Volvo@Ikea

Volvo@Ikea
This blog documents my Volvo 1800E project car; It may be of little interest to others but serves as an electronic logbook. I will also use it to document our travels in this car.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

The find

I sold my 1966 Volvo 1800s a few years ago, after getting it running and driving.  It's body was too far gone for my limited abilities so I traded it for a motorcycle and a couple pinball machines.  I knew that someday I would get another one...

Recently, while at the local movie theater to see The Martian Diana and Kyle spotted a p1800 in the trailer for Bridge of Spies.  Kyle showed me the trailer the next day, and I told him that we better start looking for one.  We found one locally and drove to Grayslake, IL to take a look.  It was a non-runner with a solid body, and I decided that it was too much work for the price.  We enjoyed talking to the owner, who is a custom motorcycle builder who has also built a number of p1800's.



Later that day, I searched Craigslist nationally and found a runner / driver for a little more money.  Although it was around 800 miles from home, it appeared to be with worth every penny.  I checked the price of airplane tickets and was pleased that we could afford a couple of one-way tickets to Baltimore.  Kyle agreed to go with and I made the arrangements.


I spent hours reading articles about what to look for when inspecting a p1800, making a list of body areas to check for rust and filler.  I made a list of tools to bring, arranged insurance for the drive home, etc.

Tom Hanks getting ready to go for a ride