My new challenge - 1964 ID19F Safari

[badabec]

Hello, I did weld the two good halves together, so the upper tailgate is fine.
My old channel was held on by spot welds nearly every 3cm. As I had drilled them all out, the new channel is similarly plug welded.
I see yours end about 3cm from the curved outer skin. What goes in that gap?

 

[bleudanube]

I see yours end about 3cm from the curved outer skin. What goes in that gap?

Might be the angle of the photo - the end of the channel is about 1.5cm off the ends. I replaced like for like. That’s where the original channel ended... so am assuming the seal will just end there or stick out another cm or so to touch the edge...

 

[bleudanube]

After tidying up the welds of the lower tail gate and the application of a bit of filler, the lid now looks very flat and neat. I am glad I repaired it.

I also finished the seam sealing of the chassis and the upper tail gate, so the whole lot can go to the painter soon.

Time for something new, am a bit over panel work... so I started with the rear swing arms. Will be good to get them out of the way. They are heavy and always seem to be in the way lying on the floor, rolling around...

They bearing appeared to be quite seized, but after pulling it all apart all was in good condition. Plenty of grease in it, bearings fine and brake shoes also still with plenty of meat - all can be reused.

A few hours of degreasing, cleaning, wire brushing and rust treatment the parts are now ready for painting and reassembly.

Even the brake cylinders seem ok, despite having sat with LHS2 for years. Of course the O-rings will need changing, but that seems to be it. Pistons, dust caps and bores look surprisingly ok.

One question I am now mulling over it what colour to paint the hydraulic parts. On a 64 car they should all be black... but if I change to LHM, should I also change the parts’ colours to green? Or run a stealth Safari - black hydraulics with green fluid...!?

 

[badabec]

Hello, when I started seam sealing, I bought one litre of U-Pol grey stripe thinking it would be enough. I've halfway through the second tin.
Any seam, I seal it. I went around the floor panels inside sealing up against the sills, the seat support box, everywhere. I did the tops of the sills as well.

 

[bleudanube]

Not sure whether I am the only one who can now see all my photos again... assuming the wizard administrators in the back of the website made some adjustments? Thanks for that, much better for everyone to see.

 

[Budge]

Not sure whether I am the only one who can now see all my photos again... assuming the wizard administrators in the back of the website made some adjustments? Thanks for that, much better for everyone to see.

I'm seeing all your photos now too. And great there are.

 

[Budge]

Not sure whether I am the only one who can now see all my photos again... assuming the wizard administrators in the back of the website made some adjustments? Thanks for that, much better for everyone to see.

I'm seeing all your photos now too. And great there are.

 

[bleudanube]

After cleaning up all the parts for the rear suspension, it was time for painting. That must be one of the most rewarding stages... ever...

i decided to go with the “stealth” setup: paint the parts black (and some will be painted grey) but run on LHM. So the Safari will look original, but run the improved hydraulics.

next I tackled all the hydraulic lines... some were horribly caked up with grime and grease and dirt. But, after a day of cleaning them up with the wire wheel, they all came out really well. I pumped Acetone through them to wash out the remaining crud, then blew air through them. Handling the 3m long pipes that connect front to back was awkward, but once cleaned up and rebuild they are good to go back into the sill.

Before:

After..... nice....

distribution block all rebuilt. All parts were in good condition, only the seals needed changing.

Made a mistake early on, pulling the felt caps off the suspension cylinders - then realising that they are not available as replacement parts... also looks like someone replaced one of the Safari rear cylinders (40mm diameter) with a normal 35mm one... so I now need one front and one rear replacement cylinder. Would anyone have a spare?

tackling the front suspension setup is proving A bit more challenging. Besides tons on grime, the dust caps for the lower control arm didn’t want to budge. They were corroded too far and ceased in the housing. So it had to be broken out - not sure they are available as spare parts...

the cap didn’t want to budge - maybe there’s some other trick to it?? Tried penetrating oil, heat...

Once I removed the cap... I realised my socket sizes only went up to 36mm. So, the job stopped and the 46mm and 38mm sockets got ordered. Next weekend...

Really enjoyed this weekend’s work. It is rewarding to see rusty, corroded parts come back to life, shiny and new.

 

[Middlemoon.1]

What paint are you using there, Sven? Is it an enamel for something more exotic?

 

[Middlemoon.1]

Distinctive safari drums!

 

[badabec]

Hello, the hydraulic pipes from front to back weren't so lucky in mine. A mouse nest and mouse urine didn't help

 

[DoubleChevron]

Hello, the hydraulic pipes from front to back weren't so lucky in mine. A mouse nest and mouse urine didn't help

If its only the one spot .... you could probably by a small length of cupro-nickel line and replace just that sections. bubble flare tools and joiners don't appear to be hugely expensive these days!

 

[faulksy]

I'm sure I've seen the front arm bearing dust caps for sale somewhere. Probably Franzose or Dirk Sassen. What's your plan if the arm bearings are knackered?

 

[bleudanube]

I'm sure I've seen the front arm bearing dust caps for sale somewhere. Probably Franzose or Dirk Sassen. What's your plan if the arm bearings are knackered?

yes, found them at Der Franzose... so that part’s now easily solved.
I don’t have a knackered bearing plan yet... trick question I assume? Not easy to find replacement bearings or replace/remove them in the first place? At this stage it is based on hope only - hope they are still ok ... will know this weekend... the 46mm socket arrived today, so the 38mm one can’t be far behind.

 

[faulksy]

Citroen being Citroen, the inner race of the bearing is machined into the wishbones themselves. There must have been benefits but the downside is that a lack of grease over time causes damage to the inner race giving a notchy feel. Because the race is part of the wishbone options are limited. You can machine the taper off the wishbones and fit standard size bearings but most just live with it or find better wishbones. If they move pretty smoothly then i'd say you're alright.

https://citrothello.net/blog/revision-bras-train-avant-ds/

 

[forumnoreason]

try Andre Pol, (CitroënAndre website) as he has NOS and not crappy repro mostly. He has lots of stuff too that isn't on site so just email him. Good bloke. Only problem will be waiting months for it to get from A to B at the moment. It's a frickin ballsup.

 

[IDear]

The 40mm rear Safari Hydraulic cylinders are as "Scarce as Hens Teeth" Sven. Put the word out asking if there is a "wreck" Safari out there somewhere. I used the cylinders out of my Safari wreck to replace the ones in my green Slough Safari that had been fitted with the smaller sedan cylinders.
I assume that these larger Safari cylinders are the same when .... LHM or LHS .... just fitted with appropriate rubber seals.
I have a Frenchman, Alexi, living here in Castlemaine at the moment. He's friend in Europe might be able to locate a Safari cylinder.
I have a number of front suspension cylinders here.
I do have some of those suspension arms Sven so don't use yours if they are "past it".
I am still in Landrover Series 3 Mode at the moment. Incredible how a project can progress when not being sidetracked by car events and daily events as we knew it.
Michael

 

[bleudanube]

The 40mm rear Safari Hydraulic cylinders are as "Scarce as Hens Teeth" Sven. Put the word out asking if there is a "wreck" Safari out there somewhere. I used the cylinders out of my Safari wreck to replace the ones in my green Slough Safari that had been fitted with the smaller sedan cylinders.
I assume that these larger Safari cylinders are the same when .... LHM or LHS .... just fitted with appropriate rubber seals.
I have a Frenchman, Alexi, living here in Castlemaine at the moment. He's friend in Europe might be able to locate a Safari cylinder.
I have a number of front suspension cylinders here.
I do have some of those suspension arms Sven so don't use yours if they are "past it".
I am still in Landrover Series 3 Mode at the moment. Incredible how a project can progress when not being sidetracked by car events and daily events as we knew it.
Michael

Thanks Michael,
I will keep hunting. Worst case I have to buy a new one from Europe, but would be nice to have a period correct one...
I am ok for front ones now (I think). I use the one from the rear and one that Andrew found for me - that’s a pair again (with the caps intact).
might take you up on the rod as the safari rods have the larger diameter disc on them.
once travel restrictions lift I will swing by and say hello!

 

[bleudanube]

Well faulksy, after my 46 and 38mm sockets arrived in time, I pulled apart the front suspension: and, besides a lot of grease and dirt, it all came apart well and the bearings and arms are still in good condition, without any signs of wear.

The only item that was seized was the suspension rod balls - they were stuck in its cup... so I drilled a hole from behind to push the balls out, tapped the hole and inserted a screw, which I then cut off.



I assume the front suspension on the second nose cars doesn’t have the seperate swivel cup but only the ball and rod, like the rear on those cars?

New balls are in order... cheap fix.

Then I dismantled the pressure accumulator - besides the required seal kit the whole thing seems also in good condition. Bought myself a decent chain wrench - nice piece of kit. Makes taking off spheres a breeze...

Next was the 7 piston pump. The hardest part was trying to conjure up a way to take the cover off. Using a two armed puller, cantilevered off a square pipe and then a few blows with a hammer the cover finally budged... the bent outer edge is easily fixed.

the parts themselves seem fine, but have to find out whether there are specific measurements that need to be maintained. And of course the full seal kit for LHM is required.

The last job was to trial hydrogen peroxide on the nylon return lines - bought some “hair product 40vol 12% peroxide cream and followed the YouTube videos: smother the parts in the cream, wrap it in cling wrap and put it out into the sun for a few days... it supposed to turn the yellow plastic back into white. Sounds dodgy, but let’s see.

Time now to order all the seals and orings. And to learn how to turn the photos... anyone any ideas how to do that?

Sven

 

[faulksy]

Looking good Sven, that’s a seriously productive weekend! From memory there aren’t any specific measurements for the pump. Just don’t mix and match parts between the piston assemblies.

another way to get the cover off the pump is to take out 3 of the bolts holding the front casting onto the pump body and wind in 3 studs. Grab a sturdy plank of wood and drill 3 holes for the studs to pass through plus one for the pump shaft. Place something between the pump casing and block of wood and start tightening some nuts onto the studs.

incidentally, you’ll need something to hold the front bearing in place as you press the pump shaft back in.