745 into Pickup

[lookforjoe]

My Mum has been feeling poorly the past couple days, so this morning I gave her a COVID test & it was positive. two of my sisters had visited several days ago, and one of them had tested positive for COVID. I took her to a Doc-in-a-box to get further evaluation - they confirmed she has COVID & given her overall health, quarantine & rest is about all there is to say about it. Thankfully I didn't get it this time around. Got her home, and then my Volvo C30 wouldn't start . I couldn't leave it, as it was blocking her driveway. I thought perhaps it was the clutch position switch, as there was 0 action when turning the key to start. I bypassed the pedal switch (PITA), no change. Got the Mrs. to operate the key while I tried an alternate length of battery cable, and then I tested the wiring by hooking up a spare starter motor from an older T5. That engaged & cranked, so my starter is dead. I pout that starter in just so I could get the car home. Bosch reman is on order. Glad it happened after the morning errands & not while I was transporting my mum in the heat.



VO 31268035

 

[lookforjoe]

Back on the Volvo rust repair . Tomorrow I need to make the B pillar tie plates that rotted out, then I can do the rocker skin

Cut out the rot on the rear half





cut matching section to fit. Lower lip will be trimmed later



stripped & applied weld-thru primer to butt join area



added dogleg at left end to make up layers at wheel arch lip



Started tacking the rear section in - I first added a bridging lip between this & the repair section from Friday (under clamp)



rear section overlaps mid section, as with original construction



Made the small end cap for the wheel arch base that the rocker skin ties to







Not going to grind down the MIG welds - I'll just apply seam sealer to that



spot welded the lower step to the floor and center crossmember junction



and forward repair section to floor lip



Still have to finish the mig welds where the floor joins the vertical repair to the right of spot welded section

 

[lookforjoe]

Got the underside seam welded, that was a bitch - working on my back. Welding spatter gets all over. Primed & initial seam sealer



Got the B pillar base welded in - 1st part



Side impact post & rear end of B pillar base





The areas I've marked on the sill seam have to be modified for drainage



Stepped the forward edge of this rocker section to fit inside the rocker, adjusted the fit to the B pillar anchors



After I did the seam sealer here, I put some paint on the inner sill, since it's open anyway

 

[nedc]

Great, meticulous work...no chance of you getting bored in retirement!

 

[2 old for this]

Back to the dead starter. A good wack with something heave might be enough to get you home. Don’t leave home without a wackier.

 

[lookforjoe]

Moving along, although the day was cut a little short by a storm coming in

Started by making the rear cap for the rocker



A little forming work to get the fold & profile right





tested the seam sealer compatibility with the spot welder - looks good, so I used it on all the spot weld seams







seam welded the upper junction with the MIG after this



To deal with the drainage channels, I just drilled holes in the sill and tapped the edges with a ballpein hammer to contour them slightly concave



proceeded with fabricating the rear half of the outer rocker skin



step in forward edge to tuck under forward rocker repair panel



cut the square holes needed to retain the sill covers - those are from later 960 series, which is what the forward rocker repair piece was cut from. That way, I had guide holes to follow in terms of spacing, offset & specific dimension



Prepped the outer sill lip & the backside of the sill so I can spot weld thru. Had to add another clamp - this one clamp wasn't providing sufficient conductivity for the spot welder to operate



Only got as far as spot welding the sill lip, and the rearward overlap -by then the storm was moving in pretty quick, so I packed up for the day. Should be able to finish the outer skin work tomorrow.



Lightening was coming through that darker cloud bank - I had about 5mins to pack up before the downpour

 

[lookforjoe]

Great, meticulous work...no chance of you getting bored in retirement!

Indeed! I have more than enough to keep me busy for the next few years.

Back to the dead starter. A good wack with something heave might be enough to get you home. Don’t leave home without a wackier.

I did try that, no luck. I installed the old starter from my '98 V70 - it's not the correct form factor for the RNC Whiteblock - the body is longer & interferes with the lower radiator hose, but it was enough to be able to drive the car. New Bosch reman arrived today from FCP, so I'll get that installed tomorrow.

 

[lookforjoe]

Got the rest of the rocker welded, and sealed the various seams, then drilled the 7 8mm holes in sill lip for the rocker panel cover. Primed & painted those.

Top edge of rear half


forward section done. No process pics, it was all the same steps as the rear half. seam sealer on the sill lip, spot weld that, then MIG weld the vertical junctions, and then the top seam. I made more work for myself there, as I didn't leave a slight flat lip below the ridge line, which meant I was welding at the ridge line & had to make sure that stayed defined.





7 of these


Panel retainer clips in place. rocker cover clips to those, then the plastic rivets go in along the sill. Forgot to take a pic of that

 

[lookforjoe]

Finished up the rocker cover install. Drilled the 17 holes on the driver's side, squaring off the upper ten for the special clips







Also put the new starter in the C30

 

[lookforjoe]

Back to the garage for a bit - I need to finish the base plate replacement on the south wall .

Removed the dead one







Poured gravel into the lower cinder block, then concrete into the upper. Set two bolts to tie the new plate



This corner will need separate attention

 

[v8volvo]

Very impressive work. Always amazing what you folks back east are used to living with, in terms of rust. Anything needing this kind of sheetmetal work in this part of the country would be condemned. Don't think anyone around here probably even knows the techniques to deal with it.

Obviously worth the effort though, for the right car, as your outcome shows. The whole truck is a great setup. Kudos.

 

[lookforjoe]

Got the base plate in, and the smaller plate. I only cut exactly 1.5" off the bottom of the studs, so it was a bitch to get that in under the studs. The large sledge helped.

Under foam barrier & butyl





Funky piece to fit the corner. Had to shave 1/4 off the whole piece to clear the existing concrete, then used the router to cut a step that tucks under the cross plate, as did the original





After that was fitted, I added an extension to the 2x4 plate, then a 7" section of 4x4 to repair the corner post, then a similar length for the visible stud that abuts it.



New siding for the 3rd run, Concrete backer for the lower 10"



Covered with Protecto-wrap, this stuff sticks to anything.



Now I can put up the last pegboard, move everything back , and get moving on the V8 conversion for my Volvo truck.

 

[lookforjoe]

280Z has run beautifully all the way out to Columbus, OH. about 600 miles so far, mostly 65-70 highway speeds. It has consumed about 1/2 quart oil, which I haven't seen in local/mixed highway driving.

Couple of the Fiat race cars at the Fiat Meet



One of the older techs at the shop was previously a Volvo guy, and has a 90 740 16V wagon he wants to move out of his garage where it has been stored for th past 18 years. I may have to buy it







Needs the head re-installed - he is now physically unable to do the work, hence the desire to see it go to another Volvo guy.

 

[corivus]

16v turbo and a ls 7 series truck... you should do it

 

[dl242gt]

Save another one! The only thing missing is the manual trans besides putting the engine back together and the other needs like brakes. But it's LH2.4 car so manual swap parts are out there.

 

[lookforjoe]

Been working on a friend's old Volvo 940, needed a replacement turbo.

I had called a contractor last week, to get a quote on the patio/slab behind the garage. Approx 16x20' They were able to come & do it today, so I went ahead & had it done. I'll have to get some fill to grade the ground around it.

Have to wait a week before the 350Z can be moved onto it.

 

[NJGreenBudd]

What you'd give your friend for a turbo, nice little PTE 6266?

Slab looks great, that's for new work shop obviously which is very exciting. I just managed to secure the vacant lot next to my house, short term have gained some parking and long term have gained room to build a garage so I can move my stuff from my folks overtime. So nice to be able to have a space to do your projects more comfortably. Meantime I built myself a real nice 10x10 shed and moved over a compressor, ramps, power washer, etc to start building up a home shop setup.

Man oh man, that 740 is perfect, definitely a score with that nice black interior and a16v to boot! I have been thinking about trying my hand at a 760 T6 swap, we had a white over maroon 84 I think 760 GLE that I chewed the vinyl off the door cards as a kid! I think a more modern volvo inline 6 would fix the injustice that was the PRV V6 according to my father. But anyways, what a great find, I can't wait to see it get the old lookforjoe treatment.

 

[lookforjoe]

What you'd give your friend for a turbo, nice little PTE 6266?

Slab looks great, that's for new work shop obviously which is very exciting. I just managed to secure the vacant lot next to my house, short term have gained some parking and long term have gained room to build a garage so I can move my stuff from my folks overtime. So nice to be able to have a space to do your projects more comfortably. Meantime I built myself a real nice 10x10 shed and moved over a compressor, ramps, power washer, etc to start building up a home shop setup.

Man oh man, that 740 is perfect, definitely a score with that nice black interior and a16v to boot! I have been thinking about trying my hand at a 760 T6 swap, we had a white over maroon 84 I think 760 GLE that I chewed the vinyl off the door cards as a kid! I think a more modern volvo inline 6 would fix the injustice that was the PRV V6 according to my father. But anyways, what a great find, I can't wait to see it get the old lookforjoe treatment.

Hello NJGB!
Sounds like you have a nice working / storage arrangement coming along. As far as 760s go, the later iteration (89-) B280 w/LH2.2 was night & day over the B28 w/K-Jet. They fixed all the issues inherent in the earlier V6, then dropped the motor with the intro of the whiteblock.

I haven't figured out how to proceed with the 16V yet - I do now have the place to store it - but the transport companies haven't responded to my quote requests yet. In a way, I'd prefer to drive out with my 740 (once the V8 is in) and tow it back myself, so I can make sure none of the parts are forgotten. That wouldn't be possible until next year at this point.

The slab will have to stay just a slab - the town code doesn't allow for any structure to be built back there, my property is too small and non-conforming by today's codes. As long as it has no structure on it, the only stipulation was that the slab had to be 10' setback from the property lines. It will give me a place to work on vehicles that are either long term projects or being stripped without being a public eyesore.

 

[threewagons]

tested the seam sealer compatibility with the spot welder - looks good, so I used it on all the spot weld seams

This was a good thought. I don't know what level of corrosion resistance this gives but it's probably better than bare metal.

In the collision repair world we use a weld-through panel bonding adhesive like 3m 8115 for corrosion protection around spot welds (and additional strength).

Make sure you finish up the repair with cavity wax, it'll wick into every little nook and cranny inside the rocker that paint/weld-thru doesn't.

Nice work

 

[NJGreenBudd]

That's actually nice to hear the later V6s were better sorted, so much Volvo knowledge still to learn on my end.

What about renting a home Depot truck and U Haul auto transport trailer if you wanted to do it sooner than later. I'd offer my truck and trailer but the equipment trailer is far from ideal for these Volvos, especially non running ones, last car I had to use a come along and winch by hand ugh, also my trailer is a bit steep approach.

That's interesting about the slab, good compromise, a flat dry surface is very good for stuff like jack stands, floor jacks and engine hoists, I've played in the mud and gravel driveways enough to appreciate a good slab!