Maybe not exactly HAMB friendly, but you gotta' respect Irv Gordon of Babylon, N.Y.for hanging on to his car. It's a '66 Volvo P1800, and it's less than 40,000 miles away from passing the three million mile mark. Gordon's car already holds the world record for the highest recorded milage.
His story is awesome apparently the year he bought it, he was deciding between a Vette or a Volvo. I think he made a good choice. The car certainly served him well, and is a testimony to the benefot of regular maintanance
Wow, I thought I was doing good with 300K on my daily driver. wonder how much of the drive train is original? They are nice looking cars.
Original engine, been rebuilt twice. "Unfortunately, I do not have a garage ...never did. The P1800 has been outside for 41 years and continues to live in the elements ... just a block or two from the ocean and its salty winds. The car is driven daily summer and winter, through snow, ice, rain, etc. It has never failed to take me where I wanted to go and never broken down en-transit. I guess those engineers really knew what they were talking about regarding service schedules. After all, a machine is only as good as the service it gets." "I think it should go in a nice, cozy museum where people will get to enjoy seeing the car that beat the odds - all with the same engine, same radio, same axles, same transmission and of course the same driver," Gordon said. "So, maybe I'll sell it. Maybe I'll donate it to a museum," he concluded. "Who knows? Maybe I'll keep driving it." . http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=224419&dfpPParams=aid_224419&dfpLayout=article .
I read about this years ago.. He was a teacher, and drove across The US every summer. Thus.. high milage. Can you imagine the Craigslist adveryt: ^^ coupe, 2,960,ooo miles, looks good....
That's an accomplishment and a testimony to staying on the maintenance schedule. In the mid 70's I had a customer with a Pontiac Lemans who put 85K on the car in less than a year. He lived in Waco Tx and his insurance territory was in Kansas and Nebraska. He no doubt holds the record for people who drove from Texas to Kansas on I 35 in a car. He was sometimes putting more than six thousand miles a week on the car that I saw. At 85K there wasn't noticeable wear on the original brake shoes.
Irv: "I like mechanical things such as automobiles. In addition to the P1800, I also own the following: a 2002 C70 Volvo, a 1987 740 Turbo Volvo, a 1929 Packard 7 passenger touring car, a 1923 Model T Ford Fordor Sedan and a 1949 Crosley Hot Shot ... the first American Sports car. They are certainly enough to keep me busy when I am home and all is going well."
he drives that much because he goes on regular road trips....like not just to the shore and back...he drives to texas and then home again or out to california and back. He has said in the past that he has had coffee in every state. Pretty amazing feat and the car looks great!!
He brings it to the local cruise night in Oakdale, NY now and then. I've seen it, it's nice and straight. Also note: Getting into the Guinness Book of World Records is all about documentation, documentation, documentation. So I doubt it's a bogus/unfounded claim.
He makes it to Vicksburg MI car show most every June. I didn't realize he lived in NY. Must be a stop on his summer travel schedule.
I read this on MSN this morning and my first thought was I wonder how much of the drivetrain is original? My second thought after doing some quick math was did this guy ever have to work for a living or did he spend all his years on the road vacationing!? 46 years x approximately 65,000 miles a year gets you to around his 3 million. Even a couple of cross country trips per year totaling 15000 miles still leaves 50,000 miles to make up in the year. Comes out to about 1200+ per week average...for 46 years. Almost 200 miles per day doesn't leave much time to work. Wonder how much $$$ he would have made driving an 18 wheeler long haul for 3 million?
I've known Irv for about 17 years. Car is exactly what it is represented as. Engine is original block and head. It has been refreshed twice with new internals, mostly rings, bearings, seals, the usual. First time was at 600K. The mileage was been exceptionally well-documented, both by Guiness and by Volvo. Irv drives all the time. He always has. He had a 150 mile commute back when he was a teacher. He would think nothing of driving from NY to Montreal for dinner on a Friday night. I've ridden in this car several times. Very straight and well kept. Not concours but who cares.
thats pretty cool man. not that often that someone holds on to the same car that long. the motor rebuilds kinda defeat the " 3 million mile car " in my eyes, but im used to diesels where a million or 2 without a rebuild isnt uncommon at all. either way very cool. and thats actually a pretty decent looking car. very clean too, especially for salty ocean areas
At 60mph average, that's 100 hours. There are only 168 hours per week. Assuming he was actually doing something other than driving from place to place, that leaves very little time for sleep. Hopefully his sleep-deprived driving didn't kill anyone.
Irv has been to just about every Waffle House in the country. He knows most of them by number and he claims he only goes there for the coffee, but I've seen him eat a breakfast or two.
Different person from OP story, but... hopefully his <s>sleep-deprived</s> speed-uninhibited driving didn't kill anyone
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