240 GLT saloon restoration project
 

Hi,

I caught the Volvo bug earlier this year with a 1998 C70 that I brought back to full health and have been very much enjoying.

When this came up I couldn't really pass it by. It's very much off the road as it has been sitting a long time, but it did start, drive and stop.

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Being in Scotland, it has a lot of rust, but I will be chopping out and replacing where necessary.

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It needs sills, a bit of A pillar, some work on the bulkhead, a bit here and there on the chassis rails and the rear arches.

I've started on the A pillar.

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Onto the sills now.

Does anyone know if there is anyone in Scotland that holds stock of repair panels such as sills? Typically the postage is more than the item itself so picking it up in my van would save a lot of money.

Failing that has anyone used repair panels from Brookhouse before, and can comment on how well they match up?

One more question. I haven't touched the chassis rails yet, does anyone know what gauge of steel is used at the rail ends?

Welcome, and thank you for posting the photos and words. It looks like it has the makings of a fine motor car, but with all that rust to deal with - you are a better man than I am, Gunga Din :-)

Is the rest of the car okay (the mechanical bits)?

I'm sorry, I can't help with the parts, but this forum is really useful and I'd be surprised if someone (like Loki or Laird Scooby - very knowledgeable chaps) doesn't chime in with the information you need. Perhaps there is even someone in Scotland that can help with sourcing the panels.

Do keep up apprised of your progress - we like projects like this and seeing Volvo 200s being saved.

Yours aye,

Alan

Thanks for the encouragement.

The engine runs fine. A little lumpy now and then but the fuel is stale, and I think the K-Jet may need a little bit of adjustment. It managed to haul itself on and off a trailer without issue, working against the very seized brakes too so that's all encouraging.

Suspension wise it's going to probably need a refresh, new springs, track rods, control arms etc, and I will of course do the timing and drive belts. The car came with a bootful of spares, but the parts seem widely available for anything I need.

I'm not looking to make money on this car, I'm just looking forward to driving it and couldn't watch it get turned into bean tins.

That is good: if you account for your own time you will have to pay yourself a penny an hour to even break even on these old cars! We are all the same, none of us ever make any money from our older Volvo, but that isn't the point: it will be fun to drive when you have it finished and you will have the satisfaction of knowing you saved your motor car from the banger derby.

I think you will find this forum really useful - there are some real experts here. I acquired my first Volvo for over 30 years in February this year (the Royal Barge - a 40 year old 244) and have received lots of useful information, advice and encouragement since then. The RB is running really well now, here is a photo with its new winter wheels and boots on:

https://i.imgur.com/yvlObUsh.jpg

Good fortune with your project. I'm sure there will be some very knowledgeable chaps along later to help - and hopefully some fellow Scots that can help with the local parts supply.

Best wishes,

Alan

Hi - excellent work on the car so far, well done.

You may or may not know that Volvo designed the sills to be vented, to avoid trapping moisture in sills. Unfortunately what happens is leaves and other debris get into the vents under the windscreen, down the A-pillars and into the sills where the block the drain holes and the sills end up rusting from the inside out. Since your car has rust both in the A-pillars and the sills it's likely that the drain holes are blocked.

I've attached a photo showing how it's supposed to work.

I ordered a lot of panels from Brookhouse to repair a 1978 245 I used to have, I found the panels to be about 8/10. The steel is thick enough and coated both sides so that's good, but the pressings weren't 100% accurate (which is to be expected I suppose). I remember the outer sills didn't have the bends in quite the right place and the bottom bend needed to be made into a sharper 90 degree bend than it was. That said, I'd probably use them again.

I start the welding on this page of my project thread, which might be of interest -

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showt...=268976&page=5

I can't help with a suggestion of a supplier in Scotland unfortunately, the parts were posted to me from Brookhouse who are based in Norfolk.

Running wise, apart from the obvious full service I recommend taking the big rubber bellows off the K-Jet unit and cleaning the lifting plate etc. inside with brake cleaner, and then replacing the injector seals. Both easy to do.

Volvo themselves can supply the vast majority of service parts for these cars still, make sure you get original Volvo seals etc, the pattern ones have a habit of leaking prematurely.

If your brakes are seized, it'll be easiest to buy 4 new calipers and all new hoses - I have bought two complete sets of calipers from here and am happy with them, otherwise most motor factors can get them too.

https://brakeparts.co.uk/

Cheers

All great info, thanks.

The operation of the scuttle drain was a huge mystery to me until I worked out that it drained right into the sills. It didn't help that the drains are blocked as you say, and the scuttle is full of pine needles and leaves. It's not a bad idea but catastrophic if the car has to sit for any length of time unused near foliage.

The other problems have been caused by a leaking windscreen (it will need welding at the seam), a leaking washer motor and a sunroof drain pipe that had been pushed out of its grommet so that water simply ran down the door hinge and into the sill! I had to fabricate new hinge reinforcement brackets as they were shot through.

Thanks for the info on the K-Jet and injectors, I will add this to the list.

Great work on your thread - this is the kind of stuff that helps a lot as I can see how it's meant to look rather than the gaping holes in my car! It looks like yours has went in similar areas.

Did you use cutouts from a repair panel on your sills or did you fabricate the areas yourself? Edit : just read that you used repair panels - sorry!

My plan was to replace the entire outer sills in one go as they're blown through in quite a few places including on the top lips. Do you think the brookhouse sills would need much modification if used in this way, ie: didn't have to fit in with existing original sill metal?

Volvo realised the design wasn't ideal and produced an aftermarket accessory called a 'snowcap' which clips over the vents in an effort to allow airflow in but keep leaves and other debris out. The only way to be really sure they're clear is regular cleaning via the various plugs though.

I have wondered occasionally if they could be cleared out effectively with a garden hose pushed into the plug in the rear wheel inner arch, but haven't got around to experimenting. Yes it'd fill the sills with water, but they're going to be damp anyway as soon as it rains and it might work as a way of flushing all the associated debris towards the drain holes - which I'd be frantically clearing with a piece of coat hanger or similar as soon as the hose got turned on....

Unless the outer sill was really bad I'd probably try to let in new metal and patch it with carefully fitted repair panels butt welded into place. The section under the B-pillar would be hard to extract and replace cleanly I suspect, although of course it has been done by others at home on the drive.

If you're going to replace the whole sill I'd try to use a section of original metal as a guide and form the new sill into as close a profile as you can make it before attempting to attach it to the car.

Cheers

Othen, the very man to help you also lives in Falkirk and has a superb 240 together with another 20 or so Volvos. David MacKenzie is the man you want and another person you might want to meet is VolvoJim at Slamannan. He has about 90 in his garden. Well worth a wee visit. Don't be afraid of the dog. Two guid lads. Keep us updated.

Sorry, I got the name wrong.

No matter at all, I think you have helped our friend Juular with exactly what he needs: some fairly local connections for the panels and parts for his motor car.

That is the value of this forum, thank you for stepping in to help.

Yours aye,

Alan