Irv Gordon's Classic Volvo

jrosasmc

Well guys, it's official. According to a news article I read on Yahoo yesterday, Irv Gordon will be in Manhattan on Wed., March 27. The occasion? He will drive up 44th Street to Times Square, where he will finally hit the 2 million mile mark. Volvo Cars of N.A. will be there to cover every minute of the event, as will some members of the press. He hit the 1 million mark in October 1987, also in Manhattan. Don't believe me? Read the article for yourself in biz.yahoo.com.

speedshift

I have this visual of the car completely disintegrating the moment it hits 2M ;-).

badgerpaul

Or getting T-boned one mile short.

Mr_Shiftright

Get a life, Irv!

speedshift

I have a feeling we're not getting into the spirit of the occasion.

Mr_Shiftright

Well, don't get me wrong, I was with Irv on this, but he has MADE HIS POINT!

andys120

Take it from a former Long Island resident anyone who can drive a car a couple of million miles down there without having some bonehead crash into it has done something.
Imagine it gets boring after about 750K though.

a_l_hubcaps

I can't imagine how someone could get 2 million miles on a car without completely rebuilding it several times. My parents have bought all their cars new and kept each for a fairly long time, and they have never even put 100,000 miles on a car! The closest they've come is 95,000 on an '85 Toyota Tercel. Irv must be an absolute fanatic when it comes to maintenance and repairs.

-Andrew L

dpwestlake

Considering the advertising and bragging rights Volvo gets from this they must be repairing and maintaining Irvs car for free.

andre1969

...on a car bought new, was a 1986 Monte Carlo that my Mom bought about 13 months before Irv hit the million mile mark. It was still running strong on the original drivetrain at 192,000 miles when I got T-boned in June '98.

What kind of driving does this Irv guy do, to put on a million miles between October '87 and now? I figure that comes out to about 70,000 miles a year, which isn't TOO hard to imagine. In the 3 months I had Mom's Monte, I put about about 13,000 miles on it, which would come out to about 52K a year. I have a feeling Irv wasn't delivering pizzas though!

spokane

In 2,000,000 miles, he has probably made every type of trip imaginable - including the delivery of a pizza or two...

speedshift

Wait a second, I just realized something: speedometers are usually a little fast. Would that make Irv's 2M optimistic? I'll bet he's only up to 1.9M.

speedshift

If this doesn't have the sticky fingerprints of Volvo's PR department...

http://www.theautochannel.com/content/news/press/date/19981123/press000853.html

"I always use Genuine Volvo Parts" Irv bursts out spontaneously. Reminds me of those two flacks slapping Chevy bow ties on the backs of everyone at the Olympics. At least Chevy has a sense of humor about obvious flackery.

lancerfixer

Well, part of it might be that there simply aren't too many aftermarket suppliers of Volvo P1800 parts, either. In many cases ol' Irv probably doesn't have a choice. :-)

speedshift

Okay, okay, I'm just jealous. Irv's been married to his car for 2M miles and I'm usually tired of my car after three weeks.

jrosasmc

I think it's time to add another comment to this topic. I just had my '93 Volvo serviced at the dealership, and they told me that Mr. Gordon will indeed break 2 million tomorrow night in Manhattan. USA Today ran an article about him and the car on Friday. Mr. Gordon is scheduled to be on the "Today" show on NBC the morning of the 28th (that's a Thursday), and he will also be on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno on Tuesday, April 2 to discuss the '66 Volvo.

Mr_Shiftright

Should be thrilling

speedshift

I hope he brings all his documentation. I think viewers would like to see it.

The current issue of Road & Track say an odometer can be correct even when the speedo is fast. Would this be true of Irv's car too, or is my question in post 12 still relevant?

Mr_Shiftright

he uses a counter on the rear axle, so it measures the distance the tire has rolled.

Yes, I'd like to see his documentation, too. Also, lots and lots of stories about what people said to him and what he said to them while he was on the road. And in great detail too, like what they were wearing, etc.

Also, some of the internal differences between the B16 and B18 engine would be riveting.

jrosasmc

As of this writing, Irv should be hitting the magic 2 million mark, as he is probably at the Volvo of America press event in Times Square right now. It is scheduled to run from 6 to 10 p.m. this evening.

Mr_Shiftright

And to think we are alive to see this!

speedshift

I *thought* I heard a loud clank.

amazon

There are almost no similar parts between the B16 and B18 engines.

Mr_Shiftright

yeah, I know, that was the joke

B16--3 main bearings, square valve cover, oil cap in center, pretty weak engine--the crankshaft would whip and break. Irv never would have made it with a B16.

jrosasmc

The B16 really was much weaker than a B18?

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, yeah, A B16 is an old tractor engine I believe. It doesn't have the chops of a B18 at all.

amazon

The B16 was derived from the old B4B engine from the PV 444. It was introduced in 1944. The engine produced a whopping 44 hp (Din)... I don't think it started its life as a tractor engine. On the other hand, the B18 saw use in tractors.

Mr_Shiftright

No, I think you have that backwards. The T15 tractor used a B14 and then a B16. The B18 wasn't used in tractors because there was no longer a demand for non-diesel tractors by that time--that's what I've read anyway.

speedshift

Besides, by then there were a number of British sportscar engines that were also well-suited for tractor duty.

Mr_Shiftright

Diesels are perfect for the job, with high torque at low rpm and good economy.

speedshift

So now that Irv has had his fifteen minutes, what other worlds is he planning to conquer? I'd like to see him go 2M in a 2001 Volvo.

Mr_Shiftright

If you've got the cash, you can go 2Mil in a Yugo.

carnut4

Have you seen the TV commercial where a Yugo goes off a bridge, somersaults, and lands on its roof? Jeez they'd have to pay me a bunch to go that far in a Yugo.

jrosasmc

I watched the "Tonight Show" last night in which Leno interviewed Irv and showed the car to the audience. They took a close-up of the odometer; I noticed that it said "Smiths" below it. Don't tell me that this was one of the famous Smiths gauges from Britain, which used to fail pretty constantly.

Mr_Shiftright

Volvo back then used lots of British parts. The overdrive in Irv's car comes to mind, the U-joints I think too. The rear axle I swear looks just like a Chrysler product and the brake drums look like Studebaker.

andys120

were about the only thing that didn't break on my
TR-4.

jrosasmc

So even the PV544 and the 120 Series used parts from England, too?

Mr_Shiftright

Don't remember but I'm sure some things. UK had a big auto industry back then in PV 544 days, and they are real close to Sweden. I mean, in which order would YOU use German, British or French parts (oh, I gave it away!)

andys120

It's from my brother's TR-250.

jrosasmc

While we're still on the topic of Volvos, what were the PV544s and 122s like to drive as cars? Did they ride any good?

Mr_Shiftright

yeah, they were great little cars. Tough as nails and the 544 especially is quite a lot of fun. The 122 is a bit more stodgy. What I like about them is that they are so easy to work on.

jrosasmc

Did you ever have a 544?

Mr_Shiftright

Couple of them. I've owned a LOT of different cars I must say.

amazon

Volvo used Dana axles until MY 67. After that, they opened their own plant in Koping, Sweden for their drive axles. It's still producing the axles. For example the axles for the XC90 are made there. The brakes were from Girling. The Overdrive came from Laycock (British). THe transmission was Swedish.

amazon

amazon

I had a 122 once. I still miss it. I had a warmed up B20B in it. It was a fun car to drive around in.

Mr_Shiftright

I also remember the power brake unit on the 122 coming from ATE. That was a tough unit to rebuild!

jrosasmc

How much do you think the first Volvos imported into the States would have cost, around 1956-57? I do know that they were more expensive than even the lowliest Chevy coupes of the time.

Mr_Shiftright

About $2,300. A comparable base Chevy would have been a little lower, around $2100.

speedshift

What I remember about the first Volvos, the ones that look like '48 Fords, is that they were maybe the first "cool" imported sedans. Everything else imported that wasn't a sportscar was really dorky. Just thought I'd share that.

andys120

a Humber Super Snipe was dorky???