Alice Fairhead - 1967 Volvo Amazon estate custom
When I first got it I changed the stock single carb for a pair of SU HS6’s which improved its performance a little. Fast Forward a couple of years on and I’ve purchased a 2.3 turbo motor and 5 speed box from a 1996 Volvo 940.
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My name is Alice Fairhead,
I’m 21 from Bungay on the Norfolk Suffolk border
Instagram: @67volvowagon for my car
Instagram: @af_photo_graphyy for my work.
1967 Volvo Amazon estate custom
I work at Draganfly Motorcycles where I’ve worked since I was 15 and we’re the leading supplier of spares for vintage British motorcycles as well as doing my photography on the side.
I’ve always been into cars, my parents and grandparent have always had classic cars and motorcycles, my main influence has been my dad, he has been restoring classic cars since before I was born and is now helping me with my car, mum said she always knew when I was little (around 2 or 3 years old) if she couldn’t find me, I’d be in the garage with dad - and that’s still the case.
Not long after that dad started racing competitively at Santa Pod and Shakespeare County raceway with the Volkswagen Drag Racing Club (2003-2007) which led to plenty of great weekends at the track. The past 3 years dads been racing his old car again and my parents and grandparents are still driving and riding classic cars and motorcycles.
The car scene is truly amazing, the people are so kind, it doesn’t matter what you drive or what your problem is, someone will always help – I’ve gained so many of my friends from the car scene.
I drive a 1967 Volvo Amazon estate custom which I’ve now owned for 3 years. I saw some Amazons, saloons, at car shows we’d been to and even in stock form they really stood out to me and I really liked them. I’ve always loved estate cars more so I started looking for one. All classic Volvo’s are rare here in the UK and that became obvious quickly.
It took me 2 years to find one that was in a condition I was happy with at a price I could afford. 3 years ago I was looking on the Car and Classic website and this car came up, it had been listed a while, was in good condition although it was more than I originally planned to spend and wasn’t half way round the world. So we hired a trailer and went to view it, and after a few hours later we were on our way home with it.
3 years on we’ve changed the front indicators, removed all side trim, smoothed off the bonnet and the tailgate, set the rear number plate into the bumper, lowered it 30mm all round and it’s got wider than standard steel wheels. We have completely changed the grille which was made from scratch (with help from dad and my partner Gregg) and for anyone wondering they are based on Morris Minor bumper over riders, they were originally made in fibreglass by dad with the pattern being donated by Gregg, later on we made them slightly taller and wider and sent a pattern away and I had them and cast in aluminium and powder coated like chrome.
When I first got it I changed the stock single carb for a pair of SU HS6’s which improved its performance a little. Fast Forward a couple of years on and I’ve purchased a 2.3 turbo motor and 5 speed box from a 1996 Volvo 940. Lockdown came so rather than do the work over the winter we decided to do it sooner so the stock 1800cc engine came out and sold and the new one is (sort of) in. At the time of writing the engine is in with engine mounts made, inlet manifold is made, gearbox is in and on new mounts with gear linkage sorted and new transmission tunnel made and hydraulic clutch connected up and we’re about to remove the stock back axle to swap it for a Volvo 240 axle for better gearing and better ability to take the extra power.
There’s still more to do for the engine/box/trans swap but looking ahead of that I’d like to change and move the rear reflectors, radius the corners of the bonnet and respray the car, I’m thinking dark purple with some graphics on the roof. 99.9% of all work has been done by us, ideas and inspiration from close family and all fabrication work done by dad.
For the last few years, as a family, we’ve been part of a local club called the Norfolk Street Cruisers which is open to anything old and modified as well as the National Street Rod Association (@nsra_uk) and both clubs are amazing although sometimes a bad influence. I don’t think I really have a dream car I would rather have, the Volvo is something I spotted at shows and I’ve hunted one down and made it my own.
When at shows dad often asks me if I could take any car home with me what would it be? And to be honest most of the time I’d go home in the car I went in, sometimes we see an old 50s Chevy or Mercury custom which are really nice but I don’t think I’d actually want one, that’s why I’ve chosen to make the Volvo look like the 50s custom style, so I can have the decent Swedish built car that’s also practical underneath but it still looks great on the outside.
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