Three exciting Volvo classics stand out from the crowd in Bilweb Auctions' upcoming auction – all with an intriguing history.
• PV4 from 1928, one of the first 100 Volvo cars ever made.
• 1956 Sport, the fiberglass car produced in only 67 examples.
• 1800 S, a single-owner car in pristine condition with a history from the 1960s Soviet Union.
The seller, a lifelong Volvo enthusiast, is now selling these cars through Bilweb Auctions. The oldest car, a PV4 from 1928, was purchased by him in 1966 when he was 20 years old and restored to the exceptional condition it is in today. Among other things, he turned the car's spokes himself from oak trees in a nearby forest.
The car was won in a lottery in 1928 by a landowner in Vikbolandet, Östergötland, who had to wait until his eldest son's 18th birthday before the car could be used. At that time, there was only one other car in the area. The PV4 was a sister model to the open model ÖV4 (nicknamed Jakob). The version with a closed, winter-proofed body came just a few months after the cabriolet model ÖV4. The body was made of the artificial leather material pegamoid, stretched over an ash wood frame. After checking with Volvo Heritage, it has been confirmed that this car is one of the first 100 manufactured (PV4 and ÖV4). This car only has brakes on the rear wheels; front brakes were introduced after the first 100 cars were made.
When the auction car was new, it cost 5,800 SEK; the estimated value for the auction is between 750,000 and 1,000,000 SEK.
Fast forward to the 1950s, specifically 1956. On a probably chilly November day in Visby, a white Volvo Sport was delivered to the director of the dealership Visby Motorcentral, Folke Brattlöf. It had chassis number 33, one of only 44 made that year. A total of only 67 Volvo Sports were produced before production was discontinued in May 1957. The experiment with the modern fiberglass body did not meet the quality standards considered necessary.
Chassis number 33 is today a car that needs restoration to be truly fine – but it can also be driven as it is. The current owner has had it since 1983 but has now realized that a renovation will probably never happen. The car comes with a very detailed history, including plans for the Monte Carlo rally, driving on the Nürburgring, and accidents involving both Belgian vineyard workers and civilian police cars.
This exceptionally rare Volvo Sport is valued at between 700,000 and 750,000 SEK.
Volvo classic number three is a unique example of Volvo's most beautiful car, the 1800 S from 1968, purchased by the current owner from Jöhnkes Bil in Åtvidaberg and has since been driven 177,000 kilometers. Some of them in the Soviet Union: in 1969, a journey was made to present-day Russia and Ukraine, something that must have been very unusual at the time. However, there are no pictures from this trip, as the Russian police confiscated all the film rolls...
The car is in excellent unrestored original condition today, except for a repaint in the 1980s after a carburetor fire that damaged the paint on the hood. The beautifully worn leather seats are intact, and the dashboard is in the same condition as when it left Gothenburg in 1968. The valuation is estimated at between 400,000 and 450,000 SEK.
The auctions for all the cars end on September 19.
