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

Volvo Amazon Inner wing Repair - Part 2

As indicated in the previous post , the intention was to work on to the rear offside arch next, but the inner arch repair sections still haven't arrived. It seems that they are out of stock with the wholesalers in Sweden, and that there is no indication of when, or even if they will be delivered. I am now beginning too think that I will be lucky to see them before Christmas. Change of plan then. I have re-jigged the garage and I have turned the car round to create space to start on the nearside inner wing. There is also the windscreen corner and battery box to sort out, so this should keep me busy for a while. Just like with the offside repair panel, I noticed that there was a problem with the wing bolt hole alignment, although in this case it appeared to be less pronounced. I judged that it would still necessitate removing of the box section from the rest of the repair panel. The existing inner wing was in a poorer condition on this side and so I need to replace at least some of ...

Tooling Up: DIY Sheet Metal Brake

My new 1mm sheet steel has arrived, along with some additional angle and flat bar... but more of that in a moment. Using the refined ply forms , I have now made the boot floor rear edge piece again and I am much happier with it. Going for the extra gauge steel was definitely the right decision and this new panel feels much more substantial. I have had a full test fitting with all panels, which is looking pretty good. The next issue concerns the rear inner arch to which spare wheel well side and floor is to be attached. There is some rust here and so this will need to be repaired before the really serious welding/reconstruction of the boot floor can begin. Although only a relatively small area, complex curves and profiles need to be created. I realised then that I had need of more fabrication tools. Here then is a description of how I fashioned a DIY sheet metal brake; a means by which I can easily and precisely create folds in sheet metal of up to around 90˚or so. This constructio...

Volvo Amazon Speedometer Facia Restoration

Back in May last year I started a process of refurbishing the speedometer unit from my Amazon. The speedometer itself was working fine, it was simply a matter of appearance; just like probably every other Volvo Amazon out there, the grey crackle coating on the facia had deteriorated and was peeling off. Many owners remove the coating completely and simply leave the brass finish, but quite frankly I don't like this look. I took the plunge and experimented with disassembling the binnacle (details in this earlier post ). I can now report that I have finished the task. The first challenge prior to painting the was what to do about the plastic warning lamp lenses (high beam, indicators, oil pressure and charge/amps). I wanted to remove them as I thought they would be difficult to mask effectively. They are fixed originally by being melted from the back. They also each have a rubber shroud which being 50+ years old and subjected to heat cycles from the lamps, are somewhat discoloured an...

PROJECT VOLVO

Search This Blog