1973 Volvo 1800 ES

Sport Wagon Wagon

4 - Cyl.

Manual

1836353007443

Gasoline

Welcome to my auction! I really don't know why I bought this car other than I love 2Dr. Wagons. I have two others; a 1958 Mercury Commuter 2Dr. Hard Top wagon and a 1955 Pontiac Safari. They are enough work for the rest of my days but I bought this 1973 Volvo ES on impulse and it seemed like a good idea at the time. My worry is it will languish like the other cars and that would be a shame. It needs someone who appreciates its value and would restore it to its former glory. The story I got was; it had been purchased in 1992 by a guy who was going to fix it up. He took it partially apart and as you can see sanded off the paint, did a little bondo work, and let it sit for the past fifteen years. His boss (where it was stored) said get it out or it will be gone when you come back from vacation. So, he sold it to my friend, who runs a salvage yard, and he was about to put it on E Bay when I bought this past weekend. Now here it is on E Bay by yours truly. This car is about 98% complete. Most of the parts were stuffed in the back except for the door panels. I will call and see if they might still be around but, figure they are gone. My friend Dave who helped me load the car is a former Volvo Parts Specialist and he has been advising me on the car. When I brought it home we drained the fuel tank and put some fresh gas in, bled the fuel lines, put in a battery, and without doing anything else, doggone, if it didn't fire up. With some work it would probably run alright because it didn't smoke at all. The water pump is frozen as is the clutch. Maybe a little oil here and there, and a little pulling and braking might free things up. I Haven't done much else to the car except sort things out and clean here and there. I put two better tires on the back and slimed the front two so they will hold air. I've been reading a bit about these cars online especially that OUTSTANDING Website by the Swedish Volvo P1800 Club "Volvo 1800 Picture Gallery" and conferring with my friend Dave. This is my assessment: This would be an excellent car to restore. The worst thing is the rear skin, which is pushed in and the lower tailgate channel which is woefully damaged by rust although not as bad as some cases I've read about. The only other rust through is small amount behind the right rear wheel well, a tiny bit on the outside seam of the passenger floorboard, and a very little on the right lower forward valance panel. Everything else is solid as far as I can see. I have taken over a hundred images of the car and would be happy to share them with anyone interested. Please send an email to mooney@cbcast.com and put Volvo pics in the re: line and I will send them to you securely. The odometer reads 87126 and there is no reason to believe that is not the original mileage given the wear condition of the seats and pedals. There are couple of intriguing items about the car. Dave tells me the wheels are the rare and desirable optional alloy types. They are marked Volvo Import and have a specific part number as illustrated in the images. The other important option is the factory installed sunroof and luggage rack. Now the data plate code states: "without sunroof" but looking at it, tell me it can be nothing but? Unless of course the original installer is/was a master craftsman. If you know these cars you know what you are looking at. I am going back to work next week there may be a short delay in answering your questions. Use E Bay's "ask a question" feature and I'll post it and a response. Use my email and it will be between you and me. If you want to come have a look-see, Email for time and directions. I paid a fair price for this car and I'd like to get my purchase price and expenses back. There was a nice driver up in Oregon that ended today and he had over 25K in it. I am looking for about 10% of that. I plan to run the auction until the end. I will sell to anyone in Europe or North America. I want a $500.00 U.S. non-refundable deposit within 24Hrs. of auction end. I will help in any way to get it shipped, but expect to pay reasonable expenses, for my time and effort. I've casually sold over 200K in cars during the past five years for clients and myself on EBay and my feedback speaks for their experience. So, in the meantime I will continue to clean, sort, store, and maybe tinker on this machine in case I end up keeping it. Thanks for looking.