1973 Volvo 1800 ES Sport Wagon

1973 was the final year for the Volvo 1800 series which started in 1961. 1972 and 1973 were the ONLY two years that the unique and very desirable ES sport "wagon" version (aka Shooting Brake) of the 1800 was offered. Only 8,077 ES models were ever built and these cars definitely are rising in value. Wayne Carini of Chasing Classic Cars is predicting $100,000 could soon be the norm for Volvo 1800s - see photo of the article from Forbes. A very well preserved 1973 Volvo 1800ES with only 13,000 miles sold at Bonhams in 2014 for $92,400! A 1969 1800S coupe just sold at Bonhams in Arizona for $74,800. The rare ES models are getting hard to find - especially affordable ones that run and drive. The car offered for sale has its original Cypress Green paint and Cognac interior - while showing its age it still presents pretty well and notably there are no hidden issues - please look at the pictures closely - this is not a car that is full of bondo and has already been repainted and is rusting through for second time. The car has recently had a rare new old stock/correct Bosch fuel pump installed, some new fuel lines, fresh oil and filter and a valve adjustment. A compression test on the original B20F engine shows a healthy 170, 165, 160, 165. The car has good oil pressure and starts right up and runs well. The gearbox including the overdrive works as it should. The gauges all work with the exception of the clock. The factory AM radio lights up but only makes a high pitched noise. The car is equipped with AC but the previous owner removed the belt so it is currently not working. Matching BF Goodrich tires have very good tread but dating from 2003 are showing some deterioration. The miles shown is 32,353 - based on the overall condition 132,353 seems the most likely but Irv Gordon has a Guinness record with over 3 million miles on his 1967 Volvo 1800S! As the pictures show there is some very typical rust in need of attention, though you could certainly drive the car just as it is. The passenger side rust is a bit worse than the drivers side. Good news is that the repair panels and jack pad/frame outriggers are available at reasonable cost.Too many projects here are motivating the search for a new home - but if we aren't able to find a buyer we may yet go ahead and invest in the cosmetics on this rare ES!