1972 Volvo P1800 E

Finished in Californian White, the same shade as The Saint’s car, ‘NNP 819K’ is a Volvo P1800 that’s been so beautifully restored that it comes with “a crateful of trophies and awards along with copies of multiple magazine features.”

The registered keeper bought it back in 1994 for £1,500, a saving of £250 on the asking price, and the only problems on the 75-mile drive home were the rearview mirror and exhaust, both of which fell off. 

He set about restoring it – and modifying it to suit his tastes: “I decided early on not to be a slave to originality. I have never been able to resist customizing to some degree, and it gives me a great excuse for not winning prizes.” 

Nonetheless, modified or not it has won a stream of awards over the years, and these awards will stay with the car as they form an important part of its provenance.

Despite having been restored around 30 years ago, the coachwork is still in a fine condition with nicely aligned panels and good shutlines. It also has that general air of rightness about it, something that’s hard to define but you know it when you see it.

The Californian White paintwork is holding up very well. So well, in fact, that we have no qualms in listing its few faults up-front: It is a bit flat in places, bubbling has broken out on the offside C-pillar, and there is also a patch of discolouration under the nearside vents/filler cap.

Which means two out of three of your problems could probably be taken care of via a professional machine polish.

The chrome trim is pretty darned good too, with a very nice shine to the bumpers and only moderate tarnishing to a few areas such as the window frames. The front bumper has a pair of auxiliary driving lamps bolted to it, and these are, like the rest of the lamps, in good order with no chips, cracks, or other damage. 

The Webasto-style roof furls and unfurls as it should, and the fabric is free of tears and holes. It’s also got a very of-the-period Perspex wind deflector, and this pops up as it should. 

The wheels are in good order, and a nice touch is that their inserts have been painted white to match the coachwork, one of a few subtle changes he has made.

As for the tyres, they are matching 185/65R15 Michelin Energy Savers. All have good tread but they were made in 2011, so should really be changed. 

Nonetheless, we will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. 

As for its other issues, the windscreen is delaminating, there is some age-related degradation to the very front of the black fabric roof, the rear window seals have perished, and the lower edge of the nearside door doesn’t fit as neatly as it could.

The interior is VERY red but if you’re going to drive a classic car then you might as well go all-in and embrace the era, eh?

One of the magazine articles details the struggle the owner and his wife had in fitting the new seat covers, and he said they had to wait for a hot day, easing them into place with the aid of a hair dryer: “There was a wrestling match between us and the seat covers.”

It was worth the struggle though because they still fit very well, even after all those years of use. They’re in fine fettle too, with no holes, loose seams, loss of colour, or other signs of wear ‘n’ tear.

The dashboard has been painted blue to contrast with the seats, and the instrument bezels are now brushed aluminium rather than black. The steering wheel is from an earlier model too, and the theme continues with drilled aluminium pedals, a lightweight alloy fusebox cover, and a heavy metal gearknob.

It really is a delightful place to be with elegant and shapely seats, beautifully designed door furniture, and Volvo’s quirky seatbelts.

Other nice interior appointments include a period (but probably U/S) fire extinguisher and a modern Alba headunit.

The boot is as well-trimmed as the rest of the cabin, and it contains a full-size and matching spare wheel.

The carpets are in good shape but lifting them up reveals a little moisture and the very beginnings of some surface rust. There’s also mildew on the rear seat so it might be worth putting finding the source of the leak at the top of your To Do list. 

Which will be a short list because the only other thing of note is the painted blue dashboard, which isn’t finished to the same high standard as the rest of the interior. The instruments are starting to show their age too, so perhaps freshening the area up could form the backbone of next winter’s project?

NB: The piece of black fabric you see at the top of the nearside front seat has been looped over. We don’t know why it’s there, but the important thing is that it isn’t covering any damage!

The Volvo starts well and while it takes a while to warm up, it drives nicely when it is up to operating temperature. As it’s only covered around 3,300 miles in the past ten years, we wonder whether a service and a damned good thrash along the motorway would help clear its lungs?

And working on it wouldn’t be a hardship because the engine and engine bay are as beautifully detailed as we’ve seen; forget about simply being able to pop the bonnet without embarrassment, this is still in a show-winning condition. 

As you can see in the video the oil temperature gauge doesn’t work, but the one for the coolant does, so there probably isn’t too much urgency to get it repaired. Probably more importantly, the oil pressure gauge works AND it shows a healthy reading. 

The underside has been very well undersealed and looks to be in good shape; while the car’s last MoT was in 2018, no MoT tester has ever mentioned structural rust or corrosion. 

And the exhaust is a Powerflow, which might explain the gorgeous exhaust note.

While the Volvo doesn’t have a current MoT certificate, the history file does include a lot of expired certificates. 

The recent Vehicle History Check is also clear, and the history file includes a photo album documenting its restoration. There are also copies of the many magazine articles it’s featured in, the awards it’s been given, a Haynes workshop manual, and a couple of handwritten notes about how to open the bonnet, which takes more care than you think!

We’ve sold a few Volvo P1800s over the years, and every one reminds us how good looking they are – and how nice they are to drive; if any classic can fulfill the role of daily driver, it’s one of these.

And this one is an especially good example of the breed with the quality of its restoration continuing to shine, even three decades on.

With makes our guide price of between £20,000 and £25,000 feel like spectacular value. 

Yes, you could pay a bit less for an inferior one but then you’d have to fork out more to bring it up to the same standard – and then wait 30 years to find out whether the workmanship is as good.

No, if you’ve ever fancied one, this is the one to buy. 

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at THE MARKET HQ in South Oxfordshire. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays (apart from Bank Holidays) between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.