NEW MEMBER - ANTHONY SAUL
 
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1966 Volvo 1800S
Pearl White
Chassis No. 19071

Purchased from Pam Hopkinson in October 2007.
The car now resides in Lyth Valley in the Lake District.

My interest in classic cars is largely a product of my upbringing much like my father's. He spent a lot of time learning about mechanics from my Grandfather and developed a passion for pre-war cars. I remember spending my childhood riding around in the back of the 1934 Morris Minor and 1933 Morris 10/4 that my sister & I now own.  

During my teens, an obsession with the extravagance of 50's American styling meant that I was pretty much responsible for my father ending up with not one, but two 1959 Cadillacs. After a few years and a lot of fun the giant whales moved on, as did my taste in classic cars. Ever since then however I have remained a fan of curves, chrome and fins so when I first saw an article on the more refined 1800S in a classic car magazine a few years ago I fell instantly love with the car . As I am sure it must with many people it came as something of a shock that the car was manufactured by Volvo who I had certainly never associated with such elegant lines. In many ways though it made me think there was a good chance that they would be a very reliable and practical classic and decided it was the car for me.  

It wasn't really until this year that the search began in earnest to buy a car. Living in London I had the South covered whilst my father scoured the North; where it transpired that a lot of the cars for sale were based (I therfore owe him a huge debt of thanks for his time & the many hundreds of miles he travelled to see so many cars). After what seemed like endless less than inspiring encounters I had all but decided to wait until next summer to resume the search.
         
           
             

In Autumn my parents dropped into the Kirkstone Pass Inn near to their home where the VEC gathering in the Lake District was taking place. Here they met Kevin Price through whom we learned by chance about a Pearl White 66 1800S lovingly restored and cared for by VEC club member Jim Hopkinson who sadly died last year.  The car was not advertised for sale anywhere as it was in need of a good caring home. Arrangements were made for us to visit Jim's wife Pam in Salisbury and it was there that the long search came to an end. It was without doubt the most enjoyable car buying experience I have ever known and I am very grateful to Pam for her wonderful hospitality.

The 260 mile drive home to the Lake District where the car now resides was very enjoyable, partly down to the excitement but perhaps also due to adrenaline from the fact that the brakes hardly appeared to work at all! (A problem that was later discovered to be the result of a torn rubber hose to the brake servo) I was lucky enough to get to spend a week recently working on the car with my father and we are beginning to get the car towards being in near perfect condition. Luckily for us Jim had put a tremendous amount of dedication into getting the car in an already remarkable condition and the body work which was restored by Monza Engineering is truly stunning. I now very much look forward to spending many weekends driving the car around the Lakes with my girlfriend and taking it to as many car shows as possible for many years to come.