Classics

[nokivasara]

Hey guys, not sure if non-diesel content is OK?
I bought a rough 1963 Volvo Amazon or 121 as they were called abroad a while ago. Been fixing lots of small things so far. First owner had it for 30 years, second for 15. I think I'm the 6th owner.
The seats are nice but everything else needs attention
Do we have more old cars among us TDIers?

 

[oilhammer]

My oldest currently is a 1979 Volkswagen Bus. I have some old tractors, too. A 1951 Farmall Super A, an early Ferguson TO-30, and an early Ford 8N.

 

[nokivasara]

79 Bus is a T2? They are getting pretty rare these days!

 

[oilhammer]

Last year for the T2 for us, yes. And from 1972+ we JUST got the passenger versions, due to the Chicken Tax (which is amazingly and frustratingly still in place today). But we did get the Type 4 engine as standard from 1972+, starting with a twin carb 1.7L for '72 and '73, then a twin carb 1.8L for '74, EFI (Bosch L-jet) 1.8L for '75 only, then '76+ the 2.0L EFI engine. '79 is unique, though, as it is the only T2 with the square port heads.

 

[Rob Mayercik]

Nice Volvo. My father owned two 122s over here in the States back in the 60s/early 70s. He liked them but the second required 100-octane gas to run right which became problematic when the oil crisis hit, so he traded it on a 73 Corolla 5-speed (he was entranced by the idea of 5 forward speeds, was a somewhat new thing at the time).

Oldest thing I own is a 1984 Dodge Omni, not quite in the same league as your 121...

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I had a '67 122 when I was in college. Nice car. Just keep feeding it oil and it was fine.

Oldest car I have now is a '59 Bugeye Sprite, not in running condition.

 

[TomJD]

I had a 1978 Dodge Ram with the factory 4.0L inline 6 Mitsubishi DIESEL. If the Lil Red Express was the fastest American made car that year, this thing was the slowest. It also was full time 4wd. It leaked oil faster than I could pour it in. I paid $700 in 2012 or something. Cool rig, I just don’t have a place to store it. I saw it on Craigslist a year later. Some high schooler had painted it flat black and apparently “rebuilt the engine.”

I had a 69 GMC c10. Manual Transmission. It was cool to look at and a disappointment in every other way. I’m not sure what my expectations were.

Missouri will allow my ‘00 Jetta to be a classic next year if I agree to drive it less than 2,000/year.

Cool thread idea!! Looking forward to what people post.

 

[Rob Mayercik]

I had a '67 122 when I was in college. Nice car. Just keep feeding it oil and it was fine.

Oldest car I have now is a '59 Bugeye Sprite, not in running condition.

Yeah, Dad liked his too, though he said the second one wasn't as good on gas as the first one, being tuned for higher performance.

Supposedly they were so tough, their informal motto for the 122 was "drive it like you hate it". Dad also said he heard once that the roof on those cars was really strong - story he heard once was that someone entered one in an SCCA event, and was forced to install a roll cage for rules compliance. He did, but with over an inch of gap between cage and roof. When the guy did eventually roll the car, the roof didn't even come close to touching the cage; they turned it back upright and he went back to driving it...

 

[turbobrick240]

Those Amazons are beautiful cars. I'd love to have one and a P1800 some day. My oldest is a '72 super beetle dune buggy.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I drove a P1800 decades ago, was thinking of buying one. It drove like an old car. And that was a long time ago. The Cyan might be interesting, tho.

HOME | VOLVO P1800 CYAN

www.cyancars.se

Not cheap.

 

[gearheadgrrrl]

Bought a 122S for $175 in 1973, drove it 50K miles with no major problems until I overheated it and melted some rings into a piston. Damn Volvo still ran, but it was rusted badly so not worth rebuilding the engine. Lusted after an 1800S for damn near six decades now, by the time I could afford one they quit making them.

 

[gearheadgrrrl]

Currently trying to restore the Mini Cooper S I've owned since 1976, got it pretty much stripped down during COVID, then I found out parts supply is an absolute **** show. Several vendors list every part that ever got anywhere near a Mini on their websites, but key parts are always "Out of Stock" Turns out there's at least 3 shops building new body shells from panels in Great Britain, and despite a couple suppliers buying new presses to increase capacity they can't keep up. Had two U.S. vendors one of whom was pretty trustworthy, but the other one bought them up and I'm hearing tales of botched orders and refusal to accept returns, so the only way to deal with them is "cash and carry" at their warehouse 1600 miles away in the Sierras. Moss Motors carries some newer stuff (1980s-2000) but they at least give free shipping on big orders and their website actually tells you if the part is in stock. MiniSport in GB has maybe half the parts on their website, but they default to shipping Air so shipping often costs more than the parts. Makes me appreciate the great service IBW and the rest of the crew at ID Parts give us!

 

[jmodge]

Besides my knees and back, the oldest source of travel I have is a 1954 18’ AeroCraft outboard boat.
Oldest truck I had was a 1941 International I put on a square body frame.
Other than that my 1990 K5 is my oldest now.

 

[Rob Mayercik]

Lusted after an 1800S for damn near six decades now, by the time I could afford one they quit making them.

Dad occasionally said the P1800 was his "dream car". Neat to see two mentions of that model in the thread...

 

[Bob S.]

My oldest is a 96 B4V next followed by a Chevy K2500. Both dead simple and reliable.

 

[PradoTDI]

My brother and I had a 1965 Volvo 122S a couple of years ago, bought it out of an 18+ year hibernation and got it back on the road before selling it. The car has since undergone a complete, nut and bolt restoration and is a stunning example of the model.

IMG_4507.jpeg

• PradoTDI
• Feb 16, 2024

My more recent project was a 1975 Mercedes-Benz 300D, also a non-runner that had been sitting for more than a decade when I bought it. Got it running, fixed up and roadworthy and daily drove it last summer. With winter approaching I sold it to a guy from Los Angeles who drove it all the way from Montana to California in a day.

IMG_2310.jpeg

• PradoTDI
• Jan 31, 2024

 

[PradoTDI]

My oldest currently is a 1979 Volkswagen Bus. I have some old tractors, too. A 1951 Farmall Super A, an early Ferguson TO-30, and an early Ford 8N.

My dad's first vehicle was a 1970 VW Bus, which he still has. I have many fond memories of family camping trips in the Bus. It was still our family's daily driver into the late 1990's.

 

[nokivasara]

My brother and I had a 1965 Volvo 122S a couple of years ago, bought it out of an 18+ year hibernation and got it back on the road before selling it. The car has since undergone a complete, nut and bolt restoration and is a stunning example of the model.

IMG_4507.jpeg

• PradoTDI
• Feb 16, 2024

My more recent project was a 1975 Mercedes-Benz 300D, also a non-runner that had been sitting for more than a decade when I bought it. Got it running, fixed up and roadworthy and daily drove it last summer. With winter approaching I sold it to a guy from Los Angeles who drove it all the way from Montana to California in a day.

IMG_2310.jpeg

• PradoTDI
• Jan 31, 2024

Nice Benz! I've had a '71 220D of the same body style (w115) with about 750k km on it! I did a 2000km road trip in it
I also had a W114 250 CE, a 2-door coupe. It had been sitting for years when I bought it, I fixed it so it was running and driving as it should, then I lost interest in it and sold it pretty cheap. Should have kept that one.
I also had a really nice Plymouth Valiant 2dr 225 at one point.

 

[J_dude]

@Lightflyer1 has a beautiful old Ford, maybe he'll post a pic here.

 

[RabbitGTI]

I bought a very used B122 decades ago. It was in rough shape, but I drove it all over the Midwest. Was like driving a dump truck, I don't even know if had synchros. Sold it for more than I paid for it.

 

[Lightflyer1]

@Lightflyer1 has a beautiful old Ford, maybe he'll post a pic here.

Here you go!