Inspecting a Volvo 1800

I'm about to help a friend go look at one...

It's an era I've got some familiarity with after daily driving a BMW 2002 for a dozen years or so, but I'm wondering whether anybody has any particular areas that I ought to be checking on a Volvo 1800.

I also have a couple of questions:

• This car has a very ugly aftermarket sunroof. What are my friend's odds of finding a wrecked or rusted 1800 with a good roof to cut a repair panel out of?

• The electric overdrive unit; how ugly is it when they're not working, and do they have one normal failure mode? The seller said that she had fixed the overdrive at some point, but that it had failed again shortly thereafter and needed to be properly rebuilt. Is that a sane scenario, and if so, how bad is the news of a full rebuild?

The car looks quite straight in pictures, and the paint doesn't look too awful (bit of "patina", you might say). It's got dual SUs (factory thing, or aftermarket? I apparently need to spend a bit more time googling for 1800 info...), and a moderate amount of recent-ish work. I'm not sure whether to be encouraged by or just scared of the apparently redone engine wiring...

Any info greatly appreciated

It's a unibody car with a lot of compound curves, so rust is particularly expensive to repair. Check the jacking points on the box sections behind the front wheel arches, the rocker panels and the rear of the back arches. Check inside the trunk.

I can connect you to probably sources of parts cars with intact roofs. Not a big problem.

They are unlivable on the highway without overdrive (and very good with it). Failures are almost always either the solenoids (usually repairable on the -68 D type, easily replaceable on the 69- J type), or sealing O-rings on the actuating pistons. Not a difficult repair.

Dual SUs are factory. There's very little wiring associated with the engine, and the whole electrical system is quite simple. New harnesses are available, if it comes to that.

had one a LOOOOONG time ago...

RUST - as VClassics has pointed out... but check EVERYWHERE... bring a decent jack so you can get under it. Heavy undercoat is NOT a good thing, can hide crappy rust repair(usually does ) Check hood hinge area for possible broken hinges, or hinge repairs. Interior wise the most costly bits would be the dash, and the center of the 3 part door panels.

I've been doing some research into installing a newer drivetrain in one.

Roof shouldn't be a big deal. They rust from the bottom up, so the roof is usually the last thing to go.

D type or J type overdrive? What year is it? Somewhere around, lets say 1968, they changed from the early (D) unit to the later J type. The J is pretty easy to get parts for, is fairly tough, and is not too bad to work on, providing you know whats going on with them. Lots of times, its electrical issues, the only semi common internal failure is the orings on the actuating pistons. The old one I am not really familiar with, and they are tougher to get parts for. I think they are roughly the same unit as was used on MGB's, but I could be wrong there.

Look hard for rust. If its an early car, there will be lots unless its been stored in a hermetically sealed, dehumudified plastic bag.

The SU carbs were standard issue.

The engine wiring would involve a black wire, two red wires, a yellow wire, and a blue one. No rocket science involved there.

Lots of parts still available from Volvo. Its not that long since I was able to get a complete exhaust system, with most of the clamps and hangers, right from Volvo.

Thanks for the info! Good stuff!

Rust same spost as your BMW..........check the sills, under the windscreen, inner wings. Look under all the carpets and get under the car. 1800's can be more expensive to repair then the are worth. The mechanicals are all standard Volvo so place like IPD have loads of parts available as well as Volvo. Good ones are top dollar for a reason.

              Tom

Streetwiseguy wrote: Lots of parts still available from Volvo. Its not that long since I was able to get a complete exhaust system, with most of the clamps and hangers, right from Volvo.

This was true a decade ago, but in recent years it's become dealer-preference on whether or not they handle the classic stuff (older than a 240, usually). Some just don't want to be bothered.

Volvo sold off the classic parts arm which is now an entirely separate entity: http://www.cvi-automotive.se/

Ian F wrote: Volvo sold off the classic parts arm which is now an entirely separate entity: http://www.cvi-automotive.se/

Thank you for that link

The company that took over support from Volvo is actually Genuine Classic Parts:

http://global.gcp.se/

CVI is not affiliated with Volvo... not that it matters.

(facepalm)...

I'm always get those confused... the CVI site is a little easier to navigate. That said, there are US based vendors that can get just about any of the available NOS parts plus a few they manufacturer on their own.

Do a search on the 1800list for "Usual Suspects".

We are working on a 1966 Volvo 1800S project car right now. http://classicmotorsports.net/project-cars/1966-volvo-1800s/

There is a beginning posting here with more to come in the next month. It is not a full restoration but a refurbishment. Rust is definitely the issue. Just a stupid question but why not just buy a 1800 without the sunroof cut into it. They are definitely out there. Case in point: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/2805913643.html

http://martinsburg.craigslist.org/cto/2784009385.html

http://ocala.craigslist.org/cto/2701057791.html

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/cto/2748223564.html

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/2812427186.html

http://classicmotorsports.net/classifieds/2563/

Also parts are available from Mike Dudek at I Roll motors: IRoll Motors

and Don at P1800 dot com: http://www.p1800.com

Don is likely the world expert on these cars. He has just about every part and what he does not have he can find.