Well, It's nearly four years since I purchased "Henry" and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with him. I purchased the car from a small garage in Surrey who were selling after the one and original owner had passed away. At that time, Henry was showing just 29000 miles and looking at the condition and the MOT history, it was clear that it was a genuine, well cared for car. The elderly owner had left everything to a charity and as the home was being cleared, they managed to throw away the history! However, in the glovebox was a hand written note from the gentleman explaining that the paperwork was in the chubb filing cabinet in the study. Sadly, it seems they didnt find the note and so the history was lost.
It was however clear that this Volvo had been cared for. There was one old invoice in the car for an mot in 2018. So I contacted the garage to see if they could throw some light on Henry's past. They knew and remembered the vehicle well and were able to tell me that most years they had collected the car for its mot
And returned it to its owner and looking at the mot history, it looks as if the owner hardly drove it one year to the next. The garage also told me that the owner had, had a minor supermarket bump to the front O/ S wing which they had repaired for him.
The rest of the paint is all original and as you can see, still shines up beautifully and is showing no signs of rust anywhere that I can find.
Henry or "Big Red" as my family calls him has been an absolute joy to own and has been my daily transport for the last four years. As well as taking me backwards and forwards to work, we have enjoyed many adventures to Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire and Devon to name a few and he is now showing just under 63, 000 which is still barely run in for these lovely old Swedish models. In the time I have owned it, I have replaced all tyres ( the old ones were from 1999 but still had lots of tread on them but didn't want to take any chances. A new rear exhaust box, brakes and electrical repair to the instrument cluster amongst other bits and pieces. The cam belt was replaced when I purchased the car and was checked about a month ago while having a new water pump and service completed.
Henry always turns heads wherever he goes and always gets admiring waves as he goes wafting by and will attract conversation wherever you go so be prepared!
I am genuinely sad to see him go but feel that he should be now in the hands of someone who will continue to look after him and keep his mileage low.
My partner drew a picture of Henry as she enjoyed him so much (see photos)
The not so good bits: This lovely car presents beautifully however, remember it is 35 years old and is not without its odd battle scars and certainly not something that I would consider having sprayed as for me the patination is part of the character and none of the blemishes detract from the overall appearance.
The radio decided to stop working a couple of months ago but again, I don't want to put in something out of character, so my partner just has to put up with my singing! The engine has always been a bit tappety but I have been assured that this is normal for the 2 litre and I realise this is true of others I have heard but if you are keen on tinkering, you may be able to improve on this.
Apart from these points, this is a wonderful old car that will keep up with modern traffic and although its no racing car, it will sit at 70 for hours while you relax in the armchair seats.
I will genuinely miss this old car as its given me so many smiles per mile and I hope it will go to someone who will enjoy it as much as I have.
I have today, just got a new 12 month MOT.
