1973 Volvo 1800E Coupe

The brand name Volvo was originally registered as a trademark in May 1911 with the intention to be used for a new series of SKF ball bearings.  It means "I roll" in Latin, conjugated from "volvere".  The idea was short-lived, and SKF decided to simply use its initials as the trademark for all its bearing products.

For consignment, a car not seen every day, but when we do we are happy we did!  A former sunny California 1972 1800E in its original colors, having a plethora of receipts for recent work performed as well as invoices from way back, and the lack of rust in the key areas, (body mounts behind front tires, around headlights, and under door panels).  This all comes together to make this car definitely worth a look.  It's not a svelte Swedish blonde, however it is a Volvo sports car...and this is Classic Auto Mall after all!

Exterior
A sporty example donning our Hallowed Halls has been bathed in crisp California White and it is showing nicely with only a few minor inclusions and imperfections in the paint.  The chrome is excellent, all nice and shiny throughout.  Looking over the exterior shape carefully, we can see the two cars coming together with the front end being the sedan styling.  This starts as single headlights mounted to each fender, an oval grille, (shades of earlier Ferraris), in front of a vertically ribbed blacked out air space inside.  Two thick bezeled round signal lights are below the headlights and a clean curved bumper adds to the Ferrari mystique going on up front.  Down the sides, a single driver's door mirror is on and the beltline trimming shows nicely with a black rubber insert showing off the polished stainless.  OEM Volvo glass creates the greenhouse for the passengers and is highlighted all around by clean trimmings.  Past the B pillar the other car, the fastback style takes over and becomes distinctly sporty with a low sweeping roofline that melts down into the small trunk lid.  Stainless trim highlights the mini fins atop the rear quarter panels that float atop of chrome bezel surrounded oval tail lights.  15-inch drilled Volvo wheels with polished trim rings and chromed lugs are seen on all 4 corners wrapped in deeply treaded Michelin blackwall rubber.

Interior
Decidedly Swedish with well padded khaki tuck and roll vinyl for the door panels, black padded armrests and black sills.  The handles are shiny, and an accordion style map pocket resides in the lower front, all in near showroom condition.  Inside the pattern continues with tuck and roll inserts in the heavily padded cloth seat inserts, khaki piping in lieu of the stitching, and clean smooth khaki vinyl on the sides of these high back integrated headrest chairs.  The second row is a bench, but more like a 2 plus 2 bench and is probably more comfy for kids and cargo than it would be for adults, but it works, and has a black padded armrest for the occupants.  Racing toward the dash and between the front bucket seats is a black plastic consolette with a wood applique insert, storage compartment, and the shift actuator.  Plush light brown carpeting is covering all floors and is protected by tan carpeted mats.  An original dash setup is there and all working inside of a faux wood facing and is made up of a padded black vinyl dash top and padded lower black band with some more wood appliqué being the background for the dash front.  Within this applique band that stretches across the dash are more round gauges, a clock, and the factory AM/FM stereo.  We note the addition of an under dash AC unit to help keep you cool while you look kewl driving.  The headliner hanging above is tight, white and alright but does have some slight soiling.

Drivetrain
Under the hood a clean well presenting 2.0 liter, 1986cc to be exact, 4-cylinder engine with new engine mounts.  Bosch EFI is in charge of air and fuel delivery and helps this 4 popper make a respectable 118hp.  A Borg Warner T35 3-speed automatic is bolted to the back and all this beauty drives a 3.90 geared rear axle.  Nicely detailed with no corrosion seen throughout, just red and black paint and a light patina on the aluminum bits and pieces.

Undercarriage
Within the lightly patinaed black rust free surfaces of the undercarriage is seen independent coil springs upfront, and on back, a rigid axle with trailing arms, panhard rod and coil springs and new axle limit straps.  We also note new upper control arms and a new steering box for the power steering.  Power disc brakes are all around for the ease of stopping and a single exhaust system snakes its way rearward and handles the removal of spent fossils efficiently and effectively.

Drive-Ability
We definitely got excited about this model as Volvo gave up on it after this model year as it was an older chassis and the new USA regs were killing them on expenses.  That said, they produced a true winner with great performance, snappy acceleration, wonderful handling, and quick bias free braking on the panic stop.  

So, we have a sporty low slung grocery getter, kid hauler, and fairly rare example of this Ferrari-esque Volvo 1800E.  A sports car from the Swedes that are more known for reliability and safety over performance and styling, now gracing our Hallowed Halls and will be a surefire standout in your collection. 

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.