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Volvo P120: O/S Boot (Trunk) Floor Pt. 1


I have been working on the boot floor area for... well, for ever! In previous posts I have illustrated the extent of the rot problem and I have addressed the n/s area, with new spare wheel well panels and some fabrication. At this stage, whilst I have fitted up multiple times, I had not actually welded the new panels in, and for good reason, everything has a knock on effect.

Much of boot floor on the offside was paper thin, like tissue paper. I have had to proceed carefully to keep effective datum points and fit it all together. On this side complications have arisen from the fact that with the exception of the outer valance, no repair sections are available. I would have to fabricate everything myself. This I have now done, but it has been a long process.

Right from the start of this project I have been chewing over how to repair/recreate the rolled over lip that forms the recess for the fuel tank. I have always felt that if I couldn't sort this out, then the project would never be viable. However, I have come up with a strategy, using my DIY metal break and the shrinker stretcher. First of all I needed to create the rolled over profile. Rooting through the scarp metal bin I found a length of steel conduit that seemed to be the correct radius. I then set about modifying the metal break to enable me to create a radius bend. 




I created this test piece to see if the method was viable. 



I planned to replace three of the four rolled corners and three rolled sides, keeping the lip that the fuel tank actually sits on. With the metal break modifications refined I set about making the pieces. I found that I was able to create the right radius but after stretching to create the corner bend, the piece was no longer flat to the floor. I experimented with the shrinker but in the end I found I had to cut in some 'tucks' to allow me to shape the corner to fit. Not ideal perhaps, and showing my limitations as a fabricator, but it seemed to work nonetheless.




Before this first piece could be welded in, I needed to address the area that it would be welded to. All of the floor to the right of tank recess, and some above was rotten. There was also issues with the back edge of the wheel tub. I cut away most of the rust and cleaned up the chassis rail.



 Next, I repaired the wheel tub, which was pretty straight forward... 


....before moving on to the floor above/in front of the tank recess.


This area was complicate by the fact that it has some swaging, but I had a plan. When I replaced the o/s floor pan I salvaged a section of swaged floor, with this very job in mind. The swaging was not identical, and of a different length, but I managed to adapt it it achieve a pretty close approximation. (Remember, the purpose here is to go racing, not win a concourse de elegance trophy).





With these pieces welded in place, the next task was to replace the rest of the floor area to the right of the new tank recess. 



Ideally, fabricating a single piece for this whole boot floor area would be great, but I soon realised that too do so would be nigh on impossible as there were too many exact angles, curves and lips to create. Even slight errors (and there would almost certainly be some) would be magnified as the panel progressed. I opted to make 2 pieces, the first would be the forward area, working around the inner wheel tub and half way back towards the rear valance, the second would cover the back section, taking in the curved lip of the rear valance.

With the first panel, the difficulties would be how to recreate the curvature of the floor as it rises up over the back axle, and then how to to created a curved shape around the wheel tub, with a lip. Once again I started with a car template.

I quickly realised that it would be far less traumatic and equally effective to for get the curved lip and add it latter as separate pieces. I then turned my attention to the upward curvature of the floor. I wanted to get a nice smooth curve, rather than hammering or bending over my knee...what I really needed was a slip roller. 


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