Re: Reliable British cars

[Lee Levitt <wheelman@shore.net>]

Andrew Buc <72220.443@compuserve.com> doth wrote

I wrote:
> > Um, the car that Simon Templar drove in the original "The Saint" series
> >was an early Volvo P1800. Body by Jensen Pressed Steel, Smiths
> > gauges, Laycock overdrive, some other British parts, and
> > early assembly in UK. My '62 stated "Made in England" right
> > on the ID plate.
> 
Phil wrote:
<> And a Triumph engine.
> 
>Are you sure on that one? I'm pretty sure the P1800 had the same
> Volvo B18 engine as the contemporary 122. I wonder if you're

At that time the PV544 was running a B16 (1.6 liter cast iron pushrod). The
engine was punched out all the way to 1.8 liter, and renamed the B18. I
can't recall whether the 122 was released prior to the P1800 (1961). The
122, though was never in its esteemed career, referred to as "contemporary"
:) Funky, maybe, but never contemporary...

The P1800 production was moved to Sweden in '63, and then got the 2.0 liter
Volvo engine and 4 wheel disk brakes in '69...fuel injection in '70. End of
production for the coupes was '72, sportswagons was '73. Killed off by the
then contemporary 240z.

> thinking of the 1709cc and 1854cc SOHC engines in the early
> Saab 99's, also used in the Triumph Dolomite.

I think that's correct. I don't remember the heritage of the Volvo block,
tho. They ran that pushrod engine for decades...maybe from the '40s to 1975.

Most of them are still out there, and not at the end of anchor chains...

Sorry for the walk down memory lane...I owned four of these pretty little
cars, five if you include the 122...which was never pretty.

</volvo musings>

Lee

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