History of Ian’s Volvo
In October of 2006, my old reliable 1982 Volvo GLT will be 25 years old and it will have given me over 700,000 virtually trouble free kilometers of service. However, it was by no means easy service. Some days I was down right brutal on it. This car has tens of thousands of flat out-full throttle acceleration, heavy braking, hard cornering, tire squealing race track kilometers on it, not to mention more heel & toe downshifts than probably any other car in existence.
I purchased my first brand new car from what was Lawrence Park Motors on Mount Pleasant Rd. in Toronto in the fall of 1981. It was to be the first of the1982 GLT’s built in Canada. Volvo at that time was assembling their 240 series Volvos in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
After watching my eldest brother totally abuse a 1965 122 Volvo to the point where it would stop running from lack of oil or coolant, only to serve faithfully again once the fluids were topped up, I thought these were automobiles were worth looking at.
After researching Volvos and learning of their state-of-the-art, leading edge safety technology and knowing of their comfort and roominess, I found their only lacking aspect was performance.
The Volvo GLT produced 136 hp and 137 lbs-ft of torque from its’ 2.3 litre normally aspirated fuel injected engine which was actually respectable considering the Mustang GT back then only made about 200 hp. Better still, the Volvo came with a great set of 4 wheel disc brakes. The only cars with better braking performance were the Porsche and Corvette.
So in 1981 I paid a whopping $14,250 for a new GLT complete with leather seats and sun roof. I picked it up on the 16th of October with only 16 kms on the odometer. It came with a “Canada only” 2.3 litre, 4 cylinder engine with the aforementioned statistics. It was capable of using leaded or unleaded fuel as it was one of the only vehicles that could meet Canadian smog standards without a catalytic converter.
I researched all the “miracle” cures for cars in magazines and on TV. I decided I would use synthetic oils and in particular Mobil 1 to keep the drive train running trouble free. I also chose Rust Check to keep the body components from corroding out from under me.
After two years of enjoying that “new car smell” I was introduced to the sport of Solo competitions. Being the consummate road race fan Solo seemed an ideal way I could enjoy performance driving in safety and without the sky high costs of road racing.
Our first season of Solo II (Autoslalom) was very successful as not only did we win our very first race, the Volvo also took me to Rookie of the Year and the Class Championship. The following year I headed into competition driving with full enthusiasm and determination to win more. We entered our first Canadian National Championship and won the Class Championship for the next four years in a row.
With nothing more than cross drilled, water cooled brakes for the race track, stiff shocks and a custom exhaust system from Hot Rod Scotts that broadened the power band significantly, the Volvo was also very successful at Solo I (race track) competitions. Never was this car raced in the streets.
The most common reactions I heard to this success were, “You race a Volvo?” Obviously, most people did not equate Volvo with performance. After all, it was a large, boxy, safe sedan. Others asked, “What modifications have you done to it?” as most couldn’t believe a stock Volvo could be that successful.
Over the next 15 years, the Volvo won countless Solo Championships, both class and overall and with some undefeated seasons. Rumours flew that I was cheating which at first was quite upsetting. Then I began looking upon it as a compliment. If that many competitors thought I had modified the Volvo, then it must be fast. All this attention was also beneficial as I soon earned my first sponsors.
BFGoodrich Tires and Mobil 1 offered to help the Volvo remain a champion. BFG supplied the competition tires and Mobil 1 supplied all the synthetic lubricants. This greatly reduced the costs of competition.
The Volvo also competed in the BFGoodrich Super Car Challenge Pro Solo organized by the Corvette Club. Since this series was organized by a Corvette Club, the Volvo would have to compete head to head with Corvettes as well as Porsches and Mazda etc.
The Volvo made it into the “Final Four” each year it competed, eliminating many Corvettes during the runs. Being the obvious underdog, it soon became a crowd favourite as they enjoyed the sight of the boxy Volvo beating the sleek “Vettes”. It got to the point where the Corvette Club actually tried to ban the Volvo from running one year, but BFGoodrich insisted the Volvo should run.
At the half million kilometer mark, the syncros in the transmission began to act up, so the Volvo specialist technicians at Swedish Motors repaired the transmission and we also decided to replace the original clutch. The craftsmen at Swedish Motors have always done an outstanding job of tuning and maintaining the Volvo over all those years.
After 16 years of Solo competitions with the Volvo, it was protested one more time. By this time the Volvo was approaching 600,000 kms of trouble free motoring and I was tired of all the politics. It was time to semi-retire the Volvo and move into to Regional road racing with a “full race” car. Now the Volvo would only be used for daily driving, car shows and the odd fun Solo event.
With over 700,000 kms on it, the engine is starting to emit signs of all that hard core driving. The body has no rust on it and careful maintenance of the leather seats have kept them in good condition. Even some of the bulbs are still original. It still gets up 32 to 37 mpg at highway speeds and consumes the same amount of oil as when new.
The Volvo has been shown at countless auto shows from the prestigious Toronto International Autoshow to cruise nights in Warsaw. At each I find myself saying over and over again, “Yes, it has that many miles on it, yes that is the original paint and yes I raced a Volvo!”
Much thanks go out to:
Dave Montieth and the mechanics at Swedish Motors in Toronto
Mobil 1 synthetic oils – engine, transmission, differential and power steering
Rust Check and in particular the 752 Warden Ave. location in Toronto.
Hot Rod Scotts custom exhaust system
Second Time Around Tires at 8 Progress Ave. in Toronto
BFGoodrich Tires who helped me win many Championships