Thanks to Charles H. for this great find! This is my favorite kind of find, a one-family, cherished from new car where it’s obvious the owner did whatever was necessary to keep the car in immaculate condition. Unfortunately the owner died a couple of years ago and his son is now selling the car. It’s located in Saint Clairsville, Ohio and is for sale here on craigslist for $6,500.

How Swede it is! it’s pretty obvious from this picture that the owner really loved this car. The “Overdrive” badge also indicates that the car has the lovely Laycock electrically-actuated overdrive, giving you more than the standard four speeds. I know on my Triumphs it can be actuated on either 2nd, 3rd or 4th (A-Type) or only 3rd and 4th (J-Type), but I don’t know which ones it can engage with on this Volvo–any Barn Finds readers know? While the tow hitch would normally concern me, these cars are tough and I doubt that this one was abused considering its condition.

You can see the shiny paint from this picture. The car was repainted in its original Ocean Green at some point. The close up pictures in the ad lead me to believe that all the emblems and trim were removed for the repaint rather than masked; an indication of a better quality job.

One thing I would like to see pictured that isn’t is the front seat upholstery, although if it looks like the immaculate rear seat fabric I’d be really happy! And look at the condition of that dash!

Under the hood we find the trusty B20 4-cylinder engine, good for many more miles than the 169,869 on the odometer now. The seller tells us that he starts it twice a week but has never felt comfortable driving it. Having inherited my father’s MGB when he died, I can understand how the memories might keep him from doing that. There’s two small issues; a broken side mirror and the latch for one of the front vent windows. If that’s all that’s wrong with this car, which is quite possible, I think it would be one delightful afternoon of two fixes and maintenance and you’d be off cruising in a great classic. While the advertised price is above the average retail value on some online guides, it’s below the high figures, and I think the provenance and records since new (even showroom brochures) would be worth it. Would you like to take this Volvo home?