It was a sunny weekend and I was in a part of town I hadn’t yet explored. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of the Volvo’s characteristic rear fin gleaming from an alley. Pay dirt! I approached, and it actually was pretty filthy. As a matter of fact, it was just plain shocking. Finding a 50-year-old classic in such a sorry state in Tokyo is cause for concern.
What happened to the owner of this once-gorgeous Volvo? It’s far from a basket case, but also way past its prime. The rubber peeling off the rear bumper, rust appearing here and there, a missing mirror and the general dirtiness of the whole thing – something was very wrong here.
Yet it still had air in its tyres and, from certain angles at least, still looked like a million kronor. Could this be a regularly-driven car? In this condition?
Shock number two: the cabin was as immaculate as anything you’ve ever seen outside a Volvo dealership. Rarely have I seen such a mismatch between a car’s interior and its exterior appearance.
Clear signs of neglect that in any other country would be dismissed as delayed maintenance inform us, in this context, that this car’s owner has stopped caring for it, all quite suddenly.
Aside from that, what does this former Miss Sweden 1957 have in store for us, other than oblique references to Jensen, a production run that defies logic and the legendary Roger “Much” Moore as Simon Templar? I mean, this has all been gone into in great detail and by almost every CContributor on this website over the past decade.
I’ll just add my musings about one specific styling flourish on this beautiful machine, then. This might be the most handsome door handle ever devised. You have to give maximum kudos to designer Pelle Petterson for having integrated this purely functional item into the purely esthetic fins, thereby keeping those completely outdated (but oh-so-beautiful) appendages on the Volvo for over a decade. Even the shooting brake version couldn’t get rid of the fins.
This seems like a Japanese-spec car. The ugly turn signal repeaters, combined with the metric gauges and the RHD make this a likely notion. (I realize many / most imported cars here – especially old higher end ones – are sold new with LHD because that “looks more exclusive,” but Volvo seems to be an exception to this rule, for very unclear reasons.)
So there we have it: more questions than answers, despite this being one of the better-covered Volvos on CC. Tokyo strikes again, in yet another utterly unexpected way.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1964 Volvo P1800S – Transcending Time, Distance And Fashion, by PN
Our Ex-Curbside Classic: 1973 Volvo 1800 ES – Gone, But Not Forgotten, by Tom Klockau
CC Outtake: 1972 Volvo 1800E – Souped-Down Sports Car. by Tom Klockau
CC Outtake: 1967 Volvo 1800S – Safe Flights, Everyone, by Joseph Dennis
In-Motion Outtake: 1972 Volvo P1800 ES – Shot While Driving A Modern Volvo Wagon No Less, by Brendan Saur
In-Motion Outtake: 1965 Volvo 1800S – Cleared For Takeoff, by Joseph Dennis
COAL: #10 1972 Volvo 1800ES – A Volvo Shooting Brake?, by Connor Kleck
COAL: #11/12 1972/1973 Volvo 1800ES – The Sacrifice Cars, by Connor Kleck
COAL: #19 1962 Volvo P1800 – Striptease, by Connor Kleck
COAL: #20 1972 Volvo 1800E – There’s a Corvette Engine In Its Unexpected Future, by Connor Kleck
Vintage R&T Review: 1972 Volvo 1800ES – A Successful Butt Lift, by PN
In spite of all its 1950s styling cues, the Volvo 1800E (and Volvo P1800 Estate) exterior design managed to remain fresh and appealing into the 1970s. Because of its long hood and short deck profile, its overall swept back appearance, and the fighter cockpit shape of its narrowed greenhouse.
Unlike the vast majority of 1950s cars, that attempted to suggest their styling was jet age inspired, this car genuinely reflects it.
Its proportions, and swept back appearance, used to remind me of the Messerschmitt Me 262.
Those ugly turn signal repeaters are in fact US-spec front side marker lights. They would easily meet the Japanese requirements for repeater performance and visibility, and clearly that’s why they were installed (a US/Canada car would have red ones in the rear, too, and they’d all be wired in on the parking/tail light circuit, not the turn signal circuit). But yeah, these chunky things are kind of inexcusably ugly.
They look a lot like the ones on my 1970 142. Used to hide a spare door key in one of them. Inside, on the bottom.
They are the same ones used on all ’70-’72 Volvos, and very similar to the ’68-’69 items (bulbs were added in ’69 or in ’70). Clever idea hiding a key in one; the durn things are so big you could just about store a whole ring of spare keys!
…and the hell of it is, Volvo had repeaters on the shelf that would’ve met the Japanese requirement without such ugliness:
Such a shame when I see nice cars being “stored” outside in the elements. I’ve never understood this as I question if the owner truly understands that this is not going to preserve the car.
Heck, I don’t even have a full garage (only a car port) and even though my 1988 Cimarron stays out of the rain and direct sunlight, it still bothers me that it’s not being stored in a closed in area. At least where I live the weather is more consistent with no snow or salt to deal with.
I once knew someone who lives in NYC and who maintained that letting a car get filthy dirty and generally run down on the outside was “how to prevent theft”. I called BS on his theory … especially since he also let the inside of his vehicles look like it was inhabited by raccoons. I think he was just too lazy to clean his car.
But maybe the owner of that Volvo subscribes to some similar “theory”.
Haha. I think you are correct. Sounds like your buddy was not a car guy.
Not the best example on these pages, but ironically enough Dad sent me pics of one he himself caught while in Palm Springs over the weekend. They clean up nicely:
I might guess that the owner has been struck by some debilitating illness. They left the interior as clean as they normally would, but the car has sat for some time. Priorities change. Hopefully the owner will be restored to health, then they will be able to attend to their car.
Irv Gordon would approve 😎
Sweet ! .
Time to go ask if the owner is no longer planning to use it, you might get a good deal on it.
-Nate
This might be the most handsome door handle ever devised. You have to give maximum kudos to designer Pelle Petterson for having integrated this purely functional item into the purely esthetic fins, thereby keeping those completely outdated (but oh-so-beautiful) appendages on the Volvo for over a decade.
Since this integrated door handle only appeared starting on the 1965 MY, I rather suspect we can’t give credit to Petterson. Frankly, his original side trim and non-integrated door handle (blue car below) are more organic in terms of the original design of the 1800, but Volvo tried to update it for ’65 with that long horizontal side trim, as that scallop was looking rather dated.
Which side trim do you prefer?
Damn! I always thought the handle met with the fin trim, even in the older design. Guess I never looked at an older P1800 closely…
I agree that the older version looks better (especially with the mustache bumper), but on the whole, Volvo did a remarkable job of not butchering that design in its final years. Unlike, say, the MGB, the C3 Corvette or the Isuzu 117.
Great minds don’t always think alike – I go for the later one, largely because of the handle. Horses for courses etc…
For a 1957, it does brush up well with late 60s/70s colours and wheels
Turtle neck sweater and pipe not included.