Further SVM non-Volvo shennanigans. SPONSORED BY LUCAS CAV

[davidfowler2000]

The Rest of Day 5 and Day 6

Last thing on day 5 it went for a MoT. Failed on loose headlight lens so that had to be glued / sealed back together

We did start to make plans for a very last minute retest that evening but we thought it would be a bit close and it would probably be wiser to let the sealant cure overnight. Next day (today) Craig picked me up from the house and took me down to Maybole. We snipped the cable ties off and shoved it next door. Then waited 2 hours for it to be seen. A fail wasn't issued the previous day - it had been declared a pass barring the lens - so all it was was a smoke test and quick check of the headlight. Half an hour logged on the computer and a pass was issued.

A few last checks before heading up the road. Coolant top up, leak check, wheel torque. The STOP light on the dash was also showing with the red light at the top of the temperature dial. Engine not hot and the actual overheat light not lit. We found there's two senders on the thermostat housing - one feeds the dial, one feeds the red light and stop light. Unplugged that wire and the red light and STOP went out so probably a sticky switch inside as the engine hasn't been to temperature for years.

The drive home was just that - a drive home. The tyres are AS ROUGH AS ARSES having had flat spots for 15 years so the maximum speed had to be capped at 50mph to stop the vibrations. Nipped in to the Shell station at Kilmarnock and put 31L of V-Power in to it then headed out to the country roads homes to avoid the motorway.

Home achieved. Still jobs to do to make it nicer:

Tyres. Already booked in tomorrow morning.
A good clean inside and out.
Wiper arms painted and maybe new wipers.
Powder coat the wheels.
New thermostat and whatever is putting that red light on.
Fix the lighter socket. It wasn't broken. Just the particular construction of it made my phone charger bottom out before making contact. MODIFIED!

[Jim Bell]

Fantastic work man. From dragged out with locked wheels to MOT pass and drive home in less time than it takes to shake several lambs tails. 

Tyres should make it epic. 

[davidfowler2000]

Dragged out in January, MoT in August and sat through lockdown for about 4 months without being touched.

[big_al_granvia]

nice work guys, a wee pug saved to run again... splendid

[brownnova]

Great stuff!!! 

[davidfowler2000]

I was going to wait until I got the wheels blasted and powder coated to get new tyres but those old ones are just fucking lethal.

[beko1987]

Will the wheels not see winter through as they are, then make it a nice spring time job when the roads are cleaner? 

[davidfowler2000]

Of course they will see through but considering lockdown has delayed everything by about 5 months and I was planning to have EVERYTHING done by summer, it'll get done now and put away in the lockup nice and clean.

[davidfowler2000]

Cleaning...

Metallic paint is very metallic

[big_al_granvia]

rattle can the wheels for that 90's look, you have one well with the wee pug

[DSdriver]

Aunty will be asking for it back soon; evilgrin emoticon.

[davehedgehog31]

On 8/28/2020 at 2:24 PM, davidfowler2000 said:

A few last checks before heading up the road. Coolant top up, leak check, wheel torque. The STOP light on the dash was also showing with the red light at the top of the temperature dial. Engine not hot and the actual overheat light not lit. We found there's two senders on the thermostat housing - one feeds the dial, one feeds the red light and stop light. Unplugged that wire and the red light and STOP went out so probably a sticky switch inside as the engine hasn't been to temperature for years.

 

My 405 occasionally does this, flashes the stop light and the red warning light on the temperature gauge, despite. No relation to actual engine temperature or gauge position.

I've filed it under ignore.

[davidfowler2000]

Got the wheels booked in for blasting and powder coating in East Kilbride tomorrow. The place I'm taking it to is doing it for £35 a wheel if I bring them just the wheels or it would be £240 if I took the car so up to Cumbernauld today to get the wheels.

But first, a quick episode of Scotch Gear...

The Power Jack worked a treat lifting the car quickly and effortlessly. Space is at a premium in the lockup so trolley jacks are less than ideal and winding a handle on a scissor jack is not my idea of a good time.

I've got 6 wheels - 5 silver ones and a black one. One of the silver ones lived in the cradle under the car so it's in a very bad way but they'll all get blasted and powder coated apart from the black one. The 5 new tyres I got last weekend will go on the 5 silver rims and the black one will sit spare.

     

The one under the car is a Technic T2000.

  

A quick whizz down with the wire wheel to knock the worst off so they don't shed rust all over the 740

  

Temporary stance

       

[davidfowler2000]

Finally got time to fit the wheels back on today after getting them back from the powder coaters. I went for the sparkle silver as the car's own metallic paint has a lot of metal fleck in it...

     

     

However the super shininess of the wheels brought out how shite the wheel bolts were. Oh aye and I also highlighted the hub caps with a bit of silver paint. Will need to do a better job later...

Options for wheel bolts are:
1 - New chrome ones
2 - New black ones
3 - New bare metal ones
4 - Wire wheel the old ones.

Experimentation on a single wheel bolt with a wire wheel in the battery angle grinder...

     

I'll do more on the wire wheel and see how they turn out. I also picked up some new door plungers to control the interior light. Driver's side was completely fucked and they came as a pair so I just did both. Yes I know I need a new roll pin for the door stay.

[juular]

Fine work.

Have you considered a citric acid bath for the bolts? It's fairly effortless, cheap and really effective. Leave overnight, remove, dry and paint.

Big bags of citric acid powder can be had on eBay for very little, I think Wilko also sell it.

[davidfowler2000]

Could do I spose. I have a tub of Vactan but I don't want to discolour the metal. Will maybe see what the local hardware shop has in stock but if need be I'll just wire wheel and clear coat them, Ideally I'd use a bench grinder for that but... meh.

[big_al_granvia]

fucking top tip re the jacking, i can be a bit tight for space on the drive for the big jack's handle, use the mains ugga and it will be nae bother... @Flat4 see david's way of using a scissor jack

[Ghosty]

That's class, I really want to do the original steels on mine up like that, but I've only got three wheels and centre caps.  
Slightly anal, but your front numberplate is too high up... there's a plate recess in the bumper but it's too narrow for a standard plate for some reason so plates are just screwed over them. 
For mine I'm tempted to make up a piece of plastic to fit flush in the recess, bond it centred to the back of a plate then screw that into the recess.c

[davidfowler2000]

Right. So. The experiement on the single wheel bolt with the wire wheel was continued on the rest of them. Results seemed positive.

However there was a spot of rain one night and it caused a few spots of flash rusting...

  

I ordered up a tin of spray lacquer to attend to them but they were going to need stripped back again so I thought instead of grazing knuckles on the wire wheel on the grinder, I'd try the citric acid approach. It did work, even on the one bolt I never managed to get done because the battery on the grinder went flat. They still needed a very light rub down with said wire wheeel again once the acid got them back to bare metal...

     

Some other odd jobs -

Vactan the spare wheel cradle and cut off the old hanger bolt to replace with the new one. Find the wiring for the spot lights as I've got a new pair to go on and the wiring to the old ones has been cut for some reason.

     

So wheel bolts done and everything secure, time to take it it's first run out for fun...

Just south of Girvan...

     

Stranraer...

  

Mull of Galloway, southern most point in Scotland. Approx the same longitude as Hartlepool. Isle of Mann on the horizon in the first two shots, Workington and Whitehaven on the horizon in the third shot

        

Clatteringshaws Reservoir...

Somewhere in the Galloway Forest Park...

Wanlockhead, highest village in Scotland...

     

Also some bonus chod spot in Wanlockhead...

So... observations...

Comfy.
Nothing seems wrong.
Fast as fuck on twisty roads.
Need to be above an indicated 2250rpm to get decent boost.
While I suspect noticably faster on the twisties than a NASP one, I reckon the turbo is most useful in 5th above 55mph - motorway acceleration.
Sore shoulder from pedalling manual steering while changing gear all day.

[juular]

What a drive. Some proper Great Wee Roads there, as the late Iain Banks used to call them. The road past clatteringshaws is a favourite of mine at the moment.

 

[hairnet]

HOALIBOABS

 

[Lacquer Peel]

Beautiful car, beautiful scenes. I like the wee bits of resto you're doing. 

[davidfowler2000]

Pictures.
1000 words.
Etc.
"Spot" the difference

     

I also got a new* radio player for it. It was described as having an aux in but the connections on the back are a line out. Bugger. Still be nice to have a better tape deck. It also came with a free Richard Clayderman tape.

     

[BL Bloke]

Great to see the 205 out and about.

I'd like to get the wheels on my 205 blasted and powder coated as they do let the car down a bit. Alternatively I could throw some cheap trimz on it. 

[davidfowler2000]

I got those done for 35 quid a corner. Well worth it

[beko1987]

Looks spot on! 

[beko1987]

You get a set of shitty steels and put winter tyres on them, in the snow that would be a proper hoot! 

Add spotlights for added snow fun. Then fully reversible come spring! 

Just don't go near any salt... 

[Noel Tidybeard]

spot the difference-

the one on the left is not a lolvo

[M'coli]

I'm only just catching up with this thread, it's a damned good read! That's a tidy wee motor indeed, @davidfowler2000, beings back memories of my 205 TD Sceptre.  I'm a bit shocked however to see that yours has solid discs, because mine had vented discs (and power steering). 

[captain_70s]

Belter. You've turned this around most nicely.

Is it just me or is the front grille a bit bent at the bottom in the latter two pictures?