Although my experiences with my 1967 Volvo 1800S haven’t all been bright and sunny, that has more to do with the car I bought rather than the car itself; Volvo’s reputation for solidity and durability certainly outweigh the occasional bad decision by internet scribes. A wiser purchase may be this 1967 122S Station Wagon from bright and sunny (at least for some of the year) Grover Beach, California. The wagon, which has “no rust,” is for sale on Craigslist for $12,500.
With the introduction of the Volvo 140-series, the 122 was living on borrowed time, but the wagon was still fairly popular in 1967, with sales of 17,200 units for the 1967 model year. The 122 got a dual-carb B18D engine for 1967, but this example, which was “rebuilt years ago,” has clearly had some upgrades. First, the original SU carburetors have been replaced with a pair of Mikuni HSRs, an upgrade that I’m not too familiar with, although I was able to find a kit from Vintage Performance Developments. Volvo’s engineering seemed to be in flux in 1967-68, but if my 1800 is any indication, this car has an earlier aluminum intake manifold (the 1967 models had a cast-as-one intake and exhaust manifold, which is verified by the brochure image of the engine).
Also, the stock generator has been upgraded to an alternator, an upgrade I have on the “someday” list for my 1800S. The 1967 models had a slightly upgraded cooling system with an overflow bottle, which you can just see in the bottom of this picture.
A couple Volvo features might raise some eyebrows for those more accustomed to American cars of the 1960s (they did mine). The brake booster is not mounted behind the master cylinder, but rather in a remote location on the driver’s inner fender, and the clutch has a separate master cylinder, because Volvo used a hydraulic throwout bearing rather than the mechanical labyrinth of z-bars and rods used by most American manufacturers.
One thing I’m envious of is the 122’s taller structure. The heater fan has called it quits on my 1800, and the engine makes its extraction a puzzle. It would be an easy job on an Amazon.
The seller has posted two length videos of the car (here and here), and they show an interior mismatch. The rear seat appears to match the door panels, while the front seats have been “replaced, but do have a couple tears.” One nice feature of this wagon is that it is equipped with overdrive, which is practically a necessity with the wagon’s 4.56:1 gears. I can tell you from experience that the engine feels like it’s screaming at 50 miles per hour, but dropping it into overdrive allows easy cruising at 70+ mile per hour freeway speeds. You might have noticed the metal loop bolted to the driveline tunnel between the seats; that is where the seat belts are secured. No joke.
No, my Volvo experience so far has not been as rewarding as I would have liked, but I still can’t help liking these slightly unusual (for American roads, anyway) little cars from our friends in Sweden. This one isn’t perfect, but it seems like a very nice driver, and the price is in line with other 122 wagons I’ve spotted for sale. Parts aren’t too hard to find, and you can even haul some stuff in the back while getting around 25 miles per gallon. It’s a practical classic.
Related Reading
My 1967 Volvo 1800S: The One Where It IS Running At The End (by me)
Cohort Sighting: Volvo 122 Wagon Still Hard At Work (by Paul N)
Out of 200+ cars, the 1967 122S we bought in Dec 1970 at 3 yrs old just before our marriage is in the top 3 of all the cars we’ve ever owned. It served us for 10 yrs as my wife drove round trip 104 miles every day driving from out in the MD countryside into Baltimore City and back, Only a snowstorm accident finally killed it after 220,000 dependable miles. I loved that car. This wagon is a bargain imo!
It’s a good thing I have a busy summer ahead of me, as I live about 3 hours away from Grover Beach and this seems like a decent car. Though my parents’ 122S wagon cost $2600 brand new and I bought my own 122S for $500, sold it for $1000 a year later, so I do have a bit of sticker shock at $12500. But by 2026 standards that’s not bad. There are still a few 122’s running around my town, including at least one in this color. And the dash padding looks better after 60 years than our’s looked after just ten.
Edit: my parents’ wagon was European delivery in the UK and had similar dual fender mirror locations, though they were a different shape. My own 122 had a conventional door mirror (driver side only)
I’m in the process of writing up a very similar 122S wagon (a ’68) that I found at a car show last month.
Delving into these cars in detail has given me an even greater appreciation for them. I particularly like these later wagons – since they were an older design, and near the end of the model’s life span, it’s clear that people bought them mainly based on their durability. Lots of respect for cars that can pull that off.
Too bad this one doesn’t still have the original honey-brown colored seats. The original seats looked awfully comfortable for a 1960s design and must have been a great selling point.
I like Volvo ads from the late 122 era – selling the public on a car that very much looked like it was designed in an earlier era. This one is my favorite, particularly the text that “The Volvo pictured isn’t new and exciting for 1968. So it won’t be old and funny-looking for 1969.“
My 7th grade best friend’s Mom drove a ’65 or ’66 122S wagon which I rode in after school if I was going to his house. His father was an engineer, so the 122 fit very well into the stereotype of Volvo owners back then.I’m struggling Tom remember what he drove though. But I do remember that he had a Toto Power Handle in the garage. That was a vertical shaft engine on a handle that could be easily attached to a mower, snow blower, tiller, etc.. I’d never seen one before and it struck me as kind of an ingenious idea.
Talk about ensuring future sales! It’s kind of like buying a Ryobi (or other brand) battery for your lawn implements. Now we have a whole bevy of Ryobi tools because the batteries fit all of them.
Paul, The actor holding the Power Handle must have had a sore back what with bending over for the photographer’s perfect shot. BTW the image shows a horizontal shaft and pully/belt drive connection on all those accessories. The Gravely had a similar idea in the 40s and 50s, but not sure of the mechanical interface.
Seats look like vinyl ones from a BMW 3 series.
CC effect: I saw this 1965 Amazon today in London
(Note the blue plaque on the building: John Lennon lived there in 1968)
My first new car was a 1967 122S 2-dr, in this light green, with green interior. It was a great car, except during summer: apparently Swedes don’t have hot days. There was no ventilation, except through the heater and the vent windows. When we’d drive from Vancouver (WA) to my MIL in Boise, we’d leave at 2 a.m. to avoid the heat.
The world trend setting Volvo Amazon .
These cars littered So. Cal. for decades, many were well tended, others were $500 beaters that flat refused to die .
I like how these look and had a next generation 1970 144S, another good car but that damn heater fan motor gave out and it’s nearly in accessible .
-Nate