Volvotips

The interior and upholstery of the Volvo P1800-series has been changed several times but got three big updates during the years. The dashboard has also been changed a lot during the years (from jukebox-style to a very sober wooden dashboard). Because the Volvo 1800-series didn’t have many models there were also not many upholstery-choices available.

Type of seats P1800

The Volvo P1800-series have three type of seats: the first Jensen-seats (until 1962), the improved seats of the last Jensen (1963), 1800S and 1800E (with and without headrests) and the new seats of the Volvo 1800ES with integrated headrests. See the pictures below (click on it for a larger version).

Most of the upholstery of the Volvo P1800 was made of leather, and vinyl (Volvo called it “leatherette” in the good old days, also known as “sky-leather” or “skai”) with the center parts of the seats in leather.

Reproductions of the upholstery are still available at Scandcar which are 100% similar to the original upholstery. It’s also possible to install a custom-made interior (made by a furnisher) but you may have a difference in color and it could be more expensive. The reproductions are exact the same as the original upholstery and also the colors are identical.

The three types of seats of the Volvo P1800

 
The interior of a Volvo P1800 Jensen and the new seat with headrest of the 1800S and 1800E

Since Modelyear 1964 (type D, introduced in August 1963) the back seat of the Volvo 1800S can be fold down so extra luggage can be stored behind the front passengers. But you can’t compare it with folding rear seats in modern cars because large objects couldn’t be taken with it due the plate which seperated the trunk and the passenger’s compartment. When the 1800ES was introduced this problem was solved: a nice bigger floor appeared when the rear seat was fold down.

The rear seat of the 1800S which can be fold down

The back seat of the Volvo 1800ES which can be fold down to transport large objects and extra luggage

How to trace the upholstery code of your Volvo P1800 

To find the upholstery-code of your car: just open the hood and look for a small black & silver plate. That’s the VIN-plate with the chassis number, paint color number etc etc. There is also a field called “Klädsel” (what means “Upholstery”) with a code after it. That’s the color code of your upholstery!

Note: because a Volvo P1800 is a veteran car and you will probably not the first owner of the car (and most likely not even the second owner) it is possible the interior of your car doesn’t match the upholstery code, or the upholstery is totally different than it should originally be! A previous owner might have changed the interior completely (changing it is pretty easy) or inserted a custom-made interior in non-original colors. The upholstery code will tell you which interior was originally fitted into the car.

Upholstery Volvo P1800 Jensen

In the table below you’ll find the upholstery and interior color codes (including samples) for the Volvo P1800 Jensen (including the last serie which was produced in Sweden). Note: the P1800 Jensen always has a cream white C-pillar trim, and the armrest and top of the doorpanels are always black. Because the doorpanels of the Jensen are different than the late type P1800′s I’ve included the samples of the doorpanels as well.

Upholstery code	Description	Example seats	Example doorpanel
301-176	Red (1961-1962)
302-177	White
303-213	Red
304-214	White
305-218	Red (1963)
306-219	Black

 

Upholstery Volvo 1800S

In the table below you’ll see the various upholstery color codes (with samples) of the Volvo 1800S. As you can see the Volvo 1800 S was only available with 3 colors for the upholstery: brown, black and red. Volvo uses several codes for the same color due some minor modifications and seats with or without headrests (the headrest is the same as the Volvo Amazon P120 and P130-series).

Upholstery color code	Description	Example
307-265	Red
307-500	Red with headrests
308-266	Black
308-501	Black with headrests
309-522	Black
310-557	Brown with headrests
317-540	Red with headrests
318-541	Black with headrests
319-542	Black
320-558	Brown with headrests

 

Upholstery Volvo 1800E

In the table below you’ll see the various upholstery color codes (with samples) of the Volvo 1800E. The seats of the 1800E are basically the same as the seats of the 1800S, but the last serie of the 1800E has the same seats as the 1800ES (seats with integrated headrest, since chassisnumber 37550). Volvo uses several codes for the same color due some minor modifications, material and seats with or without headrests (most 1800E’s were sold with headrests).

Upholstery code	Description	Example
327-625  328-626	Red (until 1970)
329-627  330-628	Black
331-629  332-630	Beige / brown
335-633  336-634  337-762  338-763	Black
339-764  340-765	Red (1971 and later)
341-766  342-767	Gold metallic / light brown
343-768  344-769  345-807  346-808  347-809  348-810	Black, new seats since upholstery code 345-807 (chassisnumbers 37550 – 39385)
351-811  352-812	Gold metallic / light brown (chassisnumbers 37550 – 39385)
353-813  354-814	Black (chassisnumbers 37550 – 39385)

 

 Upholstery Volvo 1800ES

In the table below you’ll see the various upholstery color codes (with samples) which were used on the Volvo 1800ES. The seats of the P1800ES always have integrated headrests. Volvo uses several codes for the same color due some minor modifications, material and/or supplier.

Color code	Description	Example
440-815  441-816  442-817  443-818	Black
446-819  447-820	Gold metallic / light brown
448-821  449-822  450-878  451-879  452-880  453-881  454-882  455-883	Black
456-884  457-885  458-886  459-887	Brown / cognac
460-888  461-889	Blue

 
Dashboards of the Volvo P1800

The dashboard and steering wheel of the 1800-series has been changed several times during the years. The 1800 Jensen and 1800S both have a great dashboard with a jukebox-style like many USA-cars had in that time. The rear view mirror was mounted on the dashboard, which was changed when the 1800 E (MY 1970) was introduced (the rear view mirror moved to the top of the windscreen and now has a anti-glare function). The two-spoke steering wheel was replaced by a three-spoke steering wheel in 1968. The new steering wheel was safer but in my opinion less pretty.

The padding of the dashboard also has been slightly changed during the years: the structure of upper part and lower part of the dashboard was changed in the early years but it’s hard to see. Most people don’t even notice the difference!

A other big change was the modification from “jukebox-style” to more sober the wooden dashboard. The chrome rings of the clocks and instruments were changed to black. Also the meters for fuel gauge, water- and oil temperature were changed. The gear shift lever was also changed during the years to a round version.

 
Dashboard of a ’64 1800S, in my opinion the most beautiful dashboard and steering wheel for the P1800

The dashboard of a 1970 Volvo 1800E with the new wooden trim, new instruments and three-spoke steering wheel

Also new was a lockable compartment between the front seats. Unfortunately after many years the lock will be broken and a new lock including key (Volvo part number 679003 for the 1800ES, which is the same lock as the glove compartment of the 140/164-series) is very hard to find. Note: the lock for the 1800ES is a bit different (bigger) so a old lock won’t fit on a 1800ES tunnelbox.

The lockable tunnel box compartment between the front seats of a 1970 Volvo 1800E. The car also has the late type gear shift lever. 

 
The dashboard of a 1972 Volvo 1800ES

 

Volvo P1800 instruments and controls

The Volvo 1800-series dashboards are basically the same during its lifetime. Only a few modifications were made during the years, like the overdrive switch, trim of the dashboard, the structure of the coating of the paddings, the rims of the instruments etc etc. The description and picture below (click on it for a larger version) are from a 1967 Volvo 1800 S.

The dashboard of a ’67 Volvo 1800S

Instruments and controls

1. Control for windshield wipers and windshield washers	16. Switch for inner lighting
2. Oil pressure gauge	17. Trip meter
3. Temperature gauge for cooling water	18. Speedometer
4. Temperature gauge for engine oil	19. Mileometer
5. Revolution counter	20. Fuel gauge
6. Warning lamp for charging	21. Clock
7. Choke control	22. Recess for radio
8. Ignition switch with built in starter	23. Switch for map reading lamp
9. Control for direct ventilation	24. Hood catch
10. Fan controls	25. Warning lamp for directional signals
11. Heater and ventilation controls	26. Warning lamp for full headlights
12. Lighting switch	27. Warning light for overdrive
13. Zero setting control for trip meter	28. Lever for loud tone horn
14. Directional signal switch with built in headlight flasher	29. Cigarette lighter
15. Overdrive switch

  

© Volvotips 2011