I got this car for next to nothing and is otherwise in decent shape and runs well. I will either sell it for next to nothing, or try repairing it.

I have had some luck with sheet metal work in a rotted out Toyota truck, anyone had any success with 240's? Details are appreciated.

Remember to disconnect all computers/control boxes and system master ground and power positive before striking an arc to the body. Your Mig or Stick welder is grounded thru the body and the surge from the arc will fry any/all computers/control circuits to a fare thee well!

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Volvo #6: all wagons.... 1972 145S, 1976 245 DL, 1983 245 GL, 1986 740 GLE, 1990 740 GL, now a 1995 940...What's Next?

What a coincidence. I'm doing this project next week! I'm also replacing part of the driver's side rail as well.

I've done this a few times, Halifax is not kind to Volvos (or anything else that's not plastic, for that matter). I purchased replacement rocker panels through UAP/NAPA for about $38/side, as they're made to fit either 2 or 4 door you'll have to notch them out around the B-pillars. I did rivet a set in prior to having access to a welder, didn't look too bad when hammered down & skimmed with fill but welding is much easier & cleaner. Get all your sheet metal cut & fitted - you'll need to build up the edges of the floor & into the inner rockers with L-shaped pieces of metal beaten into submission/shape. You want to be into thick, rust-free metal, overlapping slightly (unless you are one of the skilled few who can butt-weld metal properly). I used 20-gauge, a bit heavy to work into shape but manageable. Fit everything & grind away old paint/fill/rust/undercoating around the edges of the existing metal. Use just enough rivets to secure things in place. Then rent yourself a mig welder for a Saturday & learn to weld. It'll go really quickly if you've got everything fitted & cleaned up properly. Be sure to get enough penetration with the welds, though - it sucks to have to do a lot of grinding down afterward, and it sucks more when the welds start popping apart a month later. You'll know when you've got the right combination of wire speed & power - sounds like eggs frying, doesn't spatter, weld is nice & even/flush, and you're not burning through. A continuous welded seam is ideal but unlikely. Solid spot welds a few inches apart are fine, sealed up with seam sealer (like caulking, also available at NAPA, pretty cheap). Then some POR-15 if you want to make the repair really permanent, and undercoat the repaired floor area. This'll help with sound insulation as well as protecting the repaired area. Use a decent quality undercoating product though, the cheap stuff ends up peeling off & holding water against the metal - worse than leaving it bare.
Good luck! It's manageable! Just be patient & expect to have to do more work than you first think.
-Chris

Do you have a NAPA part number? I didn't know these where available from them. I am sure that the guys at my local NAPA would be just as surprised as I am if I can order the parts through them.

Hehehe...

I could write the book on this subject. The smell of bondo and fiberglass makes me think of childhood watching my dad and my grandfather pasting the stuff over holes on the old 72 142S (when it was only 4 years old, LMAO).

So I've done it all. The best route is of course to use a welder. Success can also be acheived by purchasing sheet metal, cutting it to fit and riveting it to whatever is still good. Make sure you clear away the really bad stuff first and spray in some rubberized rockerguard. Then seal it all up with some industrial caulking, spray more rockerguard on.

My current rust erradication binge can be found here:

www.cardomain.com/id/richink73
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Happy Bricking!!! - Richard - '87 245 DL , '82 242 GLT - Volvo's are alive and well in Brampton!!!

Nice job. What thickness of sheet metal did you use and where did you get it? I am in Hamilton.

Hello,

I've been working with 22 gauge steel for the most part. I've been getting it from a place near Airport and 401. You can also get big sheets from Princess Auto for around 15 bucks.


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Happy Bricking!!! - Richard - '87 245 DL , '82 242 GLT - Volvo's are alive and well in Brampton!!!

Four years ago I replaced rocker panels with new ones purchased for $40.00 each from a body panel supplier here in Ottawa(Fender Factory). I had to add sheet metal to adjoining floor and the vertical divide behind the rockers.
If you plan to keep your car then you may want to tackle this job. My car only had a 100,000 km at the time so I decided to do it. Since then I've replaced the front clip, hood, fenders and trunk lid prior to painting this past fall. I swear that it must of had a dip in the Atlantic after leaving the Halifax plant.

Erich Zappe
Ottawa Ontario

back in the day of my 1st Volvo (a 145 wagon), I ordered some replacement rocker panels from JCWhitney. They looked good and appeared to fit cleanly over the old pannels, but I didn't get around to installing them (no welder, no money, I was in school at the time).

But to answer your question, yes, you can repair them, but you'll need someone with a welder to do the job right.
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Volvo #6: all wagons.... 1972 145S, 1976 245 DL, 1983 245 GL, 1986 740 GLE, 1990 740 GL, now a 1995 940...What's Next?

Good to know... but is a hoist also required? Can any replacement work around the floor be reasonably done with the small clearance of jack stands?

I don't think yo need to worry about hoists or jacks. I think most work can be done from the inside.

Richink's post probably has more detail.
Personally, I liked the shape of the JCWitney replacement rockers, affordable and shapped correctly - no sheet metal to screw with. I was going to get the rust out w/ a grinder and install the replacements over the old rockers (mine were so bad, I was afraid to try and remove them).

It seemed that to install them, I really needed to cut out the shape of the door column (the column between the front and back doors), and to remove the front fender (there was a projection that had to go under the fender, otherwise it should have for right over the old ones. Now this was a really old car in fair condition, but with a lot of rust. I didn't care that it look perfect, just that It stopped serving as a route for dust and exhaust to get into the cabin. You probably want your brick to look a bit better.

The instructions I found at the time (this was 1993 - no brickboard yet), suggested that I could weld the new rockers or that I could rivet them on and use bondo to cover the rivets. The later suggestion was not very appealing.

I never did decide how to proceed, I was a very poor college student with a very old car and life intervened before I got around to it. This brick was consigned to a junkyard after it threw a rod in the service of my father. Gotta keep oil in them - or else.
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Volvo #6: all wagons.... 1972 145S, 1976 245 DL, 1983 245 GL, 1986 740 GLE, 1990 740 GL, now a 1995 940...What's Next?