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Upholstery P1800

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 Volvo 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 VP Autoparts (which has warehouses in Sweden and USA) 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.

Volvo P1800 1800 Jensen E S ES seats chairs
The three types of seats of the Volvo P1800

Volvo P1800 Jensen -1962 seats and interior Volvo 1800S and 1800E P1800 seat with headrest
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.

Volvo P1800S 1800S rear seat folding down
The rear seat of the 1800S which can be fold down

Volvo 1800ES rear seat fold down extra luggage
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.

All seat covers and other upholstery of the Volvo P1800 series can be bought at VP Autoparts (Veteran Parts is the only producer of the upholstery and the covers are exactly the same as the original upholstery) , which also have stores in Sweden and USA.

 Upholstery code  Description  Example seats  Example doorpanel
 301-176  Red (1961-1962)  Volvo P1800 Jensen upholstery Red color code 301-176  Volvo P1800 Jensen upholstery Red color code 301-176 doorpanels
 302-177  White  Volvo P1800 Jensen upholstery white color code kladsel 302-177  Volvo P1800 Jensen upholstery white color code kladsel 302-177 doorpanels
 303-213  Red  Volvo P1800 Jensen kladsel upholstery red color code 303-213  Volvo P1800 Jensen kladsel upholstery red color code 303-213 doorpanels
 304-214  White  Volvo P1800 Jensen kladsel upholstery white 304-214  Volvo P1800 Jensen kladsel upholstery white 304-214 doorpanels
 305-218  Red (1963)  Volvo P1800 Jensen 1963 red upholstery color code 305-218  Volvo P1800 Jensen 1963 red upholstery color code 305-218 doorpanels
 306-219  Black  Volvo P1800 Jensen 1963 black kladsel upholstery color code 306-219  Volvo P1800 Jensen 1963 black kladsel upholstery color code 306-219 doorpanels

 

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).

All seat covers and other upholstery of the Volvo P1800 series can be bought at VP Autoparts (Veteran Parts is the only producer of the upholstery and the covers are exactly the same as the original upholstery) , which also have stores in Sweden and USA.

 Upholstery color code  Description  Example
 307-265  Red  Volvo P1800S kladsel upholstery color code red 1800S 1800 S
 307-500  Red with headrests  Volvo P1800S kladsel upholstery color code red 1800S 1800 S
 308-266  Black  Volvo P1800S 1800S 1800 S upholstery fabric leather vinyl black kladsel
 308-501  Black with headrests  Volvo P1800S 1800S 1800 S upholstery fabric leather vinyl black kladsel
 309-522  Black  Volvo P1800S 1800S 1800 S upholstery fabric leather vinyl black kladsel
 310-557  Brown with headrests  Volvo 1800S brown upholstery kladsel P1800S P1800 S
 317-540  Red with headrests  Volvo P1800S kladsel upholstery color code red 1800S 1800 S
 318-541  Black with headrests  Volvo P1800S 1800S 1800 S upholstery fabric leather vinyl black kladsel
 319-542  Black  Volvo P1800S 1800S 1800 S upholstery fabric leather vinyl black kladsel
 320-558  Brown with headrests  Volvo 1800S brown upholstery kladsel P1800S P1800 S

 

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).

All seat covers and other upholstery of the Volvo P1800 series can be bought at VP Autoparts (Veteran Parts is the only producer of the upholstery and the covers are exactly the same as the original upholstery) , which also have stores in Sweden and USA.

 Upholstery code  Description  Example
 327-625
328-626
 Red (until 1970)  Volvo 1800E red upholstery old type kladsel color code P1800E 1800 E
 329-627
330-628
 Black  Volvo 1800E vinyl leather upholstery black kladsel 1800 E P1800E
 331-629
332-630
 Beige / brown  Volvo 1800E P1800E beige light brown upholstery
 335-633
336-634
337-762
338-763
 Black  Volvo 1800E vinyl leather upholstery black kladsel 1800 E P1800E
 339-764
340-765
 Red (1971 and later)  Volvo 1800E red upholstery vinyl leather P1800E 1800 E P1800
 341-766
342-767
 Gold metallic / light brown  Volvo 1800E gold brown beige upholstery vinyl leather P1800 E
 343-768
344-769
345-807
346-808
347-809
348-810
 Black, new seats since upholstery code 345-807 (chassisnumbers 37550 – 39385)  Volvo 1800E vinyl leather upholstery black kladsel 1800 E P1800E
 351-811
352-812
 Gold metallic / light brown (chassisnumbers 37550 – 39385)  Volvo 1800E gold brown beige upholstery vinyl leather P1800 E
 353-813
354-814
 Black (chassisnumbers 37550 – 39385)  Volvo 1800E vinyl leather upholstery black kladsel 1800 E P1800E

 

 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.

All seat covers and other upholstery of the Volvo P1800 series can be bought at VP Autoparts (Veteran Parts is the only producer of the upholstery and the covers are exactly the same as the original upholstery) , which also have stores in Sweden and USA.

 Color code  Description  Example
 440-815
441-816
442-817
443-818
 Black Volvo P1800ES 1800ES 1800 ES upholstery kladsel black color code
 446-819
447-820
 Gold metallic / light brown Volvo P1800ES 1800ES upholstery gold metallic leather vinyl
 448-821
449-822
450-878
451-879
452-880
453-881
454-882
455-883
 Black Volvo P1800ES 1800ES 1800 ES upholstery kladsel black color code
 456-884
457-885
458-886
459-887
 Brown / cognac Volvo P1800ES 1800ES upholstery brown medium cognac kladsel leather vinyl
 460-888
461-889
 Blue Volvo 1800ES P1800ES 1800 ES upholstery blue vinyl leather

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.

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

Volvo 1800E P1800 E 1800 E dashboard 1970
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.

Volvo 1800E 1800ES P1800 E ES lockable compartment
The lockable tunnel box compartment between the front seats of a 1970 Volvo 1800E. The car also has the late type gear shift lever. 

Volvo 1800ES P1800ES dashboard 1972
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.

Volvo P1800 dashboard
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

3 Responses to “Upholstery P1800”

  1. ishakp says:

    I have a p1800 year1963(chassis 5518/Eng 6010).At present rebuilding engine.Is it necessary to harden valves for unleaded fuel and if necessary how?What’s the best oil for the engine ,gearbox and overdrive.Lastly for the absorbers besides boggie oil are there better absorbers perhaps gas.Thanks from Malaysia

  2. Ove_62 says:

    On many of the Upholstery codes you have stated that they are with headrest. I don’t think this is correct. Headrests came with the P1800E model in 1970 and those Upholstery codes where used 1964-1969.

    Can you spread some light over this please?

    • Volvotips says:

      The information and color codes are verified with Volvo Cars, so it is correct. The codes for the seats without headrests are mentioned as well. Please note in some countries headrests were mandatory and in other countries the headrests weren’t available.

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