During these last few months, the world as we know it sure has changed. It’s also beginning to dawn on most of us that it’s not about to return to normal anytime soon either. The pandemic that is the COVID-19 Corona virus has snowballed and with it we have been forced to rapidly adjust to a very different reality. It was only some three weeks ago that Tony shared his thoughts and feelings on how the virus doesn’t spare our classic car scene, but since then it has escalated exponentially. Numbers for confirmed cases has skyrocketed and most worryingly, so has the death toll. It would appear that the entire world economy is at risk as countries have been put into varying states of lockdown, and we’ve even witnessed the first examples of otherwise civilised and allied countries trying to hoard (or should we be blunt and tell it as it is: STEAL) the high-in-demand face masks from other countries. What will this all lead to?
Well, ViaRETRO is of course neither an outlet for medical news, political news or any type of news for that matter. And as I’m pretty sure we all might need a bit of a breather from all this Corona-Chaos, let’s get back to what we do best – classic cars. But will we be able to continue enjoying our beloved classic cars in this bizarre new world? Well I can assure you that I for one most certainly intend to. Bring on the apocalypse and I will still be found behind the wheel of something old and charming. But which will be the ideal classic car as our world crumbles?
A couple of years ago, I listed quite a few viable options in my article: Off the Beaten Track. But I fear we may have to step it up a notch. I’m now looking for the toughest and most versatile classic car on the planet. Remaining this side of an armoured tank on tracks, we need a car that will get you through anything and everything. The Unimog I hear you say. Hmmm… yes, but too obvious a choice for me. How about the Volvo L3314?
The what? Well, the apocalypse which had been World War II was over and as we entered the early fifties the Swedish Army placed an order with Volvo which had them develop a new utility vehicle. By 1959 Volvo started delivering a small run of prototypes called the L2304 utilising their 1.6-litre B16 engine, but these were soon upgraded and improved to become the L3314 by 1963.
The L3314 – or the Laplander as it was also called – was available with different body styles all of which were cab-forward, essentially making the little truck a mid-engined chassis. The base version was a softtop, but there were several variations such as a half-cab and a full hardtop which proved popular. Of course, this was no styling exercise and I doubt anyone would be sufficiently deranged to call it a pretty car. In homeland Sweden, it instead quickly gained the nickname “Valp” which translates into Puppy, as it looked kind of cute in that slightly awkward and clumsy way that a puppy does.
Regardless of bodywork though, they all shared the same mechanical specifications, powered by Volvo’s robust and durable 1.8-litre OHV 4-cylinder B18 engine pushing out a modest but torque-strong 65hp through a 4-speed transmission and a 2-speed transfer case to Salisbury axles both front and rear giving drive to all four wheels. Suspension was by conventional leaf springs front and rear, and as the top speed was never going to exceed 60mph unless you dropped off the edge of a cliff, drum brakes were deemed sufficient on both axles. More importantly, the body was of relatively compact dimensions, the centre of gravity was low and the ground clearance was immense, all of which added up to excellent offroad capabilities. This was a vehicle which would take you where no man really wanted to go!
The majority of the 7,737 Volvo L3314 produced served the army for countries such as Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and even Saudi Arabia. In later years though, several of them have found their way into civil ownership through military surplus auctions.
The successor was introduced in 1974 in the form of the bigger and tougher Volvo C303. The design was similar to the L3314, but it was even more square-cut and also grew in every dimension including weight. To compensate it was equipped with Volvo’s 3.0-litre 6-cylinder B30 engine and it was also given portal axles with locking differentials on both front and rear axle. Volvo even went as far as offering both amphibian versions of the C303 and an extended six-wheeled version with drive on all three axles.
Once again, the C303 served several militaries well such as the Swedish, all three of the Baltic countries and even Malaysia with 8,718 examples produced before production was finally wrapped up in 1984. Just before that happened though, the C303 proved its strength one last time by winning its class for trucks under 10 tonnes in the gruelling Paris-Dakar of 1983. Yes, this is one tough little truck.
Amusingly, the smaller 4-cylinder version of the Laplander made a comeback in 1977 when Volvo revived it with a few alterations and called it the C202 as a cheaper alternative to its big brother C303. The C202 was however intended to be solely offered to the civilian public and was therefore made a little more comfortable and given a more complete instrumentation – though it must be said that it was still decidedly utilitarian. It also lost the locking differential, but it was at least treated to the newer 2.0-litre B20 engine offering 82hp – a 17hp increase over the original “Valp”. Externally, the design was largely identical with the L3314 though it gained a small facelift with a typically seventies black plastic grill to mimic that of Volvo’s road cars of the period.
In an attempt to keep production costs at bay, the C202 was manufactured by a Hungarian company. But even with the lower price, it didn’t prove a sales success and production stopped only five years later with a mere 3,222 examples produced.
So, which one of these tough-as-nails classic offroad Volvos should we choose to drive us through the apocalypse? Truth be told, when your MGB, Citroën DS or Porsche 911 can’t handle the strain, I’m pretty sure either one of these four-wheel-drive Swedes would prove more than suitable for the job at hand.
The biggest problem may well be finding a decent example which is ready for the challenges which lie ahead. Many of these off-road Volvo’s have lived extremely hard lives. A search in Sweden – which I figured would be the most obvious place to look – came to no fruition. Sure there were a few for sale, but all of them in various states of disrepair. So I ventured further north and was pleased to find that judging from what is currently for sale, the Norwegians seemingly cherish their early Volvo Laplander’s more than do the Swedes.
There were in fact several which tempted me into a closer look, but in the end it was a 1967 Volvo L3314 softtop which stole my heart – just like a clumsy little puppy ought to. As is so often the case with classic cars, I find it’s the early L3314 which is the purest incarnation of the breed, and this one looks great! We’ve borrowed some pictures from the advert:
Most annoyingly though, the private vendor hasn’t bothered writing a description of his Volvo. So all we know is that it’s from 1967, has a claimed 39,000 km on the clock, seats seven people and has two previous owners. And of course that it looks tidy in the pictures. Needless to say, further inspection would be required before any money is transferred. On a positive note though, the “Valp” is in Fredikstad which is in the very south of Norway right up against the Swedish border. I sense this adventure could start with a most epic roadtrip home from Norway…
If you’re as tempted as I am, you might need the link to the advert: 1967 Volvo L3314 “Valp”
What say you dear ViaRETRO reader – which classic car will you be commandering through this Corona-Chaos?
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us be inspired by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same.
Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk