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

[jonny69]

^ LOL ..unfortunately I know you're speaking from experience.. so can't argue..

 

Have you sold it yet ?

No, I've just bought some new tyres for the MOT actually. I'm going to have some fun in it over the summer and move it on later in the year.

[spartacus]

I wrapped some manifolds on a 350 SBC once, the wrap was much easier to work when it was wet, you had to soak it before use. The ties that came with it poked through a hole in the end, folded back on themselves, then there were a couple of tabs that folded over the tail...

If that makes sense.

[Bfg]

No, I've just bought some new tyres for the MOT actually. I'm going to have some fun in it over the summer and move it on later in the year.

 

I never did see your own road test comparison between the Anglia and the Ami-6, perhaps part of this summer's fun ?

[Bfg]

I wrapped some manifolds on a 350 SBC once, the wrap was much easier to work when it was wet, you had to soak it before use. The ties that came with it poked through a hole in the end, folded back on themselves, then there were a couple of tabs that folded over the tail...

If that makes sense.

 

Did it work  ..in containing the heat ?

 

Thanks, the tip regarding being wet might have helped, but (thankfully) I've just finished.. I have 2.8m of the 10m I bought left over, so perhaps I'll try wrapping it wet elsewhere.   

 

And it sounds as if the straps you were provided with were very much easier to use than mine.  On two of mine I wired over the top of the strap because there was no tab to secure the tail.

 

The task has taken very much longer than I had expected (but then I guess everything I do does ! )  There were no instructions nor health warnings, in fact no paperwork at all with the roll I bought.

 

I did discover quite soon that you need to wear gloves when handling this stuff. The tiny broken fibres get into the skin between fingers - not nice.. So definitely have to wash hands before going to the toilet.!   I used disposable rubber gloves ..three pairs to do what I've done - because I tried to get these wraps as tightly bound as I could ..and the twisting, wringing and pulling just tears them apart.

 

For those not in the know.. the way to get these and glass fibre splinters out of your skin is to wash your hands in water, without soap, but to scrub them with a kitchen / washing-up sponge. The rubberised sponge draws those minuscule splinters out of the skin much better than any other technique I know..   Long experience with fibreglass taught me that one    

[Bfg]

.

As a person who finds dumb design incredibly frustrating, this afternoon i was cussing the Parisian poofta who was responsible for the design of exhaust on this car.  Seven ( 7 ) joints between the manifolds and the silencer under the car, and all but one is a bitch to get to. 

 

Getting them apart was difficult enough, but reassembling them ..trying to hold exhaust parts up, jostle the two-part clamps and their two finely-threaded bolts with one hand, while at the same time positioning the lock washers ..and the nuts ..and turn them enough to catch a thread ...on the end of a single fingertip .. had me fuming..  

 

Anyway, no point in ranting..  I needed to wrap this . .

 

^ you might appreciate why I wanted to wraps these exhaust pipes, being so close to the driveshaft gaiters and the disc brakes an' all.   What were they trying to do here ..entice Madame with the thrill of brake fade while driving around town.! ? 

 

And worse on the other side   ..so they had to come off.

 

But the other other side's pipe would not come off ..unless the engine mounts &/or the driveshaft were removed because it has a branch (..the carb-heater pipe).  And instead of positioning the joint at the bottom.. well they didn't !      And I really don't want to dismantle the car even further..

 

 

Pushing on.. I decided while off (..or at least loose) to give them a quick rub down and a coat of cold galvanising . .

and . .

 

Then I went grocery shopping and allowed it to dry for a couple of hours.

 

Back to the job of wrapping..

^ the non-wrapped part goes inside the heat exchanger ducting (..for the car heater). 

 

The other side had to be done reaching around the drive shaft and chassis. But it was OK. 

 

And then to reassemble ..with frequent blue language outbursts . . 

^ This type of clamp is simply not fun in such confines.   The other nut n' bolt to this clamp, likewise smeared in copperslip is out of sight within mm of the chassis.  Even the back end of these pipes are so close to the chassis that you can barely turn the clamp around.  Just 1" clearance on each would have made life so much easier.. 

 

Anyway.. when one has no choice one must persevere.. until . .

 

^ this exit / downpipe is mainly under the new mud flap I've made ..so will be protected from direct road spray off the front tyre.  I've read that these woven wraps can tend to hold moisture and extenuate rust.. I guess we'll have to wait and see.!   I did give the pipe a coating of cold galv' ..over the top of its nickle plating which I hope will help. Also the installed angle of this pipe will encourage moisture to run down and to drip off at the bottom corner.

 

I've not wrapped the pipe which lays horizontal under the car as that will be subject to more road spray and mud splatter.  I reasoned that the cleaner it is ..the less likely any crap will stick to it. And I can keep an eye on its condition if I can see it.  

 

That top clamp to be fitted is easy ..but I have a couple of other minor jobs to do before reconnecting it.  Only when that's fitted will I tighten all the other joints up, so as ensure no part is twisted or unduly stressed.

 

Those jobs are only things like adding a P-bracket to support the brake pipe from the master cylinder, and to refit the clutch cable. Naturally those tasks are easier done without the exhaust in front of where I'm trying to reach into.. 

 

So, that's it for tonight..  Exhaust wrapping is Done !  (..I just hope it works ! ?)

 

Have a good one..

Bfg

18,106 views

[Bfg]

.

Good morning campers..

 

Not a lot to report on, as I've been pretty demotivated during the latter part of this week., which tends to happen when I watch the end of yet another month pass me by.  Even having a Christmas pud on 26th June didn't cheer me up

 

 

Anyhow's a number of minor pottering around jobs done. Things like these. .

 

 

which goes here . .

 

I don't know why Citroen didn't press this collar as part of the fan cowling, but it is necessary.. to put the fan in the end of a (albeit very short) tunnel ..rather than almost out of its ducting.  Btw., the collar extends into the duct by perhaps 12mm. 

 

The prevailing flow of air in through the tunnel helps prevent air at the fan tips from being flung outwards and going the wrong way !  If I recall.. there was a rubber lip seal clipped onto the leading edge of this collar correction : according the the workshop manual it should be a square section of foam rubber around the flange - so I'll have to have a look and see what I can find, as that will add another 15-20mm to the depth of the tunnel and being rubber will help absorb / dampen vibration.

 

It needed a bit of cleaning up and straightening before fitting . .

 

^ mucho better ..but its leading edge ought to have a slight roll . .

 

After painting it was fitted using this d-section draft sealer (to curb vibration rattles). .

 

I also changed the alternator-fan belt, retaining that fitted as a traveling spare. The alternator adjustment is hard against it bottom stop, so I wonder if the alternator I have have is bigger than original spec.?  Not that it makes any difference but I'll look into that.

 

You can just about see one of the blind grommets deployed to fill holes in the cowling. A few behind the fan were there for access to fastenings, but the one in the top for example I don't know why the hole was there.?

 

 

Another little job was to address this . .

 

The existing rocker cover gaskets were rock hard and not sealing as well they might. So while the front wings were off.. this was the time to replace them. 

 

^ And I guess I ought to at least check the tappet clearances while I'm here ..

 

^ Unfortunately the new rubber gaskets weren't holding their shape or fit very well. They were bowing in along the straight edges.  So I applied an application of gasket goo to their one side and taped them in position..   

 

They are only pinched up finger tight (so as to not squeeze all the goo out).  Being only a single bolt fixing, I'll leave it in place like that for a few days for the goo to stick them in place. . 

 

I've other minor jobs to get on with today. As you can see I'm also replacing the HT leads (the new ones happen to be black). This one I re-routed and secured with a p-clip to prevent it getting burnt against the exhaust-carb heater pipe.  

 

I also need to measure up and order the flexible air pipes and heater ducting.

 

Have a good weekend

 

Bfg. 

18,189 views

[PhilA]

Been reading with interest, keep going at it

 

How's about a spaced heat shield under the floor pan where the exhaust passes? The pressed tinfoil style aluminum one Fiat fitted to keep the heat away from the catalytic converter on my Cinq was good because it was fairly thick, didn't rattle and was really very light. Might be an idea if heat soak from the pipe is an issue?

 

Phil

[Bfg]

Hi Phil, I'm not sure I've seen your posting on this thread before ..so welcome.   (I might have noticed because I worked in Louisiana / New Orleans for three years).  

 

Thanks for the suggestion - much appreciated..  Where the exhaust passes underneath is I think less of an issue on the Ami (although it certainly was on my old Jag !).  On this car - there's plenty of air space around the pipe and silencer ..enough to dissipate a lot of hot air.  But I am considering such a heat shield pad over the exhaust pipe / under the inboard brakes and CV joints.  I've wrapped the pipes down there, but I'm still wary of exhaust temperatures soaking up ..after a long hot run.. 

 

I don't know ..perhaps I'm being a little too cautious, seeing as it's only a one-litre car !

 

 

 

Today I checked the tappets, and all but one was too tight. The one was just a little loose. But most of the others I couldn't even get a 0.006" feeler gauge into what should have been 0.008" tappet clearance.   Two or three of them., I couldn't even get a 0.003" feeler gauge in.

 

I can't see how tappets get tighter over time and use, so I guess they must have been done up too tight.  There must be people out there who consider themselves smarter than the engineers who designed the engine.

 

Bfg.

[Bfg]

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Thank you -Yes I guess that would be right ..but I sincerely hope not ..by that amount   ..but rather by sloppy adjustment or someone deliberately trying to quieten the sound of tappets.

[PhilA]

If it'd been tightened with "thickness of a fag packet paper" then that's about as accurate as it gets.

 

Feeler gauges are much better

 

Phil

[Bfg]

cheap fag paper eh ?

[Bfg]

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Faced with despondency and collapsed motivation, I had been pushing myself to get out in the garage and to get the car back on the road.  When my motivation ..to do anything.. goes I turn to self discipline and a job list to work through.  On Friday the list was this..

 

Jobs to do next on the Ami :

1.      clean up & paint the fan cowling front ring.

2.      PU sealant in inner wings and under the car.

3.      Touch in drilled paint on inner wheel arch mud-flaps

4.      p-bracket on brake pipe (by pedal box)

5.      make front bracket for exhaust silencer. drill and attach

6.      refit clutch cable

7.      Refit the bottom pan of the heater ducts along with those awkward end plates

8.      finish reassembly of the exhaust pipe : loosen and then tighten the joints to free the exhaust of stressing.

9.      Remove the rocker covers and replace their gaskets.

10.    secure sound deadening from peeling off / falling down on exhaust.

11.    fit the fan cowling front ring. Plug up extra holes.

12.    dry fit the heater boxes and prepare a shopping list for ducting

13.    neoprene pad on the bulkhead and fit inner wings.

 

I ticked off just 4 items, and then for Saturday added another four, and then ticked off another 8 items.  For Monday I added 16 more tasks to do, and managed to tick off  7 items, plus a few other jobs that were found needing doing along the way.  For yesterday I had added a few more so we're back up to 16 tasks, and I managed to tick off just a couple of those ..leaving me with 14 items on my list at the start of today.  

 

Every day I don't want to be here working on this car ..but I also don't want to leave it as yet another unfinished project, taking up my garage space.   So I trudge on as best i can ..and am making progress ..with the hope of getting the car running again this week and back on the road for the end of next..  Then I hope to take a break from it.

 

However., incredibly annoyingly, today that plan seems to have been scuppered, and the 'checking & recommissioning' I thought had been done kicked me in the bollocks again.  But more of that later..

 

 

You've already seen my write ups of some of the things on the list ..like the rocker-cover gaskets and the fan cowling, but here's quick snapshots of some of the other tasks I've been working through . .

 

7.      Refit the bottom pan of the heater ducts along with those awkward end plates

8.      finish reassembly of the exhaust pipe : loosen and then tighten the joints to free the exhaust of stressing.

 

6.      refit clutch cable

You may also note the convoluted pipe hanging down. This is my replacement of the scuttle vent drain, which used to go across the engine bay and out through the inner wing (over the exhaust downpipe)

 

5.      make front bracket for exhaust silencer. drill and attach

 

10.    secure sound deadening from peeling off / falling down on exhaust.

I was concerned that the heat from the downpipe would soften the anti-drum bitumen and cause it to peel off, drop onto the exhaust and melt (stink) or even burst into flames !  So I made an aluminium cover to prevent that. It's a bit scruffy insomuch as it's reclaimed aluminium sheet from a caravan I broke a few years ago.  But seeing as it's under the wheel arch, and behind a rubber mud flap - it'll do just fine.    ps..sorry about the crap photo.

 

2.      PU sealant in inner wings

 

Specific to the Ami-super are six small vent holes below the main air-intake grille, in the front panel. Here I'm using urethane adhesive to secure the steel mesh behind those, not least because it was loose enough to catch the engine cooling fan !  Originally spot welded in place, some of those had given up / been broken ..and I suspect even before then the mesh was loose enough inbetween spots to vibrate against the panel and wear the paint off.  Extra globs of PU will I hope curb the rattles.

 

More to follow ..after my supper..

 

473 replies

18,405 views

[Bfg]

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^ Thanks for kindly words of encouragement. It's a daily battle.

 

Further to working through job lists, which don't seem to get shorter - as I find more jobs which ought to be done, we have the following . .

 

 

12.    dry fit the heater boxes and prepare a shopping list for ducting

 

Another one of those jobs that never made the list was this . .

^ the air filter on these cars doesn't look like it was meant to come apart. I wondr if it was perhaps originally supplied with the outer cover. However with a bit of persuasion, with the assistance of x4 old craft-knife blades (x2 seen in shadows in the bottom) I managed to prise the plastic lip back and get the filter itself free.  

 

It comprises of a coil of perforated metal . .

^ the coil is intended to be reused time and again, inbetween being cleaned in petrol and then dipped in engine oil.  As the induction air is sucked through the perforations any dust in the air sticks to the oil and so is filtered out. .

 

So the first job was to wash it. Who knows when it was last done ?.  I used parts cleaner in as small a bucket as would hold the filter, so that as I plunged it in out of the fluid - because of the tight constrains - the fluid was forced back and forth through the coil's perforations. .

This was the second wash. The first was with used parts cleaner but this one was with clean fluid.   I've let that dry and next will wash it through with petrol  (.. I'll then save that petrol to use also as parts cleaner (but not mixed with the other fluid).

 

 

Next job was this little blighter . .

^ That brass thing is the pre-heater thermostatic air control for the air filter. Supposedly when the control gets to 36-42 degrees C the rod inside pushes against a stiff spring operated door which closes the hot air route and opens the cold air route.  I know them simply as the winter / summer flap on the air filter.  

 

Must admit I didn't really expect this car to have this automatically controlled. It must be a direct carry over from the Citroen GS.  Cheaper to use that than to tool up for a manual control just for the Ami-super.  I wish they had done that more often !

 

Anyhow, even when left in the baking sun and the air filter plastic casing was too hot to comfortably hold, it only opened half way (as in the photo above).  Hot air intake in warm weather is very inefficient, so for the time being I've wedged it open with a piece of folded aluminium.  Come the colder weather - it'll be 5 seconds to remove ..and then it will operate as well as it did.

 

 

More in the next post. .

[Bfg]

.

Moving on.. I next wanted to look again at this pipe . .

 

^ this pipe (which is the hot-spot for the carb manifold) I had patched in Slovenia. They couldn't make a new one because the pipe was smaller than anything they had.  I then patched it further before I took the car for an MOT, and I see it's now got another blow hole in it. 

 

However, I was more concerned about its heat being so close to the cylinder head's oil-feed banjo (just about visible near the bottom of the pipe) which is just 10mm away,  the cam belt,  and the HT lead.   So I popped around to the old fella next door to ask if he a a bit of 3/4" copper pipe ..from which I might make a replacement.  No, but plenty of 22mm dia. and the bending tool.   I didn't know but his lad is a plumbing and heating engineer* and so the old boy would send him around in the evening.  

 

6:15 pm and I was just about to drop the garage door on the day's efforts, when the willowy sounds of a broad Suffolk accent came from around the corner.  

 

I showed him what the issues were, and between us we came up with this . .

 

            ^ a very nice steam punk accessory.    with three-times better clearance between it and the HT leads.  I thought to use heat wrap on it, but I fear that the exhaust temperatures might be close to the copper's limit - so I'll let it dissipate.  I may however make an insulation pad to cover the oil feed banjo, and fit a loose sleeve around the HT lead.

 

So, we're drawing to a close on jobs done over the past few days...  There have been others but mainly they were simply reassembly in nature.  You'll see above I found a length of air ducting (..a left over from the Jag ..for its cool air induction) but I don't know how well the pipe will stand this car's heater-exchange temperatures.? 

 

 

I was looking into another task.. re. cooling the inboard brakes (other than draping a 2" dia pipe from the fan over the top of the engine), and while underneath I discovered another issue that might easily have been dealt with ..while the engine/gearbox was out . .

 

^ part of the engine mounting.. the top plate of this is still bolted to the back to the engine..

 

The other side's engine mount is only just holding together, but clearly this one had broken loose some time ago..   That makes me just so angry.. Because a simple text, email or phone call from Janez to say "the engine mounts are shot - send me new ones" ..and it would have been done.  It took just one phone call ..just about 5pm today ..and the new parts ordered from < Chevronics > will be here on Friday (..Thank you Roy).

 

 

But right now, I'm pissed off even more because the exhaust has to come apart yet again.. And I will most likely have to remove the drive shafts and calipers - to lift the discs off to get in there ..to change these mounts.  

 

And yet Janez (2cvKeza) had the engine n' gearbox off the chassis and also separated, to replace the brake calipers and clutch plate.  To reassemble any car with so badly deteriorated engine mounts ..without even advising the customer is, in my view, verging on gross negligence.

 

He claims to be an A-series restoration specialist - But to let the car go in such an unsafe state.. knowing full well that the intent was to drive it back across Europe.. HE OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED !

 

 

I did promise him from the outset that I would share the story of this car and the work done on it ..which ought to be great publicity for his business..  Well, I'll be good to my word.. 

18,434 views

[Bfg]

.

Three hours to get those engine mounts off.. 

 

The exhaust, driveshafts, brake calipers, control cables, and other minor bits each had to be undone and moved aside, and the discs, ducting & vent to the discs, the heater box - all had to be removed again.   Paintwork is scratched, brake fluid leaked out of the caliper over the disc, and I'm dirty, sweaty hot and tired again.. and it's only 2:30pm.

 

^ 8mm Allen key and some useful leverage to get these undone.  Once one of the bolts was out I could (with hammer n' wooden drift) knock to turn the engine mount around the other bolt, which undid it easy enough.

 

That worked on the LHS.  However, access to the RHS (below) was more awkward because of the carb hot-spot /exhaust pipe and the closer proximity of heater ducting, so working underneath I managed to undo the bolt and then I dropped the engine back down onto its engine mount ..to turn it and by doing so - to loosen the outside bolt. 

 

^ working under the car this is the access I had  ..and in the photo it looks more spacious than it is ! That Allen key is 8mm and so gives you an idea of clearances.  Conversely it would have been an easy task with the engine on the bench and the gearbox separated.

 

^ clearly broken up at the time of reassembly ..to polish the steel like that, as the car has only done 25 miles since coming from 2cvKeza's workshop

 

Shameful.

[PhilA]

Keep an eye on the hotspot pipe, what with copper's tendency to work harden with heat cycling and vibration.

 

Phil

[Bfg]

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^ OK - thanks.  Perhaps it would be prudent to use the old pipe as a pattern to make another steel one ..ready for when this copper one fails.  There must be someone out there who makes moped exhaust pipes or similar from this diameter tube.?

 

 

This afternoon I added a heat-shield around the back half of it. .

 

^ aluminium sheet curved around with a length of the exhaust wrap sandwiched inbetween.  My hope is that this will lessen radiated heat to the cam-belt,  HT lead, and the cylinder head's oil feed.

 

Btw. The HT lead looks as if will chafe on the cam-belt guard / tinwear, but when seen from another angle - it is clear.

 

Another task which never made it onto the job list was to change the engine oil & filter. I'd bought an adapter from Chevronics ..so I might fit the oil-filter from the later Citroen & Peugeot models,  as I'm advised that these are more readily available than those for the Ami-Super. . 

 

 

Yes I know ..the oil drains down better when hot but, with the car apart (again !) - that wasn't practical ..and anyhow - the oil has had months to drain down to the sump.  Most likely I'll change it again in just two or three thousand miles (using this to flush out the last of the old oil).   

 

NB. the Purflex LS923 oil filter with its all important anti-drain-back valve (because the filter sits inverted on the top of the engine) is the one recommended by Chevronics (who know more about the Citroen GS than most others).  Nothing special in the fitting instructions ..save to run the engine for a couple of minutes after changing the filter to fill it up. Turn off and when the oil is settled again to then recheck the oil level.

 

Best price I can find today inc P&P  is < here > through Amazon.. I've just ordered a replacement, and now they only have three in stock.

 

I was glad to see the car's old oil was not terribly dirty and the magnet in the drain-plug free of particles. .

 

 ^ coil of ptfe pipe sealant around the thread to help prevent oil loss, but the copper washer was shot*

 

..so I found a couple of replacement ones (one to be kept, ready for the next change) . .

 

They were used ..but easily re-annealed (to soften) . .

 

Oil filter replaced, plug back in with a decent copper sealing washer, and 3¹/₄ litres of fresh motor oil poured in..  And I've made a note to check it and top up when the car is back on it's wheels and level (Capacity is 3¹/₂ litres).  So, another little job ticked off

 

But, with removing the old engine mounts.. that was all for today.

Bfg 

[Bfg]

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Ordered at 5pm on Wednesday ..Arrived just before 9am on Friday.

 

Not bad for an OEM part for a car that's from decades ago

 

Good to go. Thanks  Chevronics

 

 

^ Roy had only one Ami-Super mount in stock and so I decided to go for the matched pair from a Citroen GS (which are different to GSA). The two tubed mountings to the engine are different but can be cut down to fit the Super . .

 

^ The GS ones have a pressed steel base and are not handed. The original Ami ones  have a cast base and are handed. 

 

I'll let you know how I get on. 

 

..Later  

18,549 views

[dollywobbler]

This is making me more and more glad I own a two-cylinder A-series Citroen! I shall never complain about the mere five exhaust clamps in the engine bay again.

 

With the rocker covers, maybe they're stronger than two-pot ones, but on those, people often over-tighten them, to the point they bend the cover until it hits the valve gear...

[Bfg]

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^ LOL .. There's a lot to be said for the twin cylinder .. and indeed for their big bonnet openings, QD wings for easy access, and a ready supply of parts.  

 

As you know I was after a 2cv or a Dyane but couldn't find one at that time, which didn't need extensive welding, for what I considered a sensible price.  ..As it happens I failed on both those counts with this car  ..and I didn't even get a sun roof !

 

Rocker covers tightened enough to touch the valve gear - phew.. The book on the Ami-super says to tighten that central nut to 3.5 - 5 ft.lb.  That's the equivalent of  light tightening pressure on a 4" spanner.. no more.  After all one only needs to pinch a bit of rubber gasket for it to seal.

[Bfg]

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Ok.. after having looked at it this morning.. I went shopping.

 

Four long bolts later (..aside from the groceries, some DVD's from the charity shop, and Fish n' chips for lunch) I wanted to see what exactly was the issue with using the GS engine mounts on the Ami super..  I suspected the disks were too close because another unique detail of the Super is that although the gearbox and brakes are from the GS 1220, the bell housing is much shorter.  So the only way to determine what's wot was to pre-assemble it and see . .

 

^ the bolt head interferes with the disc (which will not go back on).

 

But it also illustrates just how much, or rather how little needed to be cut away.  Not nearly as much as the comparison between old and new might suggest..  In fact with the bolt removed there was 2 - 3mm of clearance between the disc and the mount.

 

So. .

^ measure and marking. 

 

NB. the mark to the right is of the plain-shank length of this bolt ..and part of my thinking to check that I wouldn't be trying to screw the shank into the engine case !  Similarly I crawled back under the car, to fit the bolt, to check the thread length of these new bolts wasn't going to bottom out when fully wound in. 

 

So how come with all these aerobics and sit ups ..and I still have a fat belly ?

 

 

Moving on, measurement was followed by hack-sawing . .

^ I cut a little wide to allow room for a socket

 

So, three hacksaw cuts and a bit of filing to clean up the edges,  equals . .

^ the bolt head and washer are now recessed slightly  (for these bolts the recess depth was 11mm).

 

NB. the measured mark on the other tube of this mount is simply a guide for hack-sawing, to help me cut the end square.  Of course, because the brake discs only interfered with the outer bolt's head, then . .

^ ..I didn't need to modify the other end of the mount.

 

With a bit of cold galvanising spray and .. Job Done. 

 

The question now is - Do they now fit ?

 

. . .

 

 Bags o' room !

 

The disc doesn't (shouldn't !) go anywhere ..so 6 or 7mm clearance is fine.

 

Another job I didn't expect to have to do, very much didn't want to do, & shouldn't have had to do - is now DONE. 

 

.. And what was I doing when I discovered the failed state of those engine mounts.. This .. what was expected to be just a five minute job . .

 

^ a simple air scoop, situated before the chassis cross member immediately in front of the disc brakes..  It only hangs down 25mm but I suspect it will help &/or soon get ripped off. !  But I thought it was worth five minutes and a piece of scrap aluminum to try the idea.  Little did I anticipate what I'd be doing for the next two days.

 

^ I'm sick of crawling around in that tight space and muck under there.. 

 

Time to trial fit, decide what and where & how I was going to cut the new engine mounts, then to execute the task, paint and fit them : 2 hours. 

 

(This including being correctly torquing those bolts ..which I couldn't do with the original Hex-socket heads. )

 

Time to get the sodding discs, drive shafts, & brake calipers back on, including the handbrake pad falling out and being a right nuisance* to get back in : 2 hours.  ..plus a fair amount of blue tinted air aimed at someone in Slovenia.

 

The cost I would have had anyway because they definitely needed replacing..   I'm not sure the car will feel anything like that I took for an MOT at the beginning of the year

 

That's All Folks !

 

Tomorrow I'll have a late start and a lazy day ..just reassembling the heater control boxes / ducting / exhaust / control cables etc. and other bits taken off to do this job, plus touching up a few scratches, and a bit of a sweep n' clean up of the garage.

 

 Bfg.

[beko1987]

I'm going to re read the last few pages over breakfast tomorrow to boost my motivation up for fixing my own car I think!

 

I want to go out and do it now but it's too late. I'll feel bad about the maybe 3 pictures I'll take...

[Bfg]

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Slowly making progress ..back in the right direction

 

By Saturday morning I'd had enough, and couldn't be arsed to refit the exhaust and heater boxes yet again, so I just tidied in the garage and swept up. 

 

Yesterday morning, inbetween thunder bugs and thunder storms.. I pulled my finger out and did those tasks.  I then looked to do a couple more jobs on my list ..the first being - fuel pipes in the engine bay and fitting an inline fuel filter. .

 

^ Admittedly it's not so pretty a solution but it'll serve for the time being..

 

I understand the original location for a fuel filter on these cars was alongside the chassis by the back axle, but as now configured.. the shiny new plastic pipe comes from the tank to the fuel filter, and then goes through a non-return valve just before the pump (..mechanical from the RH cam shaft).  Thereafter I've run transparent fuel pipe to the carburettor.

 

Such a visual check ..of fuel having got to where it should - is usual on old motorcycles. And even my old Jag had a glass-bowl filter mounted to its inner wing, which likewise might be readily checked.  

 

Car will not start ?  ..Is there fuel ?   The answer is now an instant visual check.

 

The one-way valve is simply to prevent the fuel from back siphoning, which would have the pump sucking air.  It works too ! ..because, although the engine has not turned for months, there was still fuel in each of the old pipes right the way to the carburettor.   That'll save a good amount of engine cranking.

 

 

Another job (..I didn't think would be, but proved quite easy to do) was to make and fit this . .

 

^ Not an engine cowling for a model sports-plane, but a heat shield. .

 

 

As stated before, and why I lagged the exhaust pipes.. the close proximity of the exhaust pipe to CV joint gaiter (about 10mm !) and the disc brakes was of concern. They're only made from scrap aluminium sheet but I hope these shields will further help.

 

In fact ..together with the pipe lagging and the scoop I've placed under the car - I'm going to try the car without the ducted cooling from the engine fan.  It's easy enough to fit later on ..if I experience even the slightest brake fade or judder as a result of the brakes over-heating. 

 

Why do this ? Well, because icy cold, moist-air being blasted at disc brakes   in all weathers can be detrimental to braking performance as well.!   There's a balance inbetween too hot and too cold, damp brakes ..And rather than try to resolve the symptom - I'm attempting to address the cause of these brakes becoming too hot.   We shall see if this is a crazy idea ! 

 

 

The RHS exhaust shield was just a little more involved because of the carb hot-spot pipe.  Thereafter a quick slap of paint ..and they'll not even be seen, once the inner wings are back on ..in the bottom of the engine bay. .

 

 

Another task which needed attending was to re-route the new HT leads across the engine bay (the original ones had melted insulation from the hot spot pipes) ..and to fit an anti-chafe outer sleeve.  

 

Not much to photograph there (black HT leads within black plastic sleeve sitting in the shadows) ..but yet ANOTHER JOB TICKED OFF 

 

Bfg

18,764 views

[Bfg]

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way ho campers..  I'm still going

 

in fact I'm back to where I was last week ..but with the engine mounts replaced and the inner wings now bolted on (..and my hoping that they won't have to come off again any time soon).. 

 

I did change the gearbox oil which I almost suspect hadn't been done since ...1974    Now that's frugal motoring when two-litres of EP 80/90 cost little more than £10 at today's prices, and the gearbox takes just 1.4 litres.  However I could see from the reused copper washers that it had occasionally been topped up.   The workshop manual says to refill the gearbox via the level plug (situated down under the rhs brake caliper), but in Autodata's Citroen GS manual they suggested removing the reversing-light-switch and filling it through that hole as being easier.   Reversing light ??  ..on an Ami ! no flipping chance of that.  But this gearbox is from the GS 1220 and the hole is there with a plug in it . .

^ I'm sure this would have been easy on a RHD car, but with the master cylinder and its coils of brake pipes and then the exhaust & handbrake cables.. I'm not so sure it's any easier than reaching down to under a brake caliper..  Never-the-less..  another JOB DONE !

 

So then I set about refitting the inner front wings, on these home made jobbies . .

^ self adhesive neoprene rubber, off the roll at 30mm wide by perhaps 2 or 3mm..  This one I've cut down to 15mm wide, and improvising a hole punch (using a thick washer and the ball of an old handle) made the holes.  I used similar pads everywhere between the inner wings and body and chassis . .

 

Astounding.. these inner wings used to rattle & resonate like cheap cymbals, but with nothing but these rubber sandwiches they now sound quite solid ..weird when one considers just how thin they really are !  I had bought enough anti-drum pads to apply onto these, but I can't see they will be necessary now.

 

So we're almost back to where I was, except that they're now fitted with stainless steel nuts, bolts & penny washers as opposed to their being located but not finally tightened. .

 

Of course the exhaust down-pipe (out of the LHS) also has its heat shield fitted, likewise its guard and the mud flaps.  At least within the inner wheel-arch - that down pipe is now out of direct road-water / tyre splash. 

 

 

That was yesterday evening..  and today armed with a new 14 task job list I set about a task which I'd been putting off..  not least because my welding equipment makes such tasks no joy at all . .

^ the window frame of the driver's door has been broken (and therefore loose) since I bought the car..   Had things gone more smoothly with Janez I would have asked him to weld it up, but . . well you know.   So, it's been on my job list for some time now.

 

 

cutting to the chase . .

^ any Trafalgar Square pigeon would be right proud of dropping that.. 

 

The outside weld I did with the door back in its frame to check its alignment. Then I brought it outside to shyte the rest.  In the end it cleaned up ok though . .

 

^ tying in the window frame with the door skin's shut flange ..made the thing so tough

     

Another job DONE !

 

but.. 

 

.

.

 

one job which I thought had been done and paid for (..amid ongoing whinges) < here >. .

 

 ....picture of left A-post... Janez : "On right A-post we had noticed that it was welded & in wrong position, so door hit roof. But also this A-post - a new one had been fitted. The floors and pedal panel were also repaired - changed in same time. All these were welded at that time with gas/oxygen - brazing. And it was not nice or good job done back then.  A-post on right side is also in bad condition, smashed on bottom and misplaced...

 

So, now first I have to get A posts back to original positions"

 

And so - I assumed it had been done.  But I have to say it never felt very rigid.  I then painted over it with my off-white. Did I mention before - I don't like dark or dull colours because they hide crap.. as does under-seal, etc.).   Soon after, this happened . . 

^ great quality workmanship to last ..oh what 25 miles !

 

Isn't it amazing what some restorers* hide under seam sealer . .

^ as an indication of scale, the small screwdriver's blade is 4mm wide.

 

I pulled out the A-post's skin out to the hinge bracket, using self tappers . .

 

..before welding, linishing back, and spraying over with cold galvanising (..but no seam sealer)  . .

 

Oh the new bolt forward of the repair..  is there because the bottom of the bonnet-hinge recess (in the front face of the bulkhead) was detached and buckled in. That is intended as a structural brace for the hinge panel ..so it should be attached . .

^  Actually a nice little structural design detail.. using the bottom of the bonnet hinge recess as a stiffening web for the door hinges.   Altogether it is now rigid.

 

..Funny how we think of these shitroens as flimsy, wobbly &/or terribly tinny, and sort of accept it.. but then when the job is put together and all solid and tight ..we're surprised ! 

 

So there we go.. up until lunchtime today (Thursday).  And now it's time for me to get one with reassembling the front / headlamp panel again.

 

Bfg

18,908 views

[Bfg]

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Sorry but the car is not on the road yet .. in fact items (un)ticked off my 16 task job list reflect slower than snail pace progress.  I will persevere   ..as I need to drive the car down the road before I set fire to it   

 

..It's mainly Citroen detailing that really bugs me like three different bolt sizes to hold a panel on, each with different size washers of course, and then those darn spire clips that chip the fresh paint off the flanges.  I'm trying to substitute them with SS nut, bolt & penny washers but isn't always possible due to inaccessibility ..but I am become a dab-hand at making these neoprene rubber washers . .

^ improvised hole punch mk.II uses a penny washer as before but now I use the rounded end of an 11mm ring spanner. Push hard down and rotate, and it cuts better than the ball end of handle I was using.

 

Taking about inaccessibility.. this is another one of those annoying shitroen-stupid details. .

Reaching down to the two nut n bolts attaching the inner wing to the headlamp panel, the hot-air intake from the exhaust manifold is just in the way (edited for politeness).,  so . .

 

^ bish, bash, bong..

 

which resulted in . .

^ cutting the corner off will make zilch difference to the part's effectiveness, but makes a huge difference to getting a hand & small socket in to those fastenings.  Now why didn't Citroen do that !

 

BTW. the bolts came from this side before., into spire clips under the wheel arch (perfect for rusting !) Those have now been replaced with SS nuts n bolts.

 

 

Moving on..  One of the things I had to do today was to make some brackets to secure the outside corner of the bumper. .

 

These were missing on both sides of the car, and from photos I've seen of other Ami's with their bumpers curling at peculiar angles.. it seems to be quite common that lazy arse gits don't refit them. Probably this is because they come out of the gap between the front wing and the headlamp panel so one needs to remember to fit them at the appropriate time.  

 

Well I don't know what the original brackets looked like but I reckon they needed to be som't like this sketch. .

 

Par for the course.. it proved a time consuming task to make to fit correctly ..due to the plate needing just the right amount of swan neck and twist. Slotted fitting holes would have helped but I couldn't be bothered to hand file three holes to be slots.  As of this evening just one side is done. .

^ as seen from a sleeping policeman's viewpoint ..looking up

 

And the LHS wing and headlamp panel are refitted. .

 

It's a great disappointment (after so much panel work) that the paint job is nowhere near as good as the above photo might suggest.  In fact, without exaggeration - it is really quite appalling ..hand painted with all sorts of bits in it and weird 2-pack paint bubble issues. Unfortunately I cannot afford a professional paint job, so for the time being at least - it'll just have to do ..and I'll park it around the corner.

 

Tomorrow - doing the same to the LHS will be quicker because I've enjoyed* the learning curve..

 

Have a good weekend.

Bfg

18,985 views

[Bfg]

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Just a quick update, as of Saturday afternoon ..after a short day of pottering around the Ami. 

 

I made the side bracket for the RHS of the car ..very similar to yesterday's effort, which is fitted. That side bumper's front (original) bracket needed a bit of tweeking to get the two sides (the two bumpers) to closely match each other's height, angle and forward tilt.  Just those two little jobs took me 2¹/₂ hours !

 

Anyway they are now done and that front wing is also loosely fitted.  I say 'loosely' because although the panel gap between it and the front panel is just fine.. the gap between it and the door (which has not moved) is .. let's just say 'something to behold' ..and not in a good way. 

 

Before the front wing went on the headlamp needed to be fitted, as one of it's fastenings is hidden under the wing), and there I found a minor mistake of mine   ..the up/down headlamp adjuster cables are different lengths ..and unable to determine how to easily / quickly swap the cables - I just got on and undid three fastenings of the LH wing again, to get to the headlamp's hidden bolt, and moved the lamp to the RH side.  Sometimes it's just quicker to get on and do it..

 

I've also loosened the track rod adjusters, refitted the front wheels, re-inflated the old tyres, and dropped the car back onto the ground again.. This is the first time in what seems to have been a jurassic period - the car is back on its own four feet (..well tyres have footprints don't they ?)

 

Level again I can better assess the front panels are sitting square. On Monday I'll go around them again and sort out that front RHS door shut-gap (I hope ) and refit the bonnet.  In the meantime Ami looks like a car again. .

 

Bfg.

 

[spartacus]

Looking good, that could be a pic for the 'Y tho?' thread.

[Bfg]

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I'm still here, and moving slowly in the right direction

 

Not much to photograph or make news of, just a lot of adjustments and getting things back together in and around the under bonnet. 

 

Yesterday I started the engine for the first time in months, but she's still not running right. It feels as if she's

not firing on all four when cold, at tick-over - so the sometime very soon I'll change the spark plugs and pragmatically work to diagnose what else from there.   Still, I was pleasantly surprised at how quietly she ran, despite still being in the garage  ..noticeably without the whirring of the twin cylinder engine.

 

This morning I made a new job list ..with 42 tasks to work through  ..But when they're done - I should be back to having the car on the road again.  Other jobs can then wait and be done as a rolling restoration.  So the end is finally in sight

 

By this evening I ticked off another nine jobs,  only five of which were on the list !    So the front end of the car is now assembled, heater ducts in place and cable connections made.  I have a couple of wiring connections yet to do (..from where I've re-routed the wires), plus refitting the grille, headlamp surrounds, and the new number plate. 

 

As bought, she looked like this . .

 

And now is like this . .

 

 

Similarly. .

 

versus :

 

And again. .

 

versus . .

 

So progress, although slow - is definitely happening.

 

But seemingly insignificant details all take time . .

^ card template to fashion a piece of missing ducting.  This is for the hot air / heater dump (when the heater is switched off but the heat exchangers are still doing their thing).  Rather than have that heat under bonnet, it was designed to vent out to under the RHS inner wing.  Both the pipe and a special inner wing rubber bellow were missing, so I've configured my own solution* from reinforced rubber sheet. .

 

Tomorrow I'll continue systematically working through more tasks and checking them off the list. 

 

Best regards,

Bfg

19,161 views

[Bfg]

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.. early start this morning ..to pick fruit from the plum tree while the air (and the fruit) was still cool. And then later on I needed groceries, so a bit of back and forthin'  but Ami's still progressing with another eight jobs, plus a few others, ticked off.  

 

Tomorrow I guess I'll be back under the car ..setting the ride height and steering lock in conjunction with tightening the track rods and suspension damper bushes.   But for now she has number plates ..for the first time in this country.. 

 

I'm not sure about the front one though. When ordering I decide the squarish rectangular style ought to look smaller than the long rectangle style on this car.  It's of correct legal specification ..but on a car with so tiny a frontal area it looks huge .  

 

what do you think ?

 

Probably I'll just live with it for a while and see if it just fades into the unnoticed or else its toofy look grows on me

[barrett]

Is there a reason you've ditched the centre section of the bumper? It'd look much better as standard, and with an oblong plate. Looks a bit empty at the moment, the full bumper gives the front a much more balanced look