In December 2020 this 145 was removed from a garage in Elstree where it had sat since 1989. The owner, Mr Cox, had bought it second‑hand in the mid 1970s and used it as his daily vehicle until taking it off the road when he was given a company car. According to his son, he wasn’t really a ‘car type of person’, but for some unknown reason he kept hold of the Volvo and apparently ran the engine from year to year and kept it covered up in old carpet.
The Volvo has an incredible history file with it, documenting up to the 120k miles it shows today, from family trips to further commutes that Mr Cox undertook as a nuclear power station safety officer.
In 1985, a small accident occurred and the front passenger wing, bonnet and grille were replaced.
Again, all the correspondence is in the file and Mr Cox bought the car back from the insurance company as the damage was relatively small. He had it fixed by a local body shop.
In the glove box and door pockets there are still the maps and knick knacks that Mr Cox left in the late 1980s.
Work and new parts fitted since it was removed from the garage include:
Engine out and new steel timing gear and gaskets fitted, clutch, brake discs, callipers, pads and lines all round – the only remaining parts are the hard lines in the engine bay, carb rebuilt with all new gaskets, floats and jets, period correct Blockley tyres, original wheels colour matched and powder coated, suspension refreshed where necessary, electronic ignition, new coil, distributor cap, plugs and leads, whole body machine polished and ceramic coated, underside waxoiled – not undersealed – totally solid and no welding needed. Parts and labour amount to approximately £4,500 in the past 12 months. It has travelled around 120 miles since this work took place.
The Volvo starts and runs exactly as you would like, it’s got the seven seater conversion and has some spares to go with it too. It’s not a mint concourse car, it’s a time warp survivor.
Car available at Anglia Car Auction Saturday 20th and 21st August – Price Listed is Lower Estimate
