Skip to main content

Chassis Repair and Spare Wheel Well

Having removed the old spare wheel well (see previous post) I have made a start on a repair piece for the corroded chassis end. This should be fashioned out of 16 gauge to be reasonably true to original Volvo spec.

I made a card template to cover the base and the missing edge/lip as a single piece. I intend to make and add side pieces once the main repair has been attached.



Here is the initial cut panel which fits pretty well actually (reasonably happy with that). However, I though it prudent to move on to the fit-up of the new wheel well/floor panels before I actually welded it in place. I have therefore cleaned up the inside of the chassis box with wire brushes and treated it with Fertan rust converter. 

Trial fitting the spare wheel well sections proved to be more complicated than I anticipated. I perhaps naively assumed that the new panels would simply drop into place but it seems that the main section of the wheel well needs some modification. Firstly, the leading front edge (towards the axle) needs to be bent/hammered up to meet the angle of the floor.


The next issue concerns the fitting together of the two halves of the wheel well. There is a small plate spot welded to the rear edge of the main panel which fouls the side piece. 


No matter how I tried to fit the two halves of the well together I couldn't make this work. In the end I removed it. Even then, the halves will not fit together as per the original panels*. I needed to cut out a small notch to allow the panels to slide together.






With these 'tweaks' I have eventually managed to complete the fit-up, using the two spare wheel well panels and the outer/lower rear quarter. (I hope this image helps to explain the mods.)



I am generally pleased with how everything is coming together (with all that sparkly new metal in place, the Volvo is threatening to look like a car again), but I am not convinced about the positioning front to back. After some deliberation I have decided that the best course of action is to replace the rear panel first, then build forward from there.


< previous post               next post >



* I am fortunate in that my friend who owns the '67 4dr competition prepared amazon also has an unrestored '63 car with all panels pretty much as original. This is proving to be invaluable as reference.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Removing the Headliner - Volvo 120

Removing the headliner in my Volvo 120 is a job that I have been meaning to tackle for a while and with an enforced hiatus in the boot floor fabrications (awaiting delivery of a sheet of 19 gauge steel),  today seemed as good a time as any. My plan was to try and rescue it.  It is not that I think it is in the best condition, obvious it has discoloured, but it isn't ripped. It is an item that I think I might need to have in the car to meet the 'road going saloon' class spec, but not something that I am particularly bothered about aesthetically. At £100 for a new headliner, I though it might be worth go at saving. However the Volvo service/workshop manual suggests that is not the norm, simply instructing to cut away the old lining. After removal of sun visors, grab handles and the interior light, I started on the headliner at the rear of the car. I had already removed the parcel shelf trim some time ago and so the lower corners were already revealed. There is a small fibre ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Volvo Amazon Chassis Repairs

As suggested in my recent post, the job I originally planned at this point was to repair the battery tray which is in a bit of a state. However, even after an extensive staring, prodding and rumination, I still haven't come up with a strategy. The curves and swaging in this pressing are really quite complex, I am simply not ready to tackle this.  "Does it really matter what it looks like?" I hear you cry, "Won't it be hidden?" Well, actually I think it does, not least of all as I am planning to relocate the battery to the boot (trunk) and utilise the tray in some other way (the current thinking is to locate an oil catcher here, which is required for competition). If so, the repairs will indeed be visible. I've decided to ignore it for the time being and come back to it later. Instead I have turned my attention to the rear arches, starting with the offside. I knew that there are some repairs required to the chassis and the area above the spring locator. I...
Post a Comment
Read more

Boot (Trunk) Excavation

As I suspect you are aware, issues with rot in the boot (trunk) of the Volvo 120 series are common and my Amazon is no exception. Over the years it has been 'repaired' a number of times and not always sympathetically. I have made a start removing the filler and the patchwork of metal plates that make up the n/s and the floor next to the spare wheel well.  I've ground off some of the welds, chiselled and bent back the non-original metal.  As I have already reported the lower rear quarter replacement panels are definitely not correctly positioned but I have successfully managed to uncover the original boot floor which although is in a very poor condition, does give me some points of reference for the rebuild. Incidentally, a word of warning. I had to remove a lot of seam sealer and I really should have been wearing gloves. A slip with the scraper brought the session to a rapid conclusion. I was lucky not to end up in A&E. Now that I have investigated more tho...
Post a Comment
Read more