Welcome! Good lookin' wagon, I like those wheels on it.

Hello, I’m Ken from Calgary. I own two Volvos and just bought a 2020 XC40. Hope to learn more about volvos from the forum.

Welcome, Ken!

Welcome Ken, nice to have you here!

You didn't say on the private message, but what are your other two Volvos?

Hey everyone,
Just checking in so that my account stays put. Bought a 122 but haven't picked it up yet, should get it in a couple weeks. I'll post some pictures when I grab it.

Welcome, looking forward to your pictures!

Well here she is. Drove it back 800 kms from Regina to Calgary without any issues. Looks to be in pretty fair condition so far however, I haven't had time to go through it yet. I do need to sort out keys for it tho as the last owner got it through an estate purchase, don't have door keys and the keyed portion of the ignition is missing. I'll likely start a build thread here soon.

That looks really solid, Chris! Great buy so far.

The trunk latch is pretty easy to remove and the tumbler is keyed the same as the doors, so that should help you get the code to a locksmith. The new ignition lock with keys is about $70 USD from Vintage Import Parts, and they have door/trunk keys as well.

Thanks! Yeah I'm real happy with it so far. Been working through the small issues to get it ready for an out of province inspection.

So those cars have different keys for the ignition, than for the doors right?

Yes, ignition and doors/trunk are different.

Hello Members

I had a couple of Volvo’s in the 70s and early 80s. The first was a 68 122S and then a 69 P1800S that I rebuilt and slightly modified. My next purchase was a 1972 P1800E with 35,000 miles. This introduction is the first time I have confessed my sad tale on amateur auto body repairs and the reason for my “Fourthtimegood” name.

I rebuilt the motor, transmission and overdrive then started the body work to repair normal rust areas in the sills, lower fenders, and around the headlights. I discovered it had been in a bad accident at the driver’s front door post that was poorly repaired. I was inexperienced and busy with a young family, so I carried on and finished the repairs using brazed lap joints, which was a fairly standard approach at the time. Life got in the way, and the car stayed in primer for 25 years. With a larger garage, a MIG welder, and more time in my life, I started to cut out and replace my previous work. I got 80% done, but was not satisfied with the drivers door post area and windshield fit. After numerous measurements, I discovered the door post was positioned improperly. I should have walked away.

After fitting the door and windshield dozens of times, everything seemed to fit and I welded the door post back into position. I completely rebuilt the outer sills and started to fit the fenders. Something still did not look right. When looking down the body lines from back to front, the lines were smooth, but the right side seemed to have slightly more curvature. Using many plumb bob points and my Dewalt laser, I determined the frame was bent. I should have walked away

Pulled the drive train and was fortunate enough to have G&S Frame in Calgary take pity on me. They worked on the P1800 in their spare time. I bought specially fabricated 14 gauge front frame members from Wolfe (Volvo frame rails are at the upper end of 16 gauge sheet metal range and thicker than most available frame members). G&S did a great job replacing the frame rails and truing the frame. I rebuilt the driver door post and windshield structure. Bought new outer sills. All measurements from passenger to driver side are within a millimeter or two.

Now in the process of rebuilding the sheet metal. After cutting out all the old brazing and related warped areas, there is not a lot to work with in some areas. This whole process has given me a huge respect for the craft of metal and body work. It is not something you can simply learn from a book or the internet....it takes practice. Hopefully I am beyond the practice stage and look forward to interacting with other fellow Volvo enthusiasts as I push to get this 35 year project completed

All I can say is: wow! Talk about tenacity! I look forward to a build thread, and if you have pictures of the ordeal that would be interesting documentation.

What he said, great reading for sure. Welcome to CVC.

Lol...so many "P"s...I'm developing a twitch in my left eye...

Volvo dropped the "P" prefix when production moved from Jensen in the UK to Volvo in Sweden. The early cars were called P1800. Typically these are the cars with the curly 2-piece front bumper. There are very few left as they started rusting on dealer lots when they were new. Once production moved to Sweden they were called 1800S. When the fuel injected version came out in 1970 they were called 1800E and the Sportwagon was 1800ES.

Sorry...one of my p-p-p-et p-p-peeves...