Hej Soren:

You're about a month too late in your greeting! The Canadian Thanksgiving was in early October! I meant this as a joke and a way of explaining how Canadian climate varies as well and influences the longevity of any car. In the southern parts of Canada, adjacent to the US border, typically huge amounts of salt are used in our winters to clear the roads and allow the "all season" tires and crazy drivers to cope with winter driving. So, any car, including an Amazon, in this climate were made extinct 25 years ago.

Back in the 1960s, any car driven year round in such conditions, without under coating and frequent care, lasted only about 5 years before taken out of circulation. Also consider that a 1960 Amazon would be disposed of, when a brand new 1965 Amazon could be bought relatively inexpensively, with a much more powerful engine, better interior and brakes.

Fortunate for me, my 1960 Amazon-S spent it's entire life in a more northerly location, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. As you know, when the temperature gets below -15C or 0 F, salt does not melt snow, so sand and plowing are used to clear the roads and provide traction. Although rust is inevitable as exposed steel oxidizes, being deprived of calcium chloride, the rusting process is slowed down.

Although I live in the southern part of Canada, just across from the border with the USA and New York state, I never drive my restored Amazon once the snow begins (about now). This tends to limit its eventual deterioration.

My experience has taught me to walk away from any vintage Volvo that has been winter driven in a road salt climate, hence you will find a Volvo with less structural and rust damage. The same is true for my PV444 that came from Linköping, Sweden, where the previous owners may not have winter driven the Volvo, or as I suspect, the use of road salt is less the norm.

To my American friends, I do also wish you a belated Happy Thanksgiving!
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Cam a.k.a. CVOLVO.COM