Jump to content

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


Zelandeth

Recommended Posts

Very quick evening update.

New plates are on.

IMG_20190908_202539.thumb.jpg.105c5c70d693dc321b8e49391e243c10.jpg

IMG_20190908_201841.thumb.jpg.1d5142927525d520d7946829403fc1cb.jpg

The old ones really had had it.

IMG_20190908_200032.thumb.jpg.3b64bb8faa1c0057f5a40c1591a26058.jpg

Flash shows just how bad they were.

IMG_20190908_200040.thumb.jpg.364383358a233ec45b4cba6ef794a982.jpg

Small job in the grand scheme of things, but nice to have it ticked off the list.  Do need to get some proper fasteners for the front one though to tidy it up.  I do have some in a box somewhere...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're the ones which came with the car.  Seem to be in good order though.

I'll be replacing them all with stainless machine screws with the appropriate coloured caps though once I figure out which box they're in anyway.

Sorting out my garage really needs to happen.  I'm getting thoroughly fed up of not being able to find anything.

Even if it's a while before I can get all the shelving in, I need to go and attack the one wall with a bunch of books...there's a huge amount of stuff which currently sits in piles on the floor which could be hung up, and would mean some tools could at least have a proper home rather than "wherever I've managed to wedge it so it hopefully doesn't fall over and scratch the car I've just painted."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/9/2019 at 12:38 AM, Noel Tidybeard said:

maybe the citreon is a better test bed for OMGLED bulbs- you could improve from crap to adequate! lol

I'm keeping an eye on Wish, if a set of H1 (need to double check if they're H1 or H7...The S1 cars use one, the S2 the other and I can never remember which is which) lamps turn up as similarly cheaply as these did I may well do a similar experiment.  The only reason I grabbed these though was that they were so ridiculously cheap, £3 including postage that it came under the heading of being worth it purely to satisfy my curiosity. I'll also need two sets for the Xantia as it has physically separate lamps for dip and main.  Both of which are barely passable - even with relays mounted in the headlights themselves to eliminate the usual issues with voltage drop on the supply lines.

 

The new gearbox mounts have arrived for the Invacar.

IMG_20190910_131417.thumb.jpg.be518fcced78cf4ad48b9391a93650b8.jpg

Here's the part number stamped into the rubber - worth knowing as it would surprise me if these weren't used in other vehicles.  Land Rover is sticking in my mind, though I've no idea whether I'm making that up.

IMG_20190910_131207.thumb.jpg.004321436735f789371861abd7bb8bb3.jpg

...Not forgetting the paper label still attached with twine.

IMG_20190910_131243.thumb.jpg.f7bcac745c91f76e9bd237be49e2f65f.jpg

Wow.  I honestly didn't realise know utterly shot the ones I've currently got on the car are until I picked these up.  The ones on there currently are distinctly "squidgy" and you can easily move the two sides around by hand.  These are really quite solid...Based on this information it wouldn't surprise me if this significantly improves my "clutch judder" issue.

Still feeling pretty wrecked from the garden work at the weekend and we've got a friend currently staying over with us due to ill health while their partner is away on business, so time isn't on my side currently - nevertheless I'd really like to get these fitted in the next couple of days.  It would allow me to tick off another item that's been on the whiteboard since I had KPL and that always feels good.

Having seen how shot my current mounts are as well makes me feel more justified in binning the couple of random ones I have floating around - I fitted the best two that I had in stock when I did the engine transplant...so the "spares" I have are beyond redemption I think...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Task one for the afternoon, get the correct lamps back into the headlights on the van as I was satisfied the LED experiment had run its course.  While it was an interesting diversion, they aren't road legal so there was never any intention of them staying in there beyond getting some test images photographed.

Looks much less jarring with things the right sort of colour temperature.

IMG_20190910_142011.thumb.jpg.ea050414ec6b3b080afd6402123525e4.jpg

Something I did while I was there was to clean up the offside headlight a bit.

While it's hard to catch on camera it was very obvious that quite a lot of light was being scattered by dirt on the inside of the lens.  Quite visible looking closely at it.

IMG_20190910_140546.thumb.jpg.d0f2015a54573ba2073349c44d42449b.jpg

IMG_20190910_140552.thumb.jpg.f321997b3a2431748831411319f8a869.jpg

IMG_20190910_140555.thumb.jpg.b4e50c2e219691b667250fc6e15e401b.jpg

That can't have been doing anything any favours.

Helpfully, the lenses on these lights are simply held in by four tabs screwed to the case and a good quality foam gasket, so they're easily dismantled.

With the lens off it's clear that the reflector is actually in better shape than I'd thought.  Not perfect as there is a bit of clouding and the coating is flaking from a couple of areas, but it's quite serviceable and can stay in place until I come across another new light.  RHD lights for these don't come up for sale all that often on eBay etc these days, and ones from mainstream suppliers are expensive.  There is a company in Germany which offer a re-silvering service for reflectors...I remember giving serious consideration to getting the nearside one done a couple of years back on the Saab as it was badly tarnished and had an advisory for "No clear beam image" on that light going back at least as far as 2005 on every MOT.

IMG_20190910_140729.thumb.jpg.c5a2cbc51554c3845cefd3d91de0306d.jpg

It's pretty immediately visible how much cleaner things look with all the gunk scrubbed off the inside of the lens.

IMG_20190910_141513.thumb.jpg.288494a517effefe6f577305cb2247ee.jpg

Which has sharpened up the beam definition visibly looking at it across the street.

Visible looking directly at it too, I like this photo as it really shows how the reflector, the shade in the lamp and the diffraction pattern in the lens all work together to get the light where you want it.

IMG_20190910_141947.thumb.jpg.62527793cd52435330ad247caebae748.jpg

Looking at the nearside one, even with the correct lamp back in the beam still isn't as well defined as the offside one - so I think this just has to be chalked up to being a poorer quality replacement lamp housing.  Being a £30 special from Euro Car Parts, this doesn't surprise me.

IMG_20190910_142002.thumb.jpg.5da06ef5023e8fe47d38499ba7f46516.jpg

Might be a few days, but I'll try to get the same photos as I did with the LED kit fitted so that I can show those for comparison.

 

Moving to the Invacar, I had a look at getting the new gearbox mounts fitted, before deciding that's a job for another day.  For a start I need the trolley jack to support the engine and it's currently sitting under the nearside rear suspension arm because I'm lacking a nearside rear wheel.  I don't have the patience to dig out the axle stands from the far end of the garage and switch stuff around today...plus I'd rather do jobs which involve messing with the weight distribution when it's fitted with all three wheels.

So...back to the stuck wheel stud.  You know sometimes you come across jobs which just decide that they're going to fight you at every turn?  This is one of those jobs.

After a not insignificant amount of swearing due to poor access (due to the proximity of the central mounting flange on he hub), I eventually got a new thread cut in the mangled remains of the stripped stud.  Got a locknut fitted, got everthing good and hot (it's been soaking in Plusgas for several days now) and...

IMG_20190910_145313.thumb.jpg.763394daf81d7d2e56eb1568946bda3e.jpg

Balls.

Cue more swearing.

Scratching my head for ideas which didn't involve drilling the blasted thing out, I grabbed the grinder and set about cutting flats into it in the hope that I might be able to get decent purchase on it with something.  No dice - I can't get in with the decent Stilsons as the top jaw keeps fouling on the hub centre before I can get things locked up.

Next attempt...cut two further flats on it so I can get a 5/16" AF brake adjuster spanner on it.  Result: One snapped spanner.

I had really been hoping to avoid getting the welder involved given the proximity of much fibreglass and the fact that the car can't be moved out of the garage currently...but needs must.  With much water and two fire extinguishers on hand I set about welding a nut onto the remains of the stud.  The weld held...the stud didn't. 

Thoroughly hacked off by this point I set about getting the thing as hot as practical again, and set about battering on the closest sized socket I could find using the large hammer.  This didn't strip...but just snapped the stud off even closer to the surface of the hub.

At this point I got the thin cutting disc on the grinder and cut a thin slot in it and battered it with the impact driver and a very well fitting bit.  Immediately just mangled the slot on the first smack of the hammer.

Got the grinder back out again and have ground it back flush with the face.  I'll get a couple of new drill bits tomorrow and we'll just drill the sucker out.  Have ordered an imperial tap & die kit in the thorough expectation that I'm probably going to need to sort the threads out afterwards.

I do find myself wondering at this point if this stud was ever actually made of an appropriate material from day one...so far this one seems to have behaved as though it's made of monkey metal!

Investigation has revealed that the other wheel nut holes in the hubs have M12x1.5 threads in them.  These however only go in approximately 10mm, the thread doesn't run all the way through - even though the hole does go all the way through the hub.  So wheel bolt length must have been critical in the original application.  The PCD does look to be smaller than the one used by the wheels on there, albeit by the tiniest of amounts, it's barely visible lining the spacer ring which usually sits between the brake drum and the wheel up with the holes.

Stay tuned to find out how this probably goes even more spectacularly wrong and I continue to make an utter meal of what should be a dead simple job!

EDIT:

Second same-day update.

Given I basically can't leave the house nor get too deeply involved in anything today, it's a day for little jobs which have hovered around in the to do lists being annoying but non critical.

The main target this afternoon was the dog guard in the van.  This was grabbed off the scrap pile one day I needed to take the (then singular) dog out on my own and didn't have anyone to accompany him in the back of the van...so I needed something to keep him out the cab.  So I grabbed the old dog guard which I'd thrown on the scrap pile about a year before and wedged it in place.

This works, but is hardly ideal.

IMG_20190502_212329.thumb.jpg.2f789ba705f09c267163c4fcff0ad4bf.jpg

Several drawbacks.  It's just sitting in the space between the seats in the cab and the front of the sofa on the offside and bulkhead on the nearside, latterly with the bottom of the uprights cable-tied to the seatbelt buckles to try to keep them in place and stop it flapping around a bit (it didn't work).  This means that it rocks backwards and forwards every time you accelerate or brake.  As a result it also rattles something fierce.  Finally, it makes getting from the cab into the back of the van a pain as you need to step over it.  I find this moderately annoying, but Abby has a bad hip and really struggles with it.  So a bit of re-engineering happened today.

Being designed to be stuck in the boot of a car the original attachment points obviously were useless...however being a bunch of pipes essentially that just clip together meant that it didn't take me long to find a suitable means of securing it in the plumbing bits box.

IMG_20190910_174728.thumb.jpg.39ad751bce1d676a402dac5c5de8579f.jpg

This has allowed me to engineer it such that it has a "stowed" configuration...

IMG_20190910_174722.thumb.jpg.eab6d226a6b5311f9f497a1f39bd05c7.jpg

Which is far more out the way and is easy enough to step over.  I need to find a couple of suitable rubber bungs to stick on the end of the uprights so I don't take my eye out the first time I trip over the dog in the back.

...Plus a "deployed" configuration for when we have the dog(s) on board.

IMG_20190910_174825.thumb.jpg.ab2a67ff0099c445122ad324407075dd.jpg

While this wouldn't do it for many dogs (it would take a Spaniel about 3.2 nanoseconds to gain access to the cab!) ours both behave when travelling, so it's more than up to the job.

The uprights may well get trimmed down to size a little now it's fixed in place - the nearside one anyway - the offside one usually has the stock of bags for me to forget to take into the shop with me whenever I go shopping hanging from it so is actually quite useful.

IMG_20190910_175218.thumb.jpg.6c37fac0442c12e6a1aca2be34441ee9.jpg

Will be handy to help prevent the ongoing problem we have of pillows disappearing into the cab from the bed too, which I've found to be a recurring issue for me.

I'd like to switch to a sliding gate arrangement at some point, though I'm not sure if I'll ever get enough time to sufficiently engineer that...especially as it would need to be rattle free given my hate of all things which rattle!  Haven't been able to go for a test run today, but it doesn't buzz due to the engine vibration at idle, so is already an improvement on the original arrangement.  Obviously a coat of paint wouldn't go amiss either...

Glad to have achieved at least something this afternoon!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

given my hate of all things which rattle! 

and yet you own an invacar :mrgreen:

happy to see the engine mounts showed up :)

I do wonder how the ones in REV are, and how the 2 spares we have are given what you said and how bad your old spares where (although are the engine and gearbox mounts the same? I have in my spare parts lists 2 "Rubber engine mounts" )

(tho as mentioned iv not noticed anything untoward with REV in the regard of launch aside from the bogging down when launching if you try and go WOT but I dont think thats a gearbox mount issue!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The engine mount is the big chunky beast immediately rearward of the crankshaft pulley.

IMG_20180701_212639.thumb.jpg.3a95cd26459e116be358fb7c2102e371.jpg

The mount is just the rubber block and a metal plate under it (it's essentially a bigger version of the ones I mentioned arrived today), the retaining bracket it bolts into is just how it's attached to the chassis.  I had to transfer that over because *someone* took an angle grinder to the one in TPA when removing the original engine...

Goodness only knows what they sourced that out of.  The engine sits resting directly down on that, so it lives a relatively easy life.  The one on KPL was serviceable, the only reason it had to be changed was that I couldn't get the bolt out of it when I needed to get the engine out and would up destroying it while trying.

Unusually the only other places the drivetrain is supported is at the end of the outriggers from the front of the gearbox.

You can see one in the foreground here (having already lost the outer plate).

IMG_20180703_174136.thumb.jpg.78db2b4be5249f21c6f8d060fc4ef6eb.jpg

These fell to bits on KPL when I tried to remove them, but due to the rear wheel tubs being missing they had been essentially open to the elements for a couple of decades.  UV alone can destroy quite a few types of rubber over that sort of time.

Unless they're visibly sagging or you get obvious symptoms like judder when moving off or excessive shunt when coming on/off the power when underway (a bit is inevitable with this type of drive due to the tensioned side of the belt swapping under this situation) I'd not worry too much about them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

very interesting :) so if I am reading/looking at things correctly

the entire drive train is only mounted by 3 points 1 on the engine which then bolts to the gearbox which is supported by 2 more mounts?

I wonder if the mounts we have in the spare parts stash are engine mounts like you show or are gearbox mounts, ill have to check :) (although also listed in the spare parts list is 2 "engine mounting brackets" so im inclined to think they are engine mounts rather then gearbox mounts)

 

its interesting to see that one of KPLs "original" pulleys was painted red, I noticed one of the pulleys on Dolly (OPH868R) was also painted red :) 

 

image.thumb.png.8d333009cda934b0a38bba1b970beee2.png

 

(while the left pulley has remained consistent in all the pictures i have I think, I have noticed a couple different styles of right pulley, it would be interesting to know why the difference etc)

 

for comparisons heres REV451Rs pulleys :) 

 

image.thumb.png.5a5e72ddcf66edb7487ce14744afa60e.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep. It relies on the engine and box being rigidly bolted together, just attached to the car at three points.

The "engine mounting bracket" could be even more complicated if you want to go by vague descriptions...the bracket between the gearbox mount and the box itself is just bolted on...as is the bracket on the bodywork that the main engine mounting block bolts to...

*Ducks to evade the inevitable hail of things being thrown in his direction*

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I dare poke my nose in now my angle grinder technique has been picked up on...

With the headlamps, could you not order new units and just swap the lenses over? Think that's what I did on my old W123 in the end.

I do now have a source of pulleys, belts and other Invacar spares. No idea of condition, but I can see they might well be useful for the Autoshite Invacar Massive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, dollywobbler said:

I do now have a source of pulleys, belts and other Invacar spares. No idea of condition, but I can see they might well be useful for the Autoshite Invacar Massive.

Ooohh a spares stash is always nice! I look forward to seeing whats in there!  :) (esp if it has pulleys as those seem to be in demand somewhat, so am happy we got a NOS set with Dolly/REV, although they are currently fitted to TPA :) )

Autoshite Invacar Massive... thats the AIM of the game! :mrgreen:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, dollywobbler said:

If I dare poke my nose in now my angle grinder technique has been picked up on...

With the headlamps, could you not order new units and just swap the lenses over? Think that's what I did on my old W123 in the end.

I do now have a source of pulleys, belts and other Invacar spares. No idea of condition, but I can see they might well be useful for the Autoshite Invacar Massive.

No ill will meant at all regarding the angle grinder DW, I'd have done exactly the same were the roles reversed!

Regarding headlights, I'm going to do a bit of experiment.  I still have the original N/S headlight that was on the van when I got it, it was replaced as the reflector is absolutely knackered.  I will try swapping the lens on that over to the unit that's currently in the N/S headlight and see if that improves things.  Depends really if the quality control issue with the Depo one is in the lens, the reflector or a combination of the two.

Getting replacements seems to be a classic case of market demand issues.  T1 vans are pretty much extinct in the UK now, and as such there's very little demand for RHD headlights.  LHD ones are easy to find, but RHD not so much.  Merc can get them...for £380 plus the VAT...Don't think we'll be doing that.  Haven't discounted the idea of modifying an LHD light...though the question really is whether there are differences in the reflector?  Lens obviously I can swap over...the tricky bit would likely be adjusting the lampholder (and possibly the shield) as that will need to rotate somewhat if my understanding is right.  Obviously I would need to do more research and study the units more closely prior to attempting this.

 

Always good to hear of a source of Invacar spares, especially if they've been stored reasonably well - that was the downside with the stash I got with KPL, sadly most of it had been so poorly stored that I wound up binning a lot of stuff as it was just rusted beyond recognition due to poor storage.  Definitely think that a winter project for me HAS to be getting my garage in order.  I know that storage over where Dolly and REV are living isn't infinite, so being able to offer some space to assist there would be nice.  Especially as I actually HAVE a decent amount of room I think if I just got it in order.  Just such a disaster area at the moment means that there's stupid amounts of space wasted.  I'd also like to actually be able to you know...use the engine analyser again at some point.  You can barely even see it at the moment.

Lots and lots of shelving and some time would go a long, long way to bringing some order to the madness.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another afternoon primarily spent in the garden, just had time for one little tinkering session before shutting up shop for the day.

Figured I would see if I could make one good headlight out of one knackered old one and one decidedly mediocre modern replacement.

The original N/S light unit was still sitting in its box in the scrap pile, because I've not cleared that stack out in ages.

IMG_20190911_162922.thumb.jpg.e971e99fb1824652770edd2d8c73b737.jpg

Pulling the lens reveals that the reflector is indeed knackered as I'd suspected.  This really didn't provide any useful beam at all despite still having at least something of a shine to most of the surface.

IMG_20190911_163401.thumb.jpg.be276eb649cf6f25c82b2661bf03461a.jpg

The bung that the wiring harness is supposed to pass through on the way into the headlight had been dislodged on this light, so I suspect water ingress through there is the main reason this is in such a poor state compared to the other one.

Ten minutes of cleaning later had the lens looking nice and clean, like new you could even say...goes to show how durable glass actually is I guess.

IMG_20190911_164200.thumb.jpg.5ab856af412de13061b4d63977aab82f.jpg

Comparing it side by side with the Depo one, the features in the Hella one look far better defined.  Everything looks a bit "soft" on the other one.

Original Hella one is on the right in the image below.  What you can't tell from the images is that the Hella lens is nearly twice the weight of the Depo one.

IMG_20190911_164619.thumb.jpg.23b30e405aa01292f229d60baa861fcc.jpg

The seal fitted to the Depo light was just a generic foam strip as well rather than a properly contoured seal, so that was reused from the original light.

Despite the glass being a good bit thicker, everything fitted together just fine.  The fact that the lights now visually match again satisfies my OCD tendencies.

IMG_20190911_165854.thumb.jpg.92cca9a3eaeba5a1f98a4d659803ee6c.jpg

Glad to report that aside from looking better, the beam quality is vastly improved.  Bit hard to see here in daylight, but hopefully you can see that they are much more evenly matched now.

A *little* difference is still to be expected I think as the lamps aren't matched - the offside one is a Halfords own branded R2-H4 upgrade, while the nearside is an ancient Osram H4.

IMG_20190911_165923.thumb.jpg.838e9fd0254555a5c96de1340b8d5d06.jpg

Might try to get a better photo once it's dark just for comparative purposes.

Beam image is clearly far better defined now though.

IMG_20190911_165943.thumb.jpg.c32fab620c1905b041dbcafaa3db29cc.jpg

This image obviously is flipped the other way up by the time it gets to the road due to the wonders of optics (the downward kink to the left of the image is what actually forms the kick up to the left of the beam on the road).

For comparative purposes (and because the photo I got yesterday was poor because I was too close), here's the offside one.  They're pretty well matched now.

IMG_20190911_165952.thumb.jpg.1f586e213e11b87611415c26eafd70d9.jpg

So hats off to @dollywobbler for the suggestion of making one headlight out of the two...It was definitely worth swapping the better lens over, seemed blindingly obvious once it was suggested but the idea hadn't occurred to me until it was mentioned.  Having had a closer look, it would be quite a bit tricker to convert an LHD one as the lamp is indeed rotated slightly - so I'd need to detatch that assembly from the back of the reflector without damaging it and get it properly aligned.  When there's a company who can restore a unit for £70 a side (at least it was a couple of years ago) it doesn't really seem worth going to that degree of faff when you're still going to be looking at £30-50 for the headlight anyway and then still needing to do all that messing about...Based on my prior attempts to detach things from reflectors, probably breaking the thing anyway...Reckon if I don't stumble across another O/S headlamp at the right price I'll just get it refurbished if it gets worse to the extent of being an issue.  It's not as though I do a huge amount of night driving these days anyway.  Thankfully, given I'm in the Xantia more often than not and while that car has many great qualities, decent headlights are not among them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today has been a bit of a disaster...eventually said "screw it" and decided to retreat to the garage.

Been a while since I've done any real cleaning/valet type stuff...van has no shortage of targets.

The run marks here by the high level tail lights are impervious to normal washing materials, TFR and so far elbow grease.

IMG_20190913_181007.thumb.jpg.fde0c2f55a7e4338973708d04c2e3328.jpg

One thing I'd not until this point hit it with was cutting compound and the power polisher.

IMG_20190913_181843.thumb.jpg.ac3d36fa35ff61d124f421d33b9a8994.jpg

That's helped!

Other side was similarly grubby.

IMG_20190913_182046.thumb.jpg.ec81746624c10531617b33c4d8f652e4.jpg

The whole thing is matt as well, so it needs going over anyhow.  Makes you realise how much bigger than a car it is...though it should come up pretty well eventually.

IMG_20190913_184613.thumb.jpg.dfecab2e11d3186c2aabe869264f6faf.jpg

Of course I had the obligatory "first time using this polisher" moment where I cut all the way through the paint.

The top surface of the rear bumper has a lot of staining on it from where someone had taped something to it, the polisher I was glad to see made short work of that.

IMG_20190913_181837.thumb.jpg.911cc11d482abe81ae407c567b53a6da.jpg

Digging that sealant out and reapplying it in a vaguely tidy way is high on the to do list.

I just need to start at one corner and go over the whole thing with the polisher...including the roof ideally if I can figure out how the fluff to get to the middle of it without falling through it.

Aside from the obviously rusty front apron, the worst bit of the cab was the sandpaper like texture of the bonnet.  I'd done a bit of that by hand originally so knew it would come up well...heck of a lot quicker with mechanical help!

IMG_20190913_191426.thumb.jpg.91a0a6fe36d00a4f29db6e3b3887e74f.jpg

I need to stop procrastinating about it and just buy a new bonnet.  The vinyl graphics are basically holding the offside corner together.  Yes it's £150 (at a guess £300 delivered, painted and with the graphics remade) but hopefully shouldn't need to be touched again... especially as I'll obviously rustproof the snot out of it before fitting.  If going down that road I should probably just do the apron at the same time... imagine that would do a massive amount towards tidying it up though... likewise trying to sort the ridiculous panel gaps...the bonnet was obviously refitted by a blind monkey at some point...

The thought occurs as well that if I painted the whole windscreen scuttle with the same colour of white it would help make the rust look rather less obvious...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think I'll.ever complain that reviving weathered paint on a car is tedious and time consuming ever again.  Reckon we're about 1/3 done now

Back is looking almost presentable now.

IMG_20190914_140633.thumb.jpg.d1059caf29ce0154a480cfacf8f4b32f.jpg

IMG_20190914_154201.thumb.jpg.16a0ad835e1184650ace0c5a404b0959.jpg

The rear window was covered in a lot of very fine scratches before which gave it a cloudy appearance.  Glad to report that it revived to an as new finish without any headaches.

IMG_20190914_145456.thumb.jpg.997ffa3673a4737c8c39ddaceed9d0f2.jpg

Calling the back done for now.  This isn't a final job, I'm just wanting to get to a presentable finish...need to get the spare wheel off and the tall ladder out to properly reach the top and the middle of the bumper.

Definitely need to get all the beading off here and re-seal under it.  I'm just going to work on the assumption that they all need doing as that way I'm far more likely to have a water tight van afterwards.  Especially as bathroom sealer seems to have been the material of choice for the most recent round of repairs by the previous previous keeper.

Speaking of the roof...yeah... it's been a few years since this was clean.

IMG_20190914_151457.thumb.jpg.3881242034bf6c6c7a2a8a6f82a436d6.jpg

That front roof light will be getting changed soon.  That one does leak very slightly under really heavy rain... probably just needs a new head of sealant around it, but as the frame inside is cracked in a couple of places it just makes sense to change it I reckon.  Sadly I suspect finding one in anything other than white seems unlikely these days...

Moving on to the offside...yep, it's as bad as anywhere else.

IMG_20190914_182315.thumb.jpg.24c9315d23fce4738d3bfe5cbf1b749b.jpg

You should be able to see my reflection here...

IMG_20190914_182318.thumb.jpg.7ce883b13f1fcfc25e88086649b04ed2.jpg

Yep...can definitely see where I got to!

IMG_20190914_190848.thumb.jpg.0afe3c8b1618530a5c7a577c31e418fc.jpg

IMG_20190914_191429.thumb.jpg.6094c5e63ea72a6fc0c345014d39c508.jpg

This was probably a couple of hours work - albeit feeling like far more because I kept getting interrupted.

Once this is done the next step will be to basically drown the thing in wax to protect the paint as best as I can.

Doubt I'll have a chance to get to the museum tomorrow as I have just too many things to get done...might be lucky though, stranger things have happened.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if the stud had previously been heated to loosen a stuck nut? Red hot would destroy the heat treatment it would have had initially.

It may be an illusion, but have you checked the headlamp voltage on the van? They look a little on the yellow side. And as you probably know, it's quite a steep exponential curve of output versus voltage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, mat_the_cat said:

It may be an illusion, but have you checked the headlamp voltage on the van? They look a little on the yellow side. And as you probably know, it's quite a steep exponential curve of output versus voltage.

Should have mentioned it - the engine wasn't running when those photos were taken, so yes they'd be a bit on the dim side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is definitely being one of those weeks.  Blarg.  Nothing important or relevant on here, just life being annoying.

I really need to give the poor Activa some attention this week...I know I've been saying that for months now, but it really is getting urgent.

Tyres.  These have had it.

IMG_20190913_161301.thumb.jpg.f88712ae99e455ecaa60ad7d6faedf23.jpg

This is actually the better of the front two.  I'm hoping that this will put a stop to the tendency the car has developed in the last couple of weeks to pull to the right under hard acceleration. 

There's also the exhaust which needs replacing...the slightly rorty exhaust note I can live with for now...the rattle however is going to drive me mad.

Figuring out what the fluff what if clonking up front...had assumed nearside lower ball joint...but changing that made no difference, and it wasn't something MOT worthy apparently.  Really hoping not the lower Activa ram bush as those are a pig to find... pretty sure a lot of the car needs to come apart to get at it too.

Need to do something about the paint.  The clear coat peel is getting utterly ridiculous now.  Exhibit A: Offside front wing.

IMG_20190918_173942.thumb.jpg.a5aa6f5d0c781735856c5978c90cb2af.jpg

The radiator grill and front bumper are now 80% clear coat free.  Bonnet would probably be just as bad if it hadn't previously been resprayed.  There are a lot of sweep marks there though.  Exhibit B:

IMG_20190918_173957.thumb.jpg.df9895779c917c334d8178b8d9b24dad.jpg

Historically I'd tended to try to be gentle with the paint to try to avoid blowing any more of the clear coat off...think it's got to the stage now I can forget about that as it's just so patchy now.  The areas where it's failing have turned distinctly orange too rather than red which is just making it worse.

Interesting to see that if you hit the layer beneath the clearcoat with cutting compound, it actually polishes up reasonably well and the right colour.

IMG_20190918_174916.thumb.jpg.9087667515b1c9845cf1a839d794bd60.jpg

So I think I may well just attack the thing with the pressure washer and then the polisher... I'm hardly going to make it worse!

Have now mostly finished the cutting phase on the first side of the van.

The new foam heads I got for the polisher work way better than the one which came with the polisher, especially on the troublesome blue dimpled bits.

IMG_20190918_182850.thumb.jpg.19951396d0c138d28d4947160b68cb99.jpg

IMG_20190918_182407.thumb.jpg.46149679f38947104c90d7cd83225836.jpg

Clouding was cleaned from the windows easily.

IMG_20190918_182508.thumb.jpg.09de43e94b105bc12624786dd4b5ef86.jpg

It didn't threaten to remove the graphics like the original mop was doing either.

IMG_20190918_182515.thumb.jpg.160a9d5e319b9622de40ca732d94b549.jpg

 

Realised that there weren't actually any photos showing TPA with the new plates on in daylight...so here's one from this afternoon.

IMG_20190918_173857.thumb.jpg.4c24ebd7d1587b04221a4f1b862517c0.jpg

With a bit of luck hopefully I'll be able to eventually get a photo of them on the car outside...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't sleep...so here's what I managed to get done yesterday evening.

With the odd torque-steer like symptoms in the Activa having become really quite annoying (and noticeably worse on a damp road) I finally got around to swapping the tyres around (after playing musical jacks and transferring TPA to the axle stands).

Some of you may remember me fuming at one point last year when the council decided to resurface several of the roads round here right in the peak of summer when the surface temperature was massively too high for the materials they were using unless they were to actually close the road until it set.  No signage up either...so the first you knew was then you suddenly found yourself sliding across gravelly treacle.  Yeah... I'm still finding lumps of it.

IMG_20190919_170839.thumb.jpg.f75c64b9d03a49f47ab88efac7c2b184.jpg

That's not just pebbles in there - it's a solid block of tarmac.

Might be time to get a new clip lined up for that fuel tank filler neck hose.

Having looked closer the rear tyres are definitely going to need changing too...plenty of tread left on them and one looks just fine...the other though not so much.

IMG_20190919_162556.thumb.jpg.fd3288d035eb8cd04412f55c6c0fd053.jpg

IMG_20190919_162602.thumb.jpg.ad73706e0b0608b21ae06751d2afb7b4.jpg

They're only fit for scrap.  Will need to get it booked in for those to be changed this week.

While unrelated to any current issues I did spot one fault while I had the wheels off in the form of a split outer CV boot on the nearside.  That's something else for the list.

For those who are curious, with the nearside front wheel removed you can see the bit which does half the Activa magic over and above the system on a normal Xantia.

IMG_20190919_164409.thumb.jpg.d9e891ac2cba3f2a501204dcc582fc80.jpg

The thing you're looking for is the small hydraulic ram connected between the bottom of the suspension  and the anti-roll-bar.  There's one tied into the rear suspension on the opposite corner, and it's by pushing and pulling with those two rams (they are double acting I believe so do both pull and push) that the car effectively eliminates all body roll.

Don't worry that the handbrake cable looks tight - it is a bit with the suspension set to service high (which should always be done before jacking the car up), but is perfectly fine at normal ride height.

Having swapped the tyres around so the ones with decent tread at least we're on the front we went out for a test run...odd pulling to one side feeling still present, totally unchanged.  Balls.

Asking the question over on another forum brought about a pretty immediate response that this is likely to be down to worn front and/or lower control arm bushes.  Depending on how much things need to be dismantled to get those changed I may well just get all of the bushes on the control arms changed in one hit as it will save me money in the long run only having to strip things down once.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not been a massive amount going on lately.  Real life has been doing a great job of getting in the way.

The Invacar is still waiting on me sourcing new wheel studs - which is waiting on me actually getting the example sent over to the fabricators for them to look at.  The thing has been sitting in a Jiffy bag on the table for a week waiting for me to post it.

Lada is still waiting for me to get an MOT for it.  Needs a brake caliper and exhaust...I just need to summon the activation energy to sort it.  In the meantime it's parked under the tree waiting for me to do something about it.

Xantia is still plodding along but will be getting booked in for some not insignificant work shortly to get a lot of the front end rebushed (the instruction will basically be "if it's even vaguely worn, replace it while everything is in bits").  Then a fresh set of tyres, a new exhaust will see it MOT ready hopefully - then a fresh set of spheres will be next on the list.

Van is going okay (don't let it hear me say that).  Have finally got around to getting the dashcam fitted - it's been sitting there for weeks.  Not doing any good on a shelf.

Pretty well hidden away behind the rear view mirror...which was high on my list as I have having stuff like this sticking out like a sore thumb.

IMG_20190925_143758.thumb.jpg.ab55edd6d7efec9001ae5438f4645931.jpg

IMG_20190925_143814.thumb.jpg.a5661556d7e9a06740f917cdd3451efe.jpg

Can't see it from the driver's seat at least.

IMG_20190925_143833.thumb.jpg.608f25e3830e6565870308d9fd46781e.jpg

Wiring routing was a pain because everything is so solidly attached...dropping the headlining 1/8" to tuck the wire in required both sun visors, the rear view mirror, the passenger grab handle, both door seals and the blanking caps where the grab handle on the driver's side would be.  Over engineering can be a pain sometimes!

This had been bugging me...

IMG_20190926_145203.thumb.jpg.416a7ec622efaa536aae509013e94552.jpg

It was completely redundant given the security system was overhauled a while ago but was left there because removing it would have left three holes in the top of the dash...and it's in a really obvious location.

I wanted rid of it though on account of it screaming "hey look, a late 80s security system!"

So pulled it off and replaced it with something which performs at least a vaguely useful function yet doesn't look out of place in terms of time period.

IMG_20190926_181153.thumb.jpg.d76e0a9981b97210a22d45a96f10474c.jpg

IMG_20190926_181205.thumb.jpg.cb21ca02c606d2bcbdaecea9d925d0aa.jpg

Yes... it's tacky, but it's better than a hole in the dash.  Yes the dash really is that filthy... didn't realise until how badly it needed a clean until I took that photo...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the biggest things which made the van look highly shabby was the paintwork on the nearside.

It had a lot of fun like effects on the blue dimpled sections and a lot of staining on the white section below the waist level rubbing strip.

IMG_20191005_174405.thumb.jpg.a226ec07acb5c699ad09be6d71be3a78.jpg

Especially up close it looks horrible.

IMG_20191005_174410.thumb.jpg.e30c26b931c7abf633061d5a072dc852.jpg

I had attacked this area with some polish by hand before and found this to have precisely zero impact on it.  This evening I decided to hit it with some proper cutting compound and the power polisher to see if that would be more effective.

IMG_20191005_183531.thumb.jpg.415e460e960286a3a0b1db469bd76ea8.jpg

Yep... that's an improvement.

Haven't done the white bit in front of the door yet as I was rapidly running out of daylight...but even so reckon I must have taken ten years off it visually in half an hour this evening.  Need to either paint or replace the grab handle by the door too...

There are still a few "runs" visible in the blue section but vastly reduced, so reckon I may give that a last going over before throwing polish and liberal quantities of wax at it.  Reckon this is the result of someone hitting it with TFR in the past.

Weather forecast for tomorrow is dismal so unlikely to get much done...will just have to see I guess.  Though I could technically do some of this under the awning I suppose...

 

As an additional aside, rather than clutter up this thread with another hundred or so images, if anyone wants to have a look at the photos I took during the BMC Autumn Rally at the MK Museum last weekend, they can be viewed over on my ImgBB album for the event over here: https://ibb.co/album/hRet6F

Edited by Zelandeth
Added photo album for BMC Event
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing which was obvious yesterday was that this corner was looking rather ratty because of the sealant between the side of the van and the bumper had disintegrated.  This has been letting water get in behind there too which can't be a good thing.

IMG_20191006_154136.thumb.jpg.e789f34d42efdff99308058c730cc816.jpg

Bit of fresh sealant has improved things - though it didn't go on quite as tidily as I'd hoped.

IMG_20191006_181403.thumb.jpg.ff143ff096b3d3fb025d1d154e09903a.jpg

The bumper needs painting anyway so will need to come off at some point anyhow.  As such I'm not worrying too much about it for now...keeping the weather out has priority.

 

Biggest issue I've been noticing in the last couple of week is a downright horrific squeaky rattle in the cab coming from the passenger door.  This was rapidly driving me insane.  The window winder on that door has never worked in my ownership of the van, though the window could be manually slid down by a couple of inches.  So a suction cup had been employed to stop it from dropping open.  I was pretty sure that the rattle and the dodgy window were most likely connected.

The moment I started stripping things down I immediately became suspicious.  The screws holding the door handle on were cross threaded and this was found wedging the captive nut in place...

IMG_20191006_161134.thumb.jpg.890556a09280e8aa427b3c5e8568ea5e.jpg

Yes, that's a self tapper held in place with blu-tac.  This suggested to me that I was very likely to find that Billy the Bodger had been messing around in my door.

Yeah...I wasn't quite braced for what greeted me when the door card was removed.

IMG_20191006_161533.thumb.jpg.541e288d4dcd3437d5f681cd84cc66c2.jpg

IMG_20191006_162303.thumb.jpg.47f2d776d460ff24bdc888bd7c6c842c.jpg

Okay...that linkage should be straight.  It's a good 2mm thick, so must have taken some serious effort to bend!  This was wedged around the wrong side of the window runner and jammed against the base of the door, presumably to keep the window up.  Cue a bit of investigation to try to figure out what on earth was going on.

This appears to be the root cause of the trouble.

IMG_20191006_171115.thumb.jpg.46b1d63a0d52329458d758217ff2bf53.jpg

IMG_20191006_171123.thumb.jpg.0c1a59bc0862c5617856338159ddc1b8.jpg

This fits through the whole assembly, with the coil spring slotted into the back of it.  Now I need to track down a diagram to ascertain whether something has broken off this or whether there's meant to be an external clip to hold everything together.  It looks like there may originally been something involved with a square section involved.

Before I could do anything though I needed to try to get the linkage back into something vaguely resembling the right shape.

I've no idea how they bent it like that...but getting it back involved getting it cherry red with the MAPP torch and battering it with a 4lb lump hammer.

IMG_20191006_164035.thumb.jpg.cc7a180f19fd5bb440a2f6235b76167b.jpg

Better.  Though they've managed to bend it in this axes too.

IMG_20191006_164032.thumb.jpg.315df953d9ed9366b2903367ef3209bd.jpg

Don't think this will stop anything from working though.

IMG_20191006_164019.thumb.jpg.efb5533fa8129677f8940b2830565e6b.jpg

This allowed me to reassemble things to prove that everything was there fundamentally - I stuck a bolt temporarily in the place of the aforementioned fastener just to hold everything together for testing purposes.

IMG_20191006_171049.thumb.jpg.bacde80ad5940eb9e4a78625970d0613.jpg

Well that looks a bit healthier doesn't it?  You can see the scratches by the bottom of the window runner showing where the lifting quadrant used to be.  The cable ties are locking things in place just now as the bolt through the middle allows a bit of movement so the winder doesn't reliably stay meshed with the teeth on the quadrant.  As stated though this was purely a test.

I think once I've sorted that "thing" in the middle this should be back in action.  The teeth on both the winder and the lifting quadrant look perfect, the runners all seem fine etc.  Just need to figure out what bits are missing and replace them.

While I had the door apart I took the opportunity to make sure the drainage channels were clear in the bottom of the door and vacuumed thirty years worth of detritus out of the bottom of the door.  The paint is flaking off quite badly in several areas, so it will shortly be getting drowned in rust convertor and cavity wax.

Reassembly required a little remedial work too as I'd mentioned earlier, the screws holding the grab handle on were utterly cross threaded and good for nothing but scrap.

Luckily the ones on the driver's door were fine so I was able to confirm the screws were standard M6 items.  The nuts in the door responded fine to being chased out with a tap.

IMG_20191006_172233.thumb.jpg.41e6ee8df00038c1055cfa66034d69ee.jpg

Suitable replacement screws were sourced from the drawer of random fasteners and the door put back together.

IMG_20191006_175844.thumb.jpg.576d8eb0e08730c0a25fb86cd40fba37.jpg

The suction cup previously holding the window up can go now...it was mainly being used to ensure the glass didn't drop on my head while I was working inside the door.

While I've not had a chance to take it out yet, it doesn't rattle at idle any more and now clonks shut rather than clatters shut...so hopefully will be quieter on the move.  I do need to look at adding some sound deadening in the doors though as they do drum something rotten...I get the impression some Dynamat (or similar) could knock a huge percentage off the noise levels in the cab.  Replacing some of that which has been removed from the bulkhead and floor when welding has been done in the past probably wouldn't go amiss either.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, I've taken a few evenings to catch up with this, what a great thread, loads of variety in there, although I'm sure you could do without some of it!

I think you're doing all of your fleet justice but particularly the camper, one's off that era still on the road seem to go year after year without even a wash, let alone the attention you're giving yours, it looks great for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

very nice repair work :) (the bent mechanism reminds me of the one @richardthestag had to deal with here) 

as for that unknown bit, would it be worth it to take apart/peek inside the other door and see whats what there? :) 

 

BTW I was wondering the other day have you taken both fluffy beasts out at the same time for a walk in the sinclair C5 and set a new C5 land speed record yet? :mrgreen:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Star hasn't got close to being chill enough to be subjected to being close to the C5 when in motion yet.  She's having to unlearn a couple of years of neglect and maltreatment so it's going to be a while until we get to being able to mess around with stuff like that - if in fact it's ever possible.  She's generally a lot happier than she was though.  She's officially no longer bothered by travelling in the van which is nice.

IMG_20190921_155331.thumb.jpg.b8a18a4dab9a53ada53ae97b72d50fda.jpg

At home her tendency to use improbable objects (such as walls) as a pillow when napping never ceases to provide amusement.

IMG_20191004_161517.thumb.jpg.846fcdaa7c6176990116047615092c11.jpg

She's sound asleep there.

Granted, the other idiot also tends to look ridiculous when relaxed.  His motto is that life is always better upside down.

IMG_20191003_174757.thumb.jpg.34df5fcca771a532ed26505cc7ecb8c7.jpg

Hoping that the mystery component in the window mech won't be too hard to track down.  The parts lookup system Merc have has really clear diagrams so hopefully they'll be able to confirm for me what it looks like and part numbers. Hopefully they'll also be able to order any bits needed, though we'll have to wait and see how that goes given the experience last time with their refusal to order "commercial" parts...

I did poke the internet yesterday evening to see if I could find a diagram sadly to no avail...so will try the dealer next.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The sodding squeak isn't the door... it's the bloody passenger seat.

 

VID_20191007_160304.mp4

 

 

 

The door was rattling like there was no tomorrow and the bodgery revealed needed sorting anyway so it's no loss...but I still found it necessary to say some unprintable things when I pulled out the driveway and the squeak reappeared!

 

The passenger door I'm glad to report is no longer rattling which has made life in the cab quieter...and made the aforementioned squeak more obvious.  I'll need to have a look to see where in the seat it's actually coming from tomorrow and work out how to silence it...as that will drive me round the twist in short order!

 

Glad to report that the parts guy at Mercedes was quite happy to deal with me today...so not sure if things have changed since last time or he just agreed with my comment that Intercounty are as much use as a chocolate teapot. 

 

They had the diagrams I needed up in seconds and gave me a printout.

 

IMG_20191007_181512.thumb.jpg.40f8838cae2e18cbf71821aaac510a5e.jpg

 

The actual lifter assembly isn't meant to come apart.  That pin through the middle shouldn't come out, the top of it has sheared off we reckon.  There should also be a cover on the back over the spring which is totally absent on mine.  Unfortunately as it's not meant to be separated means it's not available as a part.  At least now I know that, so there's no point in me looking for one!  Time to see if I can repair or improvise something.

 

The whole winder assembly is £81 including VAT, so I'm not going to waste too much time on it.

 

IMG_20191007_181535.thumb.jpg.7a7f7933e70a0360326ca801b2135a8f.jpg

 

If I can't come up with a solution reasonably quickly I'll just get them to order a new one in.  Especially bearing in mind that the lifting arm on mine is still somewhat bent and I'm uncertain if that's likely to affect operation.  They've confirmed they can get a replacement for the winder handle too as that's been cracked by whoever last had the door apart. 

 

...that being a baboon on a sugar rush being my best guess given the mess they'd made!

 

Shame it's not a £3 clip that's missing, but at least we know that I can just order a new lifter if needed and know it will just slot straight in if it comes to that.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Happy to hear that the MB dealer is dealing with you once more :) 

is it the same person that previously said they can no longer do "commercial" vehicles or was that someone else? 

I wonder if it was the latter if that person just did not know what they where on about, and today you just managed to get ahold of someone who knows what they are on about!

but on that note while they are willing to deal with you I wonder if it might be worth stocking up on some bits just incase you get cut off again?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...