Cars, like people, get old and die. Your car is old and has terminal cancer.

So long as it is safe to drive, do so. And keep a look out for a replacement. Buying another 1971 would be much cheaper than fixing the rot. And you would again be able to wrench it to your specs.

Nothing you buy will replace the current car. If you spend mega bucks replacing the sheet metal, it will be good for another 5 years before that also develops rust.
Take lots of pics and when the time comes, save the needed parts for others to keep their cars running.

I still miss my 164 after 18 months. I brought it back to life, and it taught me how to be a good mechanic. Now I have a couple of 850s which are more powerful, but have a lot less grace than the "Grand Dame".

Klaus
--
The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are a 95 854T and a 98 V70R :)

Does $25 K for a complete restoration,
and an unknown amount for rust repair sound good?
--
71-145-S

Been there too... I sure wish I'd have kept my first car.. a '67 122 wagon. But at the time it became undriveable, I was simply in no position to get it fixed. It was only a clutch that killed it, but it had some serious other issues that made it both unsafe, and unrealistically expensive to fix.

So... that's about the bottom line... be realistic. Firstly, to clone the car into a good body. It won't be the same car.. you know that as well as I. That's not to say it's bad option.. you'd have a good car of the type you want. But it won't be the same car. Don't mess with the VIN unless the shell has no title.

That said... you swapped transmissions and you still have the same car. The body shell is just another part, right? Hmmm... Doesn't feel like it to me, but if it works for you... what the heck. Folks with rusted out MGs buy brand spankin' new bodies and put all their mechanicals in, and it's the same car.

Whatever you do though... bottom line is when you are done, you'll have more money in the car than it will ever be worth *on the market*, so the question is simply... what would it be worth to *you* to have the car either fixed or cloned. 5 grand? 10 grand? If that's what it takes, and it's worth that to you....

Then it's worth fixing. Some folks in this world spend 10 grand on a single dinner. It's worth it to them. I'd rather have a nice 145 personally, and better yet, a car that my father purchased new.

Good luck in your decision.



--
-Matt I ♥ my ♂

Hello,

What is most important is the criteria you use when asked to define the words "nostalgic" and "authentic". Establishing exactly what these words mean to you is crucial to the extent of the overall satifaction of your decision. Here's the categories your criteria may fall into:

1. I think most of us have had cars around as kids that we were sorry to see "fade away". For me, it was the 70's and 80's Caprice Classic wagons (my parents went through two of these). So I eventually bought an '88 Caprice and it brings back some of the same feelings as those childhood cars. Perhaps you've watched "Gone in 60 Seconds"? In that film, Eleanor is Eleanor regardless of the VIN #. When you think about it, you're not exactly the same person you were ten or twenty years ago. Nearly all your cells have been replaced, yet the blueprint remains the same. If a vehicle's "feel" is what you want, perhaps the most practical and inexpensive solution is to purchase and drive another complete '71 in great shape from outside the rust belt.

2. Perhaps there is a part of the vehicle that defines it as an entity to you. For some, this is the engine. Clearly, this is not the case with you. Is it that little government mandated number assigned to the vehicle? Does the "soul" of the car reside in it's interior where those familiar smells emanate? If this is the case, your bodyshop man's advice sounds good.

3. Maybe no other car will ever replace the one you have now. Deep down you might feel that you and your father have put blood, sweat, and tears into that machine and no other vehicle will ever be an acceptable replacement. Perhaps you think of it as a museum piece like certain fighter planes flown by famous aces that are restored when it would be easier to refurbish or replicate planes flown by lesser pilots and make them look the same. If this is the case with you, accept no substitutes.

The question you pose is by no means insignificant. Classic vehicle restoration and sales constitute a multi-billion dollar industry. Shows ranging from "American Hot Rod" to "Pimp my Ride" deal with the tough question of how to improve a vehicle while retaining some original character. While I am skeptical of ghost stories, many of them involve disturbing an antique environment or vehicle.

I wish you the best of luck in your decision.

Regards,

B.C. (1970 Volvo 142S)

A few years ago after I got brave enough to begin my own maintenance on my brick, I discovered a large amount of rust and rot in the floor and both rear wheel-wells.

It was a bit upsetting for me also, not only because of my attachment to Vlad but for financial reasons...I couldn't afford a bodyshop to make these repairs, only for the rust to reappear (been there once), nor did I want to spend the money in buying another brick with an unknown history. I've owned Vlad since 1990, and my mother bought it almost brand new before that, so I know his entire history. Mechanically, it was in excellent condition and had many more miles left.

So, I decided to tackle the problem myself. I removed as much rotted metal as possible, which became a hole in the floorboard big enough to put a basketball through. I coated the rust on the hole's edges with POR-15 to prevent the rust from spreading, bought some fresh steel plates slightly thicker than the original floors, cut them to size, and screwed and riveted them onto the surrounding metal. (Welding is better but I'm afraid to do that!) All edges and cracks were sealed with a super-strong filler from POR-15 and coated with fresh undercoating. Other smaller holes were filled with bits of steel or epoxy and coated similarly.

I even manufactured a rocker panel out of sheet metal and attached it to the car with rivets and screws to replace the rotted one.

The holes in the rear wheel-wells were patched in the same manner. It took a lot of epoxy and filler to get the contours shaped properly. I then bought some color-matched spray paint for the finishing touch.

That was two years ago and everything is still holding together. It's not tidy and professionally done, and may not even pass a thorough inspection, but most of the holes are patched and the car structurally feels much stronger.

Being a daily driver in the rust belt, the car goes up on ramps every summer for a thorough inspection and touch-up. Rust is a continuous battle and I look forward to contributing to extending Vlad's life as much as I can. The goal this summer is to coat the suspension.

It's a LOT of work - I've spend countless hours lying on my back grinding, cutting, painting and patching while the mosquitoes have a feast on my legs. But it's very satisfying knowing that I've kept an otherwise mechanically sound car on the road and out of a landfill.

My first car was a 1971 142, so I can understand the desire to hang on to it. If the engine, tranny and other core components of the car are in good condition, I'd consider repairing it in a similar manner as I did. All you can lose is a little money and a lot of weekends.
--
Mike F - 1984 244 DL - 278,000 miles
Original engine, transmission, drive train, alternator, starter
Undergoing reconstructive surgery with POR-15

Move on. Way to much labor involved to fix a unibody car like a 1145 correctly, and not doing it correctly is just a waste of money.

Budget in for a trip to a part of the country where the cars don't rust, and get a solid car.

I want my Volvo's to last a long time, so I don't drive them in the winter when they have salt out on the roads. I have a 'winter beater' that takes that abuse. For years it was an old '89 Ford Bronco II, worth about $500. This last winter it finally developed a hard to fix problem (leaking slave cylinder, which is inside the bellhousing thankyouverymuch Ford) and the rust finally started to make the body fall apart in the back section, so I replaced it with a '97 Explorer Sport that cost me $1000. Cheaper rust protection can't be found, IMO.
--
'63 PV544 rat rod, '93 Classic #1141 245 +t

I wish I still had every car I have ever owned. One of them I built - a Cobra replica - and although it's owned by someone else, it remains my car because of that. And I've owned maybe forty cars, and thirty of them have been Volvos.
But they don't break my heart. Family can break your heart, a good dog sometimes, and a few other relationships, but cars are metal after all. Most of the bidders at Barret Jackson auctions are trying to purchase something they'll never find.
Move on.

I understand the emotional attachment to 140s. Having done body work, I can tell you your body man is right. I don't know of patch panels one can just weld in after cutting old panels out.

Having said that, finding a recipient for your parts is going to be more problematic than your body man thinks. If yours is in the shape it's in, what shape are other survivors in? If the car is worth saving, it's probably already in good enough shape that it won't need your parts. Finding a good body/frame with dead mechanicals is a lot harder to find than vice versa.

140s didn't get the love they deserved, partly because of the problems with fuel injection in 1972 and poor build quality 1973-1975. Most went to the crusher instead of being brought back to life.

If you love it, it's worth it.

I lost an 1800 after 18 years due to rust in the frame rails. I still grieve, but I had to face reality: I didn't have the ability to fix it, and it wasn't worth paying the price to have it done right.

Best of luck.

doc

Thats a hard one, sentimental value and all. Think about it this way, wouldn't you want it to live on in a donor shell. I know I would, I'm in the middle of a 142 transplant. A rear ender took my 142 out, not wanting to scrap or part out a still running driving car. I decided to do the work and swap everything into the rolling shell I have. Sure its not the original 71 142e i love but it will be the next best thing with a nearly rust free body for till i decide to tackle the welding on a couple minor rust areas down the road.

Get as much milage out of the car you have and start looking for a nice donor body, get it rust free and put it all back together.

I've faced the same. Unless you are made of money and want a job to last you
the rest of your life, I'd do like the guy says. Good examples are not that
rare but some parts of the country eat 'em up! Redg and Pam Lambrecht up in
Minnesota made a business out of ferrying good bodies from Arizona to the
frozen (salted) north for a number of years- maybe still are doing it.
--
George Downs, Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!