Our Stand at this year’s Classic Motor Show held each November at the NEC Birmingham was a very special event for all Volvo 1800 owners. Our Club stand celebrated by having a vehicle from each of the 1800 models from the first – a P1800 to the last an 1800ES.
1800’s on display included Kevin Price, our Club Founder’s Original Roger Moore, TV Saint Car which is undergoing a full restoration. The car has been shown previously on our club stands but has be stored for a number of years following major problems with the paint work and Kevin’s poor health. He hopes that next year the car will be on the road to celebrate its 50th birthday and 50 years of The Saint. Tony & Gillian Whitton brought along their recently finished 1800S Convertible and their lovely 1800ES. The 1800E n dislay was provided by Colin & Pauline Atkinson and a 480GT owned by Penny Connorton showed how the 1800 influenced future Volvo Production. The 1800’s were accompanied by Kevin’s very rare PV445 Convertible, John Kemp’s lovely 131 Amazon and Colin Hughes brought along his recent purchase a 760 Low Rider , complete with hydraulic Suspension, Sound system etc – a rear crowd puller when car danced to the music!The final Volvo on display was an
Itera ‘Volvo’ Plastic bike, again owned by Colin, which caused a lot of interest from visitors who could not believe Volvo had made a bike.
Also at the show were Volvo Heritage and the Volvo Owners Club with a selection of 1800’s including one of the Frua prototypes and an Aston Martin engine 1800S. There was also the plaster Frua models on display. Guest at the show was Pelle Petterson – Designer of the P1800 who visited our stand and kindly ‘signed’ the boots of each of his 1800 Coupe creations on our stand.
Kevin’s Monster Miler 1962 P1800 was also at the show representing the Club on CJ Auto’s Stand who supply a variety of Chassis Tilters, Ramps and other equipment for the Classic Restorer.
Each year the show gets bigger and better and this show without exception was one of the best.
Our stand this year featured the following Members vehicles:
Volvo P1800 (Jensen England Built) – 1962 – The ‘Original’ TV Saint Car ‘ST 1’
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 number plate 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 air freighted 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. Owned by Kevin Price, Worcestershire
Volvo 1800S Convertible – 1969
A 1968 1800S purchased September 2010 and exhibited at the NEC in its raw state! Delivered to Tony Davey for restoration of the bodywork (immediately after NEC 2010) prior to being treated in Spring 2011 when its late return meant missing the original paint shop slot; the knock on effect meant it was seven weeks at the paint shop, returning home for fitting out in September 2011. The braking system has been completely renewed and finished with silicone brake fluid. Suspension has been overhauled; new shocks, ball joints etc. Finally being reunited with its engine and gearbox (which had been rebuilt by Ivor Searles in Soham, Cambridgeshire, including being bored out 30 oversize and having hardened valve seats to allow it to run on unleaded fuel) and fitting a rally cam at Tony Daveys just last week!! It has a sports exhaust and twin choke Webbers. The hood was fitted on Friday 4 November and the MOT issued today. The car has been finished with all of what we consider the best bits of each of the 1800's. Chrome bumpers and air intake from the Jensen period; straight trims from the '66-on vehicles; interior from the ES, although with "juke box" style dashboard from the S; egg box grill in black with a brass "V" as featured on the prototype 1800; the car has a B20 engine and was one of the very last 1800S's built, featuring the dual circuit brakes with the servo from the 1800E but retaining rear brake drums.
There is no prior history, except that it had belonged to Bob Nash for some years and just stood in a shed. Been unable to find out where or when the conversion had been done, but they had followed the Radford system of steel box sections inside the cills, which has now been doubled up with the Volvoville plating system welded onto the inside fore, under and aft the doors; it has yet to be seen if there is any adverse flexion!
Owned By Gillian & Tony Whitton, Suffolk
Volvo 1800E - 1970
I purchased the car in 1989, having just sold my Lotus Espre and was looking for a new project, when one of my friends told me of a car which I 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 me that it belonged to a gentleman who lived in Ipswich, who may wish to sell. On closer inspection I found 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 I decided to go home and think about what I was taking on. A week later I 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 I decided to take the car home and finish it off myself. I have all the cars MOT’s and the Service Book, with the name and address of the original owner and supplier. DYL 524J was recently featured in Practical Classics. Colin Pauline Atkinson, Essex
Volvo 1800ES – 1973
The 1800ES was the last design development of the 1800 Series. In total only 8,077 1800 ES’s were built. The last 1800ES was produced on 27th June, 1973.
The car is powered by a 2lt fuel Inj engine (B20E) and this particular example is a rare Auto model.
This car was once owned by Volvo UK and was used in publicity photographs to launch the Volvo 480ES.
Owned By Gillian & Tony Whitton, Suffolk
Volvo 480GT 1994
Towards the end of the production run of the 480, Volvo produced two Limited Editions – ‘The Celebration’ and the ‘GT’. The rarer of the two is the ‘GT’ with only 250 examples being built.
The car was available in only two colour variants _ Burgundy Pearl Metallic and Racing Green Metallic. Standard fitment was ‘Vesa Style’ cross-spoke alloys, as was the leather interior.
The leather interior has a unique hand painted geometric pattern etched onto the hide surface, meaning that no two are alike.
Penny Connorton, Devon
Volvo PV445 Convertible 1952
Imported from Sweden by the late Mike Lawrence of Volvo Specialists ‘Cumbers Garage’ of Brixham, Devon in early 1991. This very rare Volvo Convertible built by Swedish Coachbuilders Valbo under licence on a Volvo PV445 Chassis. 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 RingborgsKarossfabrik of Norrkoping
ValboKarosserifabrik Coachbuilders – Sweden
ValboKarosserifabrik started serious coachbuilding in 1923 in a former brickworks 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 Valero had to date produced 10,000 vehicles, of which 4,000 were, vans, Foreignness, ambulances and other larger units. After 40 years the company went into liquidation. New owners AB GalvleMotorfabrik was founded in 1962 and in 1985 following the company restructuring, vehicles were produced for Swedish Television, Prison Service and other Specialist Vehices
Kevin Price, Worcestershire
Volvo 131 – 1968
I bought my first Amazon – a 1966 model – in 1972. I had several more over the years, not in the best of condition but they kept going!
This car was purchased in 1985 with 37,000 miles on the clock, probably the second time around. I believe it had four previous owners. The car has a Volvo B18 Engine, 1780cc with a Single Stromberg Carb
Overall the car was in very good condition but a lot of work has been carried out since including a respray & fitting new sills & front wings. I have fitted many extras including overdrive, spring assisted rear shocks, inertia reel seat belts, alternator conversion, stainless steel exhaust & electric cooling fan.
Although the annual mileage is very low these days the car still travels to shows around the country and can return over 35 mpg.
John Kemp, Halesowen, West Midlands
Volvo 760 Turbo Low Rider – 1989
Project started in 2003 by Russ Venril (Birmingham) and continued by Ray Mercer (Bury) in 2008.
The hydraulic system is by Pro-Hopper and cost £2500 when purchased in 2003. It can lift the body 8 inches at the front and 10 inches at the rear. Each axle and each wheel can be independently operated, which enables the car to stand and be driven on 3 wheels. The system operates through two 36 volt pumps, powered by six 12 volt 110 amp heavy duty batteries in the rear, the batteries were replaced in 2010 for £437.10 (trade price) and should last for 3 years if treated with respect and charged and handled correctly.
Paintwork is metal flake PF 005 Orion Cerise and AF 0111 Holo Silver and was undertaken by Dragon Art in Birmingham
The 800 watt sound system is loud and can be linked to the interior and under floor lighting system.
The 14” chrome spoke wheels were hand built at a cost of £1600 and need regular and through cleaning.
Mechanically it is the tried and tested 4 cylinder Volvo B230 ET engine with a few modifications, coupled to a 4 speed AW71 automatic gearbox. Engine produces 182 bhp
The modifications have added some 250 kg to it and it now weighs 1710 kg (3770 lbs), about 1.65 tons in old money
Current mileage is 166,000 and we have full history and documentation from new.
The car is used on the road and currently and does not have a garage due to other projects.
Planned enhancement is upgrade the charging process to maintain and recharge the lifting system using the existing alternator, although we do not know how practical this concept is, any ideas are welcomed.
Owner Colin Hughes Northampton
Itera ‘Volvo’ Plastic Bike - 1983
In December 1977, Volvo in Gotheburg wanted to produce minicars and investigated conditions and designs. In January 1978 it proposed plastic composite materials in many parts of the car. Other products were considered, the bicycle being one of them.
In October 1978 a grant of 54,000 Swedish Krona was given by the Swedish National Board for Technical Development to finance a prototype plastic bicycle.
In February 1980, a rideable bicycle was demonstrated to the state owned bank and a loan of 6 million krona granted. In march 1980 “Itera Development Center AB was formed to design, produce and market composite material bicycles.
In September 1981, the first bicycles were shown to retailers and the press, with nationwide advertising scheduled for the spring of 1982. The bokes were delivered unassembled with tools provided in the box. In autumn 1981, more than 100,000 Swedes indicated they were interested. In February 1982 production started at Vihelmina. However sales were slow and the media lost interest.
The following year (1983), was worse. Boxes of bikes were piled up in shops.
In 1983, 1,000 Itera bikes were purchased for a national five-day orienteering contast. They were rented to participants who were invited to buy them after the event. All of these were sold, which proved there was a market for the product, but by now it was too late and attempts to relauched the bike to save the project failed.
Production ended in 1985. Approximately 30,000 bikes were produced and all remaining stock was sold to the West Indies where they became popular.
The bikes occasionally come up for sale, with some selling for hundreds of pounds. The highest price to date was $1500 in the USA.
This is 1 of 2 that I own and I am looking for a set of panniers that were offered as an optional extra.
Colin Hughes Northampton
Displayed on CJ Auto Stand
Volvo P1800 (Jensen England Built) - 1962
First Registered in July 1962 and purchased from its original owner in 1985. This is a very rare Jensen of West Bromwich, England built P1800. 6000 P1800’s were built between 1961 and 1963. Only around 15 of these cars are believed to be still on the road in UK today. This car has been used daily for most of its life, having only had two owners from new.
179 HAB has covered over ½ Million Miles from new on its original engine. All other major mechanical components are also original. It has been featured in several publications and also with Quentin Wilson on BBC TV Top Gear and his book ‘The Ultimate Classic Car’. It also in 1992 driven non-stop, except for fuel stops, from John O’Groats to Lands End in 16hrs 42min to celebrate the 30th Birthday of the P1800. It has also done a number of other long distance events.
The most famous Volvo P1800 was driven by Roger Moore (alias ‘Simon Templar’) in the TV Series ‘The Saint’. I also own the original TV Saint Car - 71 DXC another 1962 P1800 which currently undergoing a full restoration. Any information on this car would be most welcomed.
Kevin Price, Worcestershire
Our Thanks to all those Members who helped man, build and brought along their cars for the Club display and also all those visited us during the show – Look forward to seeing you all next year.
Photos provided by Ian Jones from Milton Keynes & other Club members
Full show report and detailed pictures from Kevin Price
