Mr Teal
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Volvo P1800 a world famous car...
Did YOU help make a world-famous car?
Oct 29 2009 by Andrew Newport, Paisley Daily Express
Roger Moore is best known for cutting about in his amphibious Lotus Esprit, but a group of car fanatics hoping to pick the brains of Paisley Daily Express readers are more interested in his other set of wheels.
Fans of the Volvo P1800 – made famous by Moore in hit 60s TV show The Saint – couldn’t care less about the car-turned-submarine he drove while playing James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me.
Instead, they could drive you round the bend talking about just how much they love the sleek features of the Swedish-made sports car that was partly constructed in Linwood.
Now they want to take workers who helped assemble the P1800’s body shell at the plant on a cruise down Memory Lane.
Swede Karl Eric Målberg is a member of the Swedish Volvo P1800 Club and is now writing a book about the coupe’s history.
The unibond shells were made by Pressed Steel in Linwood, then shipped by rail to the Jensen plant in West Bromwich in the English Midlands, where they were assembled.
Over 6,000 cars rolled off of the Linwood production lines between 1961 and 1963 before Volvo moved the assembly operation back to Sweden.
For Karl Eric, 60, who works in Coventry for another Swedish firm, telecom giants Ericsson, the P1800 is an icon of the 60s.
“The P1800 was a really famous car in the 1960s,” he told the Express.
“Roger Moore drove one when he played Simon Templar in The Saint and for a lot of people, it is a symbol of that era.
“It was he who really made it famous.”
The P1800 is regarded as one of the finest cars made during that time and Karl Eric is not alone in his appreciation of it.
“We have a club in Sweden dedicated to the car and have more than 1,500 members.
“It’s beautiful. I bought my P1800 about 10 years ago.
“I’ve wanted one ever since I was 18.
“It was a boyhood dream for me for a long time to own one of these cars.
“You know what it’s like – when you’re young you wanted it but couldn’t afford it.
“But then, when you’re a bit older and a bit better off, you really fancy it.
“Then the kids come along and you end up getting a Volvo estate instead of a sports car.
“But after my kids grew up, I could finally get the car I’d always wanted.”
Although it’s over 40 years since the last P1800 drove out of Linwood, Karl Eric is hoping there are still people who worked for Pressed Steel living in Renfrewshire today who will be able to step forward and fill in some of the blanks in his story.
He said: “I’m writing a book about the history of the P1800, a lot of which is based in the UK.
“The first cars were assembled in West Bromwich after the body shells had been made in Linwood by Pressed Steel.
“Now I’m trying to get in contact with people who would have worked at the Pressed Steel plant and have stories from that time.
“I’d be interested in hearing any information they may have or seeing the pictures they’ve got from that time.
“It can be photos taken in the factory, outside the factory or when the body shells were transported down to West Bromwich.
“I hope there are still people living in the area that worked at the plant that are happy to help me out.”
If you have any information about the P1800’s production time in Linwood, you can contact Karl Eric by sending an e-mail to karl@volvo1800pictures.com
To find out more about the Volvo P1800, check out the Swedish Volvo P1800 Club’s website at www.volvop1800club.se
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'The face of the law may change, but never the clutch of the constabulary.'
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29/Oct/09, 9:33 pm
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