Vehicle Description
1970 Volvo 1800E
The brand name Volvo was originally registered as a trademark in
May 1911 with the intention to be used for a new series of SKF ball
bearings. It means "I roll" in Latin, conjugated from "volvere".
The idea was short-lived, and SKF decided to simply use its
initials as the trademark for all its bearing products.
For consignment, a car not seen every day, but when we do we are
happy we did! For consignment a P1800 E with a color change,
extensive upgrades to the engine, a Mega Squirt ECU to handle the
fuel injection, and the lack of rust in the key areas (body mounts
behind front tires, around headlights, and under door panels), make
this car is definitely worth a look. It's not a svelte Swedish
blonde, however it is a Volvo sports car...and this is Classic Auto
Mall after all!
Exterior
A sporty example donning our Hallowed Halls has been bathed in
menacing black and it is showing nicely with only a few minor
inclusions and imperfections in the paint. The chrome is excellent,
all nice and shiny throughout. Looking over the exterior shape
carefully, we can see the two cars coming together with the front
end being the sedan styling. This being the single headlight
mounted to the fender, oval grille (shades of earlier Ferraris) in
front of a vertically ribbed air space inside. Two thick bezeled
round signal lights below the headlights, and a clean curved bumper
below complete with fog lamps attached but not wired into the car.
Down the sides, bullet door mirrors have been added and the
beltline trimming has been wrapped in black vinyl to blend with the
nicely applied paint. OEM Volvo glass created the greenhouse for
the passengers and is highlighted all around by new trimmings. Past
the B pillar the other car, (the fastback), takes over and becomes
distinctly sporty with a low sweeping roofline that melts down into
the small trunk lid. Stainless trim highlights the mini fins atop
the rear quarter panels that float atop of chrome bezel surrounded
oval LED taillights. 16" DBW wheels with polished lips, faux knock
off spinners, and chromed lugs are seen on all 4 corners wrapped in
like new Bridgestone blackwall rubber.
Interior
Decidedly Swedish with heavily padded red tuck and roll vinyl for
the door panels and black padded armrests. The handles are shiny,
and an accordion style map pocket resides in the lower front, all
in near showroom condition. Inside the pattern continues with tuck
and roll inserts in the heavily padded seat inserts, red piping in
lieu of the stitching, smooth bolsters, and more clean smooth red
vinyl on the sides of these high back integrated headrest chairs.
The second row is a bench, but more like a 2 plus 2 bench and is
probably more comfy for kids and cargo as it would be for adults,
but it works, and has a black padded armrest for the occupants.
Racing toward the dash between the front bucket seats is a black
vinyl padded consolette with a wood applique insert, storage
compartment, and the wood topped Volvo logoed shift knob. Plush red
carpeting is covering all floors and is all clean and well kept. An
original dash setup is there, and all working inside of a stained
wood facing and is made up of a padded black vinyl dash top and
padded lower black band with some more wood applique being the
background for the dash front. Within this applique band that
stretches across the dash are more round gauges, a clock and a
modern AM/FM stereo. The headliner is plenty of lightly wrinkled
vinyl real estate above in red.
Drivetrain
Under the hood a clean well presenting 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine
has been extensively upgraded with a solid lifter camshaft, new
pushrods and double valve springs, electronic ignition, a Bosch
alternator, and in April of 2021 a Megasquirt Stealth ECU with
wideband O2 sensor and all supporting sensors was installed. A
Laycock-Normanville OD 4-speed manual transmission is bolted to the
back and has been rebuilt along with having a new clutch installed
and a lightweight flywheel. All this beauty drives a 4.30 geared
rear axle. Nicely detailed with no corrosion seen throughout, just
red and black paint.
Undercarriage
Within the lightly patinaed rust free surfaces of the undercarriage
is seen a rebuilt with new ball joints and progressive rate
springs, independent coil springs upfront, and on back, a rigid
axle with trailing arms, panhard rod and coil springs. We also note
a new swaybar drop link and Bilstein shocks. Power disc brakes are
all around and for the ease of driving a later model power steering
system has been fitted on. A single exhaust system snakes its way
rearward and handles the removal of spent fossils efficiently and
effectively.
Drive-Ability
We definitely got excited about this model as only a touch over
7,500 were built during the two year run. Sadly, Volvo gave up on
it after the 1973 model year as it was an older chassis and the new
USA regs were killing them on expenses. That said, they produced a
true winner with great performance, snappy acceleration, wonderful
handling, and quick bias free braking on the panic stop.
So, we have a sporty low slung grocery getter, kid hauler, and
fairly rare example of this Ferrari-esque Volvo 1800E. A sports car
from the Swedes that are more known for reliability and safety over
performance and styling, now gracing our Hallowed Halls and will be
a surefire standout in your collection.
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 650 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
