Brown 244 GL

[Z33_Taxi]

amazing job. My wagon has to go under the knife soon,my butt cheeks are getting rusty and I want to nip it now...before the winter hits

[petiww]

Originally Posted by Z33_Taxi

amazing job. My wagon has to go under the knife soon,my butt cheeks are getting rusty and I want to nip it now...before the winter hits

Thanks! And good luck fixing that!

My overall goal with this rust fix is that i don't want to deal with it again as long as i keep this car, and I don't want to worry about every inspection, too.
It will be parked in a garage, and from the end of the rust fix project i just want to pay attention to the mechanical bits.
Whole respray will happen when i have enough money, but thats not gonna happen in the near future. I'm on a low budget unfortunately, but thats why i chose this car.

Originally Posted by Råda

Great work here!

It's not 100% perfect as it's my first real work.
For example that lower area on the drivers floor is not as deep as it should be, but looks good.
And when i welded the lower section of the inner sill on, i started from the centre. And it warmed up so well that when i did the other welds the sill started to turn upwards... But thats nothing that a big hammer cant fix.

[petiww]

Last floor patch on this side.



Voila

[petiww]

[petiww]

Temporary primer is brushed on. Whole floor will be painted with good 2k paint when bodywork is finished.
Looks good.

[volvoboy67]

This is looking great, man! Excellent work on the fabrication during this phase. Nice to see attention paid to detail putting all the factory stamped shapes into each and every repair panel. Keep up the good work!

[petiww]

Originally Posted by volvoboy67

This is looking great, man! Excellent work on the fabrication during this phase. Nice to see attention paid to detail putting all the factory stamped shapes into each and every repair panel. Keep up the good work!

Thank you for the kind words!

However I already did not made two factory stamped rib on the last patch, they are too difficult to make without proper tools on a 1mm sheetmetal. I do my best though.

[petiww]

This little piece was welded on:

[GoldieBrick]

All I can say is wow... That rust repair is exceptional. It's looking really good! Keep up the good work.

[petiww]

Originally Posted by GoldieBrick

All I can say is wow... That rust repair is exceptional. It's looking really good! Keep up the good work.

Thanks, and I'm getting better and better as I do this.

Yesterday I made some real progress, the right B pillar got pushed into original position. I used a heavy truck lifter to do it. Right sill was cut in some places to be weak, and I put a hollow section to the left sill to distribute the load.
Also put on the replacement doors, and replaced the hinges at the drivers door.









Still have to straighten the right inner sill, because its not perfect. I hope I can make it 80-90% right, then I'll be satisfied with my work.
When all these things are in right position, I'll repair the passenger side floor and inner sill, fortunately there are less rust to worry about.

[JonnyP]

Excellent work my friend!

[petiww]

Originally Posted by JonnyP

Excellent work my friend!

Thanks!

Well, it seems that a bigger problem occurred than the left B pillar's position...
My father talked to his former co-worker about the 244's damage, as he is repairing frame damaged cars almost every week.
After he inspected it he said the right lower windshield frame got pushed lower by the accident, and thats why the windshield cracked so easily when I pushed back the chrome trim.

It's not that big difference, I still were able to put the doors into position, but the door gap at the A pillar was a bit small. But big enough that the new windshield would stick out at that right lower section. Its about 2-4mm what it needs to be in position.



You can see how the old windshield sticks out...
But there is a risk, because I have to push that section harder than the elastic limit to actually move it something measureable. And if something goes wrong the cowl panel will be wobbly or the roof, and I Really, REALLY don't want that.
This is the only risky task of the all, fingers crossed it will come out nice today.

The left B pillar was pushed inside, and i threw on the doors and adjusted them. Now it looks really good and the door seal touch the chassis all around. Even the door shuts easier now than before, so I'm happy about the left side.

[petiww]

Got the windshield frame pushed back, it was a little tricky to get the hydraulic cylinder into position (from the inner A pillar, through the left inner sill's seatbelt hole, and a wall) but it all came out nice and smooth. However I still have issues with the lower section of the B and A pillar. (door seals don't touch them properly) These will be fixed today.

[petiww]

Pushing back the A pillar to its original position:


Now it seems almost everything is ready to start patching the right side.

[dom?n]

I'm quite familiar with Central Europe guys' abilities to renew old cars, but this is simply amazing. Keep up the great work dude!

[petiww]

Originally Posted by dom?n

I'm quite familiar with Central Europe guys' abilities to renew old cars, but this is simply amazing. Keep up the great work dude!

Thanks

Front passenger door was fabbed to accept the newer lock mechanism:




And put the door on. It shuts like a charm.
But I'm not too satisfied with the door gaps as the lower A-C pillar distance decreased by the accident. This kind of frame damage often can't be repaired normally, so some cheat will be used to get the gaps right.

[12david34]

dude can i be your future costumer?

[petiww]

Originally Posted by 12david34

dude can i be your future costumer?

I don't want costumes.

But yea, of course I can do stuff for you.

Finally removed the LPG tank, now I have access to the depths of the boot.
And some more hydraulic help still needed at the C pillar, and again, its risky as hell.

[Arn02]

Impressive body work skills on display here. 99 out of a 100 would have parted that car out... or just trashed it.

[12david34]

ahah costumes..
but you got the point. my wagon will need some proper body work,probably next year..

Originally Posted by petiww

I don't want costumes.

But yea, of course I can do stuff for you.

Finally removed the LPG tank, now I have access to the depths of the boot.
And some more hydraulic help still needed at the C pillar, and again, its risky as hell.

[petiww]

Originally Posted by Arn02

Impressive body work skills on display here. 99 out of a 100 would have parted that car out... or just trashed it.

I'm sure! I just couldn't let this brown color/tan interior combo go to the crusher. And all the early thingies. I just love them.
Btw thanks!

I currently have some trouble to make this car manual legally, damn bureaocracy.
And I'm in dilemma about keeping the LPG in the car. I have to put a new LPG tank in it if I keep it. But one of the disadvantages is that the fuel reduces the engine's lifetime.

So I'm thinking about
-methanol-water injection for cooler combustion chamber and valve lubricating
-decent ram-air system
-bigger radiator (size of a diesel, but full aluminium) with electric fan
-programmable ignition control
-butterfly valve to the exhaust to increase the power of engine brake
to increase MPG-s
and A/C to decrease the achieved higher MPG-s

[petiww]

Mmmm, this is exactly what I need!

[dom?n]

There's a guy in Poland that has at least one set of rear Nivo suspension. I've acquired a set from him and I'm absolutely delighted with it - especially when carrying some loads it's worth a penny. The price is around 245 EUR for the pair - unfortunately only shocks & manual pumping gear included (you have to find the center console sterring and the compressor on your own). It's not 100% plug & play, as it's probably some universal kit and needs some cutting around the upper mount (although nothing impossible). PM me for details if you're interested.

[Arn02]

Put an lh2.4 engine in and install an lpg injection system. I did on a b230fb with a kit from Megapol in Poland (STAG), dirt cheap, like 300-400 euro. No noticeable powerloss or the downsides of running lpg on a carburated engine. Lpg can take a higher compression without knocking. But watch for leaning out.

[petiww]

Originally Posted by dom?n

There's a guy in Poland that has at least one set of rear Nivo suspension. I've acquired a set from him and I'm absolutely delighted with it - especially when carrying some loads it's worth a penny. The price is around 245 EUR for the pair - unfortunately only shocks & manual pumping gear included (you have to find the center console sterring and the compressor on your own). It's not 100% plug & play, as it's probably some universal kit and needs some cutting around the upper mount (although nothing impossible). PM me for details if you're interested.

When I finish the bodywork, and have the money I'll buy some sort of shocks like those. I actually want to put a whole system from a factory equipped wagon (maybe a newer Volvo), that has electric compressor, fittings, pressure gauge. Only the centre console factory adjuster is needed, and shocks that fit the lowered car as I'd like to have a decent wheel travel. Compressed distance between eyes should be smaller than the factory shocks.

And these are not Nivos as I know. These shocks can be inflated, but without air they work like a standard shock. Nivos actually work every time, and they have some serious stuff inside.

Originally Posted by Arn02

Put an lh2.4 engine in and install an lpg injection system. I did on a b230fb with a kit from Megapol in Poland (STAG), dirt cheap, like 300-400 euro. No noticeable powerloss or the downsides of running lpg on a carburated engine. Lpg can take a higher compression without knocking. But watch for leaning out.

I thought about that, but it doesn't match my plans. I'm still fine with this oldschool carb and this engine as it was treated nicely, and I have to save money.
It's a very old, very tired engine, with piston rings that seen at least 200000 kms of clear LPG usage, yet still running fairly good.
I think it will do its (planned) last job for 2-4 years from now with proper maintenance and some little mods until I have the money to do a whiteblock swap. It won't be abused at this time, you can't even slide with 60hp on wet roads.

This was part of the reason I chose this car, it has a good running engine.