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Zel's Motoring Adventures...Peugeot, Renault, Rover, Trabant, Invacar & A Sinclair C5 - 25/03 - Trabant back in action...


Zelandeth

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Been nice weather today, so of course I've been feeling like crap all day.  Thanks body.

Did manage an hour of productivity though, even though it's pushed the headache from a 5 to a solid 8.5.  In the quest to get some of the grime and rust streaking off the Trabant, I really wanted to get these covers off the rear pillar vents.  I wanted these off to look behind them anyway as I wasn't in any way convinced that these weren't in some way responsible for our water ingress issues.

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Surprisingly the first screw actually came out without progress, the second however snapped pretty much as soon as I looked at it.

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I wasn't planning on reusing these anyway, so it was just drilled out and re-tapped to take an M5 A2 stainless machine screw instead.  With a bit of grease applied to the thread for good measure.

I'm not at all convinced this isn't a point of water ingress.

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The seam sealer which attaches the inner section there feels like it's gone brittle just like the stuff on the front bulkhead had, so I'll be giving that a good slathering with some PU sealant when I've got a bit more time and working brain available.

There's a good couple of millimetre gap behind these grills and the surrounding metalwork (there's actually a spacer in there to ensure they do NOT sit flush), so basically all the water running down off the roof is going to run behind the grill and into the chamber rather than being deflected over it as you'd think to look at it.  I reckon that putting a seal around the top and sides of the panel might be a decent idea.  That way water will largely be kept out of this area.

At least I know I can easily get in here again in future.

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Need to get a bit more elbow grease involved in removing that rust staining.

Do have some slight nervousness regarding what the top of that screen surround will be in once the screen is removed.  We know that needs to happen as I know the offside lower corner of the surround is holed and the screen needs to come out to fix that.  Sure that will be an interesting day.  That will likely not be done by me, by the way.  That will be entrusted to someone who knows how to fix this sort of tinworm damage.

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  • Zelandeth changed the title to Zel's Motoring Adventures...Peugeot, Renault, Rover, Trabant, Invacar & A Sinclair C5 - 25/03 - Trabant back in action...
On 23/03/2024 at 18:24, Zelandeth said:

Kind of annoying day today as the weather kept looking decent for being outside, but pretty much the minute I'd start doing anything the heavens would then open again, for about 2 minutes.

Just enough to make it wet again.  I got the roof of the Trabant given a quick skim over with the polish at least.

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It's a bit patchy so will want doing again, but is definitely a lot better than streaky ingrained dirt.

You can definitely tell which bits have and haven't been done.

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As stated, my intention has never really been to make this into a shiny show car, I just want to do what I can to help it looks cared for.  I don't mind it looking a bit careful worn, but don't want it looking neglected.  Chalky and covered in moss isn't exactly the look I want.

Just the right hand side to do now.  If the weather would bloody cooperate.

Otherwise I've just been using the car about as much as I can get away with over the last couple of days.

You want some protection on it though so it doesn't rust or mess the paint up. I'd argue you should go to town and coat it once then with regular washing with some wax safe shampoo (dodo juice born to be mild is lovely) it'd just need a nice hand-job once a year as normal with maybe a top-up. 

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16 hours ago, rattlecan said:

I think I’d be inclined to get a sheet of thin plastic or thick polythene (if ya get me) & place it over the rectangular hole, seal it all around the 4 edges, then put the grill back on. That way nothing can ‘sit in’ the area behind 

But then the ventilation would be lost !

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That's the primary outflow for the heater - and based on the amount of air discharged from there with the heater on and the engine revved (flow for the heater is bleed air from the cooling fan) they're definitely functional rather than notional.  The top of the inner "box" is open into the pillar, what you can see is a shield to keep the weather out.

Kind of surprising given how basic a car it is that they went to the lengths of putting a primarily decorative cover over it rather than just leave it open like Lada did on the Niva.

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That said, I'm actually not so surprised.  There's very little about the design of this car that seems to have happened by chance, and fit and finish honestly is well ahead of anything to have come out of Tolyatti.  Looking at it from a construction perspective, it means the two panels don't have to be so critically aligned, and you can go to town more with the sealant without it being visible.  Those pillar vents on the Niva are a known water ingress point - one of about fifty, on a good day.  Don't get me wrong, I bloody adored my Niva, but there's no questioning that it was thrown together as cheaply as humanly possible.

What I think I'll do here is just attach a bit of foam weather stripping to the cover on the top and sides.  That will channel anything around it, but anything that gets in courtesy of the wind or when I'm washing the car will still be able to drain out the bottom naturally.

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On 25/03/2024 at 15:38, beko1987 said:

You want some protection on it though so it doesn't rust or mess the paint up. I'd argue you should go to town and coat it once then with regular washing with some wax safe shampoo (dodo juice born to be mild is lovely) it'd just need a nice hand-job once a year as normal with maybe a top-up. 

Missed this reply.  Should have mentioned that I've been waxing as I go.  The whole car will get another coat once I'm finished all the panels.  I should have started a pool on which will go flat faster?  The paint on a Trabant or an 80s Skoda?  The latter really did have terrible paint!

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