Volvo owner Irv Gordon, who drove 3.2M miles in his P1800, has died
11-16-18, 10:26 AM
#1
Volvo owner Irv Gordon, who drove 3.2M miles in his P1800, has died
'I expect that I'll still be driving the car until there's nothing left of me'
Irv Gordon, the famous million-miler Volvo man, has reportedly died at age 77. The news was confirmed by his fansite, which cited a Facebook post by his daughter.
Gordon, a former schoolteacher from Long Island, gained fame and Guinness World Records mentions by driving, driving and driving the Volvo P1800 he bought in June 1966. He originally turned to Volvos after having trouble with two consecutive Chevrolet Corvairs; Gordon needed a dependable car to get him to work and back every day, doing 125 miles of daily commuting.
A Wired article on Gordon says he really got into the record-driving thing after realizing he had passed the 250,000-mile mark with his Volvo with just basic maintenance and no repairs, getting a nice letter back from Volvo after he wrote the company to praise its product.
The first million miles were a big deal for Gordon, his Volvo and the carmaker: Volvo gave him a new, Bertone-designed 780 coupe he proceeded to use as a family car, eventually selling it with just over 450,000 miles — the P1800, he kept. The Guinness record was broken at 1.69 million miles, almost exactly a million miles after Gordon had the engine rebuilt despite the car not needing the work after all. It turned out to be fine, and Gordon had just been overly cautious. The second million-mile mark, passed in 2002, earned Irv a new C70.
The P1800 did receive a new engine in 2009, as the original one was losing compression, and some bodywork damage sustained in SEMA transport cemented Gordon's long-held belief that no one else should drive the car but him. He also did all the oil changes and brake work himself. The last mileage update on his Facebook fanpage put the car at 3.2 million miles, or over 5 million kilometers, in May 2018.
Gordon drove the car all over the world. Imagine all the people you meet and stories you hear when you're out on the road, mile after mile ticking on the odometer of the car that's become a part of you, and vice versa. As Gordon said in another interview:
"I bought this car, and I was so pleased that the car always took me to work every day, took me home every day, never gave me any grief, never gave me any problems, never needed any repairs. So, I expect that I'll still be driving the car until there's nothing left of me — the car'll still be around. The car's in better shape than I am."
Gordon, a former schoolteacher from Long Island, gained fame and Guinness World Records mentions by driving, driving and driving the Volvo P1800 he bought in June 1966. He originally turned to Volvos after having trouble with two consecutive Chevrolet Corvairs; Gordon needed a dependable car to get him to work and back every day, doing 125 miles of daily commuting.
A Wired article on Gordon says he really got into the record-driving thing after realizing he had passed the 250,000-mile mark with his Volvo with just basic maintenance and no repairs, getting a nice letter back from Volvo after he wrote the company to praise its product.
The first million miles were a big deal for Gordon, his Volvo and the carmaker: Volvo gave him a new, Bertone-designed 780 coupe he proceeded to use as a family car, eventually selling it with just over 450,000 miles — the P1800, he kept. The Guinness record was broken at 1.69 million miles, almost exactly a million miles after Gordon had the engine rebuilt despite the car not needing the work after all. It turned out to be fine, and Gordon had just been overly cautious. The second million-mile mark, passed in 2002, earned Irv a new C70.
The P1800 did receive a new engine in 2009, as the original one was losing compression, and some bodywork damage sustained in SEMA transport cemented Gordon's long-held belief that no one else should drive the car but him. He also did all the oil changes and brake work himself. The last mileage update on his Facebook fanpage put the car at 3.2 million miles, or over 5 million kilometers, in May 2018.
Gordon drove the car all over the world. Imagine all the people you meet and stories you hear when you're out on the road, mile after mile ticking on the odometer of the car that's become a part of you, and vice versa. As Gordon said in another interview:
"I bought this car, and I was so pleased that the car always took me to work every day, took me home every day, never gave me any grief, never gave me any problems, never needed any repairs. So, I expect that I'll still be driving the car until there's nothing left of me — the car'll still be around. The car's in better shape than I am."
11-16-18, 10:34 AM
#2
Lead Lap
awwww... i remember reading about him in the past
77 really isn't too old either
77 really isn't too old either
11-16-18, 07:49 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
May he RIP.....and condolences to his daughter and friends/loved ones.
I know that early Volvos had a reputation for being reliable, but it's still hard to believe the claimed 3.2M accumulated-mileage figure, or the claim that it went 250K miles without any repairs other than routine service and wear-items. I wonder how much investigation Guinness did on these claims before they gave those awards. I'm not saying that the guy's lying (or that Guinness was irresponsible in giving the awards)....but those figures are just a little hard to swallow.
After owning two 60s vintage Corvairs, though, I can understand him wanting something (like a Volvo) with a better safety record. Ralph Nader had a field day with those cars...most of it justified. Corvairs were accidents and problems just waiting to happen.....tail-happy handling/oversteer, swing-axle suspension and tire-tuck-under in the rear, on hard cornering, which could flip the car over on its back, a poorly-designed steering column that shot upward into one's face and head on impacts, chronic oil-leaks in the engine that smoked and could cause an engine fire, a heating/defrosting-system that, without liquid engine coolant, forced air from a blower over a hot exhaust shield....and picked up toxic exhaust and carbon monoxide fumes if the system wasn't sealed perfectly tight, and a loud engine clatter, characteristic of air-cooled engines, that could drive you nuts on a long trip. Some versions used a separate gasoline-burning-heater for the cabin heat instead of the exhaust shield, which further increased the risk of a fire....and lowered gas mileage. All in all, up to that time, one of the worst cars GM ever built ...until the Chevrolet Vega came out a few years later.
I know that early Volvos had a reputation for being reliable, but it's still hard to believe the claimed 3.2M accumulated-mileage figure, or the claim that it went 250K miles without any repairs other than routine service and wear-items. I wonder how much investigation Guinness did on these claims before they gave those awards. I'm not saying that the guy's lying (or that Guinness was irresponsible in giving the awards)....but those figures are just a little hard to swallow.
After owning two 60s vintage Corvairs, though, I can understand him wanting something (like a Volvo) with a better safety record. Ralph Nader had a field day with those cars...most of it justified. Corvairs were accidents and problems just waiting to happen.....tail-happy handling/oversteer, swing-axle suspension and tire-tuck-under in the rear, on hard cornering, which could flip the car over on its back, a poorly-designed steering column that shot upward into one's face and head on impacts, chronic oil-leaks in the engine that smoked and could cause an engine fire, a heating/defrosting-system that, without liquid engine coolant, forced air from a blower over a hot exhaust shield....and picked up toxic exhaust and carbon monoxide fumes if the system wasn't sealed perfectly tight, and a loud engine clatter, characteristic of air-cooled engines, that could drive you nuts on a long trip. Some versions used a separate gasoline-burning-heater for the cabin heat instead of the exhaust shield, which further increased the risk of a fire....and lowered gas mileage. All in all, up to that time, one of the worst cars GM ever built ...until the Chevrolet Vega came out a few years later.
Last edited by mmarshall; 11-16-18 at 07:56 PM.
11-17-18, 11:09 AM
#6
Volvo Owner Who Drove Car 3.2M Miles Passes Away
I've followed Irv Gordon's love affair with his Volvo for the past 20+ years. Unfortunately all things must come to an end.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news...cid=spartanntp
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news...cid=spartanntp
11-17-18, 11:19 AM
#7
Volvo Owner Who Drove Car 3.2M Miles Passes Away
I've followed Irv Gordon's love affair with his Volvo for the past 20+ years. Unfortunately all things must come to an end.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news...cid=spartanntp
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news...cid=spartanntp
Last edited by Lexus 1; 11-17-18 at 11:27 AM. Reason: remove duplicate post
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