It was stated that "my 131 is better than a 123GT".

Can someone tell be what a 131 is? Thanks.

Jerry

Well I was guessing that it would sell between 8&10k pounds but it looks like the auction got ended early. Too bad.... I bet someone made him a cash offer to sell it off ebay.

Chris

I think you may be surprised how much that car goes for.. I reckon about £8k, maybe more.
I would love it, but don't have the cash, and anyway, my 131 is better...;)

Volvos "tuned" by Rudds of Worthing do indeed have a sort of cult following and there are quite a few Amazons in the UK to which the owners claim the title. As a tuning shop that became a Volvo dealer they were in a position to offer complete cars which had various parts replaced by items in their catalogue. These items were also available to all so parts can be found on many cars. The main item which is actually identifiable as Ruddspeed are cylinder heads that have their name plate rivited to them just below the front spark plug. This can be seen on the Ebay car. 123GT's in dark blue aren't "rare" in the UK but they may just about be the least common colour. Perhaps more of them were made in RHD.
I have quite a lot of original Rudds paperwork/ price lists /specs of parts including the reply from them in 1968 when I enquired about tuning my B16. No engine parts but they had lowering springs, Koni shocks and a Peco back box.
Their tuning methods were really to apply normal tuning methods of the time but they obviously learned from experience with the B18. In April 1965 their cylinder head had the ports matched and polished and the CR was raised to 9.8 to 1. (exchange price £24.15.0) An "S" tpe cam was offered which was similar to the one in the 1800S one - C type. Also offered was an "SS" cam with increased overlap and lift. I've heard rumours that this cam was the basis of the "D" cam but I've not seen anything official. Later thay offered a stage II head with over 11 to 1 CR which could also be fitted with side draught Webers. Their full spec engine claimed over 130 bhp but by then the Factory kit was available so as a Volvo dealer I'd think that fitting the Rudd kit declined somewhat. An interesting period though and I've thought about doing a short history but......
Ruddspeed tests are included in the Brooklands "Gold" Amazon test book. Worth adding to your library.
At the same time, just a few miles away in Brighton, T.H.Shaddick were also offering tuning equipment for the B18 under the "Nordic" name. Some would say that they were better tuners and their range of kit was also better than Rudds. For example, they offered 4 different cams.

The price for any vehicle should be, and usually is, determined by market forces, and not by artificial aspects of perception and sensibility. Whatever that car sells for is the value of the car at that moment.
I have a copy of Graham Robson's excellent book on Volvo, and he makes no mention of a Ruddspeed engine that I can find. Volvo built them well enough at the factory to my mind.

Can you briefly describe the Rudderspeed engine? How was it special? Thanks!