History

https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/history/p1800.shtml

Simo was built 1961 in Jensen, England. He was labeled as P1800 No. 310 and soon delivered to US. Because of his early life in California he did not suffer rust as much as his brothers staying in Europe. Most of them have passed away during all these decades. I would call Simo as a survivor.

Homerun to Europe 1989

There was a change in the finnish car taxation at that time, which made it possible to import old cars without paying taxes through your nose. Simo was one of dozens of other P1800:s and 1800S’s brought to Finland on that burst.

Naked 1989

California White was chosen. It was close to the original White, but not quite. At that time also other restoration was done. Simo got a new interior among other things.

Registered as a museum car 1994

(suspension has been replaced afterwards)

Despite of the slightly wrong colour, wrong interior and orange signals there were no problems with this procedure. Well done! Today it would not be possible to get the stamp with a wrong interior.

What does this museum car -thing mean?

Registering vehicle as a museum vehicle in Finland means that there are both benefits and duty’s.

• No annual taxes
• Mandatory insurance is very cheap (around 37 €/year)
• Inspection every other year (otherwise every year) (motorbikes/mopeds not inspected at all)
• No winter tires demanded (otherwise demanded from to 1.12. ti 28.2.)
• Has to look and feel something like it did when it was manufactured
  • no rust
  • interior like it was originally.
  • good paint
  • additional equipment is allowed if it was available those days
  • no pimping!
  • normal wear and tear is allowed
• Safety equipment may be updated; disc brakes, safety belts, better lights are fine
• It is assumed that car is not used daily, it shouldn’t be used more than 30 days in one year. This is the idea when making up the insurance for a museum vehicle
• You can even drive a taxi without any licences. Edit: 20.2.2017 Not any more, they changed this.

If you need it more than 30 days, you can always take ordinary insurance instead. Still it remains a museum vehicle.

Earlier I have two museum vehicles and it has never been a problem to restrict the use to 30 days..  when can you find so many sunny days in Finland..

 

 

Rebuilt B18 2011

Story doesn’t tell how many miles did the previous one deal.

Testing and purchasing 2016

A white Jensen has been my plan for years. This one was on sale in the neighborhood so why not. Car seemed to be solid, even though there was a fistful of known-problems even on sight. It was clear that it was not a bargain but still I wanted to go for it.

Earlier I have had good experiences of an Amazon kombi -64, which gave me trust to this investment. If you want something, you should get it while you are still around. I trust it is even more difficult later on.

 

After two weeks apart; the transfer from our summerhouse Ikaalinen to Helsinki