A Rotisserie Restoration Using Rare Parts Took This 1962 Volvo P1800 to a Higher Standard

The 240 may be the best-selling model series in Volvo’s near-100-year history, but the automaker’s car that’s dearest in the hearts of aficionados around the globe is undoubtedly the 1800. This grand tourer, of which 47,485 were built over 13 years, has a reputation that far exceeds its physical footprint. The earliest examples —those 6,000 P1800s built in England between 1961 and ’63 by Jensen Motors —are truest to the original design and remain the rarest extant. The 60-year-old example on these pages enjoyed a special restoration that has made it possibly one of a kind.

Originating at Pressed Steel in Scotland, the body that would cloak 1962 P1800 chassis 3440 would be one of 2,236 painted Volvo’s #70 Red. That car, seen here, was completed in May 1962, came to America, and spent decades in Idaho and Illinois. The U.K.-built P1800 bodies were more rust-prone than later Swedish-built versions, and this one resided in a part of the U.S. not known for its temperate or road-salt-free winters, so our feature Volvo’s condition was even more remarkable. That’s what sold it to Scott Doering.

The twin-SU-carbureted B18 that was under the hood when this 1962 car left Jensen was set aside for safekeeping; this overbored 2.0-liter B18 mounts a restored 1960s Judson supercharger. The engine bay features correct finishes and a reproduction Lucas battery.

As the vice-president for customer service at Volvo Car USA in New Jersey, and enthusiastic steward of Volvo’s growing Heritage Collection, Scott understood 1800 history and the outsized legacy this model has for the Swedish automaker. "I set my sights on finding a Jensen," he says. "It’s one of the rarest cars we’ve ever made, and the purest 1800 from a design standpoint. For those reasons, I wanted to find and build the most unique one I can. I hadn’t decided at that point what path I’d take with the car. This particular one found me."

He continues, "I’d put word out in the Volvo community about what I was looking for. In November 2017, Joe Lazenby called me and said, ‘I’ve got this car, I just bought it out of Illinois.’ He shared photos; it was a Jensen P1800. I went to look at it. The paint was dead, it was well worn, and had been sitting outside for some time. But the car was complete, had never been wrecked, and there was very limited rust. It was exactly what I wanted." To ensure it remained as-built, Scott researched his new Volvo’s chassis, body, and engine numbers on the 1800’s history and registry website, volvo1800pictures.com, and determined the correct numbers remained present.

The U.K.-built P1800 had a complex interior with multi-piece interior panels and pleated and piped, tone-on-tone vinyl seat upholstery; VP Autoparts in Sweden made these accurate reproduction materials. Note the period Judson boost gauge mounted under the dash.

From what he could ascertain, the coupe was restored once before, perhaps in the late-1970s. Its seat upholstery was replaced with a similar, but incorrect, style, and the paint had been resprayed to a low-quality finish. Corrosion —the infamous bugbear of Pressed Steel-bodied P1800s —was limited to small sections of the front chassis rails and an area in the passenger rocker panel, all previously patched. "This car had no prior accident damage," Scott recalls. "It ran, but needed everything replaced to be safe and roadworthy."

A full restoration wasn’t in the plans when the P1800’s new owner adopted the demure 2+2. He started with a full chassis refresh and engine tune-up, bringing the car to Spaccavento Auto Service in nearby Rockleigh, New Jersey. "Joe was a Volvo master tech in the 1970s; he’s an old-school guy who really knows how to work on these cars," Scott tells us. "I said, ‘Let’s pull the engine, degrease it, change all the seals and repaint it; we’ll put all new bushings in the chassis, install new springs and shocks and tend to the brakes.’ I wanted to have a good-driving car that was presentable."

In this first stage of the Volvo’s rebirth, he devised a plan for his car that was equal parts show and go. The former consisted of a set of original period five-spoke American Racing Equipment magnesium wheels purchased from Mike Dudek at iRoll Motors. Scott explains the latter: "I had an idea inspired by my VW days —I wanted to find a Judson supercharger for this car because Judsons are super-iconic, very rare, and they made them for a lot of imported cars, including Volvos. All of a sudden, the vision for this car came to me. While I was interested in vintage sports car racing, this wouldn’t necessarily be a racer: My vision was to build a car that you would have seen in the parking lot at Lime Rock in the 1960s —not a real race car, but an 1800 an enthusiast would have put together with the best aftermarket performance items available in 1962. As the paint was dead and the magnesium rims were perfectly oxidized, the car really looked like a period-correct barn find."

The heart of this P1800 would change because of that supercharger and attendant one-barrel Holley 1904 carburetor. Scott had these parts rebuilt in 2018 by "Judson Supercharger Guru" George Folchi, and then contracted Swedish Relics proprietor Cameron Lovre for a rebuilt engine upon which to mount it. "I did this so the numbers-matching engine could be reinstalled if I wanted to bring the car back to stock. Cameron made a B18 with 2.0-liter bore, Mahle pistons, a mildly upgraded ‘D’-grind camshaft, and a B20 head. He built the engine, mounted the Judson, and test-ran it in another car before sending the whole unit back to me. It wasn’t dyno’d but is estimated to make around 140 hp." Scott then installed the supercharged B18/B20 hybrid engine, mated to the M41 four-speed manual restored by Volvo specialist Dave Burnham, and a rebuilt Laycock overdrive.

It wasn’t long after he was driving the car in this fresh mechanical state that Scott succumbed to the itch to upgrade the tired interior, which he did using items from VP Autoparts. "As I continued to improve the car, redoing the dashboard, seats, interior panels, and carpeting over Dynamat insulation, the interior looked perfect and factory-correct, and the tired paint started looking wrong. COVID hit, and I decided to switch gears and go all the way with the car: I’d restore it to the highest level I can and make it as correct as I can. I chose to keep the supercharged engine in it because that’s such a unique piece, but one that’s easily replaced."

Scott’s job has given him connections throughout the industry, and he called upon a trusted expert body and paint specialist firm. After disassembling the P1800, the technicians took the body down to bare metal through mechanical stripping and sandblasting. It received a coat of epoxy primer to seal the surface, and then was mounted to a rotisserie so the previous rust repair patches in the chassis rails and rocker panel could be tended to. The chassis rails and rocker panels were repaired with fabricated steel pieces that were MIG-welded in and finished to a factory appearance.

BASF products were exclusively used on this classic Volvo, as the team treated the body to two coats of polyester spray filler and two coats of Universal HS Primer using SATA JET 5000B RP spray guns. These were followed by a base layer of white Glasurit 55 and two top coats of the classic #70 Red. No sanding happened before two coats of Glasurit Acrylic Urethane Clear were applied, but plenty occurred after: The seasoned professionals used a five-stage process to smooth the surface, working from 3M P1500 and P2000 Finish Film discs to P3000-, P5000-, and P8000 grit Trizact discs. They achieved show-ready gloss with 3M Perfect-It Rubbing Compound, Machine Polish, and Ultrafine Machine Polish.

While the bodywork was being handled, Scott had the bumpers and side trim rechromed so they would be ready for reinstallation. The special wheel covers unique to Jensen-built P1800s were particularly difficult to source. Through his Volvo contacts in Sweden, he found a rare NOS set. Scott attempted to create the covers’ black inserts with paint but was unsatisfied with the result; hand-cut black vinyl successfully provided OEM-crisp edges.

The restoration of this Anglo-Swedish coupe was finished in the summer of 2021, in time for it to win its first blue ribbon as the top 1800 displayed at the national convention of the Volvo Club of America. Scott enjoyed that experience, and as he explains, the attention his ’62, and all 1800s, have been receiving: "It’s nice to see the value of these cars climbing as much as they are right now. The whole car market is climbing, of course, but I think the 1800, specifically, is finding a lot of love… not only because it’s a beautiful car that has gone unrecognized for a long time, but because the perception of Volvo has shifted."

"Being an aspirational brand with an 1800-inspired design language has really helped this historic model. People are starting to appreciate the Volvo brand for more than just the rational values we all love," he muses. "I think the 1800’s design holds up so well today. They’re gorgeous cars that are finally getting the respect they deserve."

OWNER'S VIEW

I learned how overengineered the Jensens were —look at how many pieces are involved in replacing a door panel! You understand why, when production moved to Sweden and the car became the 1800S, it became far less detailed: They were trying to make them easier to produce and more profitable. Jensens were effectively hand-built cars, and you can tell by how everything was assembled in this car. It’s overly complicated, which is part of the charm and makes them cool. Over time, Volvo figured out manufacturing efficiencies and simplified things, but I think the cars lost a bit of character over time.—Scott Doering

A 40-year-old cosmetic restoration left this P1800 with a tired paint finish and interior, and minor undercarriage rust. Scott had the car’s mechanical health sorted first, then added rare original American Racing magnesium wheels for a racy period look.

Not all of the visually stunning three-dimensional gauges on the P1800’s dashboard were in working order when this Volvo arrived. The turquoise-ringed Smiths speedometer and tachometer were rebuilt and recalibrated by Nisonger Instruments in Mamaroneck, New York.

The numbers-matching, twin-SU-carbureted B18 four-cylinder was cleaned, resealed, repainted, and tuned up. It was used for a time, then removed for storage when Scott opted to have a second engine purpose-built to carry a contemporary Judson supercharger.

New England-based vintage Volvo specialist Dave Burnham rebuilt the remote gear-change M41 four-speed manual transmission for this P1800; a restored Laycock de Normanville electric overdrive was purchased from Mike Dudek at iRoll Motors in California.

This hugely rare, shockingly complete supercharger kit, inclusive of Holley carburetor, interior vacuum/boost gauge, exterior badge, and original paperwork, came out of a one-owner 123GT; the unit was rebuilt by Judson supercharger specialist George Folchi.

Oregon-based Swedish Relics has a great reputation for building stock or high-performance Volvo "red block" engines, so Scott ordered a replacement B18 to mount the Judson. That 2.0-liter four-cylinder was test-run in another car before it was returned.

The complex interiors of Jensen-built 1800s are typified by this original door panel, which incorporated numerous pieces and materials into a single unit. VP Autoparts in Sweden was Scott’s source for correct replacement panels and a seat upholstery kit.

A small, complex fender dent behind the passenger headlamp had also affected a substantial piece of chromed swage-line trim that necessitated finding and restoring a replacement. This damage had to be repaired before work commenced on the rest of the body.

While this car had minimal rust considering that propensity of Pressed Steel P1800 bodies, some remediation was needed in the forward sections of the front chassis rails where the anti-roll bar attaches, and in a sill, to correct a previous rust repair.

Suspending the Volvo on a rotisserie after completing bodywork gave the restoration technicians easy access to every area of the car. This was especially beneficial during the stripping and painting steps, and when seam sealer was applied to the undercarriage.

Five coats of BASF primers were applied to protect the body and prepare it to receive three coats of base and two coats of acrylic urethane clear. The surface was treated to a five-step machine-polishing process before the glass and trim were reinstalled.  

Tired chrome, including the early curved front bumpers, was renewed before it was put back on the car. Because P1800 disc brake components are no longer available, this car was converted to use newer 1800S front discs, a common and acceptable modification.