Mike recently gave you the story of the 91 year old woman who has 562,000 miles on her 1964 Mercury Comet. That’s certainly impressive, especially since Rachel Veitch is still rolling up the miles, but she’s got a long way to go before she catches Irv Gordon. Gordon, you see, holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for amassing the most miles on a non-commercial vehicle. He’s racked up 2.8 million miles on his Volvo P1800, purchased new in 1966.
Gordon, a retired science teacher who just celebrated his 70th birthday, hopes to clear three million miles by his 73rd birthday. His secret to keeping his Volvo on the road isn’t a secret at all – regular maintenance, including oil changes at 3,000 miles and new transmission fluid every 25,000 miles. The motor was only torn down once, at 680,000 miles, as Gordon had never heard of a motor lasting that long without a rebuild. As you’d imagine, he’s a meticulous driver, one that you probably wouldn’t want to follow for very long.
Gordon owns several other rides, including two other Volvos, a 1929 Packard, a 1923 Modet T Sedan and a 1949 Crosley Hot Shot. Perhaps the most remarkable thing of all is that none of his cars are garaged; instead, they’re kept outdoors, uncovered and less than two blocks from the ocean on Long Island, NY. Salt air isn’t good for sheetmetal, so I’m sure Gordon is as fanatical about regular washing and waxing as he is about oil changes.
In this day and age of disposable technology, it’s refreshing to see that some things can be made to last as long as the owner wants them to. Good luck to Irv Gordon, and here’s hoping you roll that odometer past 3,000,000 safely.