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In September 1975 I purchased a 1974 royal blue 164 sedan with 8,000kms and one week later I took it back to the dealer in Melbourne for a couple of minor repairs when I noticed a pale blue metallic 164TE on the lot with only 2000kms on the clock. I went straight to the office and said,  "Don't bother fixing the Royal Blue one I want to exchange it for the TE right now !"   We did the deal and when I drove home Margaret couldn't believe that I had already sold the Royal blue one after only one week.  

The TE has served me very well, it was my everyday car until 1998 when I purchased a 960 Estate. The 164 has towed a caravan all the way around Australia in 1997 and it has been to almost every main town in Australia with the exception of Tasmania. It has never been involved in an accident but in 1989, because of the 'chalky' metallic paint, I had it stripped back to metal and repainted with 'two pack'. I also had the cracked dash repaired at the same time.  The motor has never been touched in the past 27 years although the auto box has been rebuilt twice. The 1989 paint job was excellent and it looks today just as good as it did the yard back in 1975. 

Now in 2003 it get used mainly for Car Club outings and it attracts quite a lot more attention than it did all those years ago.  Total 'mileage' (kilometreage?) is only 275,000km!   

One story that always amuses people is that in 1997 I was driving across the lonely Nullarbor when the 164 began to miss. Over the next 3 weeks I took it to 3 successive mechanics in Western Australia who tore their hair out trying to find the cause. The third guy discovered that when I accelerated the dip stick was swinging backwards and shorting out on the side of the distributor. Some insulation on the distributor, a bend in the dip stick and $450 later and 'no more problems!

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Volvo 164 Club of Sweden

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