1971 Volvo 1800E 4 speed manual transmission with overdrive – 41,867 miles History and Details

This 1971 Volvo 1800E was originally purchased on March 5, 971 from the Star Automobile Co in Birmingham, L by my great aunt. She owned this car until her recent death. When I picked up the car, t had been sitting in a garage without being run for the past 20 years or so, nd was in dire need of cleaning and refurbishment. The original manuals along with several maps of several states in the southeast dated from the late 60’s and early 70’s were still in the car. The car today has only 41,867 original miles on it.

I disassembled most of the car except for removing the dashboard and headliner, nd cleaned, olished, ainted, r refurbished each part as necessary. My intention was to keep the car with as many of its original parts as possible. Below are details of what was done to each of the car’s subsystems:

Body

There was very little body rust that had to be repaired. The car had a thick rubberized undercoating that protected the undercarriage very well. There was some rust in the rear valence panel under the rear bumper that had to be replaced with new metal. There were also 3 small spots in the windshield channel and one in the trunk channel that had to be repaired with new metal.

The original color of the car was steel blue metallic but it had been repainted a light green color at some point in its life. All of the old paint was removed and the car is now painted Bright Blue Metallic, Volvo paint code 450). All of the windshield, ood, nd trunk channels were first sealed with POR to keep them from rusting or corroding again. The original antenna was removed and the hole in the fender filled to give the car a clean look.

All of the rubber moldings, askets, nd seals were replaced with new rubber. This includes everything in the doors, ood, runk, indshields, eadlight/taillight seals, tc. All of the glass is un-cracked and I believe to be original.

All of the chrome bumpers and trim pieces are original. I did not re-chrome anything. They were all buffed and polished but are in their original condition.

Wheels were sandblasted and painted. The chrome trim rings were buffed and polished. New, riginal size tires were installed. New lug nuts were installed.

I did not like the way the original front grill fit (it seemed to stick out of the grill opening too far), o I made a new grill out of stainless steel mesh that sits deep in the grill opening. I have the original grill to go with the car.

The trunk has the original fiberboard lining, ubber mat, pare, nd tool kit.

Fuel system

The fuel tank was removed, leaned, nd sealed. The fuel sending unit was replaced. All of the rubber fuel lines were replaced. Steel fuel lines were blown out and cleaned. Fuel filter was replaced. Fuel injectors were sent out to be cleaned and tested. They were installed with new gaskets. The fuel pump was tested and worked fine, o it was reinstalled.

Brakes

A new master cylinder was installed. All rubber brake hoses were replaced. All calipers were rebuilt. Steel brake lines were blown out and cleaned. New rotors installed on rear.

Engine

Valve cover and oil pan were removed to inspect the internals and replaced with new gaskets. New rear main seal was installed. Valve clearance was set. New belts installed.

Transmission and Rear Axle

Changed fluids

Suspension and steering

When the car was reassembled, he ride was incredibly sloppy with extreme body roll. All of the steering rods & steering ball joints were replaced. The shocks were replaced. Sway bar bushings were replaced with urethane bushings, nd to top it off, ll of the springs were replaced with a set of “sport” springs that are a little stiffer, nd a little lower than stock. As a result, he car has a slightly lower stance than stock that looks much better. All of this significantly tightened up the suspension and removed the extreme body roll.

Electrical

Replaced seized alternator. Replaced points with a Pertronix unit. New spark plugs, lug wires, istributor cap, nd rotor.

I replaced the original, roblem prone fuse panel with a similar sized blade fuse type panel to make it more reliable. I still have the original if needed.

The original AM/FM radio is installed. I replaced the single rear speaker with a pair of infinity speakers. Installed a hidden antenna under the dash.

Cooling

Replaced water pump, hermostat, nd all cooling and heater hoses.

Interior

They sure don’t make carpet like they used to. I thought I was going to have to throw away and replace all of the carpet, ut once I removed it and saw how sturdy it was, gave it a good cleaning and shampoo, nd it was as good as new. I repainted all of the seat frames and reinstalled. The rear seat looks like it was never sat in, hich it probably wasn’t since it is so tiny. The front seats have been partially recovered over time. The door panels were cleaned and reinstalled.

What else is needed?

The front seats are a mix-match of original leather and vinyl upholstery. If you wanted the interior to really look nice, hese should be recovered to all match.

The exhaust is original and rusted. For a 4 cylinder, he car is louder that it should be. I’m guessing the interior of the mufflers are rusted.

Tachometer is erratic. I sent the tachometer out to be converted to get its signal from the coil vs from the distributor to provide a more stable reading. It was not working correctly before I sent it out. The guy modified it and tested it, ut it is still erratic. I installed an aftermarket tach to test all the wiring and it worked fine, o the problem is not with the wiring but with the tach itself.

Engine currently has a miss. When I first got the car reassembled and running, t ran perfect. I drove it for a short while then it started running rough. After testing, t was only firing on cylinders 1 and 3. Doing some research I found that the problem was with a set of trigger points at the bottom of the distributor. These triggering points are not adjustable, ut I cleaned them and reinstalled and the engine was firing on all cylinders again. It has since developed a slight miss so I think the distributor may need to be rebuilt or replaced.

This car could easily be completed to concours standards, lthough that is beyond my patience and ability. The car runs and the transmission shifts smoothly, ncluding the overdrive. The ride is very nice after the suspension upgrades, specially the new springs. The car is very clean now and extremely sporty. It has extremely low miles, specially for a 45 year old car. All of the books, aperwork, nd even the maps go with the car.

This is a no reserve auction and the car is sold as-is. A $500 deposit is required at the close of the auction with the remainder due at the time of pick up.

The vehicle is currently registered and licensed in Alabama. Alabama does not issue titles for vehicles over 35 years old, o this vehicle comes will a bill of sale. Shipping is the responsibility of the buyer.