1969 Volvo 133 Amazon Road/Rally

The vendor has owned this Amazon for almost three years, using it to compete in a 5 road/regularity rallies including The Classic Malts, The Three Castles and Le Jog.

He himself lives in Canada and has travelled over for a couple of events each year. ‘I’m not mechanically minded at all,’ he admits. ‘And Kevin Savage (considered one of the gurus of rally car prep) of Savage Motorsport has always prepared and serviced the car for me.’

‘He’s always done it very thoroughly, and added multi failsafe systems such as: the ability to switch between two fuel pumps in the boot; dual electronics in the engine bay; fitting a rally fuel tank with a spare fuel section; and a back-up for the rally computer.’

The vendor says that placing high on regularity rallies is more dependent on the navigator or driver’s ability than the car itself. ‘That said, it is a very, very strong car to drive. Kevin built it like a tank; it always started, never failed and I’ve always had full confidence in it.’

‘Now that I am almost 73 years old it is probably lack of confidence in myself that is starting to creep in. That’s why I’m selling it… 20 years of doing events (in a Triumph TR6, Mercedes 280SL and 300SEB before the Amazon) and constant flying over takes a toll.’

Proof of the car’s competitiveness comes from the fact that it placed 26th (from 75 starters) in last year’s grueling LeJog (Land’s End to John O’Groats) event, and Kevin Savage himself says there’s plenty of life left in the old girl yet.

‘It has everything you want in a road rally car and is still in very sound condition, although it may benefit from a paint job to freshen it up,’ says Kevin. ‘In terms of driving it’s really nice, and feels like a modern car. It’s not ultra quick as the engine remains standard, but it’s done quite well.’

The Amazon comes with a current MOT test certificate that’s valid until 03.04.2020 and the V5 document shows a total of 10 former owners.  

There’s no doubt that she’s still a presentable old girl. From a distance the green paintwork is still in good condition, but get up close and you can see that Kevin’s right, in that it would benefit from a spruce up. That said, it could also very much be run as is – that choice is up to the next owner.

There’s a touch of surface corrosion here and there in the bodywork seams and joins, and the bumpers and some of the other chrome could do with restoration. The front n/s corner on the front one is particularly rusty and has had a touch of silver rattle can treatment at some point.

The boot lid has a leather securing strap fitted (there’s one on the bonnet too) and there’s a spotlight mounted at the rear. Tow hooks front and rear have been added and are marked with decals; up front there’s also a set of Cibie spotlights mounted on the front grill.

Inside, it’s a pure and focussed road rally cabin. The chunky Moto-Lita steering wheel is a tactile pleasure and there’s a plethora of dashboard mounted rally kit including a Brantz International 3 Pro + driver display tripmeter.

The Fabricage roll cage initially had side door impact bars, but these were removed for ease of ingress/egress. The fire extinguisher is mounted to the rear floor and there are electrical cut-off switches, an easy access fuse box and auxiliary electrical inputs fitted.

Kevin also fitted an overdrive gearbox and it’s operated by way of a switch mounted on the lower o/s dashboard (along with the spotlights and fuel pumps). Carpets and headlining remain good, and there’s a pair of impressively supportive OMP seats and accompanying Sabelt four-point harnesses.

The engine bay is remarkably free of road grime/dirt and presents well. There’s a Hi-Torq starter motor fitted, a later type radiator and all hoses were replaced in 2017.

The suspension was completely rebuilt and polybushed at the same time, with the braking system also restored and upgraded/strengthened. Underneath you’ll find a sumpguard for when things get a little rocky, and there’re twin coils and twin fuel pumps fitted for an extra level of relia- and switchability.

In the boot a high-capacity alloy fuel tank has replaced the original item. There’s an unused looking spare tyre shod in the same uber grippy Vredestein Snowtracs 185/65 R15 rubber as those on the exterior.

Underneath it’s a bit dusty, crusty and surface rusty. However, please be aware that Swedish metal is hardy stuff (certainly when compared to that used in other European climes) so again we think it’d benefit from a strip back, some restorative work and then protective undersealing.

As our video below demonstrates, she fires first time and sounds like the strong Swedish old girl that she is. On the road, you’re immediately aware of just how redoubtable she feels. There’s a nice sporting exhaust note (nothing too obtrusive) and she stops, pulls and handles like a properly fettled example.

The proof of course is in the pudding, so if you’re interested then get down to our Abingdon HQ and try this rugged little beauty for yourself.

As well as the V5 and MOT document, there’s a whole sheaf of invoices from the Volvo’s previous lives in the mid Nineties through to the Mid Noughties. Of more relevance to any prospective purchaser are those of a more recent vintage.

These include one for a service, fettle and road test at 97,889 miles on January of this year (£1522.75) by Kevin Savage. There’s another similar one from 2018 as well as the most important, which was the initial ‘build’ in 2017 (at a cost of £9259.48).

‘It was already a rally car of sorts,’ says Kevin. ‘But three years ago we put the fuel tank in, sump guard, new shock absorbers and springs, trip meter, some wiring additions and interior lights.’

That’s a brief summary of the work completed, and for a detailed breakdown it’s worth looking through the detailed list in our photographic gallery.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this road/rally regularity car has been built and then maintained to the highest standard.

We recently sold an immaculate, recently prepped and never used road/rally regularity Amazon for a lot of money (and a similar estimate). This example is of a similar breed, but has been used regularly in anger/pleasure and gained some strong results.

As such its visuals aren’t in the same league and it could benefit from a bit of bodywork T.L.C. If it were ours then we’d consider a waist down and underside strip back, followed by a re-paint and fresh underseal – that’d ensure this Amazon returned to an immaculate form and was easily good for another 15 years of campaigning. But we stress that Kevin Savage confirms that this is purely cosmetic, there is no significant rot anywhere in this car.

Again, it must be stressed that it could also continue to be used as is. Simply, a beautiful Swedish Valkyrie; not perhaps visually in the first flush of youth, but with a strong heart and one that’d continue to beat with purpose – be it on The Malts, LeJog or otherwise.

Given the fact we think this very well sorted and competitive Amazon will sell for between £9500 and £17,000 (but see how 'wrong' we were last estimate!), for us that represents a very reasonable entry price point into the joyous world of road and rally regularity competition. This 

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located at The Market’s Abingdon HQ; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.