Northern California and up through Oregon and Washington is maybe the best
area in U.S. for classic Volvos (including the 1800 and 122 models from
'60s).

Wiring on the 1800 was not the kind of "environment-friendly" product put on
the first several years of the 240 series. The 240 wiring insulation tended
to degrade rapidly. The 1800 has its own special electric system problems,
being built by Lucas. You will want to double check and clean up all the
connections in the fuse box, and all ground points, and the ground strap
from engine to body. I would assume you have medium DIY skills or better.
Go for the suspension upgrades (including anti-sway bar) from IPD
www.ipdusa.com , the Volvo aftermarket specialty house. Several places sell
carb re-build kits, and is pretty easy for home mechanic, except for worn
throttle shafts - over years, the shaft's axle warbles out the opening
through the carb body, causing less than smooth idle. Since it's only at
idle, just increase idle speed a little to prevent stalling - not a big
problem. Other very recommended suppliers of new and used parts are Don
Thibault www.p1800.com , Duane at Foreign Autotech www.volvo-1800.com ,
Rusty at www.rprusa.com , and Genuine Classic Parts www.gcp.se . Some Volvo
dealers will still sell parts for 1800, but some won't, because they no
longer have much of a market. The yahoo news group
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/1800list/ is an indispensable source of
valuable knowledge collected and shared generously of, by, and for 1800
owners. Even a 30 yr old 1800 can be made reliable for a daily driver.
There is nothing really very complicated on it.

Pat Q
'70 1800E (daily driver)
'91 240 (haven't started it for over a month)
"Paul Burkett" <pburkett (AT) NOSPAMdebian (DOT) red-fusion.org> wrote

"Pat Quadlander" <pquadlander (AT) attbi (DOT) com> wrote

....

Even the throttle shaft bushings aren't a difficult repair. I made new ones
for the SUs on my 142 a few years ago, using some brass tubing I found in a
hobby shop. I honed them to fit perfectly by first mounting them on the
throttle shaft, then turning the shaft using a drill and holding a piece of
fine grit sandpaper around the bushing. It probably doesn't make perfect
sense the way I explain it, but the whole job only took a few hours and cost
me pocket change for the brass tube.

The car ran a whole lot better afterwards, especially cold starting and
while warming up in cold weather.

Paul Burkett wrote:

There are groups - including Yahoo groups, I think - devoted to the
P1800.
Sign up with one. These cars are quite rugged and the wiring is not as
'crumbly'
as the 240 harnesses, but keep in mind how much *older* a P1800 will be. If
you
want a daily driver, you'll want to recondition the car. And they aren't
slow
with Webber carbs or fuel injection. Your best bet is to get the car and use
it
as an occasional driver, at least until you get it up to snuff.


--






http://www.albany.net/~mjc1/index.html

Michael,

Your are correct - the 1800 did not use "Crumbly" brand wiring; it used
"Lucas" electronics. It is one of the popular objects of debate and humor
on Yahoo's Volvo 1800 news group site as to which brand is better, which is
worse.

Paul,

With regular care and maintenance, the 1800 can become a current daily
driver, assuming its owners have not permitted it to decline past point of
recovery. I have a '70 1800 and a '91 240. I'm driving the 1800 in summer
heat in Texas. I've not started my 240 in over a month.

Some changes occured over the years on the 1800. I think the most
significant were dual hydraulics on the brakes system in the late 60's, and
the switch from carb to fuel injection in 1970. The interior dash panel and
instrument gauges were changed in '68 or '69 from Austin Powers chrome and
turquoise blue accent to a cheap wood-grain-look dash panel with more
subdued black face gauges with white lettering. Otherwise, the styling
changed very little during its 12 year production.

Pat Q
"Michael Cerkowski <mjc1@ albany.net >" <"DESPAM> wrote