volvo buttcheeks question

quick question to those who know,

when cutting the buttcheeks off my 242 do i want to just follow the body seam? hoping to get it done on saturday but after staring at them for a half hour thought some extra guidance couldn't hurt.

it looks like i should follow the body seam all the way around and then CAD template the hole and new mudflap brackets. then fab stuff, weld on mudflap brackets to new flat cheeks then weld in new flat cheeks.

am i close?

The Volvo butt cheeks are super ugly, but pretty functional. They make for a very convenient spot to store a spare tire (or 2) and a place to put your tools and such. We almost always have spare water and oil jugs, and a tow strao tied town in the open 'cheek.

But if you must remove them, I would leave a lip hanging down (1/2-3/4in or so) that you could bend inwards with a nice sized hammer or a set of pliers (slice the corners first). Then you bend it inwards 90°, and it leaves you a nice ledge/shelf to place your closeout sheetmetal onto. Then you can zap the inside without much fear of burning through.

this is why i asked! thanks robert, that makes a ton of sense. i mean the lip idea, not the "volvo buttcheeks are great" part.

Now don't go mis-quotin' me! I never said they were great, I just said they were functional

heh. i was doin' a nasty polyaspartic vinyl flake garage floor today, so i'll blame my faux paux on the chemicals i inhaled, or the heat.

or that i'm a smartass.

your choice.

Roberts method is definitely good. Its most likely simpler and quicker than the way I did it which was drill out the spot welds attaching it to the lower quarter panel, cut the rest out and install a new piece of sheet. Only potential issue with roberts suggestion is that it would rely on your car being relatively rot free. Its kinda hard to leave a 1/2- 1 inch lip when the seam between the "cheek" and the quarter panel is corroded away.

If your car isn't corroded in this area your good to go!

I assume your doing this because your putting shock towers in? If your not its probably pointless, I doubt the stock suspension would pose much of a clearance issue.

btw if your curious there are a few photos in my build of this adjustment. I don't know why I did it this way. I think I started off by thinking doing it this way would give a tidier result.
http://www.rallyanarchy.com/phorum/read.php?5,83276,page=5

eric, your thread was the major inspiration for doing this. and yes, i do plan on doing towers. i know that when that time comes i will be asking you about them because yours came out really nice. lucky for me my 242 has no major cancer, so i think robert's method will work great for me.

Dear god, me an inspiration?! Please find someone better!

Jokes aside thanks for the compliment. If you do go through with it give it a very good think, John is certainly right, it is a better setup and isn't all that complicated but it isn't a couple hours of work. It takes a pretty good amount of time especially the first go round. But if your comfortable chopping up the cars structure then go for it! I only say this because it hurts to see people biting more than they can chew the first time round then bailing at a considerable loss. Be realistic with yourself.

And more than happy to answer questions as best as I can when you get into it. Im no genius with this sorta stuff but not terrible either so feel free to ask away.

Also I envy your cancer free 2 door, that is just not a thing in this heavily salted city.

john i had a talk about doing things twice and i've ended up opting for getting it done as close to par as i can the first time around. i certainly appreciate your frank comments and advice, i need as much of it as i can get.

next time you're here or i'm there i'll buy you a beer. it's only a thousand miles.

same goes to you robert. it's only 5 or less miles for you though.

thanks again gentlemen.