Thank you to Mike Hayes
Cohort Pic(k) Of The Day – 1966 Volvo 122S Wagon
– Posted on November 14, 2019
Thank you to Mike Hayes
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Now *that* is a cool car! I like the little touches here and there to hold the panels closed. I also like that it’s parked against the flow. What are those ‘zone’ stickers on the backlite?
The stickers are Seattle Restricted Parking Zone decals — many years’ worth of Zone 1 decals there!
I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen this car out and about as I work just south of Zone 1.
Parking on the wrong side of the street is very common in Seattle and you’ll never get a ticket for it. Most commonly see on streets that only allow parking on one side but you’ll see it on pretty much every 2-way residential street.
Fact is parking is often so tight that if you go down to the end of the block, take a trip around the traffic circle and come back you may find someone coming the other way has taken the spot.
Memories! When I was in grade school my babysitter had one of these, a ’63 with 20 years of hard use on it.
Even today, Volvo has one of the finest supplies of OEM and reproduction parts for model years that other manufacturers have long abandoned. Visit gcp.se and see tons of original parts available for early Volvo models, all available shipped to your local dealer.
In areas where the rust monster can be kept at bay, old Volvos are infinitely rebuildable.
I was in a vast sea of Volvos recently called old ones here but nothing like that, in fact nothing pre 90s it had been a European car wrecker but devolved into a Volvo specialist, interesting but he didnt have what I was looking for. Cool old car Ive seen a couple of two door Amazon sedans recently but no wagons.
Great catch there of a nice looking car.
If there was one car to represent Seattle, it would be an old Volvo wagon. They’re all over the place around here. Lots of 1-series and 2-series.
Yup lots of the 145s and 245s still plying the streets of Seattle, the sedans are much less common, but there are a few of those too.
On several occasions in the early 1970’s drove one of these wagons from upstate New York to and from SW Harbor, Maine. Even with the 4 spd manual it was slow going through Vermont mountains, but still an enjoyable ride. My friend who owned this vehicle also had a Saab 99; another interesting ride!
I just changed my mind and no longer want the double-unicorn Nissan from this morning. I will have one of these instead, please.
There are a couple of 122 sedans in the ‘greater robadr’ neighbourhood – one currently for sale for C$3500 – but wagons are much rarer.
This is getting pretty close to ‘ultimate car’ in my books. When alternate reality becomes a thing, a two-lane cross-continent road trip in a 122 wagon could be on my list.
I bet if I was a Boomer I’d have nice memories of driving these cars around expensive coastal cities as I wore some kind of tweed.
Actually, these are more boomer-parent-era cars, other than the very used category. In which case, definitely no tweed. 🙂
I’ve mentioned it in my COAL but this is the car I really learned to drive in, and got my license in. My parents’ was a 1964, this is a ‘65-‘67 judging from some exterior trim details. The ‘65 and newer wagons also had front disc brakes, like the sedans, but unlike the earlier wagons which were four wheel drum. Seats on this aren’t original, but the shift knob with the knurled edge is, though missing the R-1-2-3-4 cap, as is the steering wheel. It’s good to see the rubber step pads and tailgate bump stops on the rear over-riders are still intact.
There are a few daily driver 122 sedans in my town, but I haven’t seen an example of the once-common wagon in a while. Nice find, and thanks for pic(k)ing it.
If I was a freelance photographer in the 60s, this would be my car. 🙂
In any condition, the Volvo 122s wagon is the rarest bodystyle. While they made almost 360,000 2-doors, yet only 73,000 wagons were built, and they had the shortest production period. I had a ’66 for a minute as my first car (though our family had a ’67 bought new, for 31 years). They are stunningly cool cars. Capable, solid, chic and designed beautifully. Keep it rolling!
Exactly so. While 2 door Amazons were very common here (still are, one of the most favorite classics here in the Netherlands), a four door saloon or a station wagon is much rarer. I remember in my youth my friends father, who was a salesman for a Volvo dealer, always used an Estate for their holidays. They did this long into the 70s so years after production was ended. I remember back then thinking how good these Estates looked.
Later when I got my drivers license, I had some chances to drive them. My brother had one for a while and only a few years ago I installed an electric power steering into one. Driving them is a bit disappointing. Low seating position, they feel very robust, like a tank on the road. No sporting pretensions whatsoever, a bit boring really. I had the same experience with a P1800. Both very nicely styled cars but not very dynamic to drive.
Still, it is always nice to see one about even in this very worn condition.
My Dad bought the 1962 wagon when we lived in California for his growing family and by 1971 we were 6 in the car and it was rusting out on the Pittsburgh roads. A 1971 green Galaxie 500 replaced it.