Irv Gordon passes 3 million miles in Volvo P1800
 

Irv Gordon just passed 3,000,000 miles in his 1966 Volvo P1800.

The article states it's the original engine, although it doesn't say how many times its been rebuilt.

Man drives record 3 million miles in the same 1966 Volvo - TODAY.com

This article states that Irv rebuilt that engine at 680,000 miles, and again at nearly 2,000,000 miles.

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/irv-gordon-has-driven-nearly-3-million-miles-in-his-1966-volvo-1800s/?_r=0

That's approximately 91k miles per year - or about 7.5k miles a month - and almost 250mi per day assuming he doesn't miss a day due to illness or the car being non-op. This guy must be a driving addict.

I'd be interested to see what kind of maintenance has been performed during this time. For example, how many transmissions, clutch jobs, timing chains, and other accessories have been replaced? Never mind the seat frame/springs and upholstery, or rust/paint/body work.

Yet another example of irresponsible journalism.

Yahoo!

Two engine rebuilds

Original trans

Original diff

Yet another example of incomplete googling. ;)

Hemmings Motor News:

But the engine block? Original. The cylinder head? Original. The gearbox, the overdrive, the differential? All original. You can count the major surgeries on one hand: The engine has been rebuilt twice, and the third gear synchronizer and the ring and pinion were replaced before the car had covered its first million miles. And that's it. This from a year-round driver that gets parked at the curb each night.
. . .
Irv wasn't looking for immortality when he bought the Volvo; he just needed a reliable car for the 125-mile round-trip commute each day between his Long Island home and his teaching job.
. . .
Retired from his teaching job, Irv is full-time motorist and goodwill ambassador for Volvo. If you haven't had the pleasure of shaking his hand, it isn't his fault; he's visited every one of the Lower 48 states, as well as Canada and Mexico, dropping in on Volvo dealers if they aren't more than 50 miles out of his way. He's even had the car shipped overseas for tours and celebrations there, and has visited the factory where his 1800S was put together. He's lost track of how many times he's crossed the continent: "Dozens and dozens and dozens" is the best estimate he can provide. He carries the U.S. interstate system in his head, so many miles of highway has he covered. "I can find my way anywhere across the country. I don't need maps anymore!" he says, laughing.

The Volvo owners I've known get high miles from their cars and spend big bucks getting there. They are an odd combination of durable and not terribly reliable.

Too bad the guy never had a life.

I find the maintenance summary of the car to be quite believable. Hats off to the guy. He not only obviously maintains his car very well, but is a skilled driver that knows how to drive in a way that is not tough on the equipment.

I've only driven a P1800 one time and that was ca. 1969. A young lieutenant in my outfit had one that I tuned up for him. I drove it around a little bit for a test drive and was extremely impressed with how solid the car was.

Irv is obviously particularly skilled with the use of a clutch and stick. I wonder how many fluid and filter changes and transmission rebuilds it would have had were it an automatic, assuming they made them available with automatics.

For the life of me I have no idea why it can be described as an unhappy life, driving a car 3,000,000 miles all over every state and in Europe.

Can you imagine the experiences he's had, the people he's met, and the beautiful countryside he's seen?

I've flown 1.5 million miles in the past 14 years all across the U.S., and all I've seen is what can be viewed from 36,000 feet.

Yep, the guy has been places and seen things.

I've been all over North America and Western Europe, but most of what I have seen is hotel rooms and conference rooms, along with the experience of LOTS of in flight boredom.

Me too. I see airport terminals, hotels and conference rooms....along with the same damn chain restaurants.