Volvo P1800/1800S/1800ES (1961-1973). This information about the Volvo 1800 comes from the Volvo Car Netherlands press service: In 1960, Volvo introduced a new sports car, just a few years after their attempt with the plastic body of the Volvo Sport. The new car was named P1800. This sports car, designed by the young Swede Pelle Petterson, had some Italian influences. Production started in 1961. Because Volvo did not have the necessary production capacity, production of the Volvo 1800 was outsourced in the first year: Pressed Steel of Scotland produced the bodywork and Jensen Motors Ltd assembled the cars. The story of the Volvo press service is extensive, but we focus on the Volvo 1800S and entrepreneur Bert Zijlstra.
Who is Bert Zijlstra?
Bert is the owner of California Classics in Damwoude, Friesland, and specializes in the import of unique classic cars. He has a special gift: an instinct that shows a strong desire to act. Not only to make money, but also because of his passion for the profession. He says: “I feel comfortable in business conversations, especially when it comes to California Classics.”
There is a clear shift from classic American luxury cars to European models. A look at their website (www.californiaclassics.nl) gives a good idea of what is on offer in an attractive location.
Unreliable government
We are dealing with an unreliable government that constantly changes rules and creates uncertainty about the future of classics and vintage cars. “We can't make it more fun, but we can make it easier” was the tax authorities' slogan. But in practice, the tax authorities tax cars heavily to cover budget deficits. This is why most cars leave the Netherlands and go to other European destinations.
“Please don't touch/ Bitte nicht anfassen?”
The Volvo 1800S is an exception. After a stay of 5 years in the showroom, this has never been for sale before. Fortunately, there is no sign saying “Do not touch”. After all, we like to feel and explore the beautiful shapes of the car with our hands. This beautiful Volvo 1800S evokes emotions through its special appearance.
The new Dutch owner:
Behind the wheel I feel reborn, happy and above all proud of my new acquisition. I enjoy the design of this Swedish beauty and am happy that the Volvo 1800S is in the spotlight Auto Motor Klassiek.
We all know the charm of driving a classic car and don't want it to end naturally. (The Volvo is almost 60!) Words are not enough when you see the California Classics collection.
does Cali Classics have nice cars? otherwise he is a “nothing giver”, so that the fact: “cheap is expensive” remains intact. Unless you pay too much
It is also a thorn in my side that not only trade journalists but also owners of the Volvo 1800 often talk about the P1800 even if they have an 1800S, 1800E or even ES.
Clearly people who have no idea or do not delve into what they are writing about.
Apparently the number of words and not the content are judged by the main editor.
I myself have a Volvo 1800ES. By the way, the E stands for injection. The S has an engine with carburetor.
The persistent habit of referring to the "sporty" Volvo series as P1800 (even in the trade press) is only correct if it concerns the first series that was cobbled together by the English Jensen.
This is an 1800S, to indicate that it is a car manufactured in Sweden. The successors are the 1800E (from Einspritzung) and the 1800ES, the order variant. Discontinued in 1973 due to environmental requirements in California.
I have had my 1971 ES for 36 years now and it is not for sale.
I fully agree with Mr. Koelmans, the first ones put together by Jensen were purely bad. They didn't leave the line either, they fell off.
I think that was also the reason why Volvo quickly finished using England as a production location.
According to contract, the first 250 cars from Jensen were sent to Volvo in Gothenburg. There was quite a bit of criticism about what was delivered. After all repair work had been carried out, the cars could go to the first customers. The lion's share went back to England. Those 250 firstfruits were not sold at a profit. Think: from repairing small cosmetic items to completely stripping a number of cars and putting them through the paint shop again. At Jensen they worked with cellulose, at Volvo they used very modern acrylic paint systems. Mixing is not a good idea. Immediately after these setbacks, it was decided to establish its own Volvo quality service at Jensen. Until then, Volvo's policy for outsourced work (e.g. gearboxes, rear axles, etc.) had always been: if we do not receive the right quality, we will return the delivery. If you have to get cars into the showroom, that obviously doesn't work.
Naturally, they preferred to build the P1800 in Sweden, but they were faced with capacity problems. Management wanted to continue supplying the PV series because they earned a relatively large amount per car. The chosen course caused delivery problems with the Amazon series and a no go for P1800 production in Sweden. The basis for the problem at Jensen was the abysmal build quality of the Presed Steel bodies. Why not send Volvo inspectors there? Presumably this was contractually excluded by Pressed Steel. Jensen did not have any contractual relationship with Presed Steel, which caused Jensen a lot of misery and was exploited by Pressed Steel.
To this day, Volvo doesn't like to let you know: the first 30.000 P1800 and 1800S bodies were assembled under contract with Pressed Steel in Linwood, Scotland. The first 6.250 of the first 10.000 were delivered to Jensen, the rest (approximately 23.750) in Gothenburg. Only in January 1969 did Volvo get rid of the contract for those 30.000 bodies and the molds could be transferred to Gothenburg. It also shows: the car was not a sales hit, because it was expensive and not a hard sports car.
The Jensen company was generously bought off in 1963 - after all, the contract for 10.000 cars had been unilaterally terminated. Not long afterwards they started building Sunbeam Tigers for Rootes. After which the turbulent XNUMXs heralded a race to the bottom for Jensen. Some think that Jensen had time on his hands and therefore dived into the Volvo adventure. Nothing could be further from the truth: Jensen did not have a large assembly hall and to finance it they looked for and found investors in exchange for loss of independence.
In 1965, the sale of Pressed Steel to BMC almost sounded the death knell for the 1800S. That sale was forced by BMC and other automotive customers in the United Kingdom. Reason: from the autumn of 1964 onwards, Rootes had increasingly fallen into American Chrysler hands. BMC in particular feared that the Americans, as an equally important customer of Pressed Steel, would determine the course there. Or even make a purchase. Fortunately for Volvo, the Scottish factory was made independent in order to continue to serve non-BMC customers - read Rootes. Fortunately, otherwise more than 8.000 cars of the P1800 and early 1800S series would never have been built.
It certainly wouldn't have been true that those Jensens messed around off the production line: urban myth! Presumably the -scary!- stories about those first 250 pieces have taken on a life of their own over time. If you still know of a nice Jensen Volvo P1800 for little money that people would like to get rid of because of that reputation...