Volvo 122s Amazon Restoration

On paper 90 HPO was a sound buy and should have been a straightforward restoration. The auction information promised it had been held up in a garage since the 70’s with very low miles and just a single registered owner. Bought unseen (possibly the first mistake) the plan was simple: Strip, clean and reuse as much as possible. The reality was different. When it turned up on the trailer it was clear that the car had spent years outside and time had not been kind. The interior trim was ruined, chrome rotten, engine poorly, electrics eaten by rodents and there was a good deal of rot in the body. Plans change. Anthony still wanted an Amazon and our decayed donner vehicle gave him licence for a custom build so we sat down and came up with a new plan. The Vision – A very capable, reliable and useable Volvo

Now that seems to be a fairly simple statement, but it is actually more difficult to achieve than you might think with a car from the 60’s. The annual expected mileage was going to be around the 8k mark, with regular 200 mile trips down to Sussex. The standard car gave us a head start. The Volvo has a robust engine, 4 speed + overdrive gearbox, long diff, disc brakes at the front and a strong body. What we had to do was improve on that stock offering to give Anthony a low maintenance, comfortable and reliable classic that he could use come rain, hail or shine.