Volvo 262C

One of our repeat clients brought us this very rare 262C for a full restoration.

The Volvo 262C is a luxury coupé made by Volvo from 1977 (as a 1978 model) until 1981. Based on the 264 six-cylinder saloon, it was designed in-house by Volvo's Jan Wilsgaard and built by Bertone in Turin, Italy. It is not often seen in a restoration shop undergoing this level of work, and with such limited numbers, replacement parts and panels are not easy to come by.

We ended up sourcing a donor vehicle that originated from the USA, which meant a much more solid base to start with, along with many of the missing parts we required. The car was fully stripped and itemised. The shell was blasted and new arches and sills fitted, along with the roof from the original shell, as the donor roof had suffered from moisture trapped under the vinyl roof in the American heat.

The engine was stripped and rebuilt in house, with every single component stripped and zinc plated, and the injection unit sent off for refurbishment.

There were endless hours of research to cross-reference faulty parts and find replacements. While these cars don't hold much value, that doesn't mean they require less work. For this model it made the job even more difficult, because no one really restores them.

The interior was treated to a new carpet set and headlining by SM Trimming, who also fitted the vinyl roof. The rest of the interior was kept original and restored as well as it could be, without fully re-trimming, to retain some patina.

Fully rebuilt and now going through shakedown tests, this will, without a doubt, be the best example of this model worldwide.

A true testament to the amazing team here, and when I say team I must personally take my hat off to Simon for his endless hours of dedication to this project. His attention to detail in the finessing of this build has been amazing.