Volvo P1800 Web Forum? Anyone...?

[rcecale]

A co-worker just picked up a '66 Volvo P1800 that he is looking at restoring. I've told him how knowledgeable you guys are here and that got him looking for a similar type of forum for his new project. (I had to break it to him gently that there is NOTHING like the PP BBS anywhere else, for any other topic.)

Anyway, does anyone know of any that may "come close"?

In case you were wondering, the P1800 is the car driven by Roger Moore when he played The Saint, back in the 60's. Not a bad looking ride, IMHO.



Randy

[gr8fl4porsche]

Have him take a look at:

http://www.brickboard.com

[Overpaid Slacker]

Cowhorn bumpers -- and Jensen bodied? Niiiiiice. I almost bought a restored one a few years back (during my delightfully naive "I'm going to own a car from every country that made cars" period). The one I drove handled and shifted remarkably truck-like for such a diminutive vehicle.

As for Volvo boards... I haven't come across one. Perhaps he can get in touch with some of the resto. suppliers and solicit their opinions on good boards?

JP

[speedracing944]

wow. I looked at one of those for sale 10 years ago. I didn't know anything about it and still don't to this day. One neat thing I remembered about the car was the doors on the inside were concaved.

[SLO-BOB]

Look no further than the brickboard as mentioned above. As you can see, I'm a fan of the 1800s too. There are a TON of parts available for these cars. Not cheap, however. That particular car is very rust prone. He should address the body issues first. I would pull the carpet and check the floor and rockers carefully. That looks like a nice one from the pics.

[Sonic dB]

Those are beautiful cars....there is one red like that one which tools around Manhattan Beach a lot.

[dimps8]

Man I love those cars. Swinging 60's stying at it's best. The following pic was posted on the 911 board under barn find. You can just make out it's nice rear end.

Can you speak danish? http://www.volvo1800klub.dk/Forum/forum.html

[beepbeep]

Originally posted by Sebring77
Look no further than the brickboard as mentioned above. As you can see, I'm a fan of the 1800s too. There are a TON of parts available for these cars. Not cheap, however. That particular car is very rust prone. He should address the body issues first. I would pull the carpet and check the floor and rockers carefully. That looks like a nice one from the pics.

Wow, P1800 Estate!

Very rare...even in Sweden!

[rcecale]

WOW! I knew I could count on you guys for quick replies! Thanks for the info!

I suppose I should have added this disclaimer to my original post, but the pic I included is NOT a pic of his car. It's one I found on the ol' www. i thought I would add it for reference. I'll see if I can get him to cough one up.

Thanks again fellas!

Randy

[SLO-BOB]

The observations posted above about truck like handling and shifting couldn't be more true. The best adjective I could use to describe them is "funky". They look weird, drive weird, shift weird,etc. Even though they seem truck-like, they are tiny inside. The windows are like turrets because the sill and dash are so high and the roof so low. I can't imagine one as a daily driver. There are a few that race though.

But, they are so unique that you can't stop for gas without someone coming up and either asking what it is, or telling you everything they know about 1800s. Great way to meet chicks-it's like a puppy on wheels! One time a georgeous beauty filling up asked if she could take pictures of mine. Naturally I obliged.

Once I was driving my ES along in my neighborhood, which is rural and the middle of nowhere when I happened upon a coupe headed in the opposite direction. I think the driver and I both got whiplash from swinging our heads around to get a better look at each other while frantically waving. I rarely see another 1800, let alone in this remote area!

[lvale]

Here is the P1800 altho I do some better pics soon. Yes, discovered rust right away. Heavy on passenger floor, smaller pin holes in drivers side and trunk. All has been addressed.

Interior is red but will be converted to black soon. Waiting on new carpet. Should make huge difference. Clock dead. Tach off. Other gauges seem fine.

I've ordered two books on building custom door panels. May see what I can do. Very basic contruction. Entire car appears very easy to work on.

Major concerns:
* rust on exterior to be addressed soon
* want to build secondary VDO cockpit royale gauges for temps
* currently has red recaro seats, I want to know if its conceivable to add power seats.
* I'd also like to see if anyones ever got power windows working in one.
* I understand I'd be looking at duplicating power sources for the modernizations.

Driving: Starts and runs great. Shifts well. Overdrive on gearshift stupid. Want to move to a rocker switch on original fan switch. Not a powerhouse. 108HP. I have the carpet out, but very loud. Will address each noise as I can identify it. Seems to make whistling noise from windshield. I also want to drop a 71 p1800 rearend to go 4 wheel discs.

More complaining later.
LV

[Joeaksa]

Always loved the 1800's but do not need another rust prone car. If I found one here in AZ would love to give it a good home!

JoeA

[SLO-BOB]

LV-

Nice car! Just like the Saint.

I would take care of that body first, before doing anything. Why? Because it might add up to more than you expect. Unless you have unlimited amounts of cash to spend, you'll want to make sure the rust repair falls within your budget. The 1800s, especially the early ones, are notorious for having hidden rust. Too many areas to point out just one, but you found out about the obvious already-the floor-and that's the "easy" repair. The rockers would be the next thing I check. Anything external on a P1800 is usually the tip of the iceberg. They hide their rust well. Don't take this as meaning to discourage. I'm just trying to save you the labor of putting parts on a car that might benefit from a full rotisserie style restore. Or maybe it's one of the few, like my orange ES, that saw little oxidation. It needed very little rust repair. Good luck!

The door panels, handles, dash, carpets, pretty much everything, are available. Even once it's together it will be loud, but better. You've probably found out that IPD is a good source for parts. There are at least three other good ones out there. There's a guy out east, can't remember his name, but he sells exclusively 1800 stuff. He is an absolute wizard at these cars. I recommend finding him and buying his parts because you'll get exactly what you need and his prices are fair. I'll check around for his name.

I'll bet you're finding the Brickboard helpful, if not a bit abrupt. Not quite like here.

[lvale]

I've got the rust in the floor boards under control for now. The body will be next.
How much would one expect to pay for a rostierre restore?

My intensions were to get the car a friendly mix of original with modern conveniences and make it a daily driver. Then in a fews years down the line gut it and give it to professionals.

That said, I was going to do my own body work to get the rust under control and set it back a good ten years. Meanwhile focusing on building the interior I want. That way when the engine goes, I'll get everything yanked and ideally stripped down paint job.

Have you ever seen a p1800 with power seats or power windows?

[SLO-BOB]

I haven't seen many 1800s period, let alone ones with power seats or windows. Not to say they don't exist. I'm hardly an expert at these cars. There are a lot of guys at Brickboard who will know the answer. I like the look of your interior. By the pics it appears as if the doorpanels are very nice. I would try to maintain that red look. Black carpet wouldn't be the worst thing with the red interior. I have a 242 with the same color scheme as your car. I know the hell of trying to get red interior pieces.

Re: the rotisserie resto. That's a pretty costly option. All the guys I know have done them themselves. Basically you're taking every single part off the car and mounting the shell on a spit. You can then spin it and work easily on all surfaces including underneath. There was a thread re that on brickboard. Try a search using "rotisserie".

Your daily driver plan sounds fine if the car is up to it. Gather up parts and when you're ready-have at it. Good luck. nice car!

[rcecale]

Hey, Louis,

Take a look here!

Looks like a pretty extensive site.

Randy

[lvale]

Already stole just about every picture off the site getting ideas. There are some tough p1800s, but nothing specific seats and windows. I do see decent replacement dashes with moden gauges and such, and I'm looking in to a buddy with a machine shop into making me some replacement dash panels.

At the end of the day, I want plush seats. I've seen excellent condition BMW power seats sell on eay for $400. I assume I could fine some shop that could physically mount them. Aslong as all the controls are built in the side of the seat (not remote to console or door), then all I should really have to do if find the combination of wires that need power supplied and put a heavy fuse on it.

The car stalled 4 times this evening. Of course it was the furthest from home I had ventured. Got it running each time, but signs of something.

[david c.]

I own an unusual 1963 Volvo P1800"S".

Some of you know my car. It is totally original (but in need of restoration unless you like that "survivor class" look). It was also a factory Volvo "Official Car" at the 12 Hours of Sebring. I still have the original decals the car car is completely unrestored.

The car has 35k miles and is complete from tool kit to the warranty manual. It's only had two owners; my neighbor who bought it new and myself.

[david c.]

[david c.]