Thank you. It would be great to get in touch with these folk. Feel free to point them in this direction or PM me their details.

You're a very brave man! I wouldn't want that amount of welding! :nah: You're doing a grand job of it though! :thumbs_up:

Volvo Jim : https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=300762

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-240...G/254239737030

Found that 240GLT being broken on fleabay, looks to be the same colour (Blue-Green Metallic i think?) but also found these people who i've used many times for spares in Lockerbie. No idea how close that is to you but they still post things out :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-240...r/401134408146

Not sure on body repair panels but in all honesty, having seen what you've done so far - make your own! :thumbs_up:

Impressive welding skills there :teeth_smile: I'm just down the road from you ( Lenzie ) so I know where to come now if my 940 needs any work in the future:teeth_smile:

As other have said Volvo Jim in Slammanan is well worth a visit. Hope to see the car floating about on the M80 at some point !!

Thanks for all the help so far!

Fabricating my own sill patches is a possibility and it may come to that. I am a complete amateur when it comes to bodywork but if the Brookhouse panels aren't an exact match anyway then I can't go far wrong. The difficult part is guessing what shape something should be where the metal is long gone such as on the ends of the sills. The links posted so far have helped hugely.

I'm considering building a sort of wooden dolly / former in the profile of the sill and using that to beat some sheet into the correct shape for patches. This would save me having to realign a whole new sill, which will be challenging enough but currently the passenger door is off making it even more awkward.

I have a bit of grot on the rear section of chassis rail next to the fuel tank that will need chopping out and replacing. Does anyone know what gauge metal is suitable for a safe repair here? It's hard to judge what with all the underseal in place.

Hi again,

To be clear I'd suggest buying the replacement sill sections from somewhere and cutting patches out of them - although they're not perfect they're certainly a good starting point and can be re-angled/persuaded into the correct shape. I too am fairly amateurish at this - I did a welding course then got stuck in with the 1978 that I posted the link to before. Nothing like practise to improve though, so after working on that car and my 1988 I'm certainly better than I was!

Also, although a wooden dolly might be useful, having a straight piece of bar in a vice you can hammer/bend the sill pieces over will be as useful - with the advantage that you can bend the metal 'past' the angle you want it to be so that when it springs back it's in the right place, which you couldn't do with a dolly/former.

I carried out the same repair on the 1988 I still own, some more photos in the link below that may be useful.

Thankfully the sill ends aren't too complicated, post some more photos if you get stuck.

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...=228229&page=7

I think the chassis rails at the point you describe are 2mm steel.

Cheers

Hi again,

I found a photo I annotated for someone else which you may find useful- the green piece to repair the inner sill is first, it’s vertical with a 90 degree bend in the end of it. The red piece is next, up against the green piece and cut to the right shape for the curve of the inner arch. Then the blue piece last.

I make the pieces out of cardboard first, then cut them in steel. Greetings cards are excellent for this...

Cheers

Gold. I have saved this for future reference as this section is utterly gubbed on mine. Thank you.

I might be speaking out of turn here and interpreted the photo incorrectly but it looks like the seam between the inner and outer has been welded over with a final patch above the three indicated.

I've been told (not sure but it sounds right) this isn't a great idea as it can create moisture traps in the seam area. Something to consider maybe? :thinking:

I wouldn't worry about speaking out of turn - hopefully the following photos will illustrate how the panels fit together -

I've already used a wire brush on the inner wheel arch area in this photo and have cut away part of the closing panel - but I've outlined in green where it extended to. Ignoring the rusty hole through to the interior that I fix first, the panel outlined in green was spot-welded in place over the vertical seam between the two panels that make up the inner arch.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...924/Cf4USl.png

Another view - I've made a cardboard template for the repair patch, and the vertical seam between panels is clearer as I've cut away the top part of the closing panel (that I highlighted green in the previous photo)

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...922/UBsDOL.jpg

Repair patch is welded in now and below it you can see the textured finish on the strip of metal that previously had the closing panel spotwelded over it

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...921/W5KASa.jpg

Then finally - the inner arch was repaired first, then as it was easier to make in two parts the closing panel was replaced - the lower section first, butt welded to the retained part of the closing panel, then the top section last, butt welded in place.

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...923/wjIw2R.jpg

I suppose the short answer to your query is that yes the seam has been welded over, but the longer answer is that the final plate welded over other repairs replicated what was there previously.

Open to comments.

Cheers

Thanks for the extra photos, they show there is drainage/ventilation so it makes less of a moisture trap. Also shows how Volvo put it together in the factory, the closing panel seems more for strengthening than looks?