sills and chassis joins near petrol tanks

[shimon340]

Hi guys!

I recently picked up an F reg 340 for a friend of mine off ebay for £100 and it went for its MOT today.

In my time of working on and owning / driving 340s I've learnt where they are prone to rust. This 'new' F reg had rust on the join on the lower part of the sill near the rear jacking point and at the join of two of the chassis leg / rails near the fuel tank. Not as bad as my car so I wasnt concerned.

My J reg was more rusty than this car in those places last year when it passed its MOT.

However ( you know whats coming!! ) today oddly the F reg was denied its MOT for these rusty areas by the same garage I went to last year.

My friend is 19 and this is his first car. I convinced him to get it for the qualities we all know and love of the 340. He also wants to learn mechanics so I agreed to teach him as we all know how nicely designed and durable the 300s are and how easy they are to service. Excellent engineering work Volvo!

However, he has been quoted £200 for the repair work. The Volvo specialist I used to work at, well his body guy isnt interested in the work and wont do it.

This also means unfortunately that those Y shape chassis leg / rail repair kits I was hoping to supply (made by him ) wont be happening - at least not made by him.

So here is my super cheeky question... I havent learnt to weld yet soooooooo..... ( still planning! )

is there anyone kinda near manchester who is a dab hand at welding who is willing to repair the sill and the chassis leg/ rails? He can afford something but not the £200 quoted. The car is all ok apart from that

So in return for beer, tea, cakes food etc is anyone up for welding this car for us? We can travel to you ( another V3M meet anyone?? ) or Im happy to host a meet here at my place in Manchester.

There is 0% chance of the car being scrapped. I wont let that happen.

My friend is keen to join the club also and has some plans for lowering, alloys, bodykit etc - no radical mods though. So he is also interested in a bodykit- Separate question - how much are those? have they all gone?

look forward to hearing from you all! hopefully we can make this an excuse for another volvo 300 get together!

Doesnt necessarily have to be manchester

cheers guys

[petefarrell360]

Right, well you've beaten me to it! I have some interesting pictures of before and after such a repair. The previous owner was quoted £300 to repair the two chassis joins alone. So to be fair £200 isn't all that bad for a sill and the chassis joins.

When I got mine done, my Uncle who is a top class welder did them, and even then, it was costly, for his time and materials, and he didn't just blob a patch on there, he fabricated a proper thicker plate, profiled to match the original.

If the welder where you got the quote is good at what he does, I'd treat it as a good investment if you waxoyl and protect it well afterwards. I know you're friend may not be too keen on spending such money on the car now, but it would be a cheap car still, that should last once the metal work is up to scratch and protected!

Pete

[shimon340]

hi pete!

Thanks for the reply

yep, you've described exactly the repair the car needs. the body guy at the place I used to work was going to make Y shape pieces to repair the chassis just as you say.

However, Im still up for a welding meet!! anyone??

PS where dya get sheet metal for fabricating the Y shape pieces?


Pete, were your sills also repaired?

[petefarrell360]

The sills had already been replaced by the previous owner, it's had some serious work done in the past, looks like new sills, new rear panel, boot lid etc, well looked after!

Pete

[classicswede]

Well if you could bring it over I would be happy to sort the welding out.
I could even sort out getting the repair pannels made.

[shimon340]

Wow Dai! you serious? thats brilliant news!!

Im sure my friend can contribute something - he was rather glum on friday bout the failure.

great!!

I'll pass on the news to him and can we arrange a meet up? sundays are good for me, cant make saturdays unfortunately.

look forward to it mate!

shall we continue via PM?

[classicswede]

Drop me a PM and we can sort out a date.

Some pics of the extent of the rust would help so I know exactly what I'm letting myself in for.

[srtames]

It would be interesting to see those "Y" pieces as I think you need a lip on the outside edge as the internal water trap caused by an internal diagonal brace causes the chassis side to rust through.
Also has anybody got any diagrams of the macphersen strut area as water leaks from the bonnet cause rust there?
Ive gone off volvo chassis design a bit!


Steve

[classicswede]

I've not noticed one with rust there tbh. The only rust I've ever seen in the area is water traped in the seams.

Pics???

[srtames]

The area rhat rusts is near a seam about 8in from the strut and easy to miss . Water comes down from faulty seal in wing gutter


Steve

[petefarrell360]

Hi........ I've tried to edit the post so the picture worked, but the tags were slightly wrong, corrected that and still no photo, I couldn't find the one on your site I'm afraid.
Pete

[petefarrell360]

BUMP Picture sorted, Steve was having ISP problems. Yeah interesting that one. Andy, remember the 360 your engine came from when the wing was removed? A lot worse that that and actually all over, but yes mainly on that point. Dinitrol is the answer really, if you can catch it before it's too bad!

Under the screen and up the A pillar are places known to be a problem too, I must remember to take a picture of that also. From the outside, no sign of any problem, trim etc removed, large rusty hole, at least it's a car that's been broken up and not my daily driver!

Pete

[classicswede]

The problem ther starts due to no proper paint on build and rust occours because hardly anyone bother to wax oil.

Best thing to do is clean the rust out paint and give a good wax oiling.

[pettaw]

You mean Dinitrol 10 times better than Waxoyl cos the brown thin cavity wax will actually penetrate rust and stop it advancing rather than just covering up.

[petefarrell360]

Dinitrol is the answer really

I refer you to above!

Indeed, Andy is right, plus it doesn't affect any rubber components that I know of, where as Waxoyl shouldn't be used near rubber. So door seals, boot seals etc are dodgy areas. Dinitrol will stop rust dead.

Plus where access is tight, Dinitrol will run as it's thinner and if given a good coating should get into all the cavities and gaps.

Pete