Volvo Amazon (1966)

AM-17-31 (owned from 23-08-2008)

It would be much cheaper to buy a classic car that already left the factory with an automatic gearbox than modifying a car to my own taste. After so many mistakes, this was definitely something to keep in mind. I had already discovered a Volvo 121 Amazon automatic that was advertised on the internet for more than a year, so I decided to take a look and make a testride, though I do not consider the lines of a Volvo 121 to be the most beautiful ever. But you don't have much choice if it's a fifties car with an automatic gearbox you're after. For me, US cars are too large and too expensive in Holland.
The advertised car was allright, but the BW35 automatic made it accelerate ridiculously slow. But that was no surprise, because I had experienced that once before when I made a testdrive in a similar car. It took several weeks of thinking and negociating before the decision was made to buy this Volvo as the price was very reasonable. Though it was slow, it was certainly faster than the Traction and also the stability was better when compared to a PV444. A number of underbonnet parts were renewed and new tires were mounted on Minilite wheels. The result was a rather pleasant daily driver though I missed the nostalgica and some BHP. A real compromise car so to speak. Replacement of the original Zenith carb by a Weber 38/38 Outlaw improved the power but gave many problems with cold starts and hesitating during lower rpms which seemed impossible to cure. Replacing the Weber by a single Zenith-Stromberg 175 CD 2SE appeared to be a very good remedy but supplied less power... Despite the somewhat sluggish performance, I like driving this car.