Allen Begnoche’s brother originally bought this 1970 Volvo 1800E in Vermont in 2005 and it has been shipped back and forth several times from Mesa, Arizona. The Volvo now resides in South Burlington with its current owners, Allen and Erin Begnoche.
I am a fairly new member of VAE, and after reading through the latest issue of Wheel Tracks (especially the “Wanted” paragraph in the classifieds section), I decided to offer up my story on my 1970 Volvo 1800E.
My brother purchased this car in 2005 here in Vermont while visiting from Mesa, Arizona. I kept the car for him for a couple of months, after which he and his wife drove it back to Mesa. He would drive it on and off for the next several years until, in 2016, decided to have the mechanicals freshened up. A friend of mine ,who is a vintage racer and master mechanic/fabricator/restorer, offered to do the work, so my brother shipped the car back here. The engine was rebuilt, and due to lack of parts at the time to fix the fuel injection, replaced with a twin Mikuni carb setup. The engine also received oversized pistons as well as head work and a cam to match the carbs. In addition, the rear end was also redone and a numerically lower final drive was installed for lower revs around town. The car was shipped back in 2018.
My brother enjoyed the car for the next several years. This past spring, after retiring and buying himself a Porsche Boxster as a retirement gift (again from a local Vermont owner), he offered the Volvo to me. In June, I had the car shipped here. After getting the car registered and inspected, changing the oil and filter and filling up the tank, I went for my first ride.
It was a tour of just 24 miles before — less than a 1/4 mile from home — the motor started to knock and got progressively worse. I nursed it into the driveway where the motor died. Fearing the worst, I looked the engine over and saw…. nothing! No hole in the block, no oil or water leaking. We pushed the car into the garage, and I let it sit for a week, too disappointed to look at it. Later, a friend of mine came over and asked to look at the motor. What he found was a missing frost plug. Not sure how or why, but without the plug the motor released its coolant somewhere on the road.
It was a couple more weeks before I could coordinate the effort, but with help, the motor was pulled. Remember my friend who had rebuilt the motor years ago? He offered to rebuild it again! Currently, the block and head are at the machine shop getting a once over. I am told there is no damage to either. I should have the motor back in a couple of weeks, after which we will try to reinstall it before the snow flies.
An interesting fact about this car is that it was purchased here in the States by a military officer, who then shipped it overseas while he was stationed in Europe. It later came back to the USA when, after a few more years, it was sold to the gentleman from whom my brother bought the car. Reading through all the paperwork that came with the car (including the original bill of sale) is really cool with, for example, repair orders from Germany! The car is, as you can see, in very good condition. The interior is original.
It is also a great driver’s car, as original an analog experience as any for that time period. The engine sounds with the side draft carbs are unique and very lovely! I am looking forward to driving it to the first Cars & Coffee of the season at the University Mall this spring.
Allen is a VAE member and lives in So. Burlington, VT.
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