Body/Trim: Alternative Sill Trim Fixings:~

[Bob Meadows]

1988 Volvo 240 Estate: ~ Sill Trim Modification.

Purists should look away- but if you would like a way to modify the trim making it removable with fixings that can be reused then this may give you ideas:~
The normal Volvo clips for these two trims are real silly money (26 required and costs can be plus £2:00 each at least)
Once used they tend to break if you need to remove them plus the fact the trim isn’t a good fit with these allowing all sorts of muck to enter the gaps leading to rust- not a great deal going for them is there!

Remove the side trim with the aid of a pallet knife or flat scraper- remove the existing clips but keep them as you will need the same for packing spacers.

Now is the time to carry out any rust repairs using the clip holes to spray the inner sills with your favorite wax treatment-pay particular attention to the rear – also removing the large rubber grommet within the lower wheel arch gives good access.

Cut the expanding spigot of 13 clips per side for the spacers- these are better used upside down giving a flatter surface for the well nut flange.
Clean the sill trim and use a length of masking tape secured to the top and down the front face etc.

Push the well nuts into the 13 holes and place the trim against the flanges of the nuts- now mark the centre point of each nut onto the masking tape. The holes in the sills are all equal distances with the exception of the fist & last.
I also measured each with aid of a Vernier gauge as a belt and braces exercise- with a set square transfer the pencil marks across the top and front face of the masking tape- this forms the drilling point for each screw.
The screws need to enter the trim and be central on the underside hollow section etc.

After various thoughts on ways to do this the above is the easier method and works well. With a 3mm drill bit drill the holes just under each pencil line from the face side- a clearance drill isn’t require here- look for the point where the curve of the top front trim edge goes into the smaller under section, you will see that this is the central point for the bolt. No countersunk is required as the screws will sink into the plastic covering as they get tightened etc.

Place the already cut (original) trim clips into the rear hollow section- expansion pins removed and upside down as noted above, the clip holes should now line up with your drillings etc.

Push a screw into each hole from the face side and through the clips etc. Copper grease the bolts-- now push a well nut onto the thread making sure it is held in place. 30 mm screws will have enough thread to do this- if you don’t do it then longer screws would have to be used to catch the brass inserts, for some reason the well nuts in 3mm sizes are quite long 24mm so please note the above.

You should now have a trim section complete with fixings ready to be pushed through the sill holes (8mm) see photos.
Push the above into place and begin to work along the section as you tighten the screws (heads will almost disappear as they sink home)

I ran a bead of windscreen sealer all-round the trims i.e. top & bottoms- you could also use “E” shaped E.P.D.M. draught excluder but it would have to be trimmed slightly once fastened to the underside trim etc.- sealant is fine and this type remains flexible if a little messy- but cleans up well with white spirit or panel degreaser.

I also brushed a wax treatment along the sill sections hidden by the trims- wax treatment will also mix with screen seal so no great problems here to clean and form an effect watertight seal top/bottom of each trim.

The two sill trims should tighten up quite well as the well nuts get compressed-these form a watertight seal and can be removed and reused at some stage.

You should now have better fitting trim sections less vulnerable to water penetration & serviceable at realistic prices!

Screw holes can’t really be seen but a small seal of Polyurethane will disguise them.

The new fixings consist of: ~ M3 x 24mm Well Nuts 26 No
M3 (3mm) 30mm A2 Stainless Raised Countersunk.26No.
3mm drill bit.

Hope it helps
Regards Bob