3 million mile Volvo P1800

[davestlouis]

I saw an article about Irv Gordon and his 66 Volvo P1800 that he expects to hit 3 million miles in the next couple of years. He reportedly has the original engine, trans, rear end, etc. How in hell did he rack up that many miles without significant repairs? How does he define "the same engine"? How many timing chains has it had? Surely the head has been worked on. Even with gentle highway driving, I can't fathom how the mechanical parts haven't simply worn out over the years. I'm befuddled. I have to think that 500K is readily attainable with good maintenance, at least on 60s-80s era cars, but 3 million?

[The Clk Man]

Originally Posted by davestlouis

I saw an article about Irv Gordon and his 66 Volvo P1800 that he expects to hit 3 million miles in the next couple of years. He reportedly has the original engine, trans, rear end, etc. How in hell did he rack up that many miles without significant repairs? How does he define "the same engine"? How many timing chains has it had? Surely the head has been worked on. Even with gentle highway driving, I can't fathom how the mechanical parts haven't simply worn out over the years. I'm befuddled. I have to think that 500K is readily attainable with good maintenance, at least on 60s-80s era cars, but 3 million?

A real Volvo could do it IMHO.

[t walgamuth]

I don't know the details on his car but those old volvo pushrod engines are built very, very rugged. I believe they have timing gears not a chain and IIRC they have more bearing surface area than a small block chebby. The other parts of the drive train are equally rugged.

My question is how did he do it with the amont of lucas electriacl parts on it???????

[cmbdiesel]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

I don't know the details on his car but those old volvo pushrod engines are built very, very rugged. I believe they have timing gears not a chain and IIRC they have more bearing surface area than a small block chebby. The other parts of the drive train are equally rugged.

My question is how did he do it with the amont of lucas electriacl parts on it???????

My guess would be - in the dark...

[Joseph_Conrad]

Lotsa different articles on this one... nice looking car...

http://www.google.com/search?q=3+million+mile+volvo&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a

[t walgamuth]

They are handsome cars. My dad was a Volvo lover after the US companys stopped trying to build good cars. He always wanted one of the P1800s.

I like them too but not quite enough to buy one.

[layback40]

Original motor that has had 3 re-bores & 6 lots of pistons/rings. The block is probably all that is original in the motor. Many trans rebuilds & a couple of crown wheels & pinions in the diff. I bet its only been on smooth bitumen as well. How many disk rotors?

[The Clk Man]

I had a 1986 Volvo 240 wagon that had 342,000 on it when I sold it, I saw it driving around town for years after that.

[panZZer]

Heres yall 's chance to own one of these cool coupes.

in freeze dried dry pueblo Co.

Volvo Other S | eBay

[P.C.]

I prefer the convertible:

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by panZZer

Heres yall 's chance to own one of these cool coupes.

in freeze dried dry pueblo Co.

Volvo Other S | eBay

Looks restorable.

[spdrun]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

I don't know the details on his car but those old volvo pushrod engines are built very, very rugged. I believe they have timing gears not a chain and IIRC they have more bearing surface area than a small block chebby. The other parts of the drive train are equally rugged.

Interestingly, the pushrod motors used plastic timing gears that stripped after a while. (They were considered quieter than metal gears.) But that wasn't fatal to the engine since it was non-interference.

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by spdrun

Interestingly, the pushrod motors used plastic timing gears that stripped after a while. (They were considered quieter than metal gears.) But that wasn't fatal to the engine since it was non-interference.

This is from an article in Hemmings:

ENGINE
Overbuilt and understressed, Volvo's B18 and B20 inline fours can be expected to run to 300,000 miles and beyond without needing major attention. And when the time comes for a rebuild, parts are plentiful and the work is straightforward. About the only problem you're likely to encounter is a worn fiber timing gear; new fiber gears are available, or you can buy steel timing gears that are more robust, though noisier. Many owners over the years replaced their worn SU or Stromberg carburetors with downdraft Webers. "You can buy a brand-new Weber for short money, but the SUs will blow the doors off it," Don Thibault advises. A used pair of SUs, with an intake manifold, can be found for about $100 to $200; figure on about $400 for rebuilding the carburetors, suggests specialist Joe Curto of College Point, New York. The Bosch fuel injection works well, though some components, such as auxiliary air regulators and manifold pressure sensors, are getting hard to find.

Timing gears after 300K miles. (Depends on the definition of "after a while".)

[Jorn]

Or put a B230ft in it and make it fly.

[sloride]

Originally Posted by davestlouis

I saw an article about Irv Gordon and his 66 Volvo P1800 that he expects to hit 3 million miles in the next couple of years. He reportedly has the original engine, trans, rear end, etc. How in hell did he rack up that many miles without significant repairs? How does he define "the same engine"? How many timing chains has it had? Surely the head has been worked on. Even with gentle highway driving, I can't fathom how the mechanical parts haven't simply worn out over the years. I'm befuddled. I have to think that 500K is readily attainable with good maintenance, at least on 60s-80s era cars, but 3 million?

that is 60,000 miles per year for fifty years, five times the average miles put on a typical vehicle. That was also a New York man. He would have had to drive it through winters to do that, I don't think so. My 300D odometer stopped at 259K.