240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Bob Meadows]

Quote:~
Just a thought - does anyone (maybe even Volvo) make plastic wheel arch liners like the RB has at the front? They would stop this problem happening.
PS. I have just found a supplier called Volvogue:

------------------------------ ~ ---------------------------
Alan
Yes- fitted the above a couple of years back,quite straight forward to do and fit well. They are very heavy duty plastic & much thicker than a normal liner.
A good product covering all the wheel arch to include front & rear mud traps.

Clean the underside of the arches and treat any rust that has developed etc.
Coat all the arch with oil diluted wax treatment- I also used black "E" shaped E.P.D.M. draught excluder fastened to the plastic lines where it seats against the wheel arch- again run a heavy bead of wax on the same prior to fixing- the wax extruded onto the paint work panels is easily removed with white spirit.
They supply "Z" clips for fixings to the arch lip and I also used a 2/3 flange stainless self tapping screws in places where they rest against the flat inner sections.
Bob.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Nice work there Alan!

Seems like i've had your share of the wet stuff today, it's not piggin' well stopped! The hound is disappointed as no walkies again this evening because of the weather but she doesn't seem to mind.

I have an idea for electrically treating rust spots before they get bad, got a few on the Rover to try it on, once i've rigged something up i'll report back on its efficacy. Still working on the design though................

Thank you Dave. I think I’ve done the right thing by the RB. I could have scraped out the rust, packed the holes with filler (and sold the RB to someone unsuspecting) - but I’m too attached to the motor car to do that. At the other end of the scale I could have made this a two week job - cut out most of the inner and outer wheel arches plus the right hand sill and replaced them with new panels - that would have forced me into a respray... where would one stop, it could have cost a couple of grand but the aim has never been to make the RB an as new restoration. I think the middle ground: cut out the rot and replace with new metal patches - was the right way to go. It isn’t elegant but everything is strong and stabilised. I think I caught the problem just in time and the solution has been in keeping with the ethos of the RB.

We had quite a nice day here Dave, it was warm enough to walk Bob in shorts and a tee shirt this morn and at lunchtime, which was nice. It didn’t start raining until this eve and I’m hoping it cheers up tomorrow for Brian and Oli’s visit. It will be nice to see them both.

I’m intrigued by the electrical treatment for rust spots - if you make that one work you will be a millionaire by Xmas :-)

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Bob Meadows

Quote:~
Just a thought - does anyone (maybe even Volvo) make plastic wheel arch liners like the RB has at the front? They would stop this problem happening.
PS. I have just found a supplier called Volvogue:

------------------------------ ~ ---------------------------
Alan
Yes- fitted the above a couple of years back,quite straight forward to do and fit well. They are very heavy duty plastic & much thicker than a normal liner.
A good product covering all the wheel arch to include front & rear mud traps.

Clean the underside of the arches and treat any rust that has developed etc.
Coat all the arch with oil diluted wax treatment- I also used black "E" shaped E.P.D.M. draught excluder fastened to the plastic lines where it seats against the wheel arch- again run a heavy bead of wax on the same prior to fixing- the wax extruded onto the paint work panels is easily removed with white spirit.
They supply "Z" clips for fixings to the arch lip and I also used a 2/3 flange stainless self tapping screws in places where they rest against the flat inner sections.
Bob.

Thank you for that Bob,

First hand experience of a product is always invaluable. I have emailed the company to ask for a price and delivery time. If the cost is reasonable I think it would make sense to fit the rear liners. The near side on the RB is in really good order, and I’ve just repaired the offside, so a small investment to provide some protection would be sensible.

Thank you for the fitting tips also.

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Thank you Dave. I think I’ve done the right thing by the RB. I could have scraped out the rust, packed the holes with filler (and sold the RB to someone unsuspecting) - but I’m too attached to the motor car to do that. At the other end of the scale I could have made this a two week job - cut out most of the inner and outer wheel arches plus the right hand sill and replaced them with new panels - that would have forced me into a respray... where would one stop, it could have cost a couple of grand but the aim has never been to make the RB an as new restoration. I think the middle ground: cut out the rot and replace with new metal patches - was the right way to go. It isn’t elegant but everything is strong and stabilised. I think I caught the problem just in time and the solution has been in keeping with the ethos of the RB.

We had quite a nice day here Dave, it was warm enough to walk Bob in shorts and a tee shirt this morn and at lunchtime, which was nice. It didn’t start raining until this eve and I’m hoping it cheers up tomorrow for Brian and Oli’s visit. It will be nice to see them both.

I’m intrigued by the electrical treatment for rust spots - if you make that one work you will be a millionaire by Xmas :-)

Alan

You've certainly taken the right course of action at the moment Alan, perhaps in 5-10 years time new sills might be a better option but there's loads of time between now and then.

You definitely had my share of the nice weather today - it's like someone flicked a switch here and changed it from summer to winter overnight! Maximum temperature of about 10C through the day so it feels like a fridge, certainly compared to low-mid 30s until very recently!

The electrical treatment is an extension of a theme, combining two ideas - first is electrolyti derusting which i think i've linked to earlier in the thread and brush plating which can be looked up either as a brush plating kit on fleabay or in general terms.
I've got an idea in mind, will have to order the parts i need and make it up and see.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

You've certainly taken the right course of action at the moment Alan, perhaps in 5-10 years time new sills might be a better option but there's loads of time between now and then.

You definitely had my share of the nice weather today - it's like someone flicked a switch here and changed it from summer to winter overnight! Maximum temperature of about 10C through the day so it feels like a fridge, certainly compared to low-mid 30s until very recently!

The electrical treatment is an extension of a theme, combining two ideas - first is electrolyti derusting which i think i've linked to earlier in the thread and brush plating which can be looked up either as a brush plating kit on fleabay or in general terms.
I've got an idea in mind, will have to order the parts i need and make it up and see.

Agreed about the RB Dave, what I have done is a 5-10 year solution, but in context the RB is 40 and worth maybe 3 grand, if there is a need for a more robust solution when the RB is 50 I’ll address that at the time. If that means a new sill, then that will be prudent maintenance at the time.

You are right about the weather: a few weeks ago Millicent (the cat) lived outside and only came in foe meals, today that is reversed and she is fitting on me as I type this. Winter is coming.

I’ll look forward to hearing about the de-rusting process.

:-)

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Agreed about the RB Dave, what I have done is a 5-10 year solution, but in context the RB is 40 and worth maybe 3 grand, if there is a need for a more robust solution when the RB is 50 I’ll address that at the time. If that means a new sill, then that will be prudent maintenance at the time.

You are right about the weather: a few weeks ago Millicent (the cat) lived outside and only came in foe meals, today that is reversed and she is fitting on me as I type this. Winter is coming.

I’ll look forward to hearing about the de-rusting process.

:-)

I really hope your cat isn't fitting Alan!

My basic idea for the electrolytic rust spot remover is a small bore steel tube, fed by a rodent water bottle containing the electrolyte and connected to the +ve of a battery charger. The -ve of the charger goes to the body of the car, as near the rust spot as possible. On the end of the small bore steel tube will be a rubber/PVC hose, couple of inches long.
Ideally a clamp will hold this in place overnight, switch the charger on and leave it to do its stuff.

If it works, i'll post details plus ideas for making it work on larger areas too.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I really hope your cat isn't fitting Alan!

My basic idea for the electrolytic rust spot remover is a small bore steel tube, fed by a rodent water bottle containing the electrolyte and connected to the +ve of a battery charger. The -ve of the charger goes to the body of the car, as near the rust spot as possible. On the end of the small bore steel tube will be a rubber/PVC hose, couple of inches long.
Ideally a clamp will hold this in place overnight, switch the charger on and leave it to do its stuff.

If it works, i'll post details plus ideas for making it work on larger areas too.

fitting = sitting (fat fingers again).

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

fitting = sitting (fat fingers again).

I guessed as much but it could have been the cat jogged you while typing!

Alternatively you'd suddenly descended into Anglo-Faxon..................

[Othen]

I'm fairly happy with the outcome of that job. I put a couple of coats of rattle can black over the rear of the sill this morn and looks pretty good:



... very much in keeping with the RB's image I think:



Cost: about £20 in welding materials, some steel and a bit of paint (actually I had those anyway, but I suppose I'll have to replace them).

:-)

[Laird Scooby]

Nicely finished off Alan! Certainly at first glance you'd never know!

How did you get on with the joddler?