At a car dealership, you get used to seeing a lot of cars. Not much surprises me anymore. But on occasion, a customer will bring in an old car that really gets my attention. That’s exactly what happened last Saturday. As I was sitting at my desk working, an old red Volvo drove slowly past the front windows. A quick glance made me think it was one of the other P1800 owners that stops by every once in a while. As it turned out, it wasn’t. Instead, Perry Yawell was stopping by with some questions about the value of the beautiful 1963 Volvo P1800 he had recently acquired.
As mentioned in the previous post, Perry had acquired the car when his uncle passed away. His uncle must have been a good man as he had carefully upgraded a few items. “Carefully” means that he kept the original parts in case there was ever a need to restore the car back to OEM status. The first upgrade was new sideview mirrors. Apparently, the originals were so small they were almost useless. Secondly, he replaced the original carburetor system with an upgraded one. With the trouble we used to have with carburetors back in the day, I can understand the desire to have something more reliable.
After looking over the car, Paul told me about a nearby Volvo junkyard that sounds good. It’s called The Volvo Shop and is located in Ravenna, Ohio. It’s run by a fellow named Carl Drennen and carries parts for a wide variety of older Volvos. If the shop is as good as described, it will be a great asset to Volvo owners in northeastern Ohio. Check it out at www.volvoshopinc.com for more information.
Special thanks to Perry Yawell for bringing Mystery Car 79 to the dealership last Saturday.
Andy, it’s either a ’72, or a ’73 P1800, not a ’63! How do I know? In 1968, the Federal Government required all auto manufacturers, both domestic, and import to place side marker lights on their vehicles. Since 1968, all cars have had side marker lights. If you look at the picture, the car has side marker lights!
You may be right, Doug. But the bumper matches the 1963 instead of the 1970’s style. Maybe the lights were added later or I misunderstood the facts.