P1800es
 

A friend of mine has just purchased a 1972 P1800ES, I've offered to help her collect it some time next week. It looks nice enough, this car:

https://i.imgur.com/nonxquAh.jpg

... the car is advertised as having had a bare metal respray and being mechanically good. As long as the car is as described she is committed to the purchase, so we'll just be checking it is indeed as described.

I notice from the MoT history that its last test was in 2006, and then it failed needed considerable welding to repair rust. This must have been fixed - and it will be a trivial matter to make sure it has been. I don't know anything about these cars, is there anything more I should look out for?

Alan

It's basically a 140 in a party frock Alan, rather as the Ford Capri was to the Cortina. Mechanically they are very similar, and the experience that you have gained from the RB will stand you in good stead on this one. Mechanically, they are relatively simple cars, but I understand corrosion can be a problem on neglected ones. Lets hope the repairs required on this one have been well executed as you say.

Never having owned one myself, I can't really comment further, other than to apply all of the normal used car buying checks. This looks a nice example; they are now quite rare, so it might be worth asking if it is known to the club - they do enjoy quite a strong following.

Regards, John.

It may not need an MOT but not unreasonable to ask the seller to get one for it. Anything serious should show up and a list of advisories would be useful. The results may also give some negotiating power if needed.
2006 was a long time ago and repairs at about that time may not have aged well since then. Checking up on a lift is advised, especially if you don't have it MOT'd.

Many thanks John,
I’ve done a little bit of research this morn and can see it is a simple car, as you say, experience with the RB should be sufficient to spot a major problem.
The car certainly looks okay from the photos - I’m quite looking forward to having a look at it next week and will encourage my friend to contribute to the thread.
Alan

Many thanks,
I’ll pass that on to my friend, but I she is already committed to buy unless the motor car is not as described.
I’m not sure it will be possible to put the car up on a lift, but I was planning to take a couple of trolley jacks with me when we go to collect. Just like with a 244, if the jack moves but the sills don’t - start walking away :-)
Alan

You are right to thoroughly inspect the bodywork, Alan; I don't think it is possible to overstate the importance of it's condition. The mechanics are indeed relatively simple, but bear in mind that these were very rare cars even when new. Reference to Bjorn- Eric Lindh's definitive book on Volvo confirms that they made only 3,020 P18OOESs in '71/2, and 5,007 in '72/3, many of which were destined for America. In contrast, of which the RB was but one, 106,012 244s were built in '79/80 and 94,111 in '80/1.

Whist mechanical parts are still (relatively) easy to obtain, after 50 years most body panels will probably be virtually unobtainable. The curvaceous bodywork will also make any repairs, if required, more of a challenge than on an equivalent saloon or estate.

I strongly believe that, with your burgeoning interest in the PV, and now the P1800ES, a visit to the National at Uttoxeter would more than repay the time and cost involved. There will almost certainly be examples of each on display, with their owners willing to chat about them to interested parties.

Regards, John.

Thank you for that John. I’ll certainly look into attending the Uttoxeter meet.
Alan

Might be a good idea to have someone who knows these cars available on the phone, if only to consult with if needed. You sound like you will spot rust if its obvious but its had significant repairs and unless you know how the car should look outside, inside and underneath you wont know if the repairs have been done correctly. They very often aren't unfortunately and there are also some potential hidden nasties that you wont be able to see, but you can feel for. But it looks a nice car that, the colour really suits the ES and if it is as described its a reasonable price too.

The P1800 is a harder and more expensive car to fix bodywork wise than say the Amazon and they weren't made to the same standard either so if it's had a bare metal respray see if they have pics of the repairs done. They tend to be bodged more so than the Amazons as they are harder to fix so agree with Mike to get someone along who knows the bodywork.