However, it turned out that
the actual design was made by Per Pettersson, son of a Volvo
executive who was working for Frua at the time. This made the
president of Volvo very upset and said he wanted to have a new
concept with an Italian to hold the pencil. He later calmed down
and accepted it and the rest is history.
Some people liked the ES model, some didn't. It was nicknamed
the fishtank in Sweden. Germany called it Snow white's coffin.
Thomas
(Volvo know-it-all by birth)
bonosvolvo wrote:
> Peter,
> You have received some good info and some not so good info about the
> 1800. I have personally owned 6 different 1800 models. There are many
> things to look for. The motor is bulletproof. It weighs a ton, but will
> last forever. Swedish Iron is what they used to call the car. The
> butterfly windows leak, the front windshield leaks from rust out from
> cars that were not taken care of. Volvo used to have a slogan "Drive it
> like you hate it". The problem is, they lasted so long, people drove
> them without taking the normal care for the car that they should have.
> As far as the handling goes, with some small upgrades from IPD
> (www.ipdusa.com) you can have the 1800 out handle and perform circles
> around the roadster. No offence. Three small changes to the suspension
> will make all the difference in the world. Bilstien shocks, IPD
> Anti-sway bars and Lowering coils. Tires and wheels are also a must. The
> motor can be easily tricked out. There used to be a "big bore" kit for
> the motor which brought it to .60 overbore. Now the most you can find is
> .30 overbore. Fuel injection was standard on every Volvo from 1971 until
> now. The ES model (sportwagon) was only created for 2 years (1972-73).
> There are only 8078 of the ES model made, so the price is up there a
> bit. The coupe was made from 1962-72. There were about 45,000 total
> 1800's made. If they made it a factory convertible (only some
> aftermarket ones have been made), I would have one of those instead of
> the Roadster, but life was not that great. Volvo safety deemed a
> convertible was not safe. Oh well. If you want to see a photo of one
> that I used to own that was in fairly decent shape (no leaks either),
> you can see it at http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/bonos
> If you have any other questions about the car, email me and I can go
> into a bit more depth. I can also point you in the right direction to
> find a good one.
> Bo
> bonosvolvo@attbi.com
>
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