1964 Volvo Pv544 Sport on 2040-cars

1964 Volvo 544 Sport

At the wee young age of 16, with a newly issued California driver’s license, I began tormenting my father with tireless pleas for to him to buy me a car.  He ultimately acquiesced on the condition that the car and I were delivered in the same year.  So with that I began to scour the classifieds searching for anything made in 1964.  I settled on a VW convertible bug in red – how perfect.  However, my wonderful eccentric father was more intrigued by the 1964 Volvo listed.  I had no desire for a “Volvo” – not teen fun at all.  However, we hopped in his car and drove to Laguna Beach and met an art dealer who happily showed us to the parking garage where this interesting 544 Sport awaited.  The bumpers and front grill were missing, the front seats were covered in old t-shirts and the car could not go in reverse.  “Not exactly what I had in mind,” I was thinking when my father shouted out, “We’ll take it!!”  So there begins my 34-year love affair with a car I affectionately call “The Picklet.”

“The Picklet” and I have been through a lot.  Through high school I quickly learned how to call the towing company, scour junkyards for old parts, and became fast friends with the geniuses at Swedish American Imports, who finally figured out how to get my car to backup.  The quirky car quickly became a favorite around town and I suddenly had a new sense of coolness.  In 1984, my Dad and I drove “The Picklet” from California to Missouri so I could get around campus at the University of Missouri where I was studying journalism.  By then “The Picklet” was becoming a bit unreliable for a student who needed to track down news stories across the state.  So into storage she went in St. Louis, where my boyfriend/finance arranged to have her restored once again.  On the eve of my wedding, he surprised me with a shiny, fully functioning car again.   But once the babies arrived, a car without seatbelts was of no use.  So we sadly put “The Picklet” into storage. 

She has survived three moves with us and sits quietly under a cloth car cover in our three-car garage.  My father passed away 20 years ago and it has been hard to let go of the one thing that really brought us together.  But I have come to realize that I am not skilled at restoration or mechanics and just cannot foresee a time when I can properly care for this beautiful car or even really drive her.  It has taken me a year to finally get the courage to list “The Picklet.”  While not perfect, this car has so much potential and I am hoping that someone special will give her the retirement she deserves.

I don’t have the expertise to tell you what works and what doesn’t and what has been replaced and what hasn’t.  There’s been quite a bit of work over the years.  But the last time I drove her (six years ago), everything worked quite well.  This is not a show car, nevertheless, this is a car that has been safely stored and looks great. 

The winning bidder will need to arrange for shipment and make a deposit through PayPal.  Please contact me if you have questions.

Thank you for your interest!