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Project
1959
Volvo 122S (Amazon)
(The owner of this
car is, New
Zealand member
Neil Glasson)
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More photos below, please
click on image for full size photo
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Description |
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1959 Volvo 122S – Restoration Project or Donor Car?
The first owner of this car bought it to New Zealand from the UK many years ago. As far as I can tell, the car was dismantled for restoration by the original owner in Invercargill some time in the late ‘80s. This gentleman moved to Canterbury during the ‘90s. In 2003 he gifted his car and assorted parts to owner number two.
The second owner had trouble finding a place to store the car and did no work on it. It was parked on the side of the road from where it was eventually impounded by the Christchurch City Council and tendered to owner number three.
The third owner kept the car under a cover in his back yard for a year and did very little with it. Eventually he tried to sell it. There was very little interest in the car and he ended up donating it to the parts yard of the Canterbury Branch of the Vintage Car Club.
I purchased the car in February 2005 and have started to assess it to see what would need to be done to get it roadworthy. I have yet to come to a final decision but my initial impression is that it would be marginal as a restoration project. It is probably more suited as a donor car for another restoration vehicle.
Things that are missing include: the glass from the doors, door upholstery, rear shock absorbers, headlights and exhaust system. There is rust in the sills, bottom of doors, bottom corners of the windscreen and at the rear of the front guards. Much of the rust has been covered up with pop-riveted panels and under-seal. The rear guards have been modified to house indicator assemblies from a Fiat 1100 – presumably to achieve a reflector plus amber and red light in the one unit.
On the positive side of things, it appears that all of the mechanicals have been out of the car and probably overhauled. There are new bushes and brake lines on the rear axle. There is a big box of electrical parts from a 12volt system. The original owner seems to have wrecked at least one other car as there are a few other later model components that don’t belong to this car. There are numerous surplus spare parts.
I plan to continue stripping off under-seal and pop-rivets from the car to find out the true extent of the rust damage. I will also look at getting the engine running sometime soon.
I would love to hear from anyone who is able to help me with the parts that I am missing. Conversely, if anyone has a less rusty example with dead mechanicals perhaps one of us could end up with the makings of a complete car!
Update April 2006: I have since acquired two other Amazons (1963 221 and 121) so this car has been relegated to the back lawn where it sits awaiting disposal. I had managed to track down all of the previous New Zealand owners of the 59’er as well as the widow of the gentleman who imported the car. Unfortunately nobody could help me with any registration history on this car. With no New Zealand documentation it would be treated as an imported vehicle making it more expensive and difficult to register. That, along with the required rust repairs make it impossible to justify starting a restoration on the 59’er. I plan to strip it down, keep anything useful and scrap the rest.
Contact Neil on 03 357 9039 or Email
Neil Glasson
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Specification
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Model :
Built in :
Engine :
Power :
Gearbox :
Chassis number:
Colour:
Upholstery:
Mileage: |
122S,
Four door saloon
1959 Right hand drive
B16B
85 BHP
4 speed gearbox
38063
Grey & Black
Light Brown Vinyl
89385 miles on the clock.
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Links
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Neil Glasson's Amazon Projects
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Some
other interesting Volvo 120 series photos |
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