This week, we’re going to be exploring the rustier side of things, with some cars that were either deliberately “aged beyond perfection,” or were just saved that way. Rat rods? Not quite, but we’re going for some heavy patina, that’s for sure. This odd little Volvo doesn’t really fit the patina pattern all that well, but it’s been in my files for a little while and it needs a wider audience.
I found this 444 back in the home country in the summer of 2023, not far from the Hotchkiss I wrote up recently. I’m not sure which was the unlikelier find of the two: pre-1960 Volvos are very rare in France. Despite the fading orange paintwork and superfluous decals, the shape of that split-window fastback certainly got my attention. All it would need is a slight central fin…
The original colour seems to have been black. That figures – black was the default colour for most European cars in the early ‘50s. But then, not a few of these Volvos, despite not being all that quick or sporty, ended up on the racetrack. Which is clearly what happened to this one.
The Recaros and that horrible steering wheel are kind or a deal-breaker for me, but obviously this car is used for more than just transportation. Is the original 40hp 1.4 litre engine and its 3-speed manual still how this Volvo rolls? Or perhaps a much later B18 block with twin SU carbs…
The PV444 was launched in 1944, though actual deliveries really only took place from 1947 onward. Dating this car was surprisingly pretty straightforward: the rear window turned into a one-piece item in 1955. On the other hand, the dash makes this a post-1950 car.
Those are the stock rear lights, too – period photos attest to that. They also attest to a pretty limited cargo capacity, but then that’s par for the course with cars of this era. Especially those that just plopped the spare tyre on the boot floor like that. However, neither our feature car nor this stock photo show the dreaded (or hilarious) “cuckoo” turn signals, implemented between 1950 and 1952.
Pre-1950 Volvos had semaphores, but for a couple of years the domestic cars were given this Fixlight roof-mounted item. It was an amazingly inept piece of industrial design: hard to see from some angles, not great as an indicator due to both lights being on the centre of the car and, most damningly of all, it meant Volvo PV444s could not be fitted with roof racks. Export models were never sold with this thing, but all cars received B-pillar blinkers by 1952.
With a number of changes, this first unit-body Volvo design was produced for nearly 20 years. It is alleged that Volvo’s initial production goal for the PV444 was 8000 units. However, they received 10,000 orders by 1946, so they just kept on going until the 200k unit threshold was in sight. And then, in 1958, the model name changed to PV544 and another 250k units were made. Plan for 8k, build 440k – quite a feat.
So if there were that many made, I guess painting one orange, putting ugly Recaros in it and racing it on Sundays is not that big a deal. But for the full Scandinavian goth look, I’d go back to black. Just suits these better.
Related posts:
Curbside Classics: Volvo PV444 and PV544 – I Roll, Starting Here, by PN
Cohort Pic(k) Of The Day: Volvo PV444 And PV544 – From Quaint To Attention-Grabbing?, by Rich Baron
Black may have been a default colour for most European cars in the early ’50s but ten/fifteen years later it was quite different. Black had become very unusual, many popular cars did not even had this as an option.
Nowadays of course black times are here again.
These Volvos were very popular here in the Netherlands. When I grew up in the 70s lots were still around.
Not all old cars have to be museum worthy original looking. Nice to see one on the street now!
A buddy of mine found one of these (a ’57) with a bad head gasket before the internet, bought and resurrected it, that place in Oregon that sells Volvo parts couldn’t find a new gasket, I forget where he finally found one but the un restored car ran quite well and after new rubber all ’round in the brakes stopped well too, he only wanted $1,500 for it with current tags but I thought it too slow and passed .
Sad this one doesn’t have bumpers, sooner or later the streets will show the lack of wisdom there .
-Nate
Nice, iconic shape.
I barely remember the 544 we had when I was a kid but I thought the trunk was actually pretty roomy, given its height and decent front-to-rear depth. Our family of four always seemed to be able to cram a lot into it on vacations. I don’t know if this spare tire config was changed by the time the 544 came along, but by then it was mounted vertically on the right, behind the rear wheel well, which mated well with the hunchback shape and didn’t take up much space. Though we also had a roof rack.
Quite a find – I wish it could tell us the full story….
I posted a 1963 Road & Track review of the 544 in the comments in Paul’s original piece on the 444/544 – it’s a good summary of its qualities.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classics-volvo-pv444-and-pv544-i-roll-starting-here/