The highest-mileage one-owner car in the world happens to be a Volvo P1800, which makes sense when you take a look at the agricultural-equipment-simple hardware under the sinuous sheet-metal of one of these cars. You'd think that P1800s wouldn't show up in cheap self-service wrecking yards, but you'd be wrong— here's a battered but fairly intact '71 in a Denver yard.
Some junkyard Volvo shopper got here before me and picked the interior clean. A few bits remain in here, but the good stuff is likely to be going into a project P1800 right about now.
The build tag says that this car was originally painted Steel Blue Metallic, with black interior. That was, oh, maybe a million miles back.
The cylinder head and most accessories are gone from this B20 pushrod engine. Volvo used members of this engine family for all of their cars from the PV544 through the 240.
Volvos from the 1960s and early 1970s are surprisingly common in yards like this, despite the belief among many that all old Volvos are worth at least five figures. I have photographed plenty of elderly Swedes in wrecking yards, including this 1962 Amazon, this 1966 Amazon, this 1966 Amazon, this 1967 Amazon, this 1968 142, this 1968 144, this 1968 Amazon wagon, this 1969 Amazon, this 1968 144, this 1969 142, this 1969 145, this 1969 144, this 1969 164, this 1971 144, this 1971 142, this 1972 145, (and plenty more, if you include Swedish junkyards). If you like the early 200-series Volvos, I have found such rarities as a 264 and a 262C Bertone.
This one has some rust, not too bad by Midwestern standards but enough to scare away potential restorers; you can buy much more solid fixer-upper P1800s for a lot less than the cost of fixing the rust on one like this.
Just the car for escaping a Ford Zephyr full of baddies!
Some junkyard Volvo shopper got here before me and picked the interior clean. A few bits remain in here, but the good stuff is likely to be going into a project P1800 right about now.
The build tag says that this car was originally painted Steel Blue Metallic, with black interior. That was, oh, maybe a million miles back.
The cylinder head and most accessories are gone from this B20 pushrod engine. Volvo used members of this engine family for all of their cars from the PV544 through the 240.
Volvos from the 1960s and early 1970s are surprisingly common in yards like this, despite the belief among many that all old Volvos are worth at least five figures. I have photographed plenty of elderly Swedes in wrecking yards, including this 1962 Amazon, this 1966 Amazon, this 1966 Amazon, this 1967 Amazon, this 1968 142, this 1968 144, this 1968 Amazon wagon, this 1969 Amazon, this 1968 144, this 1969 142, this 1969 145, this 1969 144, this 1969 164, this 1971 144, this 1971 142, this 1972 145, (and plenty more, if you include Swedish junkyards). If you like the early 200-series Volvos, I have found such rarities as a 264 and a 262C Bertone.
This one has some rust, not too bad by Midwestern standards but enough to scare away potential restorers; you can buy much more solid fixer-upper P1800s for a lot less than the cost of fixing the rust on one like this.
Just the car for escaping a Ford Zephyr full of baddies!
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