Once again the Volvo Enthusiasts Club took a stand at the Classic Motor Show which was held at the NEC Birmingham from the 14th to the 16th November 2008.

This was without doubt the best show ever and our participation at the event started with Members building the stand on the Thursday morning. Joining the Members were two young lads brought along by Peter Jones whose help was very much appreciated.

Once the Carpet Tiles had been placed it was time to erect the boarding around the central pillar. This had, when we first received the plan of our space, caused us some concern but once the walling had been erected all our worries disappeared.

As this year was the 50th Anniversary of Volvo’s being Imported into the UK by Charles Singer of Lex Bookland, later to become Volvo Concessionaires, we decided to that this year our stand would celebrate this event and also try to show some more unusual Volvo Models.

As promised at last years show pride of place on our stand was ‘The Original Saint Car’ 71 DXC from the TV Saint series, complete with life-size RogerMoore’s. Although only the completed bodyshell, which had been painted, this caused tremendous interest and I can report that it will be unveiled, finished, at the 2009 30th Bristol Classic Car Show in February plus again at next years Classic Motor Show.

Joining The Saint’s 1962 P1800 were the following:
1952                 Volvo PV445 Convertible by Valbo                       Kevin Price
1967                 Volvo 120 Pick-up Converted by Volvo Dealer     Kevin Price
1970                 Volvo 1800E                                             Colin & Pauline Atkinson
1979                 Volvo 244DL                                            Phil Edwards
1989                 Volvo 760 Limousine                               Colin Hughes
1994                 Volvo 850 T5 Estate                                 Matt Stadden
1994                 Volvo 480 Turbo                                      Glynn & Peter Jones.

NOTE: Unfortunately Colin & May Tatlow were unable to bring their beautiful 1957 Volvo PV444.08 which had been booked to be displayed, due to trailer problems on the way to the show but in true Enthusiasts spirit they still came along and helped man the display. Many thanks Colin & May.

Further Details of the Cars on our Display were as follows:

1952 Volvo PV445 Convertible by Valbo:
Valbo Karosserifabrik Coachbuilders – Sweden
Valbo Karosserifabrik started serious coachbuilding in 1923 in a former brickwork’s and tar producing factory in Valbo on the outskirts of Gavle, Sweden. On the outbreak of World War II there were about 80 employees with Gunnar Ahlenius, son of the founder as Managing Director. Customers at that time included the Swedish Army, the Swedish Mail, Swedish Tele Communications and Vattenfall, the Swedish electric Supply Company. Following the war the company prospered with the need for a growing requirement for vehicles. In the early 1950’s production changed to a production line conveyor belt system and at this stage 1½ cars were built per shift.

In 1960 it was confirmed that Valbo had to date produced 10,000 vehicles, of which 4,000 were, vans, firengines, ambulances and other larger units. After 40 years the company went into liquidation. New owners AB Galvle Motorfabrik was founded in 1962 and in 1985 following the company restructuring, vehicles were produced for Swedish Television, Prison Service and other Specialist Vehicles.

The late Mike Lawrence of Volvo Specialists ‘Cumbers Garage’ of Brixham, Devon, imported this Volvo PV 445 Convertible by Valbo from Sweden in early 1991. This very rare Volvo Convertible built by Swedish Coachbuilders Valbo under licence on a Volvo PV445 The car has been in store since 1999 and has only recently been returned to the road.

FSK 532 is the only example of this model in the UK, and very few of these cars survive in Sweden.  The Valbo Builders Plate on the front outer bulkhead identifies that the vehicle is No: 52 -Volvo Convertible.

A number of Swedish Coachbuilders built specialist Vehicles on the popular PV445 Chassis; other builders of Convertibles were Nordbergs of Stockholm and Ringborgs Karossfabrik of Norrkoping

1962 Volvo P1800 (Jensen Built) ‘The Original TV Saint Car’
Early History:
In the Spring of 1962 Lew Grade of ATV Television held a Press Conference where he launched ‘The Saint’ Series with actor Roger Moore, who would play the famous Simon Templar in a series of 26 one hour shows (News to Roger Moore who had been contracted as he believed for only half hour episodes).

The famous Simon Templar like other dashing TV/Film hero’s e.g. Batman, James Bond etc required a recognisable form of transport and ATV’s first choice was a white ‘E’ type Jaguar, which had been launched at the Geneva Motor Show the previous year.  Jaguar were approached to lend the TV company a car in lieu of advertising but in view of the already high demand for the model in the USA and being unable to keep up with current production requirements they declined the offer, suggesting that they did not require the publicity the series would provide. It is rumoured that Roger Moore even offered to personally purchase a MK10 Jaguar to use in the series, as the best supply date for an ‘E’ type was over 2 months.

Search for an alternative car was on and again it was Roger Moore who came to the rescue suggesting that the company look at the new Volvo P1800, which had only just been launched in RHD form on the UK market.

Within a week a white Volvo P1800 was delivered to ITC from a London Dealership – Reg: No: 71 DXC (Plate ‘ST 1’ was placed over the cars ordinary numberplate only while filming) and it is believed that they were invoiced full price for the car. As no white P1800 was available, unbelievable as the cars were being produced at Jensen Motors Ltd, West Bromwich in England, it is said that a car had to be airfreighted back from Sweden to fore fill the order at such short notice.

The Jensen built P1800 - 71 DXC appeared in the opening sequences of the very first episode “The Talented Husband” and was used in many of the original 26 episodes, where its owner, The Saint could be seen visiting places as far afield as Germany, France and even the Bahamas (how the car got there was not explained). In fact due to financial constants the car never left the British Isles, it was all ticks of the camera.

With production of the 1800 moving to Sweden in 1963. Volvo in 1964 provided ITC with a new replacement car, an 1800S – Reg. No: 77 GYL. In order to provide continuity in the series the later fitted ‘V’ Red Hubs were replaced with the original ‘Jensen Caps’ from 71 DXC. Both cars can be seen in early 1964 episodes but if you look carefully there are some scenes where the car was still fitted with its original Red ‘V’ caps.

71 DXC was finally fully replaced by 77 GYL in late 1964 but the original car was used for publicity of the Series.

The ‘Original’ TV Saint Car is currently undergoing a full restoration and will be returned to the road in February 2009 and unveiled at The Bristol Classic Car Show.

1967 Volvo 120 Pick-Up:
Volvo Dealer Cumbers Garage of Brixham, Devon found that they required a pick-up for use to work at their two garages. Volvo had not produced a pick-up since the days of the PV445 in 1960 (See PV Convertible on our stand built on PV Chassis). The late Mike Lawrence owner of Cumbers decided that the only way to own a Volvo pick-up was to build one.

Looking at suitable Volvo models, the 120 Estate was chosen not only because of its two-piece rear tail-gate, ideal for the pick-up but Cumbers were well known in Volvo circles for their work on the 120 model. A suitable 120 Estate was obtained and work on the conversion was done in house, with final bodywork undertaken by Astral Coachworks, also owned by Mike and was completed in the early 1980’s. For the following 20 years until the death of Mike the vehicle was used as everyday transport and was a common sight in Brixham.

The present owner purchased the vehicle in 2001 and used the pick-up again as everyday transport until 2003 when it was taken off the road for restoration.

Stored since 2003 the vehicle has been recently been returned to the road.

1970 Volvo 1800E:
     Colin purchased the car in 1989, having just sold his Lotus Espre and was looking for a new project, when one of my friends told him of a car which he may be interested in. The car was hidden in the back of a small garage under a heap of cardboard boxes in Colchester. The garage owner told him that it belonged to a gentleman who lived in Ipswich who may wish to sell. On closer inspection it was found that the entire engine apart from the block was in the boot, the rest was scattered around the garage. Looking at the scale of the project Colin decided to go home and think about what he could be taking on. A week later he returned and purchased the car at an agreed price, which included the replacement of the engine. Unfortunately after waiting 6 weeks the engine had not been replaced so he decided to take the car home and finish it off himself. Colin has all the cars MOT’s and the Service Book, with the name and address of the original owner and supplier.
   
1979 Volvo 244DL:
 This Volvo was originally purchased by a member of the British Embassy in America. Delivered direct from Sweden in RHD form, the car spent a year on America soil with the Virginia Registration of NXM - 213.

The owner, his wife and the Volvo were the last Embassy staff and their car to return to Britain via the Cunard Liner QE2, arriving at Southampton on 9th June, 1980.

The car was then reregistered with a Worcestershire Registration Number dated 1980.

AAB 995W was purchased from the original owner in Malvern and has covered just 28,000 miles from new and is in ‘Original’ condition.

1990 Volvo 760 Limousine:
This Volvo 760 Limousine is one of only 3 hand-built by Volvo in 1990.

First registered on 1st June 1990 it was used to transport VIP’s around London.

Purchased by present owner in 2002 the vehicle had covered 63,000 miles. The current mileage stands at 88,000 and is used regularly.

The 760 Limousine was Volvo’s last true purpose built Limousine. Today Volvo stretches its production model vehicles bodyshells to produce a limousine and other specialist vehicles in a special production facility.

Powered by a 2.9 V6 Engine – This Volvo Engine was also used in the Delorean Sportscar as Volvo was the only partner of the V6 Euro-engine development (Peugeot, Renault and Volvo) who type approved for the USA Market.

1994 Volvo 480 Turbo:
1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Automatic in Vase Green Metallic. The car was a great disappointment when I first bought it, as it felt sluggish, especially for a Turbo Model.

I joined the Volvo 480 Club Europe on the Internet and though them met a guy who could re-map the ECU’s. £80 later and a simple “plug in and play”, the car was transformed, it now gave full boost pressure of 14psi, returned better MPG and when road conditions allow a VERY entertaining drive.

While a member of the Volvo Enthusiasts Club I learned that Volvo in the very early 1990’s issued a ltd Edition Volvo 480 to celebrate the release of a new paint colour, Paris Blue Metallic. Its green pinstripe and interior that if Volvo sources are correct was only in production for one year instantly identified this car. This interior had a “Smartie” flecked carpet and two tone green and grey leather interior. I purchased a Paris Ltd Edition 2 years ago, with the intention of restoring it, however time constraints got the better of me and the vehicle was cannibalised for spares. The interior was extracted, restored and fitted into this Turbo, so in truth with the Remap and interior she is a bit of a Frankenstein.

1994 Volvo 850T5 Estate:
Introduced in 1991 the Volvo 850GLT Saloon was a revolution in the history of the Volvo Car Corporation and was the model which would change Volvo image forever, Powered by a new 5 cylinder transversely mounted engine which was soon available in a range of options including a 225-hp 2.3-litre turbo. Safety has always been a major influence in Volvo design and the 850 brought huge advances in the field including ‘SIPS’ Side Impact Protection System). The 850 in the first three years won no less than 35 awards and prizes in all corners of the world for the car's extremely high levels of safety.

1993 saw the long awaited introduction of an Estate version of the 850. Technically identical to the saloon it was immediately an enormous hit. The top of the range the ‘T5’ (Turbo 5 cylinder) it soon proved itself not to be like any previous Volvo estate model. This was further proved when in 1994 – VOLVO WENT RACING WITH AN ESTATE!
Volvo in 1994, after many years of absence, sponsored a works team in motor sport. Tom Walkenshaw Racing – Volvos BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) partner entered a Volvo 850 Estate in the 1994 Series.  The estates proved fast on the straight's but not hugely impressive in cornering, however for the 1995 season with a saloon version Rickard Rydell won 4 rounds, several high placing, giving him third place in the BTCC table and Volvo also third in the Manufactures’ league. The 1998 season finished with Rickard the Champion and Volvo the top Manufacturer for the second year.

The 850T5 Estate displayed on our Stand was owned by Christina our late Membership Secretary and has now passed to her son Matthew, is the 225 –hp Turbo Production Estate version but fitted with the T5R front and rear spoilers as developed for the BTCC cars and was used by her as daily transport.

The Volvo V70 as the 850 became is today’s first choice for Police Forces around Britain – so if you see a flashing blue light in your mirror and think you can get away, think again it may be a Volvo!
Also at the show was TV Presenter Mike Brewer who owns a white 1970 1800E. Mike had his own stand at the show presenting his TV programme ‘Wheeler Dealer’ and also used his car for the ‘Sporting Bears’ (A Classic Car Club which raises money for Children) ‘Dream Rides’ where members of the public or exhibitors can pay to ride in a Classic Car of their choice. Club Member Colin Hughes of our Stand in fact took up the offer and purchased a trip with Mike in his 1800E and Kevin our Chairman was also asked to go along for the ride. Mike is a true Volvo 1800 enthusiast and made a number of visits to our stand during the weekend.

During the show Classic & Sports Car Magazine again held their Annual Club Awards and I am please to inform Members that again the Volvo Enthusiasts Club were recognised with the following awards:
Runner-Up ‘Best Club Website’ – (An award we won in 2007)
Runner-Up ‘Best Club Event’ – Volvo Enthusiasts Club Reliability Challenge 2008
                                                        (We were also Runner-up for this Award in 2007)
Once again Volvo Heritage from the Factory in Sweden took a large stand at the show with a collection of ‘Red’ Volvo’s.

Our thanks to all those Members and friend who helped built, man and came along to show their support. All in all the 2008 Classic Motor Show was without doubt the best yet and we all look forward to being there next year. Don’t forget to put it in your Diary 9th – 11th November 2009.