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Refreshing the Volvo 200 - Exterior bodywork

09.06.2023

As already mentioned in the first part, the Volvo 200 series are real long-term cars. Even today, they are still reliable everyday companions if they have been looked after and maintained. As with many other vehicles, the condition of the bodywork in old age is of the utmost importance. Even minor sheet metal repairs and paint jobs are usually time-consuming and expensive.

This chapter is intended to give a small overview of available spare parts for the bodywork and at the same time to show a little of the possible weak points of a 200 and how these can be remedied.

• Rustcare
• Body panel
• Exterior trim and mouldings
• Door handles, locks and hinges
• Glazing
• Lighting
• Rims, wheel covers, hubcaps
• Vehicle cover

The rust prevention

One of the most important things for a long car life is to give the body regular preservation as it ages. The factory underbody protection is regularly "shot at" by road dirt and develops gaps, PVC protection and seam sealants become brittle over time and are infiltrated by water. Thanks to capillary action, water holds on particularly well in folds and, together with the dissolved road salt from the winter, does its destructive work. Even cars as durable as the 240 will be affected at some point if they have been neglected sufficiently.

To prevent this from happening, we have some recommended cavity wax and underseal in our shop, they are also available in spray cans and are easy to apply. If the underbody protection is already damaged or the first rust is present, creep-resistant products such as Fluidfilm are recommended.

For accessible areas on the underbody, mechanical rust removal provides less surface for attack. Such areas can then be treated with products such as Fertan, Brunox or Branho Korrux. This can be followed by sealing with wax or Permafilm.

For all-season vehicles, it is always one of the most important to remove road salt as well as possible in spring after the last use of road salt; a thorough spring cleaning is very important for a long car life.

The body panel

Although the Volvo 240/260 is quite well protected against rust by the factory from the beginning of the 1980s at the latest, it too, like any car with a self-supporting body, has its preferred areas of attack for corrosion.

First of all, of course, there are the classic areas in the splash zone, rear inner and outer wheel arches, sills inside and out, spare-wheel-wells, end-tips and front wings. The rear wheel housing usually rust around the lower edge first. The rear wheel arch also tends to start rusting at the fold in the rear entrance that is not visible from the outside; brown water traces are easy to see here when the door is open.

The sills in particular are prone to rusting around the trim holes, which is usually only noticed when the rust emerges from under the trim. At that point, more action is usually required. Thorough cavity sealing can prevent this, as can cleaning of the surfaces under the moulding and thorough preservation of the holes.

The floor panels tend to be rusty near the sill rebate and thus in the splash area; on cars before 1980, this can be really bad.

The three-part rear end panel is also particularly often affected by rust, usually starting in the hidden area where the panels are dotted together under the rear lights.

The doors usually rust in the corners from the inside out, on late models also under the lower protective strip. Rust here is often a late consequence of shrunken and hardened wiper strips, which is the name of the window well seal on Volvo. Dirt and water can then penetrate the doors to a greater extent and virtually nest in the narrow gaps in the door corners.

The boot lid of the 245 occasionally rusts massively at the lower edge and around the window frame, here too early cavity preservation can prevent worse. Rust on the windscreen frame can be prevented by inserting the seal with a dabbing sealant. Dirt will then no longer get under the seal and friction will also be avoided.

The tailgate of the estate car from 1990 onwards is still available as a new part and can also be installed in older vehicles as a replacement.

It can be a bad omen if the floor in the boot is blistered with rust directly next to the wheel arches, then the side members underneath are usually affected. This can often be seen on the underbody behind the wheel arches; the seam between the floor and the wheel arches is usually swollen. A body repair at this point can be very costly. A good precaution for the rear wheel arches is also additional inner mudguards.

The battery floor should always be checked regularly because of possible leaking battery acid.

Last but not least, the windscreen frame at the front should be thoroughly checked for condition, again repairs are costly, a left and a right repair sheet are available for the corner at the bottom.

External trim parts and mouldings

Trim and protective strips as well as emblems are often a sensitive issue when buying a classic or youngtimer, as often almost none of it is available new anymore.

For the later Volvo 240s from 1984 onwards, however, some original parts are still available. Many trims that are no longer available are now being reproduced, the fastening material such as clips and clips is available almost without exception. Here, in contrast to vehicles from other manufacturers, the supply of spare parts can definitely be described as good. Occasionally, however, this is also quite necessary for good, complete cars; after all, one or the other plastic trim sometimes suffers from signs of fading due to sunlight and becomes unsightly grey.

The front bumper outer skin is also available again as a new part. The fixing bolts corrode out of the aluminium supports of the bumpers from 80 onwards due to contact corrosion, for this problem there are our repair kits bumper supports, these ensure a lasting and durable repair.

Different versions of the radiator grille for vehicles from 1986 onwards are also available new, some still as original parts.

Furthermore, many original decals such as the reflective trim strips for the bumpers, warning symbols or the black Shadowline side decals for the late estate cars are available as new editions. The latter in particular is often very tarnished by sunlight or in some cases no longer exists at all.

Door handles, locks and hinges

The outer door handles or openers are the same on the 200 over the complete build period, they were fitted to the Volvo 140 and 164 from 1972 onwards. They are still available in both black-chrome and black versions as of 1992. With high mileage, they are sometimes very worn and unsightly pimply with age.

The locking cylinders for the doors and tailgate are still available in most cases, even for the early models. Unfortunately, most of these are no longer manufactured to fit the vehicle key and are supplied with new keys. The finished cylinders can also not be disassembled again and adjusted to a different key. In the worst case, there are then three or four keys for one car. Regular maintenance of the lock cylinders, however, can prevent this condition for a very long time; usually the lock cylinders die from disuse, poor maintenance and corrosion.

In the case of door hinges, only the passenger side is currently available, but these too are actually very robust and can last for ages with regular lubrication. However, if they are not maintained, corrosion causes the bearing bolts to become thinner and thinner and the hinge gets play and the door "hangs".

The exterior tailgate hinges in the chrome left and right versions have been available again as replicas for some time, while the late black left and right are still available as original parts. Here, too, regular maintenance prolongs life considerably.

If the window regulators, which are actually indestructible, start to crack unpleasantly or the window even tilts, then the "tuning forks" in the front and rear are usually broken, these are the guides of the rollers in the window regulator cross. These are made of plastic and are only inserted into the window regulator; they occasionally crumble with age.

Glazing

Car glass is not really subject to ageing in normal circumstances, apart from stone chips or similar mechanical influences, one would think. However, at least in the case of laminated windscreen glass, this is not the case: At some point, the film between the two panes detaches from the glass, moisture from the air penetrates into the tiny gap and remains there for eternity due to the capillary effect. Visually, this manifests itself in an opaque milky edge that gets wider and wider over time.

Except that replacing the bonded windscreen is actually very easy, as long as you use the version from 1991. This also fits all older cars and has a circumferential seal on the windscreen and can be easily installed with modern windscreen adhesives. This is an advantage over the older version, which has clips attached to the windscreen and then glued in place for the circumferential aluminium strip, which in turn supports the seal. This seal and the strips are no longer available. Incidentally, it is necessary to work extremely precisely because otherwise the seal will not fit and unpleasant wind noises will occur. Therefore, we strongly recommend the installation of the windscreen from 1991 onwards, even if the original aluminium strip is then omitted.

A rear window is currently only available for estate cars from 1990 onwards, but it can also be fitted to older vehicles if the tailgate is also replaced.

Good, reasonably functioning wiper blades with uncured rubber are not unimportant for the long life of windscreens; properly worn wiper blades can make crude scratches in a windscreen. Also important for reasonable wiper function are the wiper arms. A defined spring force pulls them against the windscreen and prevents them from being lifted off by the airstream. Smooth joints of the arms are also important to ensure that the spring force is sufficient. Occasional oiling of the wiper arm joints is almost always neglected, but maintains their reliable function in the long run. A reliable windscreen washer system is also a good remedy against scratches in the glass. Dirt should not rub dry on the windscreen, clogged windshield washer nozzles should be replaced as soon as possible. In the Volvo 200, however, it is not always the nozzles that are to blame when water stops coming, the check valves in the water pipe are occasionally stuck, and rather rarely the windshield washer pump is defective.

Only a few of the side windows are still available new; here you usually have to resort to second-hand parts. Gaskets for the glazing are also no longer available in large numbers; the wiper strips that are so important for the doors are available as new reproductions. The rear window seal up to 1985 is still available as an original part for saloons and estate cars.

Lighting

Lighting, as with any car, is an issue every now and then on the 240. Headlight reflectors tend to go blind with age, lens lenses get stone chips, brittle seals lead to water ingress. The rear lights become dull and bleach out, water can also break in here and at some point it looks unattractive. At the latest during the general inspection, the poor light output or colour deviations are then criticised.

New headlights for models from 1981 onwards are readily available in the version without headlamp levelling, both original and reproduction. Rarely, however, do these headlamps really have to be replaced completely; they can be completely disassembled and individual parts such as gasket, spreader lenses or reflectors are available. There are currently no replacements for the headlamp levelling system prescribed in Germany from 1990 onwards, but this can be removed by means of a special permit; the vehicle manufacturer will issue a certificate to this effect.

For models with round headlamps up to 1979, a conversion to 7" headlamps is an emergency solution if there is nothing left on the used parts market.

Things look much better for the tail light lenses on older models, even though the original Hella version up to 1978 with orange indicator lenses for the saloons is currently only available in remaining stocks. For Cibie tail lamps, a variant with white indicator glass is also available.

For the station wagons up to 1978 and the later models, just about everything in the way of tail lamp lenses is available, even the indicator lenses come in a number of variants, including such individual items as white indicator lenses or versions for the US market.

Rims, wheel covers, hubcaps

Rims are certainly available for the 200, but if you want original 14" steel rims or original alloy rims like Virgo or Corona for your car, you'll have to look on the used market. We currently have the classic Minilite alloy wheel in 15", it is available in 5.5" and 7" width. Equally recommended is the steel rim 6x15 ET25, all three rims allow you to run readily available cheap tyre sizes. The 185 and 195/70R14 sizes are now no longer available from all tyre manufacturers and are usually quite expensive in decent quality.

Hubcaps and hubcaps are still available as new, including such rarities as the stainless steel cap for the Corona aluminium rim. The classic 15" plastic cap that adorned most Business or Family special editions in the early 90s is available.

Vehicle cover

The fact that a car, when not being driven, ages least when it is parked well protected, is probably clear to anyone who is somewhat concerned with the subject. If old sheet metal is parked well protected from sunlight, road salt, bird droppings and pollen in a ventilated garage, then it can age honourably. There is still the residual risk of dust, which with time and humidity occasionally forms a rather tough layer of dirt on the paintwork. Every car wash puts a strain on the paintwork, causes the finest scratches and washes off some of the protective wax layer.

The Vehicle Cover Car Cover SOFT for inside offers good protection against such layers of dust that form when the vehicle is stationary. It is breathable, fits well with elastic and reliably protects against dust. It comes in various shapes and sizes, not just for the 200 Volvo.

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