De Shite i Sverige-första foton

[Guest]

Here are some bits and pieces. It takes me ages to edit the photos because of my netbook.

 

 

Local Volvo 142. These weren't sold in RHD.

 

 

This Daf (44?) was stuck in a 'BilService' compound. I think it might be a welding shop because the Swedish welding shops are Government controlled.

 

 

The light was going down at this point, so my D70 began to struggle. This 1947 Ford was just across from the Daf in the BilService compound. There was also a brown Volvo 343 that was covered in spares, and some kind of International off roader.

 

 

The next day I headed out to Baskerby airfield for the Classic-Motor BilFest. The main problem was that it was absolutely hammering down with rain. There were three massive Volvo stands - one for PVs, one for Amazons, and another for P1800s. The weather was so bad I only managed to photograph a few before things deteriorated.

 

 

 

More soon.

[Cavcraft]

How come that blue Volvo is so weird yet strangely alluring? The wheeltrims looks awful (in a good way) and the headlamp wash wipe is class.

[Vin]

Iso Grifo looks smart. The Scania-Vabis in the background is

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

That Iso Griffo looks rather nice but did those rear lights come off some sort of Peugeot?

 

504

[Guest]

OK, here's a few more, with heavy Volvo content (quelle surprise).

 

 

Pile of badges on one of the few uncovered autojumble stores.

 

 

Gorgeous PV444 was an early model with a B4 engine.

 

 

PV445 Duett wasn't part of the show but was worthy of a photograph. I suspect it was an ex-Swedish Telecom car.

 

 

Swedish Amazon club had a early wheeled shell on show.

 

 

 

 

GM Futureliner was being restored as a part of a massive ClassicMotor project.

 

 

More of the Grifo.

 

 

PV444 daily had some really lovely touches. I suspect if I lived in Sweden something like this would be my every day car.

 

 

OEM Volvo country mount.

 

 

Period custom exhaust tip. I cannot remember for the life of me what these are called.

 

 

Rare sport badges. This denotes twin carbs.

 

 

CLINT EASTWOOD IS A RACIST OLD MAN.

 

 

404 Coupe. I wanted to get a shot of the rancid Roman Bronze Mk1 Granada behind it, but the rain was getting ridiculous.

 

 

Hmm, familiar.

 

 

Row of Amazons to finish on.

[warren t claim]

When did the Swedes start buying LHD cars in anticipation of the switch to driving on the right?

[The Liberator]

That Iso Griffo looks rather nice but did those rear lights come off some sort of Peugeot?

 

504

 

I submit that they are from the Alfa Giulia Sprint GT/V also styled by Giugiaro.

 

Nice photos (as ever), Mr. Watanabe.

[michiel]

Great photos - I do like the PVs, but they always remind me of the Garp movie...

[Guest]

Small update for you. Yesterday I left Hässelby, called in on VP Autoparts (who supply Brookhouse among other specialists in the UK) in Överby Gård, and then met up with my folks again in Saltsjöbaden, about an hour north of Stockholm.

 

I trudged around for a bit, finally alighting on the Ice Bar, which is highly recommended and also fucking expensive. I shot most of this rammle (ranging from high class chod to utter shite) on the Centralbron bridge between Gamla Stan and Riddar Holmen.

 

 

 

 

 

Some world class bilge to finish on.

 

I also papped a gold n' wob Karmann Ghia and a moribund Volvo 164 in the mega-expensive Östermalm district, which is the Swedish equivalent of Knightsbridge. I was also taunted by three separate sightings of the same 122S Amazon trundling round the city. Stockholm is a sprawling archipelago of fourteen separate islands, so I'm quite impressed I managed to spot it as many times as I did. On Centralbrom bridge I was snapping something else, looked up after hearing a familiar Simonz chuff, and it had driven past before my 28-100 lens had time to get it in range. The next time it appeared over in Gamla Stan, my shutter jammed. At Slussen, a blonde satan child kept jumping in front of me when I had it corned at a traffic light. Had I been carrying my tripod, I'd have impaled the little shit in best Jenny Joseph style.

 

Hopefully the hotel won't have twigged that I'm nicking their broadband too.

[RoadworkUK]

Granny Estate would have won you extra shite credits had it been a 1.7.

 

Still a sparkling effort, though.

[maximalist]

I was also at Barkarby, and the rain was monsoonlike, not fun at all when I was driving my Simson moped home...

[Guest]

I was also at Barkarby, and the rain was monsoonlike, not fun at all when I was driving my Simson moped home...

 

Odd - I saw a bloke on a Simson moped - you probably rode past me.

 

I have all of my photos uploaded to my main machine now, so expect an update soon.

[Guest]

The Scania-Vabis in the background is

 

Try this one on for size

 

 

This was abandoned in the undergrowth outside VP Autoparts. Hope you like.

[Captain Mainwaring]

A splendid photo of a magnificent-looking truck.

[Vin]

Is that a bonnetted version of the '1 Series' If so, I never knew they did one. I likey

[Guest]

Have yet another Volvo 142 in Slussen. This was on my last day wandering round when it was hammering down. Not nice.

 

[Captain Mainwaring]

He's got his window down a bit, so it must have been muggy as well. I hate the combo of rain and humidity.

[hennabm]

1966 was when Sweden changed from right hand to left hand drive. I bet the following day was chaos.

[myglaren]

1966 was when Sweden changed from right hand to left hand drive. I bet the following day was chaos.

 

Not really, it all went quite smoothly. Most people didn't drive for a few days after while others got used to it.

 

I was there the week prior to it but missed it unfortunately.

Was back a few moths later and you would never have known that it had been otherwise. I did manage to negotiate a roundabout in the wrong direction but that was plain dumnity.

[Guest Len H]

Super photos Detective Wallandatabe.

[mk2_craig]

1966 was when Sweden changed from right hand to left hand drive. I bet the following day was chaos.

 

Not really, it all went quite smoothly. Most people didn't drive for a few days after while others got used to it.

 

Must have pissed the bus operators right off.

[myglaren]

1966 was when Sweden changed from right hand to left hand drive. I bet the following day was chaos.

 

Not really, it all went quite smoothly. Most people didn't drive for a few days after while others got used to it.

 

Must have pissed the bus operators right off.

 

It did indeed as the busses mainly had centre doors for exit that were now on the wrong side of the bus. Not sure how that was overcome but I was back a couple of years later and all ran very smoothly.

[Guest]

I realised that I never finished this thread. I had 20 or so photos lined up and sorted (including my visit to VP Autoparts that I shot on my camera phone) and never bothered to post them.

 

Let's address that now, shall we?

 

I took a wallet battering tour over to VP Autoparts.

 

 

 

Presumably VP didn't get sued in the same way as VPD did when having these rocker covers produced.

 

 

Huge stack of period tuning mags.

 

 

Wide steel and tyre fitting bay across from the upholstery bay. More or less every leatherette combo fitted to the 444, 544, 120, P1800 and 140 \ 164 series can be bought here. Interestingly enough the 5.5" boots used 185\60 tyres in preference to the impossibly expensive 185\70 meats recommended by every cod Volvo expert in the UK. I think Vredestein may be involved with some kind of bung operation judging by the rapacity of the latter.

 

 

Despite having a factory in Sweden, these wide steels were way more expensive than Brookhouse's list price in the UK.

 

 

Floorpan pressings to the left, upholstery bits to the right. A couple of the former will be coming my way in the boot of my aunt's car at Christmas.

 

 

Lovely brake lines were lovely. Albeit distressingly expensive.

 

 

Rear mudflaps and fixings were cheaper than in the UK, so I bought a set. My car never had them fitted as new - only the fronts were specified. Ulrik the proprietor explained that 121s didn't get the full flap set. Also, he wanted to give me 'many of the pounds' and buy my steel sunroof. Nej.

 

 

PV fridge magnets were not for sale.

 

 

Next, some fun with language.

 

 

Some inferred smut before Stockholm.

 

 

 

Alfa GTV on the waterfront at Ostermalm.

 

 

Volvo 164 outside the Arme Museet.

 

 

Army Hillman inside the Arme Museet display. I also scored a surplus dress jacket for 200 SEK.

 

 

 

Rough K-G, again in Ostermalm.

 

 

Mustang Fastback ('67?) spotted from the tour boat near Nybroviken bridge.

 

 

Saab 96 Kombi at the Polis Museet.

 

 

Pre war Harley & sidecar (Polis Museet).

 

 

#

 

Dutch registered P1800S (Ostermalm) was minty and was on some kind of pan European tour judging by the tour card lashed to the front. It also had a full stainless system and genuine Kronprinz 5.5" steels.

[Shep Shepherd]

How did I miss this thread? It's excellent

[Guest]

How did I miss this thread? It's excellent

 

I missed it too. I uploaded some shots whilst on holiday, dumped the rest on my desktop PC when I got home, and forgot about them for a month. Glad you're enjoying it. I have some other transport shots I might throw in for good measure once I can persuade my HDR kit to work again.

 

[scooters]

quality chod!

 

LOve the late 144's - I had one - they are much more practical than the earler ones with the chrome grill.

 

The late 144s share loads of parts with the early 244 - dash is early 244 they make superb retro dailies:

 

pretty rust proof

the legendary and indestructable pushrod engine

Built like tanks

surprisingly manouverable

 

They also pioneered many of the safety features now standard so are excellent family chod:

 

front inertial belts

twin braking circuit

discs

rear seatbelt mounting points

 

AND a Daf 44 in Berlina White!!!

 

This could be my drive circa 2008!

[Guest]

Lad, they're 142s. The 144s were what we got. 3 doors being unpopular in the UK, we were never offered the 142 (although some RHD markets like South Africa were - my neighbour down the road has a gold SA specification 142. I have a photo of it and my Amazon side by side somewhere).

 

The 142s in the photos were just the ones I was able to photograph. There were loads more that I didn't. I got the impression that quite a few are still in use around Sweden.

 

Yeah, 140s wouldn't make bad dailies at all, other than the fuel economy - but you could get used to that. The most you'd ever see from an O\D equipped B20 would be 30 MPG. If you fitted Megasquirt you might get that figure higher, but the standard Stromberg \ SU carburettors (the latter so loved by the VOC as the 'only' way to do a B series engine ) won't run to more than that.

[trigger]

Lad, they're 142s. The 144s were what we got. 3 doors being unpopular in the UK, we were never offered the 142.

 

Is that right?, I never knew that, I've been looking at photos of 142's and decided I'd really fancied one, there was even one for sale on the Volvo forum which i showed an interest in but the vendor never got back to me .

 

This is the one i saw for sale. http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=130979

 

Both those and Amazons are still hign on my "Too own" list.

 

Great thread BTW Wat, I'd like to go to Sweden (not swindon as i was about to write) one day.

[Pete-M]

One of these would tempt me greatly.

 

[Guest]

Lad, they're 142s. The 144s were what we got. 3 doors being unpopular in the UK, we were never offered the 142.

 

Is that right?, I never knew that, I've been looking at photos of 142's and decided I'd really fancied one, .

 

Great thread BTW Wat, I'd like to go to Sweden (not swindon as i was about to write) one day.

 

Sweden's a good place to go - provided you take a fair bit of wedge with you.

 

As for the 140 series Trig - we never officially got the 142 to buy in the UK. That's not to say a few didn't come over, but any RHD you see will be South African or Australasian imports. Same deal with the 242 that Pete posted above. Brits could only buy the 4 door saloon and estate. Plenty of 242s in Scandinavia are rally weapons now.

 

there was even one for sale on the Volvo forum which i showed an interest in but the vendor never got back to me

 

Argh - if you'd have said Trig I can send PMs on there. I don't like conversing with the majority of the window lickers on there, but would have done if it had meant you'd have snagged a 142. The owner didn't seem too forthcoming about its origins, so I don't know whether it was an SA \ Aus import or if it was converted. From the banter on the thread I'd hazard a guess to the latter.

 

If anything else takes your fancy - send me a PM and I will enquire. Unfortunately the majority of VOC members don't seem to understand the concept of 'selling' their cars online if you're not one of the inner circle. Just one of many [many] things I will never understand about the VOC forum.

 

When I get my Amazon back on the road you can have a go if you want, just don't expect progress for a wee while. It still needs new floors and I blew the welding budget on some OEM spec Bosch 'extraljus' Knick 180 spotlights. Mostly because I'm a prat.