Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. I'm back in California to take care of some business, so let's return to Alameda!
I found this very nice P1800 parked within yards of the '64 Ford Falcon Futura and the Mercedes-Benz 350SL, on the block I called home during my childhood. Fortunately, nobody on the block remembers all those gnarly burnouts I did in front of their houses in my GTO as a teenager.
My DOTS Reference Library now lives in Denver, so I'm forced to guess the year on this classic Volvo. It's got side marker lights, which means it's an American-market car sold in 1968 or later, and I believe the lack of 1800E badging indicates a pre-1970 model. I'm going to call it a 1969 and hope some Volvo zealot expert will correct me if necessary.
DISCUSSION
My dad had one of these when I was young. They wouldn't let me in the garage because they thought I would damage something on the car. But since I was a latch-key-kid, whenever I would get home before anyone else, I would sneak into the garage and ogle the thing.
I wasn't into cars when I was young. Was that Volvo the first seed that would blossom into a car addiction? Or was it just a case of forbidden fruit?
Either way, my dad sold the car mid-restoration. He's a doctor and ran out of time to spend on it. He's a Volvo man, I'm a SAAB guy, maybe that's why we never get along. It's interesting to note that he bought the only sports car Volvo ever made (the P1800) and right now, I own the only sports car SAAB ever made (Sonett series).