1972 | Volvo 1800 ES

To paraphrase Terry Thomas - "what an absolute cracker"

This must be the only 1800ES whose first owner kept her for 47 years, whilst keeping track of every piece of paper as well

First registered on the 24th June 1972 and delivered locally by Volvo dealership Hansons (East Parade) Ltd of Harrogate, Yorkshire as attested by the original service booklet, instruction manual kept within the Volvo plastic wallet

All service works were always entrusted to Hansons for the service book is stamped up to the hilt, showing that she had covered 47.304 miles by October 1978 and by 1990 the mileage had risen to 92.761

There is tax discs from 1977 all the way through until 1992 at which point our intrepid owner decided to have her bodywork restored using original Volvo parts (no longer available) and indeed there is an invoice for the labour content (£2773) plus parts being 2 front wings, 1 front panel, 2 rear wheel arch panels and 10m body moulding which came in another £1.100

Thereafter she was used until the late 2000's at which point 122.135 miles had been covered

MoT's thereafter show little or no use and she had been SORN'd for a while until sold in 2019

The exterior was still in excellent condition although the completely original interior needed only a slight refurbish, so the seats were removed and new foams were fitted and the covers cleaned and repaired before refitting into the interior

Whilst the seat had been removed it gave the specialists access to replace the headlining

So she is a remarkable old lady, recently fitted with power steering so now extremely easy to drive (the previous owner who purchased her sold her as her steering was heavy too for him - the next owner immediately fitted the power steering and what a difference it makes!!)

Also the previous owner had the underside checked and had the under-seal touched up as required in 2020

Funnily enough the next owner did the same thing with a full Ziebart sealant, so the underside should be good for a while !!

The electric fuel injection gives her a perky engine note and the electronic overdrive gives smooth and comfortable cruising

Very pretty, at the same time very practical giving easy access to the load area through the rear window hatch into which golf clubs, shot guns and fishing equipment can be stored all at the same time!!

Famously another Volvo 1800 has been driven for over 3.000.000 miles by Science teacher Irv Gordon - so with our 1800 having covered only 122.000 miles the next owner can enjoy a few more million miles