Volvo PV 544 B (1961)

AM-45-29 (owned from 25-08-2012 until 29-03-2014)

An important reason for buying this car was it's incredible low price: ten times cheaper than the price tag of my dream car (a 1946-48 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Coupe or Sports Sedan). Also this PV544 was mechanically allright and there was hardly any rust, though the paint was in an awful state. An attractive feature was that a former owner had already replaced the B16 engine and 6V electrics by a B18 and 12V and also had installed better seats.
Unfortunately the looks of the original PV444 were spoilt somewhat in the fifties by enlarging the front and rear window, even more so when the PV544 was introduced, but the car is still recogniseable as a design of the forties. Yet the car felt a bit as another compromise,  just like the Amazon. For some reason however, the roadholding seemed to be marginally better when compared to my former PV444 and the steering was definitely lighter.

Though I had hoped to install an automatic transmission this time, it never came that far once again because of the extent of such a project, which would entail a lot of cutting, welding and other modifications, most of which I would not be able to do myself. That just was not feasible, so once again not the ideal classic car for me. Attempts to sell the car failed, probably because of the economical crisis (2013), so I started to use it every now and then (next to the Amazon) which was not unpleasant as long as trafficjams could be avoided, because a manual gearbox will never be to my liking again.

I even replaced the skinny 4" wheels bij replica GT-wheels (5.5" wide) to combat the sensitivity for strong crosswinds and that really helped... but only a little bit and by far not enough to my taste. The larger wheels made it also clear that new rear springs were needed and the new springs made clear that the support arms had to be replaced. Then I remembered a six months old advertisement I had kept, because it was about one of those very few modern cars I don't dislike. Someone had offered a 2002 Hyundai Coupe V6 automatic (or Tiburon, as they were called in the U.S.) for sale. He still had the car and to my surprise he was interested in my Volvo and even willing to exchange...