1964 Volvo 121 Four Door Saloon

Volvo very soon celebrates the 60^th anniversary of its entry into the UK car market. And the foundation stone for its subsequent success was the 120 Series, otherwise known as the Amazon.

Now one of the best-known Volvo Amazon saloons in the UK is back on the road to make its journey to Dorset for its saleroom debut; fresh to the market, it represents a rare opportunity for the Volvo enthusiast.

It will be the first time that this outstanding motor car has been sold for forty four years; the last time it changed hands was when its first purchaser, Bert Unicombe, sold it to his son, Barry, for £300 in 1973. Bert paid for £841 18s 8d for the Amazon in September, 1964.

Barry and his wife, Sonia, moved to Hampshire from East Sussex, twenty years ago after Barry retired from the family Volvo repair business. The Amazon went into the garage under a cover and hardly came out again. After Barry’s death in 2015, it was eased it out with a winch and onto a low loader leaving the engine undisturbed until it had been checked over and serviced. Since then, a brake overhaul, new tyres all round, and attention to some hardly significant bodywork blemishes has brought the Volvo back to prize-winning condition. In its show life with Barry and Sonia it won the Volvo National Concours award eight times. The first prize it ever won was a bottle of champagne – the cork, with a silver coin pressed into it, has remained in the ashtray ever since!

Sonia and Barry, who started his working life as a panel beater for Elva Cars, stripped the Volvo to a rolling shell for a bare metal respray before taking it through a meticulous rebuild that included a Nordic performance package. After its post-storage check over and the fitting of a new battery, the engine fired straight off, testament to the fastidious way Barry worked.

CNJ 473B will be sold with a variety of spares, including its original engine parts to return it to standard specification if required. The history file includes the original sales brochure, photographs, press cuttings, parts lists, the V5C registration certificate and its replacement, together with the V5 document and the RF60 registration book. 

SOLD