Getting into Swedish Metal

"Invest in art" my friend said.  Well, there's not much going on in terms of interest rates at the bank, and as for stocks, well where's the fun in watching a number on your computer screen going up and down?  

So I've invested in art.  But not the kind you hang on the wall.  No, I like art that moves me. Literally. Art on 4 wheels.  

To tell the truth, this isn't an investment at all, as I don't expect to make a penny on it.  As usual with me, it's about immersing myself in a project, and ending up with something that is, from any angle I care to look at it, simply beautiful.  There are a few practical reasons too (like, I want something "interesting" to drive which can still accommodate my 4-year-old daughter on occasion in the back). 

With this in mind, I find myself the owner of a very early Volvo P1800.  And as it's a 1961, I suppose strictly speaking it's more "Brit Pop" than Swedish metal, as at that stage of the P1800 production life, these cars were built in West Bromwich, England, at the Jensen factory.  From bodyshells pressed in Scotland.  

There's evidence that my car, chassis #1533, is probably the oldest remaining car registered in the UK (well, strictly speaking it isn't yet registered here, but you know what I mean).  Oldest or not, certainly it's one of very few Jensen-built cars still gracing our highways.  So, I feel a sense of responsibility as the custodian of this wonderful old thing.  And that makes decisions like "what colour will I paint this car" something of a dilemma.  

Luckily there's time to consider that important decision, as the car has been stored for the last few months and is only just (as of this week) emerging blinking into the daylight to begin a full-on, ground-up restoration and rebuild.  I'm starting from a solid base, it seems.  Although the car looks scruffy and a little sad, it is fundamentally a great little project:  Arriving late last year from San Diego, the car has an (unverified, but entirely feasible) 65,000 miles on the clock.  This isn't a lot, considering that Irv Gordon has a Guinness Book of Records verified 3 million miles on his P1800.  Mine's a one-owner car too, if the history is true.  Although patchy and undocumented (I have some detective work to do on this topic) the car was sold new at Docksteader Volvo in Vancouver, Canada.  As a nice bonus, we found the original sales brochure in the car, complete with dealer stamps from Pete Docksteader.  (His descendants still run the business and I've spoken with them).  The purchaser, it seems, was an ex-pat Brit, and an aviator.  He later married and moved from Vancouver to San Diego (this would be around '64) taking the car with him, where it stayed until September 2012.  Tying up the known history with some of the U.S Volvo register info and a bit of a Google search, I've surmised that the long-term owner of my car may have passed away in September.  If anybody reading this knew the late Brian Winstanley of Encinitas, CA then maybe I can verify the ownership.  

And so to the car.  It's white, with red interior.  It's solid, but scruffy.  Mechanically sound too.  And the renowned Templar and Wilde of Marlow Bottom, England will be carrying out the work for me.  I'll be hands-on, if not hands-dirty - I don't have the time or skill to do this all myself, so what's been commissioned is about the fullest restoration possible; mechanical rebuild, body shell back to bare metal, and a retrim.  It'll be sympathetic in that anything salvageable will be lovingly cleaned, serviced and re-used (I don't want to over-restore and lose the character) but the key word here will be "thorough".  It'll be ready for the next 52 years of regular use.   

Will it stay white?  Well - maybe.  It's an off-white, more ivory really.  And it goes really well with the red seats.  Part of me says "Oooh, let's do it in Aston Martin Silver Birch" - and boy, do these cars look good in silver (especially over red leather).  All other things aside, I think I'd lean in that direction.  It's a definite option.  But I've just read a magazine article on the restoration of the original "Saint" P1800... and have to admit, it looks good in the old off-white too.  And ... a part of me wants to preserve the originality of this old thing.   Your views are welcome on the topic of ivory vs. silver, original vs. different.  I reserve the right to completely ignore them, of course - either way it's going to be beautiful.  

The guys at Templar and Wilde really instil confidence.  They "get" what I'm after.  They have the experience.  I like them.  Oh, and - unlike a surprising amount of businesses like this, they actually use email!  Questions pop into my head, I ping a message to Keith, I get the answer back right away.  They share photos.  I can look at their previous work and hear from their previous customers.  And when you consider that I live 200 miles away from where the work is happening, that's good to know (though it is not too far from an office I work from quite a lot, so I'll be regularly diverting en route to and from work, to check on progress in person).  

So, here begins the journey.  The car is out of storage, and in the workshop.  This week they've been carefully evaluating it, and starting to take it to pieces, label and store the components, and meticulously photograph it.  By the time the clocks change again, and the roads start to dry out, and the green shoots of Springtime appear... I may be running a hand along the fresh paintwork on that curvaceous roof, prodding the throttle and turning the key to hear that over-engineered inline-4 purr into motion, and rolling out of the workshop.  

If you see me roll past, don't worry - there's no charge.  Art should be free for all...

My car on the right, sitting on Minilites and wearing a few battle scars from the last 52 years

The rare egg-crate grille removed.  Gaffer tape was to hold the trim (made of unobtanium...) on during shipping from the USA.  Love those early cow-horn bumpers.  Note the California black-plate license plate on the scuttle -
one will be going on my garage wall, while the other one I've promised to Keith as part of the deal when I commissioned the project.

Keith and Simon's recent work for another client.  Told you they look good in Silver over red leather.  Hint of Aston Martin DB4?...  

... but then again, they also look good in this (which happens to be the original colour combo of my car) - this is the very original and first "Saint" car as driven by Roger Moore.  A vision of what might be to come.