Vintage Newsletter: May-June 2009 Page 1: ARTICLES: What's Your Volvo Story?, Garage Sale Event Coming Up!
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How’d You End up Driving a Volvo? By Scott Hart, Volvo Division Leader
For me, a Volvo made sense on paper. It was summer of 1981 and I was looking ahead at my second year of college. My current vehicle was a 1977 Chevy pickup and it didn’t get very good gas mileage. (college campus was 200 miles away from home and I often came back home on the week-ends). I decided to sell my truck and get a car.
I grew up on a farm and we always had pickups, so I didn’t really have any particular car in mind. That summer I was recovering from a dirt biking accident and found myself with lots of time on my hands, so I read stacks of car magazines and narrowed it down to a Volvo based on how they were equipped. I was impressed that they had 4 wheel disc brakes, fuel injection, 4 speed with electronic overdrive, leather interior and you could get a sunroof! Keep in mind that I don’t recall ever seeing one on the road prior to this!
My budget was $2000, so I couldn’t afford a new Volvo 240 at the time, but I did find a really nice 1974 142 GL and that was my first proper car. I have driven nothing but Volvos since! I fell in love with how simple they were to work on and even more so, how well built they were. Me and Volvos just clicked-
What’s your Volvo story? Send your story to bryan@ipdusa.com and it may be included in an upcoming publication!
Sliding Down the Slippery Slope to Swedish Devotion - My Volvo Story By Ken Pruett, ipd Customer Service Rep
I had a lot of Detroit muscle and pick-m-up trucks when I was a teenager. In fact I had steel that was better than most, but I never really felt good about it. I was more interested in the strange and the unusual sneaking down the backroads. This didn’t set well with my “made in America” family.
I think I was 17 when I saw the little 122 under a tree on a sidestreet. I got it for $200 (which was probably too much given the condition) and drug it home with a Chevy. There was moss in the interior and the soft plugs had all popped in the last freeze. I had no clue where I was going to get parts and soon there was a parts car in the sideyard (rusty but running).
Perspective changes with time. I was willing to overlook the challenges since it was such a fine vintage piece. In reality, the car was several years younger than it’s new owner and had simply had a hard life. I set to work slowly assembling a running car from piles of wreckage. Along the way I made some friends at the upholstery shop and had a buddy that ordered twice as much paint as he needed to repaint his VW Ghia.
Eventually I was driving around in a VW Pelican red, four wheel drum brake, Amazon titled as a ‘66. Today I understand that this car does not exist. But I looked good. What else matters at that age?
I don’t know how I got it to run. You could fit what I knew about internal combustion engines in a thimble. The drum brakes would overheat and fade on the shallowest of grades and the clutch chattered embarrassingly from every stop. It had 4 different brands and sizes of tires on a set of rattle can wheels. Did I mention I looked good?
That relationship ended the way most teenagers end their first automotive relationship. A sudden August rain shower on an oily hill with over sized bias ply tires on the rear and radials on the front. I wasn’t even speeding (honestly) when the car swapped ends without warning and backed into oncoming traffic. The Amazon took 2 civics and a rabbit to the grave with it (the rabbit contained 10 gallons of house paint that all opened in the accident) and it broke my heart.
I’m sure my family breathed a sigh of relief that the whole Swedish auto thing was over, except for that 544 across the street from my friend’s house...........and that ES on the back row at that seedy car lot with a rod knock.............and that 144GL at the auction..............
May 16, 2009 is when the 26th Annual ipd Garage Sale, Swap Meet and Car Show will take place. We look forward to this event each year and we’re excited to have games, prizes, giveaways, sale pricing on most of our stock and much more. Doors will open to the ipd sales desk from 9:00am until 1:00pm and the swap meet and car show has been extended to run until 3:00pm. We hope to see you here for this great event.
Garage Sale is 9:00am to 3:00pm Saturday May 16th. For more information on displaying your Volvo or to reserve a swap meet spot call 800-444-6473 or e-mail our show coordinator Bud Cowgill at rcowgill@ipdusa.com
That relationship ended the way most teenagers end their first automotive relationship. A sudden August rain shower on an oily hill with over sized bias ply tires on the rear and radials on the front. I wasn’t even speeding (honestly) when the car swapped ends without warning and backed into oncoming traffic. The Amazon took 2 civics and a rabbit to the grave with it (the rabbit contained 10 gallons of house paint that all opened in the accident) and it broke my heart. 
