Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Man nears 3 millionth mile in world record-holding Volvo
Fox News ^ | 9 July 2012 | Fox News

Posted on 07/09/2012 5:27:49 AM PDT by ShadowAce

It just keeps going, and going, and going. No, it's not a battery. It's Irvin Gordon's 1966 Volvo P1800S.

Gordon's small, red two-door has well more than 2 million miles on the odometer, the equivalent of nearly 1,176 times across the globe.

The retired schoolteacher from Long Island hopes to reach the 3 million mile mark by next year. He only has 34,000 miles to go.

The 72-year-old Gordon drives his Volvo everywhere. He has held the Guinness World Records mark for High Mileage Vehicle since 2002 and was the first person to hold that record.

"It's just a car I enjoy driving," he said.

He bought his beloved car on June 30, 1966, for $4,150 at the age of 25. "It was a whole year's salary," he said.

Gordon originally wanted the convertible Volvo with air conditioning, but it was too expensive. He paid extra to have an AM/FM radio, though.

"It was $10 extra, and at that time, $10 was a lot. But an AM/FM radio was a big deal," he said.

Gordon's car has just enough room for him and his essentials. His front bumper is filled with pins of his mileage achievements. Even his license plate says "MILNMILER." And his trunk overflows with the many car parts he thinks he might need when on the road.

"I have a set of everything," he said. "If I have it, then I am not going to need it."

Gordon has been taking road trips since he was a kid and continued through his adult years. He says he would just tell his family to pack their things and hit the road. Gordon's two daughters went on his road trips until they outgrew the tiny red car.

"They just couldn't fit in the back anymore. That is when...

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: volvo
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-56 last
To: cuban leaf

I’m amazed that GM is closing the Opel plant in Germany in favor of connecting with Peugeot.


41 posted on 07/09/2012 9:33:47 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: ShadowAce

My daughter just bought a ‘96 Volvo S90 from a friend of mine who bought it new. It’s got 225,000 miles and runs fine.

But, my Pontiac Vibe runs great at 202,000 and my other daughter had a Mercury Sable that’s pushing 200,000 miles too.

Cars just last longer now.


42 posted on 07/09/2012 10:03:29 AM PDT by cyclotic (People who live within their means are increasingly being forced to pay for people who didn't.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cyclotic

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/07/question-of-the-day-is-300k-the-new-200k/


43 posted on 07/09/2012 10:13:09 AM PDT by nascarnation
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: nascarnation

I think you’re right. My Vibe is a 2006. I bought it two years ago with 140K. Whoever owned it first must have done nothing but drive. I drive 60-100 miles a day just for work and can’t come close to matching those kind of miles.


44 posted on 07/09/2012 10:26:17 AM PDT by cyclotic (People who live within their means are increasingly being forced to pay for people who didn't.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 43 | View Replies]

To: Eric in the Ozarks

Volvo B-16 and B-18 4 cylinder engines are bullet proof....and they fit perfectly into MGBs.


45 posted on 07/09/2012 10:32:14 AM PDT by Kenny Bunk (So, Scalia, Alito, Thomas, and FU Roberts can't figure out if Obama is a Natural Born Citizen?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Eric in the Ozarks

My ex totaled mine out on one of her nights out with the girls.(That wasn’t)


46 posted on 07/09/2012 11:23:20 AM PDT by Bringbackthedraft ( WHO WE ELECT AS PRESIDENT IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS WHO THEY APPOINT.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Kenny Bunk

Ever taken the linkage cover off an MGB transmission ?


47 posted on 07/09/2012 12:26:31 PM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: Eric in the Ozarks
Ever taken the linkage cover off an MGB transmission ?

Sure have, have you had one go blooey on you? In fact, as we speak, I am bolting an original Laycock de Normanville Electrically Actuated Overdrive Unit to an MGB trans. By Summer's end I hope to have my next, and last MGB on the road, all stock except for shock-converted double wishbone front end, and the single Weber Intake. Chassis is 1971.

My favorite bastardization of all time was to use the Ford Capri v6 with 5 speed. The unit was so light, that although it ran very sweetly, I could never get the suspension right! Next owner did.

48 posted on 07/09/2012 1:25:31 PM PDT by Kenny Bunk (So, Scalia, Alito, Thomas, and FU Roberts can't figure out if Obama is a Natural Born Citizen?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: Kenny Bunk
I've owned two Jaguars and a big Healy with the electric overdrive you mentioned but never owned an MG.
My first jaguar was a 1960 XK 150 S (late model with the gold head 3.8 E type engine.) I could get four or five levels of cackle with the little switch on the dash. Of course, a set of Midas mufflers contributed some to the music.
The MG tranny contains three little ball bearings that are spring loaded under the shifter cover. Opening this cover without care allows the balls to fly about the garage space and it can be troublesome to locate the little devils...
49 posted on 07/09/2012 1:59:11 PM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: Eric in the Ozarks
.....three little ball bearings that are spring loaded under the shifter cover....

Happens to everyone ....once.

The MGB actually has a much better chassis than either the Healey or your 150. It is quite rigid and immensely strong. It does, OTOH, weigh in at around 3,000lbs!

I switched for a long while to Italian cars. My Alfa Giulietta weighed 1800 lbs, a FIAT 1500 Roadster about the same (same designer as the MGB) and they were a whole lot livelier than an MGB. Of course, with that much less metal, they rusted out in the blink of an eye in New England. The best of that early lot IMHO ... the 71-73 FIAT 124 Roadsters. Cheap, light, fast, reasonably strong. The Coupe version is definitely one of the best cheap sports cars ever made. After 1973, sports cars died. Heavy bumpers, reinforcements, pollution controls, etc etc. Jimmied out of existence by that dippy airbag broad Joan Claybrook. I hope she was run over by a 1949 Ford with bad rings.)

50 posted on 07/09/2012 2:49:05 PM PDT by Kenny Bunk (So, Scalia, Alito, Thomas, and FU Roberts can't figure out if Obama is a Natural Born Citizen?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: ShadowAce
Engines are actually far better now than they ever were.

Manufacturing tolerances today are far more stringent now.. at least one more '0'. Materials are better. Fuel injection means less blow-by and less gas washing away ring lube. They are balanced to specs that would have been only dreamed of in the olden days.

Although I truly detest the bulbous turd look of newer cars, most engines today are quite capable of 300,000+ happy miles. (I was going to say between overhauls, but they don't seem to be made for that, since they seem to have pared away any extraneous metal. So, use'em up!) Go Diesel!

51 posted on 07/09/2012 2:59:00 PM PDT by Kenny Bunk (So, Scalia, Alito, Thomas, and FU Roberts can't figure out if Obama is a Natural Born Citizen?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Kenny Bunk
Joan Blamebrook was a Nader acolyte.

I owned four Jaguars in my misspent youth. In order, they were:
1960 150S
1957 Mk VII sedan
1966 E type roadster
1966 E type coupe

I have one hundred stories about campaigning them.
I learned auto mechanics from Jaguar Cars and Beck Arnley...

52 posted on 07/09/2012 4:24:48 PM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: Eric in the Ozarks
I also had an early XJ6.

Got it cheap after the original owner and his dealer could not keep it from overheating in CA. After putting in a custom radiator, an oil cooler, a trans cooler for the GM Hydramatic which I had hot-rodded by a shop in Santa Monica, I drove it for years.

It got 12-15 MPG, in town, on the highway, at 30MPH, at 130 MPH. the GM AC always worked, as did the GM Power Windows. Loved all two tons of it. Cruised it many a time between LA and Las Vegas with the 8-track going full blast. Have you ever seen the updated 3.4 Saloons remanufactured by Heritage Motors in England? Beauties!

Flattened while parked! I loved 150's, especially the way the fenders took a while to catch up with the car in sharp bends, but I never owned one!

53 posted on 07/09/2012 4:51:29 PM PDT by Kenny Bunk (So, Scalia, Alito, Thomas, and FU Roberts can't figure out if Obama is a Natural Born Citizen?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: FatherofFive
I had a Dodge Dart with a slant 6.

Push-button tranny controls. Self-cleaning engine - inside crankcase gunk slid down the slant and stayed away from the moving parts. Ran fo-evah.

54 posted on 07/09/2012 4:56:42 PM PDT by Talisker (One who commands, must obey.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Kenny Bunk
The 150 was once described in a Limey car mag as the “sleek mother cat,” when they compared it to the 120. I never got to drive any of the real early cars. They looked fast, light and pretty, f’sure.

I'm looking around for a less expensive but reliable fun car in the order of 2 seat coupe. Mazda and Porsche have come to mind.

Three weeks ago, I drove an ‘02 911 Carrera that had less than 18,000 miles. It drove like a gocart. $30,000 plus it needs $1500 worth of tires. The 6 speed transmission had been replaced at 900 miles...

55 posted on 07/09/2012 7:19:05 PM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: Talisker
.......inside crankcase gunk slid down the slant and stayed away from the moving parts.....

Nah. It was tipped over so it could fit under the lower bonnets of modern cars. It also allowed a long intake manifold that helped performance. The crankcase is on the level. Great engine, even if generally lousy bodies.

My theory? Chrysler built excellent engines and transmissions through the '50's, '60s, and '70's and thus had no money left to spend on the car bodies. They did have a run of really bad engines and even worse transmissions recently, but that is over?

56 posted on 07/10/2012 5:27:34 AM PDT by Kenny Bunk (So, Scalia, Alito, Thomas, and FU Roberts can't figure out if Obama is a Natural Born Citizen?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 54 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-56 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson