240 General: H Reg 240, Project Thread

[Othen]

Originally Posted by hreg240

The plan is to find some reasonably priced alloys for summer use; then putting winter tyres on the steels come winter time. However, I'm quite content with the steels for now.

These look quite smart from the 700/900 section:

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showp...79&postcount=1

... £150 with nearly new tyres fitted would be a bargain I'd say, and would look fine on a 240. I think these would be 15"xJ6 to assist with the yobification (I might not disapprove too much).

Perhaps the seller would ship them on a pallet if you asked nicely?

[hreg240]

Originally Posted by Othen

These look quite smart from the 700/900 section:

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showp...79&postcount=1

... £150 with nearly new tyres fitted would be a bargain I'd say, and would look fine on a 240. I think these would be 15"xJ6 to assist with the yobification (I might not disapprove too much).

Perhaps the seller would ship them on a pallet if you asked nicely?

Now that is a good price, not sure if they're quite my style though... Not sure how I sit with multi-spokes; I'd have to see them on a 240 to make up my mind.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by hreg240

Now that is a good price, not sure if they're quite my style though... Not sure how I sit with multi-spokes; I'd have to see them on a 240 to make up my mind.

... not all that dissimilar to this:



... with one eye closed and the other blinking fast.

[hreg240]

Originally Posted by Othen

... not all that dissimilar to this:



... with one eye closed and the other blinking fast.

Hang on, I'll take my glasses off and have another look

They don't look half bad; I think I'll hold out for wheels for now though as I'd rather put £150 towards welding and metal than anything else

[hreg240]

So this evening I intended on toying with the radio some more after I pulled off the plastic trim bits around the sills et al.

I didn’t get round to that because I found some more rust… Conveniently hidden behind the plastic panels and I couldn’t see it from underneath because of the under seal and general location - when I poked around the other day, it felt and looked decent but from the other side was just rot.

Pics:



This patch is on the n/s outer sill


I also peeled the arch off at the same time. I knew the arch was on the way out.

So now the car looks like I just dragged it out of a scrap heap. But, better I find it now than have the shock of the whole back end falling off.

Good thing I’m changing jobs so a) won’t be commuting and b) will have more free time, so I can work on this.

[Bob 1967]

Be careful cutting/welding around that quarter of the car, petrol tank is right behind. There could also be loitering fumes below the filler neck.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by hreg240

So this evening I intended on toying with the radio some more after I pulled off the plastic trim bits around the sills et al.

I didn’t get round to that because I found some more rust… Conveniently hidden behind the plastic panels and I couldn’t see it from underneath because of the under seal and general location - when I poked around the other day, it felt and looked decent but from the other side was just rot.

Pics:



This patch is on the n/s outer sill


I also peeled the arch off at the same time. I knew the arch was on the way out.

So now the car looks like I just dragged it out of a scrap heap. But, better I find it now than have the shock of the whole back end falling off.

Good thing I’m changing jobs so a) won’t be commuting and b) will have more free time, so I can work on this.

That was unfortunate, but not in any way surprising Thorne. 240s (and particularly VWWs) often rust in the places you have found: sills, rear arches, rear valance, spare wheel wells, rear door and its slam panel. You may well find the other side is much the same. The good news is that repair panels are available for all of those (because they are often needed of course).

Whilst it is a pity that your daily driver has just become more of a project car than you were hoping for, this is also an opportunity to get it all fixed now - once you have it done you will have a motor car that should last another 20 years (as long as the state allows us to buy petrol in 2043).

Your new job has come along at just the right time. I think you mentioned that you already have a MIG welder and so far there is nothing you have shown us that can't be fixed in stages over 3 or 4 weekends and driven in between. It would be a good idea to have a better look at the sills though, that previous patch looks a bit ominous (addendum: I've just noticed it is at the front of the sill, not the rear where they normally rust - that isn't good news). If they need changing you more or less have to do them first and then work your way backwards. If it was me I'd think that managing time and cost would be the key to making this project a success. If you got a body shop to fix it the bill would be more than the motor car is worth, but if you manage and execute it yourself the repair panels are probably only £300 to £400, plus a few cutting disks, some wire and gas you might get it done for around a monkey. Then decide what to do about redecoration.

It is also fortunate that the better weather is coming; you should have all it done by the summer. I agree about shelving the alloy wheels for now, this is much more important.

Alan

PS. Notwithstanding the above: I still think those Volvo Aries wheels and tyres in the ad are a good bargain. If it was me (... and I know, it isn't) I'd find the £150 and store then in my spares shed until I got the welding done on the VWW. In my humble opinion the 20 spoke 15" alloy wheels would look really good on a 240, and a new set of matching tyres would cost more than £150. Just the musings of a middle aged man with a beard

[hreg240]

Originally Posted by Othen

That was unfortunate, but not in any way surprising Thorne. 240s (and particularly VWWs) often rust in the places you have found: sills, rear arches, rear valance, spare wheel wells, rear door and its slam panel. You may well find the other side is much the same. The good news is that repair panels are available for all of those (because they are often needed of course).

Whilst it is a pity that your daily driver has just become more of a project car than you were hoping for, this is also an opportunity to get it all fixed now - once you have it done you will have a motor car that should last another 20 years (as long as the state allows us to buy petrol in 2043).

Your new job has come along at just the right time. I think you mentioned that you already have a MIG welder and so far there is nothing you have shown us that can't be fixed in stages over 3 or 4 weekends and driven in between. It would be a good idea to have a better look at the sills though, that previous patch looks a bit ominous (addendum: I've just noticed it is at the front of the sill, not the rear where they normally rust - that isn't good news). If they need changing you more or less have to do them first and then work your way backwards. If it was me I'd think that managing time and cost would be the key to making this project a success. If you got a body shop to fix it the bill would be more than the motor car is worth, but if you manage and execute it yourself the repair panels are probably only £300 to £400, plus a few cutting disks, some wire and gas you might get it done for around a monkey. Then decide what to do about redecoration.

It is also fortunate that the better weather is coming; you should have all it done by the summer. I agree about shelving the alloy wheels for now, this is much more important.

Alan

PS. Notwithstanding the above: I still think those Volvo Aries wheels and tyres in the ad are a good bargain. If it was me (... and I know, it isn't) I'd find the £150 and store then in my spares shed until I got the welding done on the VWW. In my humble opinion the 20 spoke 15" alloy wheels would look really good on a 240, and a new set of matching tyres would cost more than £150. Just the musings of a middle aged man with a beard

Thanks Alan,

I wholly agree, a bodyshop would cost far too much to warrant using one. I'm glad my situation has changed as that eases the pressure on me fixing it myself - whereas before I'd be stressing to do it one weekend, ready for motorway miles during the week.

Upon finding that rust yesterday, I started banging about with a screwdriver all down the car. I'm glad to report that I didn't go through the sills at any stage. I presume the rust at the n/s front is from where dirt was getting held behind the mudflap - I say this because the mud flap was at an awkward angle (not held correctly) and a lot of dirt and grime came off when I pulled the trim.

I'm not surprised really, more a bit sad if anything, as Gertie is such a characterful car and now she's going under the knife so to speak.

No doubt it'll all get done, maybe not to a factory fresh standard, but I had a certain vision for the car anyway, so this will allow me to do it.

At least this thread is about to become far more interesting!

[hreg240]

Originally Posted by Bob 1967

Be careful cutting/welding around that quarter of the car, petrol tank is right behind. There could also be loitering fumes below the filler neck.

Yeah, I was a bit weary of that. Are the tanks in these easy to drop out? I've done a fuel tank swap on a car previously and it was a nightmare.

I do have a fire extinguisher to hand, so worst case I blow the car up and nothing else.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by hreg240

Thanks Alan,

I wholly agree, a bodyshop would cost far too much to warrant using one. I'm glad my situation has changed as that eases the pressure on me fixing it myself - whereas before I'd be stressing to do it one weekend, ready for motorway miles during the week.

Upon finding that rust yesterday, I started banging about with a screwdriver all down the car. I'm glad to report that I didn't go through the sills at any stage. I presume the rust at the n/s front is from where dirt was getting held behind the mudflap - I say this because the mud flap was at an awkward angle (not held correctly) and a lot of dirt and grime came off when I pulled the trim.

I'm not surprised really, more a bit sad if anything, as Gertie is such a characterful car and now she's going under the knife so to speak.

No doubt it'll all get done, maybe not to a factory fresh standard, but I had a certain vision for the car anyway, so this will allow me to do it.

At least this thread is about to become far more interesting!

Your job changing such that you don't need to commute would be a bonus. Without having seen it up close I'd say you could do all the work over three weekends:

a. One where you cut out all the rot and do all the preparation. Work out which panels you need and get them ordered (Brookhouse Volvo delivers quickly). You could test fit and mark all the panels after work on the Wednesday as the eves are getting lighter. Get a spare sheet of steel (about 1.5mm) and fabricate any filler panels and patches you might also need.

b. The next weekend get all the welding done; it will be best done in one hit as a lot of the time will be in setting up and preparation. Leave everything finished in grey primer when you stop for a beer at about 6pm on Sunday eve.

c. A third weekend for the redecoration. It is mostly stuff that is low down and won't show much (except maybe the wheel arches), so probably a rattle can finish would be plenty good enough.

It wouldn't do any harm to drive around in grey primer for a while, so weekends 2 and 3 may not have to be consecutive. You will need to decide which direction you want to take the project in, so having a little break to think about it after the metalwork might be a good idea.

Good fortune.

Alan