1961 Volvo PV544 in Holland

[Army]

Polite bump for the sun visor question

[norustplease]

They look more like the visors from a PV444 that I had prior to my 544. Are they fairly rigid with some kind of board lining?

[old fart]

Originally Posted by norustplease

They look more like the visors from a PV444 that I had prior to my 544. Are they fairly rigid with some kind of board lining?

I was going to say the same thing. Should be fine.

[Army]

Thanks chaps - they are indeed much more rigid - with a board in them.

They did indeed seem a bit more 1950s than 1960s

At the moment there's some chap in the bay of eeee asking 150 euros for a pair

https://www.ebay.nl/itm/Volvo-PV444-...OjEyMTM2MX0%3D

I must have gotten a good deal!

[Army]

...the rear right hand corner repair I've just finished.

Remember the car has been tipped on its side!

Starting with a bit of plywood I cut the approximate shape of the bottom of the boot area



Using that shape and the mk1 eye ball I made a simple hammer form out of a bit of medium soft wood



Putting a bit of oversized Zincor (1mm thick galvanised steel) in between the two bits of wood and clamping them in a vice



Ending up with this =>



It was then time to cut away the rust from the body



It always looks utterly dreadful.

Cutting the new patch to shape and going for a trial fit



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Unfortunately there has been capiliary action and more rust has formed so more cutting away was necessary



I had to make a little repair to the inner panel at the top =>





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After some wire brushing and grinding the area where it was rusty was treated to Zinga (!)



Using masking tape to help cut shapes - a bit like tracing paper but as it is sticky you can transfer it onto new metal more easily





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I even remembered to punch some holes in the new pieces before welding them to the car to help with the plug welds I wanted to make (the original parts were spot welded but my spot welder doesn't have arms that will fit round the boot lip so plug welding is the only way forward)





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All welded - plug welded instead of spot welded and of course the butt welding around the edges



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As usual I left the cutting of the parts till the last minute because you can never tell if your exact cut pieces will stay put during the welding (!)

So here I'm using masking tape (long live masking tape!) as a guide for cutting =>



The trick (top tip) is to try and not cut all the way through! If you do you will mark and weaken the panel underneath. The trick I use is to cut to paper thin and then use pliers to wriggle and fatigue the last part of the cut so it breaks free.



A bit more cutting might be necessary



#############

Job done =>





The repair does need a small amount of filler to make it gucci - that will be done later...

[norustplease]

Great stuff, very painstaking.
Are you going to end up with a complete paint job rather than the remediation that you originally envisaged?

[Army]

Originally Posted by norustplease

Great stuff, very painstaking.
Are you going to end up with a complete paint job rather than the remediation that you originally envisaged?

Yep the paint touch up plan is now long gone. It is a bit of a shame and a massive delay in the bigger plan. The biggest stumbling block was trying to get a decent match for the red. It had been painted in the 1980s (at a guess) and had faded - then it had been patched and messed about with (in particular the rh wings). I don't know for sure but have the feeling I would have spent more time blending than I will sanding it all off and returning the car to its original colour...

[Army]

Waiting for the Zinga to dry to finish it off

[Army]

This has been a pain in the backside. Using a normal putty knife type scraper I did my arm in!

So I borrowed a multi-tool thing





That saved me a few days.

Phew!

Reason for doing it =>



Surface rust forming under the sound insulation (cos of condensation)

[Army]

...welding...

...welding...

...welding...

...and this car is really solid!

This rarely happens =>



I hardly ever manage to cut replacement metal as close as this - flippin' 'eck

(Hash tag showing off as the yutes might say)