The reason behind the P1800 fame, why is it such a resilient car!

We all are aware that the fame of resilience of the P1800 has been demonstrated by our friend Irv Gordon for 5 decades with the highest mileage in the world for a personal car.

This is due to several factors:

•     High class engineering with top materials thought for the long term
•     A design for easy maintenance

Part of the success is the incredible reliability and strength of the volvo B18 engine, this video seems a good presentation of the story behind it, from B16 to the perf  B21!  

Our under-stressed motors will surely guarantee that all the Volvo P1800 will outlive their owners!

 

source (c) Driving 4 answers here

Irv's 1800S exclusive drive by Magnus Walker and Irv's friend and mechanic

Irv Gordon put 3 MILLION miles on his Volvo P1800, setting a Guinness World Record for the most driven non-commercial vehicle. In this exclusive first drive, Magnus Walker becomes the first person outside of Volvo to drive the car since Irv's passing in 2018 and goes on a very special ride with Irv's friend and mechanic Nino Gambino. 

Hi my friend Irv ! 

I am sure your saw this, this drive is surely keeping the flame of your fame memory.

Your car is simply not only a record mileage 1800 it is the unique Irv's Gordon 1800S and we see you each time we see this car.

Here we are P1800 413HP Restomod

 This is the new Volvo P1800 Cyan, a modern high-performance interpretation of the classic coupe, or a very impressive restomod if you prefer, from the same guys that won three times the World Touring Car Championship.

Cyan Racing, the official racing arm of Geely Group, is responsible for the design and engineering of this gorgeous machine which is based on the original Volvo P1800 and will enter limited production later this year. That’s right, the Volvo P1800 Cyan is not another special one-off creation.

One can note that contrary to most restomod,  here the general original design from Pelle is kept! showing how valuable it is!

beautiful toy isn't !

 

more here

side note: latest know significant mod of this kind is the Roos Aston Martin 2.5L mod hereunder (built from a stock car w only design change being the hood due to the motor size)

Good bye to our P1800 friend and mentor Irv Gordon

This is with such great sadness that we learned that our friend and guide Irv Gordon passed away while travelling in China Nov 16th while he was telling his daughter "I am having the time of my life"

Words are missing to describe how much he meant for so many of us.

We are missing a worldwide figure and a friend.
I will forever remember the 2 years of preparation with Irv of the Viking Classic Autoshow in France in 2010 where he helped us manage to bring him together with Pelle Petterson the designer of the P1800, this started a friendship for several passions we share together the first one being the P1800 and the second the classic cars, as most do not know that not only Irv was driving his 1800S but also enjoyed miles on other cars too, including several classic cars.

Rest in peace my Friend! Thank you for all the good times, you driving my 1800S, chats, jokes, smile on your face and on the phone all these years, and most important for having set forever among all the flame of the P1800.

Thank you

You've made me feel right at home Thanks. Irv Gordon (driving my 1800S in France 2010)

Irv last picture sent to his daughter "I am having the time of my life!"

read more :https://www.today.com/news/man-drives-record-3-million-miles-same-1966-volvo-8C11307586

Pelle Petterson: I designed the Volvo P1800, Roger Moore made it famous

Designer of the P1800 Pelle Petterson pays tribute to Sir Roger Moore who passed away one year ago, 23 May 2017. For the first time, he drives the 1967 1800 S that Sir Roger was the registered owner of and was featured in TV series "The Saint".

P1800 : a stylish midlife crisis

Eye Candy: My stylish midlife crisis — a 1973 Volvo P1800

Few other classics are better able to conjure up the illusion of recovered youth and freedom, writes this connoisseur.

o you’re planning a midlife crisis. Don’t be ashamed: It’s perfectly natural. Marriage, kids, job is a tough row to hoe. You can’t help but see how the row narrows ominously into a rut, and how the rut arcs straight down into the final subterranean stopping place.

There may be no escape, but there’s no shame in trying. Take my advice: It’s essential!

The only problem is how you do it. A midlife crisis should be enacted with style. It should also be carefully planned to minimize the inevitable damage it will cause to one’s finances and personal relationships. For that reason alone, sexual escapades are not recommended.

On the one hand woodgrain seems unexpected in a Volvo. Then again Scandinavia is also famous for slim-lined woody Scandinavian-modern furniture.

But sexy cars are a time-proven substitute. And no classic car still rolling is better able to conjure up that wonderful illusion of recovered youth and freedom — in a thoroughly responsible and affordable manner — than the Volvo P1800.

Friends and colleagues were sceptical when they first saw me swanning around town with this Sea Green popsie — a ’73 1800ES — as my marriage and career crumbled in concert, as if on cue, at the apex of my mid life.

“What’s up with that, anyway?” one asked, genuinely puzzled and a little concerned.

“I don’t know,” I replied, taken aback, because I hadn’t exactly “thought” much when I emptied the account to buy a 40-year-old car I didn’t need. “All I know is that whenever I shimmy in behind the wheel and turn the key, I feel a wave of pure pleasure.”

He understood.

Another scoffed. “Money pit,” he said. But he was wrong.

Back seat offers a good reference point for anyone who might want to restore the front buckets.

Despite appearances, this car is no mere sexpot. It’s a Volvo – originally built to lure the North American masses into showrooms full of sensible sedans, but still a Volvo. The legendary Irv Gordon of no fixed address has driven his ’66 P1800 more than three million miles, earning it a spot in Guinness as the world’s most durable car.

Derided in its day as a “souped-down Ferrari,” the P1800 has outlived all the brittle glitter girls with whom it once tried to compete. It’s hot, loud and cranky in urban stop-and-go – just like any respectable classic with power nothing, a heavy clutch and an engine in your lap — but it sings and swoops addictively on the open road. I wouldn’t hesitate to drive mine across the country tomorrow.

The car is protected by bumpers that can actually take a bump -- the energy-absorbing ones that for a time were mandated in the U.S., first for 1973 models.

The greatest drama of my ownership occurred when Phil Bishop of Pickering Euro Service told me I needed a new windshield. The money pit yawned: Where on earth would I find a funky little windshield for a European sports car that’s been out of production for more than 40 years?

“Let’s try Volvo,” Phil suggested. Ten days later, a sparkling new windshield arrived in Pickering. Cost to me (installed): $400.

That, too, was pure pleasure.

Perhaps nobody, before or since, has pulled off the "sporty hatchback" idea better.

So take my advice: If what you really need is a substitute mistress, nothing beats the P1800 — a spirited but undemanding workhorse with the body of Brigitte Bardot. It’s the ultimate sexist fantasy. Slightly shameful, perhaps, but no one gets hurt.

And when things change, when the crisis passes, and you have no further need of the illusions that sustained you so well in your time of need? Time to sell!

So welcome to Kijiji, darling. It was a great ride. There are younger men who need you more now.

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Why the P1800 is Everybody’s Favorite Volvo

Modern cars are safer, better built, more reliable, and faster than they ever have been before, and unless something major happens, next year’s crop is likely to be even better. So at a time when we have Toyota Camrys putting up horsepower numbers that Ferraris posted 30 years ago, sport sedans that transform from luxury cars to world-class corner carvers with the flick of a switch (while returning gas mileage in the 30s, no less), and an electric sedan with as much horsepower as a Lamborghini, why do we still pine for cars from half a century ago?
Because paradoxically, midcentury cars didn’t have any of the things we take for granted today. They feel “analog” because they are; they’re purely mechanical creations, and at their best, they offer a driving experience that no production car can compete with today. And for proof of how much people are missing “the good old days” lately, take a look at collector car auction prices over the past five years.

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That Moment When One Become P1800 Enthusiast

 When did our P1800 or car Enthusiast Passion start?  what special event made it become our long lasting center of interest?  this beautiful short film captures one of this kind of "ignition".

I think many of us can remember that moment when the spark plug in our mind hits that perfect mixture of oxygen and gasoline and our brain suddenly fills with visions of all the cars we want and never leaves. The short film 'Ignition,' which won the Volvo Cars-sponsored short film contest, captures that moment beautifully.

Read more on Jalopnik

The P1800 ballad of Irv Gordon

Not to be missed, production and interpretation by the fellow Volvo enthusiast Tom Demarest, the Ballad of Irv Gordon and his P1800 has just been made available for all of us.

Have a look at Tom's website  http://www.oregrownmusic.com/anoldvolvo.htm , "my Old Volvo page" where there is a link to The Ballad of Irv Gordon, get it now.

It may very surely be another pick for CarTalk this summer, as they did in the past for other Tom's hits!

Enjoy Tom's ballad that captures what we all are thanking Irv for : the purpose and underlying story of driving a classic Volvo P1800 !

Congratulations Tom to have so well captured Irv's P1800 passion.

The Ballard of Irv Gordon is copyright (c) Tom Demarest

http://www.oregrownmusic.com/index.html

http://www.google.com/#q=official+volvo+song

(c) Tom Demarest

(c) Tom Demarest

 

How Jerry Seinfeld chose a 1967 Volvo 1800S for “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”

Readers of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car are familiar with John Holtzapple, president of the Volvo Club of America and the longtime caretaker of a beautiful 1967 1800S. John had let slip, last fall, that something special was happening with his car, but it wasn’t until last week that we saw it for ourselves: It was the ride of Jerry Seinfeld and Tina Fey in the weekly web series, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.

We asked Lancaster, Pennsylvania, resident John to tell us how this came to be, and he kindly shared the story:

Jerry’s production company in New York wrote an email to the Volvo clubs asking if an owner of a 1967 1800 would be interested in making their car available for a video cast. I responded for VCOA, asking which color and features and what dates it would be needed, saying that we had many members who might consider offering theirs. I mentioned Irv’s car, and that I had a red ’67.
They wrote back asking for photos of mine, then wrote again a day later saying that Jerry wanted to see more photos of the interior. After that, they said he was interested in my car, and asked if it would be available ‘so and so’ days for filming. After some back ‘n forth emails and phone calls, we worked out a ‘rental’ agreement and finalized the transportation, by them, for the car to – and back – from New York City. They took it on a Sunday afternoon, for filming on Monday and Tuesday, with overnight storage at the Classic Car Club of Manhattan facility. Filming went great on Monday, but Tina became unavailable to finish the shoot on Tuesday. They returned the car on Tuesday night as promised, and picked it back up again the next week for one more day of filming. Everything went off without a hitch, it was returned no worse for wear.

 read more

Amazing 3 million miles driving his P1800 in Alaska today Sept. 17, 2013

It’s been a journey of journeys for Irv Gordon. From the day he bought his P1800 in New York in 1966 until the moment he rolled to 3 million miles in Alaska today Sept. 17, 2013 on the Seward Highway - Alaska Highway 1 - along the Turnagain Arm at 4:00PM , Irv experienced firsthand Discovery. Joy. Friendship. His record is in the books, but the car is still on the road.
I can not, like hundreds, tell Irv how a wonderful mark he accomplished for all of us P1800 enthusiasts. WoNdErFuL ! Congrats and Thank you ! Let the champagne bottles pop!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long Island’s Irv Gordon to Reach Three Million Mile Mark in his Volvo P1800 Today

First Person to Drive Three Million Miles in Same Car Will Reach Ultimate Driving Milestone on Alaska’s Seward Highway

Visit www.3MillionReasons.com to Follow His Journey and Submit Your Reason to Believe

ROCKLEIGH, N.J. (Sept. 17, 2013) – Today, 74-year-old Long Island native and retired science teacher Irv Gordon will reach a milestone no other individual has accomplished in more than 100 years of automobile manufacturing: driving three million miles in the same vehicle – a shiny, cherry red 1966 Volvo P1800.

To mark the occasion, Gordon will drive his three millionth mile today on the Seward Highway – Alaska Highway 1 – along the Turnagain Arm. The “Last Frontier” is one of two U.S. states Gordon has never visited and a fitting backdrop for this historic, record-breaking achievement. Video footage of Gordon’s milestone moment can be viewed later this week at 3MillionReasons.com.

“It’s not about getting to the three million miles; it’s about the trips that got me to the three million miles,” Gordon said. “I never had a goal to get to one million, to two million. I just enjoyed driving and experiencing life through my Volvo.”

“We at Volvo applaud Irv and his Volvo. The spirited red P1800 represents an extraordinary demonstration of reliability, durability, safety and intelligent design that honors all Volvos past and present,” said John Maloney, president and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America. “His P1800 is the living embodiment that Volvos are designed around you.”

As a celebration of Gordon’s achievement, Volvo Cars of North America (VCNA) launched a special campaign called “3 Million Reasons to Believe,” that invites people around the world to visit 3MillionReasons.com to follow Irv’s remarkable journey, explore his favorite road trips and share their own reason to believe.

Irv drives his Volvo P1800 next to the iconic Alaska Railroad train along the Seward Hwy.

“The best way to explore America is by car,” Gordon added. “I challenge everyone to go out and see as much as possible. Find your own journey and reason to believe because you only have one life to live. No matter how many roads I’ve been on, there’s always one I haven’t taken. That’s what makes it exciting.”

“I bought my Volvo P1800 on a Friday and immediately fell in love,” Gordon recalled. “I couldn’t stop driving the car. It was a holiday weekend, and I brought the car back to the dealership the following Monday for its 1,500-mile service.”

With a 125-mile round-trip daily commute, a fanatical dedication to vehicle maintenance and a passion for driving, Gordon logged 500,000 miles in 10 years. In 1987, he celebrated his one-millionth mile driving a loop around the Tavern on the Green in Central Park. In 1998 with 1.69 million miles, Gordon made the Guinness Book of World Records for most miles driven by a single owner in a non-commercial vehicle. In 2002, he drove the car’s two-millionth mile down Times Square to international media attention. Since then, Gordon has broken is record every time he drives his celebrated car.

As Gordon rolls to his three-millionth mile, he notes, “I’m realizing this will be a record that no one will surpass and I’ve been feeling especially sentimental with these last few drives in beautiful Alaska. I’ve enjoyed the expansive landscape, a drive through the long tunnel to Prince William Sound/Whittier and a visit to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. The folks at Continental Volvo in Anchorage were kind enough to throw me a wonderful reception on Saturday.”

“Everyone asks, what’s next? Well, I’ll keep driving my Volvo P1800 to auto shows and taking trips across the country. Not much will change. But whether I drive four million miles is more up to me than it is the car. The car may be able to take it, but I’m not so sure about me.”