1972 pv1800es
 

I posted this in the 'Sales' area, but meant for it to be here, so what follows is a copy.

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

The high cost repairs on an 1800 are the body sheet metal repairs. The 1800 has a bit of a reputation as sections of rust held together with steel. If the body repair has been properly addressed then most other issues can be addressed at a reasonable cost.

Be aware that an original 1800ES will be equipped with a D jetronic electronic fuel injection system. There is nothing wrong with that, the system works well. However, the number of shops that have the knowledge to diagnose and fix an ailing D jet system are limited. If the owner can't diagnose and repair themselves, they may want to do a little searching around ahead of time to determine if there are accessible shops that can do the work for them should they need the service.

If a true bare metal respray and panel repair project was carried out it would be common for photographs to be taken during the restoration process as evidence. Ask for any photo documentation of the restoration process to satisfy yourself that proper repairs were carried out. If there are no photos, then I would do a little Google searching to make up a list of the many common 1800 rust spots. Then, armed with that list, a magnet (to detect bondo patches) and something pokey to test the soundness of metal do your own inspection. Or, make the purchase conditional on a pre purchase inspection by a specialist knowledgeable in the 1800.

If the last MoT was 2006, does that mean that the car has not been road worthy since 2006? Is the car currently driveable and registrable? If you can't test drive it, that would be deal breaker for unless the seller priced it appropriately.

Thank you so much.

I understand the car has been registered as an historic vehicle for some years and so will not have needed a MoT test. I believe it is in good driving condition (such is the seller’s claim). This is the seller’s ad (in italics):

1972 Volvo 1800es 2ltr engine manual gearbox
This is a low mileage same number car.
I purchased the car 4yrs ago from its third owner who had kept the car for many years.
The car has undergone a bare metal body repair and repaint and looks amazing. Lots of new parts have also been fitted.
Since having all the repairs, the car had sat in my garage. Unused and no time to use it.
It runs and drives really well, the overdrive works without fault.
The interior is completely original and looks great, showing some wear but nothing that I would replace. The car retains that classic car interior smell which is a joy to sit in.
Any inspection is welcomed and recommended


... so that is what I’ll be checking for my friend (the buyer). I have not spoken with the seller myself, but my friend has, and she seems confident of the ad’s veracity.

Fingers crossed!

I've never owned a p1800 so I can't really help.

I will say, however, based on my experience of my PV544 is that Volvo of that time made some very handsome shapes in sheet metal with subtle forms.

My PV had been "repainted" to such an extent that the subtle shapes of the body had been obliterated by body filler. There is a tendency (I'm sorry to report) for people to slap on body filler with wild abundance...

...make sure your friend is buying something with out a whole load of make up!

I would take a magnet to identify potential problem areas - though I can understand that a seller might not be so impressed with that approach. A professional paint thickness gauge would be good.

A re-painted car is one of my warning signs - unless it has been done years and years ago. Photo's as mentioned above can help but it is a bit of a gamble as the first time something gets wet is more often than not the first time when something starts to bubble through...

There's a stripped 1800 coupe on e-bay at the moment. If you have a good look at the photos, it will give you a good indication of where they rust, plus the top of the front wings behind the wheel arch, and below the rear hatch on the ES, and underneath, of course. Good luck.

Bleifrei?
 

Will a 1972 P1800 run on bleifrei, or will I need to get some fuel additive?

Had to look up bleifrei. I presume its referring to unleaded gasoline? An unmodified B20E or F will run on unleaded petrol with a RON of around 100. However, it will incur gradual recession of the exhaust valves into the exhaust valve seats. This is a slow process so it will depend on how much the car has been driven with unleaded fuel.

When B20 engines have valve work done on them hardened exhaust seats can be installed in the head to eliminate the problem. If the car is driven infrequently the owner may elect not to bother with the cost of having hardened seats installed. You could ask if the engine has had major service work done on it and if so, were hardened exhaust seats installed as part of that service.

Without knowing the nature of your friend's conversation with the seller, I would be less trusting of the adds veracity. If the claims are factual then it should be relatively easy for the seller to provide invoices documenting the work done or photographic evidence. When you outsource significant long term restoration work it is common for the shops to provide photographic evidence of progress as part of the request for interim payment. If there are no shop invoices or photographs of the restoration work then I would be assiduous in terms of my physical inspection of the car. If you can't do your own body and paint work, having to outsource a major sheet metal repair and body repaint could easily exceed $ 30,000 Cdn.

Super duper.

Yes indeed, bleifrei = unleaded gas. Thank you for your explanation, I had a feeling the B20 motor would run on such.

My friend is in dialogue with the seller, the detail is up to her - my part in this enterprise is make sure the car is as described and to drive it back (about 60 miles I should think).

I have a good feeling about this car - I’m looking forward to seeing and driving it.

Alan

If it's as good as it looks Alan, it should be a very nice car. As 142Guy indicated, you'll need to tell your friend to use 98 octane aka BP Ultimate, Shell Super V-Power etc. Sadly we don't get 100 octane any more but that if memory serves was 5 star fuel.

A Lead Replacement Additive added to the fuel on fill up (ideally just before filling so the petrol mixes with it as it goes in) will help to combat VSR but eventually your friend may want to have hardened valve seats fitted.

I'm guessing you're going to get a temporary insurance cover to drive it back for her? Also that she's insuring it on a classic policy?

Many classic policies actively prohibit other people with "Driving a vehicle not owned by them" type insurance policies from driving the insured car - both of mine have that codecile in the policy wording.
Do your own checking to ensure that you are in fact covered to drive the car, after all it's your licence on the line (usually a minimum of 8 points for no insurance) and her car that could be siezed if there are any anomalies you've overlooked.

Other than that, it should be a nice day out for the pair of you and another nice Volvo to the mix! :thumbs_up:

It does seem like a genuine car from what I can tell ( but I'm only getting the information third hand). I'll take my 3t jack and a magnet of a stick with me.

The plan is to drive up and collect on Thursday. My friend has added me to her insurance cover as a named driver.

I'm quite looking forward to seeing the car, if it is as good as it seems in the photos it should be fine. I'll encourage my friend to contribute to the forum afterwards, it would be nice to have another member with an interesting car.