The Volvo 122S, which was sold in Sweden as an Amazon, came onto the market as a midsized car, originally alongside the Volvo PV444 and 544, a car it ostensibly replaced, serving the same market segment with similar performance, though at a bit higher price. Their production overlapped by 10 years, showing how strong love for the PV series was, but it didn’t stop Volvo from selling over 650,000 Amazons in its production run.
Unlike the PV444 and 544, the Amazon debuted with just a four door sedan, but in 1962, a two door coupe and 5 door wagon were added to the lineup. With a more traditional 3 box design, inspired by American cars at the time, the Amazon was significantly more modern looking on its introduction than the turtle-backed PV-series, though by the end of its production in 1970 it was looking dated as well.
The Amazon was originally fitted with the 1.6 liter engine with a 3 speed gearbox, later upgraded to 4 speeds, with an optional electric overdrive, and a twin carburetor sport version came into being in 1958 which is also when the Amazon became the first car to receive 3 point seat belts as standard. With the introduction of the new coupe and wagon, the engine was also upgraded to 1.8 liters, along with a switch from 6 to 12 volt electrics. In 1966 Volvo introduced the first of their boxy sedans in the Volvo 140 series and the Amazon was slowly phased out of production over the next 4 years.
My Volvo Amazon was the first Swedish car to enter the collection and was bought locally where it was being used as a daily driver. It was a generally well preserved and maintained example, though was showing some wear and tear from the years of use, with a noisy rear differential and some wear to the interior and exterior. It had largely been preserved and still has an original Volvo accessory roof rack, mud flaps, and locking fuel cap. The suspension had been rebuilt with more sporting shocks and springs by the previous owner and The only glaringly out of place feature is a modern radio installed in the metal dash by the owner previous to the one I bought the car from.
It had been repainted previously in its original light blue colour though some evidence of very minor underlying rust is visible at some of the seams, but nothing that needs immediate attention. After purchasing the car, I had the differential rebuilt and a freshly rebuilt overdrive gearbox installed and I replaced all the rubber seals, including the front and rear windows, recovered the seats, installed a new headliner, door panels, windlace trim, and dash cap, as well as replaced front and rear bumpers, some chrome pieces, the steering wheel, and other parts due to wear or damage, in order to refresh the condition of the car, for the most part, with genuine Volvo parts.
As a driver-level example, this car could easily go back into being used daily and the engine and drivetrain are absolutely reliable. For a four door sedan, performance is excellent with the torque of the engine providing good acceleration and, as it now has an overdrive, it can cruise comfortably on the freeway as well. The construction of the car feels incredibly solid and handling is very good. The heater is effective, which is unusual on classic cars of this era and the car makes an excellent all-weather classic.
