Volvo Amazon ~ £14,995

Standard Equipment

Old English White with Red Vinyl and Grey Rubber Flooring.  Front Seat Belts, Front Driving and Fog Lights, Heating and Front Disc Brakes.

Additional Equipment

Banded Steel Wheels with 185/65 R15 Tyres, Twin HS6 SU Carburetors.

Model History

The Volvo Amazon was manufactured by Volvo between 1956 to 1970, It shared its wheelbase with its predecessor, the PV544, as well as its tall posture and high H-point seating.  The Amazon was offered in three model configurations; a 2-door saloon , a 4-door saloon and an estate.

When originally introduced, the car was called the Amason (with an ‘s’), a name that was derived from the fierce female warriors of Greek mythology. Kreidler, a German manufacturer of motorcycles had already registered the name, and the two companies agreed Volvo could only use the name with in Sweeden, modifying the spelling to Amazon for the rest of the world.  Subsequently, Volvo began its tri-digit nomenclature and the line became known as the 120 Series.

Volvo have been at the forefront of passaeger safety and in 1959 they provided front seat belts as standard equipment on all the cars, including the export models, becoming the world’s first manufacturer to take this step.  The Amazon later become the first car featuring three-point seat belts.

The Amazon was originally manufactured at Volvo’s Lundby plant in Gothenburg and subsequently at the company’s Torslandaverken, which began operating in 1964. By the end of production, 234,209 four-door models, 359,917 two-door models and 73,196 station wagons had been produced, 60% of them for export cementing Volvo as a world brand.

Exterior

We can confidently confirm that there is no rot in our Amazon (anymore).  For those of you that have not been keeping an eye on our projects page this Swedish beauty has had significant surgery over the last year in our body shop.  You can follow the link and see in detail, all the work that went into restoring this car.  We are really please with the finished result.  The quality of the paint, panel gaps, trim, fit and finish are a credit to the boys that have laboured so hard on her.  The underside has not been left either, we wire brushed all of the old under seal to make sure it was not hiding anything nasty before protecting her with a rust preventative under seal.

Wheels, Tyres and Brakes

The banded steel wheels that this Amazon is sporting came courtesy of Volvo specialist Nordicar in Holland who gave them to us as a present when we bought our PV544 Sport from them earlier in the year.  They have them specially made for their rally project car and look the business.  They also help to give the Amazon some much needed grip combined with a brand new set of 185/65 R15 tyres.  The brakes have been completely overhauled during our restoration with the master cylinder, front calipers, and rear drums all having been rebuilt and new lines run.  The pads and shoes are also new. The brakes are one of the Amazons strong points and put British cars of a similar vintage to shame.

Engine and Transmission

The 1,986cc B20 engine in the Amazon is legendary in the world of endurance motoring.  This unit has had the mother of all services including the timing gears, all the ancillaries overhauled or replace and has been repainted before being reinstalled in the car with a set of twin HS6 SU carburetors. We have given her a leak down test and all four cylinders have great compression and are within a gnats of each other.  We sent her off to Northampton Motorsport who have been kind enough to set her up on the rolling road showing that the engine is making 77 BHP and 112fl/lb of torque at a maximum RPM of 5,000. The sturdy 4 speed gearbox is light ands very easy to use changing cleanly between ratios.

Interior

The interior has a nicely weathered look, but the seats are comfortable and well stuffed and all of the fixtures and fittings work perfectly.  It is all standard Volvo in here with their big trade mark four  spoke steering wheel and sturdy rubber flooring.  It is all very hard wearing and will there fore make a great family classic.  Even our children and Bramble the dog don’t seem to be able to damage anything in here!

Road Test

The Amazon is fantastic on the road.  The driving position has plenty of adjustment and gives you a great view of the road ahead.  The cabin offers a first class accommodation for the whole family and the cavernous boot has plenty of room for luggage if you fancy a touring holiday.  Over the last few weeks we have given her a comprehensive shake down and found that she has coped with the very worst the British winter can throw at her.  The excellent brakes and good turn of pace makes for a relaxed drive and the heating system has been so effective that we have had to strip down to a t-shirt on a long drive.

History File

This was far from a rough Volvo Amazon before we got started on the restoration and the service file although not brimming with invoices does make for interesting reading.  There is an original instruction book and warranty and service booklet which confirms that the car was originally supplied in Scunthorpe on the 18th September 1969 by Listerdale Motor Company.  The booklet is filled out up to 49,400 miles and the original order form, confirmation letter and AA forms are also present.  The V5 shows that the car has had a total of 6 former keepers and there are MOT’s back to 2001 showing the mileage at 3,839 so it is reasonable to conclude that she has now covered just over 117,000 miles.

Added to the past history there is also a full write up of our restoration including a list of all the new parts and labour which went into the project and DVD of the photographs which help illustrate the work we carried out.  She has been recently MOT’d and is, of course, serviced up to date.

Whilst every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information above, some errors in compiling the information may have occurred and we cannot accept liability for loss or damage arising from misleading information (other than for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or breach of duty). You are therefore strongly advised not to rely on the information provided in respect of vehicles, and to examine the vehicles and to check the accuracy of the information supplied before deciding to purchase a vehicle described below. Your statutory rights as a consumer are not affected by this statement.