Yugoslavian Ami.., continuing on from 'now-autoshites-flimsy-bodied Shitroen'

[Bfg]

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No, I'm saying it's too firk'n cold &/or wet  + those other excuses .. for this ol' giffer to work outside ..right now.  

 

"Thick sheets of ply to level things out a bit?"  perhaps plywood with deep pile carpet ?

 

I've done what I need to the steering, to get the car through an MOT  ..so for now ..priorities swap around..  to replace the tyres, sort out the exhaust and electrics ready for the MOT and thereafter UK registration. That is the primary objective right now. 

 

Thereafter, as and when the weather allows paint to dry.,  the exterior panels have to come off to paint their undersides, and the underside of the body tub. They'll then have more pu sealant to seal off all the moisture ingress gaps.  And at the same time adjust panel shut lines.  Then I can set about wax-oiling inside the cavities.  ie., to stop the car from rusting away - This being the secondary objective. 

 

In the meantime I can be looking out for the parts I need to sort out this steering rack.

 

Only then, will I go back to correct things I'm not happy with, and otherwise move on to vehicle cosmetics.  The tertiary objective being both to make the car reliable and to look ..er., better.!?

 

And there again, 'in the meantime',  I have two Sunbeam motorcycle engines to rebuild (in the warm n' dry ) and an old boat's interior and systems to re-do ..again in the warm n' dry 

 

I'm not laying in bed all day !

 

^ 'nother job done

 

^ 'nother job done

 

^ 'nother job in the process of..

[beko1987]

Much envy here! And your right, it needs to be uk legal now, pretty stuff can wait

[forddeliveryboy]

According to howmanyleft, there are more than seven times more Alfa SZs taxed or sorned than Ami Supers. I'd say if Pete continues putting it back together well and gives it decent paint, it should tempt someone out of a fair-sized wodge of notes.

 

When set up well and on grippy tyres they're a total blast to fire along an interesting road, how many other production cars have such a sublimely silky smooth and high-revving engine - 9000rpm comes round all too easily. Yet they'll easily pass the 200,000 mile mark and still be using no oil.

 

Maybe the shiter's Mostro?!

[Bfg]

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^

 

Not much to report on today, but with front wing readjustment and a little modification of the door itself, straightening the door seal's flange and refitting the seal properly ; the driver's door now shuts sweetly ..without scraping on the front wing shut, or bending the A-post hinge mounts !. 

 

So then I moved onto electrics..  front indicator earthing issue, main and indicator beam tell tale not working  : wire off the main beam and dicky connection on the indicator relay.  Unfortunately to get to the main beam's tell-tale - the dash had to come out..  And it's not a job I want to do very often..  I also choose to reconfigure the earthing to the rear light as beforehand it was a sod to assemble.  

 

Tomorrow I'll grease the wiper spindles, and then attempt to put the dashboard back together again without cracking the old plastic !   

 

^ the half painted bulkhead / floor white/grey looks interesting ! ..but as the paint is taking so long to dry in this cold weather I decided it best to leave painting the other half until after the car is tested.

 

My old Jag had two knurled screws to hold the central part of the instrument panel closed. With those undone it hinged open for easy access to the wiring, instrument bulbs and fuse box. Oh why can't all cars be like that ?

 

p.s. I think the furry ball thing dangling from the mirror was a leaving gift from Jani's daughter Larisa. lol   

[Bfg]

.

I had just a few hours working on the Ami-S  today, and it took all that time to grease the wiper spindles and the motor gearbox. 

 

^ as seen in the photo of my last post - the wheel boxes have link arms on the Citroen rather than Bowden cables, as was commonly used on British cars of this era. with link arm removed it looks like this. However the box doesn't have to be disturbed to remove the spindle and re-grease it.

 

^  The grease was baked on hard ..When trying to prise it out - I wasn't sure if some other locking device, like a circlip or split pin, had to come off  before the spindles would pull out - they were that  tight  (no., there was no circlip nor pin).  On one spindle the o-ring (water seal) had disappeared and on this side it was crumbling. Water had got in to the wheel-box and as a consequence the spindle suffered light corrosion. 

 

^ cleaned up, with new o-ring (which I had to hand file to fit in to the wheel-box's hole !) before lots n lots of grease was stuffed down the hole and around the spindle.

 

^ inside the wiper motor - one lump (of grease) or two ?  Note the puddle of oil in the other chamber which had separated out from the grease.

 

I don't know how to stop the grease from moving away from the gears like that, so when repacking I used soft general purpose grease ..and lots of it.

 

The wiper motor's link arm was secure but loose ...insomuch as its washer (which like the arm has a slotted hole rather than a round one) was not seated correctly - so the arm was free to clunk back and forth as it went around. 

 

Getting the wiper motor back in place was a sod, because the furthermost fastening is a short 7mm bolt with a small washer, and it's so close to the bulkhead that one can neither see it nor get a hand to it..  It also screws into the aluminium casing of the wiper motor and being fine threaded was ever trying to go in cross threaded.  It was probably a very easy on the production line - with the windscreen out, but this one bolt took me the best part of 3/4 of an hour to get in. 

 

^ all going back together again.  btw. the block sander you can see through the windscreen was in lieu of a helping hand - to hold the now clean and freshly greased spindle in the hole while I attached it's link arm.  It is now that free moving.  

 

So that was it for today. While out, I did buy some bulbs for the front sidelights (small size 12v 5w) as both had gone.  And I noticed the speedo cable's screw head has pulled off the cable, so that'll be a first task to fix on Monday morning. 

 

..Little by Little

Bfg

[Bfg]

.

Little by Little I'm getting closer.. 

 

^ speedo cable, end had become detached

 

^ driver's door courtesy light switch, the cable was on the parcel shelf and needed to be re-fed

 

^ dashboard back together again. ..Bitch of a job ..and I still think it looks shit (not even Shite) !

 

^ electrical earthing of these rear number plate lights is supposed to be via the rear bumper. Crud was the barrier.   12v 5w bulbs are the same as those used in the front side lights.   I've also spend a little time securing the wiring under the back of the car ..(having removed the metal gripper clips 'cause their teeth grip through the chassis paint and allow it to rust !)  I've now secured the exposed wiring with cable ties.

 

^ Imo black rubber bumper overriders are just so flippin ugly., make the car look even more tall and gangly, and attack me as I move around the car in the tight confines of this garage.. so I got rid of them (so far only on the rear but the fronts will hopefully get lost tomorrow..

 

All the lighting & wiring now works as it should (except the timepiece has expired)..  And thankfully I don't need rear fog lamps because of the age of this car.

 

And I've welded a blow hole in the exhaust / carburetor pre-heat pipe. 

 

And because I'm skint this month, I've been swapping the wheels & tyres off the Dyane (just for the MOT).

 

LHD drive headlamps. This'll do for the MOT

 

And talking about MOT's - the car's booked in - for tomorrow at 2pm..  :

 

Got a few jobs to do yet before it goes, like put some water in the screen washer bottle and hope the pump works., finish swapping wheels & tyres (two to go), and then check the exhaust system and adjust where touching the chassis or else slight leaking at joints.  But I'm getting there !  oh yeah I might even run her up n down the lane before venturing out on the open roads.. 

 

Fingers crossed for tomorrow  

[dollywobbler]

Whoa! Welded a hole in the manifold? That's there for a reason if it's the one I think it is... (not sure if that applies to the flat four to be honest, but it usually rings alarm bells).

[Bfg]

Whoa! Welded a hole in the manifold? That's there for a reason if it's the one I think it is... (not sure if that applies to the flat four to be honest, but it usually rings alarm bells).

 

worry your wobbler not Ian.. "carburetor pre-heat pipe" not manifold - Thanks Though

 

[dollywobbler]

Phew! That's ok then. Good luck for the test! Hope the Ami behaves rather better than my 2CV did...

[Bfg]

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Thanks,  Don't know how she'll behave, she's only been driven half a km around quiet suburbia streets (ie, at 20 mph) in the last 18 years. Tomorrow she'll be in town and across open country so I hope the wheel nuts are done up.. wcpgw      

 

Bfg

[Bfg]

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..little over a month after getting the car here .. then a really busy morning doing last minute jobs, before a 35 mile round trip to the garage.

MOT : Pass  (albeit with advisory for worn a tyre) and a verbal warning that I should have a rubber on the throttle pedal 

 

The car clearly needs a lot of tweaking to carburation, gearbox, clutch, handbrake, lights, steering, suspension, seats & seat belts, et cetera, et cetera...but she made it there and back without incident.  (sort of just )

 

..next task will be to apply for UK registration. I hate filling in forms - but at least I have the pleasure in knowing that I'll have no road-fund-license to pay. 

 

Sorry no garage photo, as I rushed out without taking the camera. but fwtw here's a couple from when I got back.

 

 

 

Now I'm going to take the rest of the day off  

Bfg.

12,322 views

[dollywobbler]

Excellent!

[Bfg]

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27th Jan :

new registration of vehicle (v55/5) completed and sent off.  Otherwise..

I'll swap the wheels back to the Dyane tomorrow ...I'm having today off too

 

wanted : 135SR-15 tyres, set of five all-season please.  

[2CVKeza]

Cheap but great tyres... 

 

http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&cart_id=57155244.110.16036&Breite=135&Quer=&Felge=15&Speed=&kategorie=6&Marke=Nankang&ranzahl=4&S_Z=&tyre_for=&x_tyre_for=&Herst=Nankang&rsmFahrzeugart=PKW&search_tool=standard&Label=F-B-70-2&details=Ordern&typ=D-105380

 

I have this tyres on my Ami from March to October. Great handling, great grip... Much better than Toyo ...

[Bfg]

Thanks Janez, that's a really good price (including shipping)., and I value your endorsement based on personal experience.  I'm surprised though that you are using tyres rated for summer use, in the winter months in Alpine Slovenia and beyond.

 

Might I ask, have you tried Maxxis AP2.?  I ask only because they are rated all season.

 

Pete

[2CVKeza]

I wrote that I use nankang summer tyre from March to October. For Winter season from October till March I use Maxxis AP2 all season 135/80 R15 73T . Also very good tyres and right dimension for A series Citroens. Fast on corners in ice and good grip in snow... if you know how to drive AMI in winter conditions. Not same as driving 2CV or Dyane.

[forddeliveryboy]

 if you know how to drive AMI in winter conditions. Not same as driving 2CV or Dyane.

 

I'm interested to know the difference. A Super is going to be different again, with the heaver front end and rear anti-roll bar, I guess.

 

Pete, you could just about get away with Vredestein Snow+ 155s (on the front at least, clearance could be tight inside those slim rear wings) - on the twins they're too much with standard gearing.

 

I had a Dyane6 with a 435 gearbox and four of these tyres ages ago and in deep mud, slipway slime and bad snow they seemed to beat anything of a more modern tread. They impressed so much I suggested them for a GS a couple of years ago when someone asked what would be best for set of winters - in the end he sold the car and they only went out twice in bad snow, but proved their worth.

 

[2CVKeza]

I'm interested to know the difference. A Super is going to be different again, with the heaver front end and rear anti-roll bar, I guess.

 

 

Well that is the answer to this... Heavier and with antiroll bar

[forddeliveryboy]

I meant how is the fast driving on snow and ice different from a 2cv/Dyane (as you suggest) - what sort of effect does the antiroll bar have on the balance?

[Sudsprint]

This is going to be so good

[Bfg]

I wrote that I use nankang summer tyre from March to October. For Winter season from October till March I use Maxxis AP2 all season 135/80 R15 73T . Also very good tyres and right dimension for A series Citroens. Fast on corners in ice and good grip in snow... if you know how to drive AMI in winter conditions. Not same as driving 2CV or Dyane.

 

Thanks Janez,  my error..    

 

Do I gather from this that you prefer the Nankang over the Maxxis in normal (rather than potentially adverse) driving conditions, or is it that one wears noticeably more than the other ?

 

Certainly the tread patterns couldn't be more different..

^ Nankang  versus  Maxxis  \/

.. which might suggest that steering at least would feel very different.  And the tread pattern of the Maxxis (lower photo) are generally accepted to wear more quickly.

 

 

Tbh, I have yet to learn to drive the Ami-super in any conditions.  It's been a long time (in the words of Fleetwood Mac !)  since I last drove one ..and that had a featherweight low slung kit car body on it.

 

The Ami-8 which you write of driving has only the front anti-roll bar, but stiffer springing than the 2cv/Dyane, and a little better front/rear weight distribution.  Still being a heavier car (more inertia & a higher c. of g.) - I would expect to slow a little more before corners when driving an Ami-8 than when pushing a 2cv.

 

And so I suspect the Ami Super will be even more extreme, in-so-much as needing to ease right off before anything remotely tight ..and then pulling hard out of the corner (whereas the 2cv/Dyane you can push into a corner and the speed scrubs off as you go around).  

 

In fact can only image the Super's handling and line keeping would not be as good as the 2cv/Dyane in anything but where the extra power and weight forward can be used to good effect as a stronger directional pull out of bends. 

 

From first impressions of this particular car (less than 60km) she seems to roll less ..but still very much more than anything but a French car.!  Certainly the tracking is way out of kilt as presently adjusted.  It was interesting (and informative) to drive it like this !

 

Bfg

[Bfg]

I'm interested to know the difference. A Super is going to be different again, with the heaver front end and rear anti-roll bar, I guess.

 

Pete, you could just about get away with Vredestein Snow+ 155s (on the front at least, clearance could be tight inside those slim rear wings) - on the twins they're too much with standard gearing.

 

 

I fitted Vredestein on my Chrysler this time around, and although I'm told they are a decent tyre - they didn't suit that car's handling, and was also noticeably noisier. And extra source of noise is one thing the Super doesn't need ! 

 

"tight inside those slim rear wings"  Yes, swapping wheels/tyres this week illustrated just how high one needs to jack up the back of these cars to get the wheel out.    I thought as I was doing it that I really would not want to do this on uneven or soft ground like a wet curbside.  And even in the garage I was a little anxious having the back end off the ground by what seemed to be something like two foot !

 

[2CVKeza]

I have two sets of wheels and tires. One set for winter and one for summer. This "all season" tyres are only good for winter. It is hard to get good winter tires and we have here low that it must be M+S sign or marked with snowflake. Michelin 135 x M+S was on my orange AMI for 5 winters but after first winter there was no grip in snow and after two winters it was only good for Police checks ... as it was not drivable anymore. After 3 years they were disintegrated into ... uf...

 

Than I made blue Ami and bought that Maxxis tires. And I can say they are far ahead from Michelin. So, Max tires are now only for winter and Nankang only for summer. Both on their own sets of wheels and ready for season.

 

Ami is heavy to drive because of that front anti-roll bar. When you cornering fast the outer front wheel is off the road surface and with AMI it is easy to find yourself driving on two wheels... And that is not easy to come out from that situation if you are not used of it. In early years we all smashed our Ami's as we were used of driving 2CV who is always on 3 wheels on hard corners... never on 2 wheels...

 

Basicly that is one of reasons why Ami was not so popular like 2CV

[Bfg]

Very useful to know about the Michelin - Thanks.   I had considered looking for part-worn Michelin tyres for this car, as these were original specification - but I remember that they never wore out ..instead they went hard and perished over the years.  Your opinion seems to confirm this is still the case, and that Nankang & Maxxis have moved on over the past 40 years.  

 

Any advice you have on how to best drive the Ami would always be welcome.

[forddeliveryboy]

And extra source of noise is one thing the Super doesn't need ! 

 

 

The extra noise from those tyres isn't so great, I'd be surprised if you'd be hearing it above the noise of the air-cooled boxer and rush of air around Citroën panel gaps!

[forddeliveryboy]

 with AMI it is easy to find yourself driving on two wheels... And that is not easy to come out from that situation if you are not used of it. In early years we all smashed our Ami's as we were used of driving 2CV who is always on 3 wheels on hard corners... never on 2 wheels...

 

Basicly that is one of reasons why Ami was not so popular like 2CV

 

So how do you come out of that situation? 

[Bfg]

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Saturday  ..with weather like a spring day

 

I have to swap the wheels back across to the Dyane, but thought I'd give the Ami's a quick* clean up & paint while doing so.  I'm not worried about a bit of paint on these tyres or valves ..and I'd like give the paint a chance to harden before I change the tyres - so don't procrastinate Bfg ..just pull your finger out and get on with it.!   oh yeah also wanted to check for, and halt any further, corrosion - as it's not uncommon for these wheels to suffer to the point of the hub to rim joint catching on the steering trunions.  

 

^  you can just about make out how perished these tyres are ..so they must be rare !

^ ^  I now see the value of hub caps

 

^ after wire wool cleaning

 

^ surprising nice condition under all that crud

^ ^  Again I brush painted \/ \/

 

 

^ two wheels cleaned and painted, a third is cleaned & ready for paint. 

 

One out of three wheels, so far cleaned up, has 'Michelin' stamping on its hub centre, so I guess that's an oldie.?

 

That's all for 5 hours work !  My hands are very clean now though

 

 

Wanted : I would like to get a set of  Ami-super vented or otherwise Citroen GS steel vented wheels  if anyone has an unused set, or even just the odd one or two kicking around if they are not in too bad a shape. I'll then keep these un-vented ones for winter use.  Thanks. Pete

Tel :

079

58

100

633

[Bfg]

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evening all...

 

 

 Today, I cleaned up and repainted two more wheels. 

 

This was worst of the bunch with rust pitting.. At this stage I was not sure whether to just dump it and buy another.?

 

 

^ despite severe pitting of the metal..  the join between the hub and the rim is in excellent order. That just goes to show the difference in quality between these early 1970's Michelin wheels and those of many 1980's 2cv's wheels, which have had to be replaced because this join / seam has blistered with rust between the two parts and as a result have distorted badly.  

 

^ hand painted (on the bench and shelf overnight ..only because the night storage heater is just under them). The two other wheels I painted on Saturday were touch dry this morning, and so they are now hardening off in my bathroom (..it's the warmest room in this old farm house).

 

12,549 views

[dollywobbler]

Alas, the Ami Super Slotted wheels are much in demand, so they rarely crop up for sale in used form. That you'd actually want to put on a car. I am very, VERY tempted to buy a brand new set for my 2CV, but then I look at what you can buy with £200, so I buy another shit car instead.

[Bfg]

I'd be interested to know if the Ami super wheels were also made (and stamped) by Michelin.  I'm really impressed with these wheels' condition, despite two of them having been very seriously neglected.  

 

Yes, I have the same dilemma, £200 is a chunk of money to find when I need new tyres and inner tubes too. I presume these wheels use inner tubes ?  Mind you some readers might roll over in laugher at £50 for a new wheel & £30 for a new tyre ..when they think of what it might cost for their car.  Certainly my old 3.8 S-type with wire wheels would have cost ..just a little* more !   

 

I don't think you're finding another Shitroen A-series for £200 ...Are you DW ?