The Pick of the Day is a 1966 Volvo 1800S listed by a Pennsylvania dealership on ClassicCars.com.
Buy this car before I convince myself to buy it.
As some of you might know, I previously owned a 1966 Volvo 1800S. My car was white with a black leather interior and Minilite-style alloy wheels. I even went so far as to restore the car. I also drove my 1800S on two cross-country trips, one from California and one back to California for Monterey Car Week, where I literally sold it to someone on the street and delivered the car to them the Monday after the week’s festivities were over. I should not have sold it.
The reason I love the Volvo 1800S has everything to do with the British TV show “The Saint.” I loved this show as a teenager and the car was as much a star of the show as Sir Roger Moore. Each week, his character Simon Templar would go on spy-like adventures, usually behind the wheel of the Volvo and often with a stunning woman in the passenger seat. His life looked amazing and I associated the car with the lifestyle. I am honored that, years later, I was given the opportunity to interview Sir Roger about the car for a Volvo 1800-series buyers guide I wrote for a magazine.
If that was not enough, the Volvo ads of the period just spoke to me. The lead copy of one of them read, “What’s it like to own a $10,000 car? Find out for $3995.” The cars at the top of the ad included some of the most important GT cars of the 1960s, cars I thought I would never be able to afford. This made the Volvo 1800 seem attainable to the 14-year-old me.
The 1966 Volvo 1800S featured in this Pick of the Day is not a concours example by any means, but it is a perfect driver-level car that the owner can enjoy and update as they use it. You should not even consider restoring it. Just fix the bits as they bug you and have fun with the car.
Yes, all of you purists out there, I am aware that this car is painted metallic silver and was originally a light blue color, but the silver looks amazing and sort of ties this Volvo to another famous car, the Aston Martin DB5. And yes, I also noticed that there is a little rust in the body, but the outriggers under the car look excellent and a bit of rocker rust is something I personally would live with until I decided to repair the rockers.
The interior features what looks like black vinyl for the front seats (yes, I am aware that they should be leather). You can buy a correct leather front seat kit from Don at P1800.com for less than $1,000, so I would live with the current seats until I wanted to swap them.
What I like about this specific car, as well as the ad for it, is that it is honest. The dealer offering the car shows you everything and also has a great description of it. They state that this 1966 1800S has been owned by the same family since 1973. In 2013, the mechanics were refreshed by Doherty Automotive in West Chester, a renowned shop in the area for foreign cars, especially Swedish and German.
The dealer describes the brightwork as being in fine condition, but notes that certain pieces could benefit from some restoration. They add that, overall, the paint is very nice with minor imperfections that are limited to some bubbling on lower panels.
The interior is described as having some wear, with incorrect (as stated above) vinyl front seats and additional wear on the rear seats. The door cards with the embossed Volvo logo are correct and look to be in excellent condition.
Under the hood is what they call a driver-quality presentation of the stock 1,778cc Volvo B-18 inline four-cylinder engine, which is fueled by two SU carburetors and backed by a four-speed manual transmission with overdrive that sends power to the rear wheels and 4.56 gears. Power disc brakes are up front and power drums are at the rear. Receipts will come with the car to show the work done to refresh the carbs, wires, hoses, gaskets, wheel cylinders, ignition tumbler, shocks, and more.
The underside of this car is described as being in driver-quality condition, with the presence of surface rust, some flaking rust on one floor pan crease, and errant oil on the gas tank but generally dry conditions underneath. Independent coil springs make up the suspension in the front while trailing arms, coil springs, and a Panhard bar are at the back. A single exhaust meets a stock-style muffler before ending stylishly with twin tips at the rear.
As I stated above, this is a car to drive and enjoy. I guarantee from personal experience that arriving at a local car show in this 1800S will generate lots of conversations and you will come away having made some new friends.
And on the way home you can pretend you are Simon Templar, off to your next intrigue-filled adventure.
Click here to view the listing for this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com.
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