It's been a long time since I was in a 123GT. Great cars, so I was interested in doing some investigation for this thread. BTW Your id indicates you're a Kiwi, so you'll naturally want to check out VolvoAdventures.com "Volvo Adventures is an independent New Zealand based resource for the older Volvo models".

Your concern was if the lack of an overdrive meant it was really a badged up 122S. All it likely means is that you've got the M40 transmission instead of the M41 transmission that all 123GT's were supposed to get. First off, almost anything is possible for limited runs out of a plant or plants that didn't have certain components. Secondly, excluding the likes of Irv Gordon's and Brett Sutherland's 122S's, many red block engines and trannies of that era didn't make it much past 250,000 miles without needing a major overhaul, especially if a sporty driver got hold of one and took the motto "drive 'em like you hate 'em" seriously. If someone had a 121 or 122S engine available with an non-overdrive M40 trans on it, they may well have dropped the entire unit or just the tranny into a worn out 123GT. Wasn't the overdrive switch an up/down lever on the steering column (like the 140's)? If so, is there any evidence of that in the current steering column shroud? I can't see why anyone would bother to strip all the goodies (other than badging and fogs) off a 123GT and put them on a 122S body. Finally, the suggested rule that a 33 in the id plate type code says it's a 123GT, may or may not be 100% accurate. All I can say from my research is that all 123GT's will have 133 as the first three digits of the type code, but I haven't seen anywhere that says the only models that can have that code are 123GT's, yet I suspect that may be right, especially when taken with the year code as you'll see below.

Out of curiosity
- Are there any numbers after the P in the Type line or elsewhere that look like these? Numbers like 496861, 496881 and 496882 are the codes for the common 123GT with a B18B engine. 496860 is the code for a 123GT with a B18D engine (apparently not common). The code for the rare 123GT with a B20B is not listed.
- Is there a Chassis: line between the Type and Colour lines? That can also be useful for tracking in owner registries.

The 123GT was primarily produced in 1967 and 1968. It was more or less a specially badged 122S with a sport trim level and an engine, drive train and suspension inherited from the P1800S sports coupe. In some markets, the 122S (and other Amazons) could share the same engine and transmission, especially in the final years. The Amazon body and model designations were: PV 120 4-door (121 and 122S models), PV 130 2-door (121, 122S and 123GT models) and PV 220 estate wagon (121 and 122S models). For a given year, the difference between the 121 and the 122S was the engine and perhaps a few minor trim items like wheels. The difference between the 123GT and the 122S was primarily the sport trim level (the engine was only different in 1967).

You may already have found a lot of this, but after spending a few hours with a search engine (and even having to translate a few pages) there were a lot of factoids I thought I could compile into a single list. Let's start with your id plate.

Type: 133941 P
- The type code number for Amazons can be six or seven digits. The first digit of the type code is the body style, 1=sedan, 2=estate wagon. The second digit indicates the number of doors, 2=4-door, 3=2-door. The third digit is the engine class, 1=B16A/B18A/B20A (single carb used only on the 121's), 2=B16B/B18B (standard compression used on the 122S's, although other 122S's used the B18D and B20B engine), and 3=B18B/B20B (the high compression engines used on the 123GT's, but also found on some 122S's). So that third digit is a key identifier for a 123GT, but not the only identifier. The fifth digit is the transmission, 5=M41 w/overdrive, 4=M40 w/o overdrive. So you're looking at a car that came from the factory without the M41 overdrive trans {Edit>]as I see noted by others [ - The single letter after the type code number is the production year. The Amazon production year codes for the 2-door sedan (which includes the 123GT) and the estate wagon were A=1962, B=1963, D=1964, E=1965, F=1966, M=1967, P=1968, S=1969, T=1970. For some confusing reason, the 4-door sedan production year codes were different up to 1966, with A=1956-1957, B=1958-1960, D=1961, E=1962, F=1963, G=1964, K=1965, L=1966 then finally it got harmonized with M=1967 just as production ended. Note that it was not uncommon to have some overlap between sales model year and production model year. In your case, the "P" means it's a 1968 and that was one of the two major production years for 123GT's.
- Taking a look in this Amazon registry (which is subject to aftermarket modifications and errors), you'll see that all noted 123GT's had a type code starting with 133, but not all type codes starting with 133 are noted as 123GT's.
- The vast majority of 123GT's were available only in 1967 (M) and 1968 (P) and were equipped with the B18B engine (group 3, codes 496861, 496881 and 496882). In North America, the B18B probably did not appear in other Amazons. Also, in North America, the 123GT probably did not appear outside of 1967-1968. Elsewhere things are less clear. It would seem that some 1966 (F) Amazons used the B18B engine, but there is no indication these were badged as 123GT's. By 1969 the 140 series had pushed the Amazons out of most showrooms (in North America I would say all showrooms). In 1969 and 1970, some Amazon production continued for other markets. In 1969 (S) there appears to have been a small production run for Europe of badged 123GT's using the newer B20B engine. All other 1969 (S) and 1970 (T) Amazons with the B18B or B20B engine would not appear to be badged as 123GT's.

Colour: 94
- Indicates a dark green exterior (with tan interior). This was by far the most common colour for the 123GT's that I used to see, followed by a medium red (46) and as a distant third, pearl white (79). This was opposed to the 122S's where grey (like mine) was the most popular colour (here anyway), with white not far behind, followed by a slightly lighter red, sickening pea green, pale yellow, sky blue and whatever else was produced.

Upholstery: 425-992
- Didn't see much on that, but as I recall there were no distinguishing features for the 123GT upholstery. In your case it's a tan interior, and that code means tan (nougat) vinyl.

S- 5118,5250
- Those are indeed specification codes associated with a 123GT, but like you, I couldn't find anywhere that said what they specified.

Unique mechanical identifiers (P1800S derivative):
.. B18B (w/dual Weber's?) 115bhp@6000, 112ftlbs@4000, 10:1 compression (B20B used in the rare 1969's)
vs. 122S with B18D (w/twin SU's), 100bhp@5700, 108ftlbs@3500, 8.7:1 compression (some B18B used in 1968, B20B used in 1969, B18A used in 121 models)
.. M41 trans 4-spd w/overdrive, 4.56:1 rear axle
vs. 122S with M40 4-spd w/o overdrive (some M41, w/overdrive), 4.10:1 rear axle
.. sport springs and shocks (from P1800S)
.. original tires were Pirelli radials vs. 122S with bias ply (at least in 1967)
.. original exhaust system was distinctly throaty under acceleration (that and the peppy engine I do remember fondly)

Identification of a 123GT
- It would seem that all 123GT's will have a type code starting 133, but not all type codes that start with 133 need to be 123GT's based on what I've seen. If the type code begins with any other digits then it's almost certainly not a 123GT.
- If the type code has a 5 as the fifth digit then that makes it likely as a 123GT, but other Amazons used that transmission and, obviously from your case, some 123GT's didn't always get the M41 (w/overdrive) as was advertised.
- If the year code is M (1967) or P (1968) then that makes it likely that it could be a 123GT. If the year code is S (1969) then it may still be a 123GT, but likely only if it is of European origin. If it's any other year code then it's almost certainly not a 123GT.
- If all that is true and most of the features noted below are present, then you're almost certainly looking at a true 123GT. Of course, in the intervening 40 years or so, it's not unreasonable to expect that certain components may have been changed or deleted by owners.

Other 123GT features I've seen listed (some are questionable as to year and uniqueness):
.. 123GT badging on front sides and trunk lid
.. no 4-door or wagon versions
.. the only colours were dark green (tan interior), red (black interior) and pearl white (tan or red interior)
.. front Hella 7" quartz fog and driving lights (w/Volvo cover)
.. engine bay and luggage compartment lights, mercury switched
.. sports steering wheel, 3-spoke with 123GT badge in center
.. distinct recessed dash
.. large, swivel base Smiths tach centered on top of dash (unique?)
.. fully reclining front seats with chrome seat adjusters
.. chrome exhaust extension (original)
.. limited slip differential (really?)
.. larger, slightly deeper toned horn
.. front fender mounted mirrors (not all markets)
.. wiper arms have an air wing (unique?)
.. chrome beauty rings (localized?)

The only true way to guarantee identification of an original 123GT would probably be by chassis serial number, but with sporadic production at various plants that could be a long list and hard to come by.

Thanks to all the club, personal and company websites I used for collecting this information. They're simply too numerous to mention. With a little effort, a good search engine will lead you to them. Anyone with additional or contradictory information is welcome to add to this post.
--
Dave -940's, prev 740/240/140/120