PVs don't command a high price so for £10 or £11k you should expect a nice car. There aren't a lot about and they're stylish cars.

Kassie, what's your lowest price for the PV? :-)

I wasn't thinking specifically of research, Alan, although that is never a bad idea. You mentioned in your opening post that you had not even seen a PV 'up close'. The 'National' would almost certainly be a rare opportunity to see several in one place at the same time.

Like you, their owners have usually invested considerable time and effort in the cars. They are justifiably proud of them and are generally very happy to talk about them with interested parties. Not only that, but it is a cracking day out in it's own right.

I know the RB would not be out of place and you would both be most welcome. You would very likely find some useful spares and you might even see a car that is for sale which sparks your interest.

Regards, John.

I dunno about that! If you weren't especially worried about spending 10K on a whim perhaps research would spoil the adventure?

If you wanted the car to be used frequently like a "modern classic" then I'd view any possibilites in terms of what upgrades they have had. My car ended up having a whole load of stuff I had no idea about before I bought the car.

Things to look out for (if you want something that will be a bit more "modern")

I've got a B20 engine and a 4 speed gearbox, front disc brakes, a weber carb on the B20 (now quite a rare version if I remember correctly), earlyish Amazon front seats (meant to be more comfortable), it has a block heater, spot lights (the posh French ones - can't remember the name today!), electronic ignition, a variable speed wiper mod, a tow bar...

...it will have an electric cooling fan, a very different wiring loom, perhaps a heated rear window, some sound deadening, a new interior and a hidden sound system.

####

The reason why I bought my car on a whim was

1) a very attractive price
2) the styling looking at it from the back - it has a very nice bum
3) head room is brilliant for a large chap (no silly sunroofs in the way like in my W201 Mercedes)
4) spares availability and great online knowledge
5) originally well built

That sounds like a very well-sorted example, 'Army'.

That is a big advantage of Volvos of the era; successive models were evolutionary and not revolutionary. Engines, particularly, were carried over from earlier cars to later. This means that, as you rightly say, they can be relatively easily, cheaply and quickly updated and improved, the better to meet the increased demands of use today.

Will you be at Uttoxeter?

Regards, John.

I'd love to get back to the UK to visit friends and family and for people from the UK to come and see me here in Holland again but as things are (being a member of a more at risk group) I need to take it at a different pace.

The lockdown and vaccination program here in the Netherlands has been "typically Dutch":- This isn't really a nation of people who do things - there are lots of meetings, lots of debate but very little action. In particular if anything has to involve Dutch civil servants you can be assured of mighty **** ups and silly slow reactions to obvious urgent situations.

If I get a jab before Christmas I'll be surprised.

Understood. I had my second 'jab' just over a week ago and my wife has hers next Wednesday. If the UK have got anything right in this whole sorry mess it is the vaccination program - due credit for that.

Regards, John.

I know what you mean! I lived down in the southern Netherlands (in Limburg) for two years. All government business took so long, in particular the state medical services that made the NHS here in the UK seem very sprightly indeed.

:-)

Absolutely!

This car was previously up for sale privately at less than £10k but sold on to a dealer who has obviously added his premium. There's also a red one coming up for sale at Orchard Classics at around £13k which has had a lot of money spent on performance enhancements. The beige one looks nice but the red one is probably the better value buy....