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Plastic Door Pockets:~ Strengthen

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Old Mar 22nd, 2018, 23:05   #1
Bob Meadows
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Default Plastic Door Pockets:~ Strengthen

Door Pockets: ~ Volvo 240 1988 Estate
The two front door pockets on these cars are made from the wrong type of plastic for this situation i.e. very brittle and susceptible to breakages.
They can be reinforced quite easily and at little cost by the following method.
Obtain a couple of lengths of aluminum angle section (anodized looks the best and will match the other door detail or you could polish the raw finish if you wish- 14mm x 14mm “L” section is a good size to use & when finished you should have a small top section on view that doesn’t look out of place.
I purchased some from Wicks B.S. but readily available from many others- purchase enough to add additional supports to the insides of the pockets as shown.
The pockets & metal will need to be thoroughly cleaned as the section needs to be stuck into place with 3M double sided tape, I would also advise going for the VHB (Very high bond)
As a further measure/option of security I also drilled through the face of the pockets & top section and then used some short flanged stainless self-taping screws painted black.
The above makes for a much stronger door pocket and far less likely to be damaged when knocked.
Trust it helps
Regards Bob
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Old Mar 23rd, 2018, 08:25   #2
Clifford Pope
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Very good.
It's a crazy bit of design. The doors are very heavy with a strong closing spring, and the pockets are placed at knee level so are bound to take the impact if a door swings faster than intended.
So instead of constructing them from some sturdy cushioning material Volvo decided to use flimsy brittle plastic.

For such an advanced car designer Volvo had some curious weak spots.
Designing a water leakage point and then placing the fuses exactly under it for example!
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Old Mar 23rd, 2018, 13:40   #3
Stephen Edwin
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I suspect 240 owners have done various versions of strengthening. Or just removed the pockets for safe keeping.

Re this suggested method, please beware how any self tapping screws are positioned. Putting one's hand in to a door pocket and encountering a pointed end of a self tapping screw would be not a happy experience.
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Old Mar 25th, 2018, 08:13   #4
speedyG50
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I posted my method a few years back. I lined the inside of the pockets, with a couple of layers of GRP. This doesn't effect their colour, or appearance .... and no cracks or chips since.
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Old Mar 28th, 2018, 13:32   #5
Derek UK
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I used half round wooden dowel painted satin black and glued in. Almost invisible and being wood does have that little bit of give, which does help if your drivers door hinge doesn't have a very strong fist catch (not unusual) and the door bounces back onto your leg.
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Old Mar 29th, 2018, 22:38   #6
Reg E
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Nice workaround to fix a broken pocket but I don't think Volvo were that far off on their original design or type of plastic...

1986 and still in perfect condition both sides...

[IMG][/IMG]

Last edited by Reg E; Mar 29th, 2018 at 22:47.
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Old Apr 1st, 2018, 19:07   #7
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This pocket was badly cracked in a quite few places and couple of bits had broken off...

all photos in the Dropbox link here
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/eload6yi1...cM852tl5a?dl=0

You can click the image ... then go full screen

So! ... cleaned it all up and carefully superglued the broken pieces back on and got some glue into the cracked sections (and do this from the back so you don't get glue on the front). Left it for 24 hours, but in the meantime cut some matting to fit the shape of the pocket. Put two layers of grp on the next day, possibly a third along the top ( was a couple of years back). Finished the front off with boot polish, to fill any hairline spaces, then wiped it off. With a careless wife and kids, it's stood the test of time.

Last edited by speedyG50; Apr 1st, 2018 at 19:20.
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Old Apr 3rd, 2018, 23:09   #8
Volvorama
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Default Breaking Brown

If you think the black and blue ones are brittle, I believe that the brown ones are worst of all....
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Old Apr 4th, 2018, 14:06   #9
Derek UK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Volvorama View Post
If you think the black and blue ones are brittle, I believe that the brown ones are worst of all....
Perhaps that's why brown ones are still available new. See CVI.
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Old Apr 4th, 2018, 20:07   #10
Reg E
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Derek UK View Post
Perhaps that's why brown ones are still available new. See CVI.
I wonder why brown are more brittle? Surely the plastic would be the same just the pigment being different?

No idea what I am talking about
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