1972 Citroën D Special- "Celia"

Hi Toby,
I'm with Shane, just pull the lot out, its a lot easier to connect the gearbox to the engine, especially if those funny shaped bolts are still in place. Its also much easier to access the bolts on the splash plate behind the flywheel.
While the engine is out, always replace the chain, guide and tensioner and the camseal and clean the crankcase breather on the side of the motor. All good insurance...
Hope this helps,
Mark...:)
 
Hi Toby,
I'm with Shane, just pull the lot out, its a lot easier to connect the gearbox to the engine, especially if those funny shaped bolts are still in place. Its also much easier to access the bolts on the splash plate behind the flywheel.
While the engine is out, always replace the chain, guide and tensioner and the camseal and clean the crankcase breather on the side of the motor. All good insurance...
Hope this helps,
Mark...:)

Thanks guys. Looking more and more like engine removal might be the go!

On the plus side, 270km done today taking the scenic route to the hunter valley for tomorrow's festivities at nightingale wines has revealed a smooth, capable and free from shuddering Celia!

Celebrations all round!

Drive up was great fun despite the weather.. First time she's been wet in well over a year- handled the conditions with aplomb!
 
Well well.. It's been far too long since an update with a large amount of work occurring! I blame this on life.. It's been a busy few months and time to jump on to AF has been at a scarcity!

So- a Celia update..!

I left off up in the Hunter Valley after Don's fantastic French Car day- what a great weekend. Celia made the trip there and back with no worries, devouring the twisting country roads in a most entertaining manner!

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Since then, I've been plugging away at the smaller things while enjoying the D ownership experience.. I decided to replace the noisy drivers side rear wheel bearing, which was made much easier by sourcing a changeover trailing arm from Denton at European Autocare which had been regreased and checked for wear:


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And during the replacement process I inspected under the rear torsion bar cover.. No rust!

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Much better.. She's now quiet as a mouse!

I had also had a refurbishment of the speedo and other gauges on my list of to-do's for a long while.. The faded state of the needles was irritating me as was the marginally incorrect speedo reading. Fortunately, my father was an aircraft avionics engineer and has plenty of experience in rebuilding and calibrating instruments.. So I forwarded the cluster to dad and he kindly refurbished and calibrated everything.. The speed is now EXACT!


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We also repainted the needles to the original colour (thank you reference books!)..
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Some of you will remember me replacing the rear suspension boot, rods and cup assembly on the drivers side? Well.. Low and behold, the passenger side started leaking a few weeks ago. Anyhow, a good excuse to replace everything correctly! Another trip to European Autocare and I had an OE rear boot, hydraulic union seal and cylinder seal kit!

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Rebuilding everything here was remarkably smooth!

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The end result.. Now desperately in need to some 2 piece spheres. Rebuilding mine will be the next thing on the agenda!

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Yesterday another shipment from Der Franzose arrived.. Rebuild kits for the outer Hooke joints on the driveshafts; my OCD was playing up knowing I had new triaxe joints but the old outer joints.. So I'll do that in the coming days if anyone would like a step-by-step tutorial!

I also ordered a new clutch pedal rubber, rocker cover breather rubber, spare tyre strap and a few other bits and bobs.. I'll keep you updated on the work I do there.

On the spare wheel issue.. Does anyone happen to have a spare 'spare wheel insert plate'? Mine's missing and I need it before I can refit the stand and wheel strap..!

Toby
 
We've missed you :blush:

Nice going Toby, getting stuck in to some of the big projects and getting to drive and experience the car = jealous!!!

Cheers
Chris
 
Well,

Another long time between updates! Again, certainly doesn't mean I've been doing nothing!

For those that are interested, I embarked on the journey of rebuilding the other hooke joints of my driveshafts using the kit available at most overseas vendors.

The good news? I've now got beautiful new driveshafts with CV type outer joints.

The bad news?

The outer joints aren't rebuildable. As to whey the kit is available, I'm really not sure. The outer joint is only partially rebuildable; the cups easiest to see (covered with the nylon caps) are able to be replaced, but the joints deep within the joint are not able to be disassembled without destroying the joint. So, a good learning experience there and a caution to anyone attempting the same!

If anyone would like more detail along with diagrams please let me know.. I'm happy to go into it if required.

So, I managed to track down some new shafts (everywhere was out of the drivers side, short shaft) through Darrin of Citroen Classics- Thanks very much!

Fitted them today.. Fantastic. The quality is second to none and the fit superb. You actually can feel the difference and the whole driveline feels much tighter. Probably didn't help that my standard joints were quiet worn (albeit with brand new triaxe assemblies!).


So- if anyone needs absolutely brand new triaxe housings and ball assemblies (less than 500km), get in touch!

Merry Christmas to everyone..

Toby
 

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Love your thread I've just spent the last few hours studying it! Have just bought a 74 Special from Queensland for my wife for Christmas. I have been studying the car since I bought it, and drove it From north of Bris to Tassie. If not for a fabricated water pump return hose which was too short and was cut by the clamps, would have come back faultlessly. I have had the wheels/airbox and other parts sandblasted and powder coated have been cutting rust - much less than yours thank God - and painting etc too. But... with my first Franzose order about to arrive have broken my right arm, with the thing in bits... UH OH. You seem to have been through what I expect to... I'm looking forward to it!

(BTW I'm having trouble sourcing tyres. Can you help Toby?)

Chris (for Gill)
 
Hi Toby
Do you still have the brand new triax housings and ball assemblies and if so how much do you want for them?
Cheer
Philippe
 
Love your thread I've just spent the last few hours studying it! Have just bought a 74 Special from Queensland for my wife for Christmas. I have been studying the car since I bought it, and drove it From north of Bris to Tassie. If not for a fabricated water pump return hose which was too short and was cut by the clamps, would have come back faultlessly. I have had the wheels/airbox and other parts sandblasted and powder coated have been cutting rust - much less than yours thank God - and painting etc too. But... with my first Franzose order about to arrive have broken my right arm, with the thing in bits... UH OH. You seem to have been through what I expect to... I'm looking forward to it!

(BTW I'm having trouble sourcing tyres. Can you help Toby?)

Chris (for Gill)


Hi again Chris,

I think the Longstone Michelins are great value. Free delivery.

Vintage Tyres | Longstone Tyres

Tim
 
These indicators, are they the separate lens/stainless steel ones with a separate body?

Thanks
 
These indicators, are they the separate lens/stainless steel ones with a separate body?

Thanks

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the nice words- Sorry I've taken so long to respond, it's been a busy few months. Not always possible to get as much work done as I'd like on Celia and update my thread at the same time.

The indicators (I presume you mean the front?) are a separate lens with stainless steel surround and have a removable housing too.

What else have I been up to?

Lots.

Remember I replaced the gasket on the water pump housing to cylinder head to stem a leak I had? Well.. That was only partially successful- the leak had been slowed, but over the last few weeks, the leak had been increasing in intensity again. Following some investigation and determination to beat this leak once and for all, I headed in with an inspection mirror to find the leak.. But to no avail. It didn't even appear to be leaking from the housing to head joint anymore- but there was coolant running down the block! Did this mean a leaky head gasket?

I retreated inside to take stock of what felt like a rapidly deteriorating situation. Why couldn't I stop this leak? I headed to the garage again and investigated further- and found coolant running down the bottom of the water pump housing- but not at the pump/housing joint either! It must be the water pump housing!

So- an order from Der Franzose later (with a few other goodies thrown in) and I had a new water pump housing.

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I pulled everything apart.. Now for the third time.

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At least this time I could really go over everything as I swear I'll never, ever pull it apart again.. It had better not leak!

So- I fitted the new studs using Permatex stud sealer and Lactate hardening gasket cement, took my time, fitted my new radiator soft mounts while I had everything apart:

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I also replaced the alternator and hydraulic pump drive belts- Super Cheap auto had the sizes on the shelf!

Put her all back together- and viola! No leaks! The old housing must have turned porous!! I wondered why all the European sources recommended changing the pump, housing and gaskets if you had a leak around this area! At least what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I'm certainly good at taking these parts apart now.

Sorry for the rubbish photos, but- here we go! The finished result!

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I also took the opportunity to refinish the 'wheel stand' and replace the spare tyre strap; 30 Euro wasn't too bad and it ran me about $10 for the sandblasting and an afternoons work. Looks much better!

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I also ordered a fantastic vintage car leather tool bag which I'll fill with all the tools I'd possible need for an extended road trip and store that in the boot. I'll detail the process once the bag arrives! Otherwise, I had her out on the weekend, which, up here, was about 33 degrees, for a nice long drive on the freeway and heavy traffic! Although I nearly died of heat stroke, the water temperature remained absolutely steady and there were no leaks whatsoever! Finally, now that EVERYTHING in the cooling system is brand new, she's good as gold!!!

Well- that's it until later in the week when I'll detail my toolbag escapades! Celia's in for a rego renewal inspection in the next couple of weeks too so I'll detail the preparation process for those interested.

Cheers,

Toby
 
BTW I'm having trouble sourcing tyres. Can you help Toby?

Chris (for Gill)

Chris- sorry for forgetting!

Yes- I certainly can.

The Michelins, without doubt, are the way to go. Don't think anyone could really argue, convincingly, otherwise.

HOWEVER...

You'll see, I've sunk a lot of money into Celia to get her back up to the standard I was after and unfortunately, as most of us here, budget is always a constraint. So, following my usual path of prioritising, I decided my money was far better spent on 'serious' improvements and renovation than a set of tyres...

Now- although my next set of tyres will definitely be Michelins, and I consider them to be very reasonably priced via Longstone tyres, I think a few of the local alternatives are pretty tempting.

The Hankooks I had on Celia when I bought her are NLA as far as I'm aware.. Or at least I couldn't track them down. So- I managed to find a Federal alternative, having been happy with their products in the past.

The Federals- 185/60r15 Super Steel SS657 (link) are excellent.

Darren of Citroen Classics, recommends them, saying the ride quality is actually better with these than the Michelin XVS (link.. Darrins post is about halfway down)! Just make sure you get the Super Steel SS657 as I posted above and not the light truck tyre they mention; although I don't think they're even available here.

If I were buying tomorrow, I'd get a set of these, given I've got so much money left to spend.. Nankangs.

They look great and, by all accounts, seem to be a fairly reasonable cheap tyre. I'm NOT saying they're as good, and certainly not the same as the Michelins, but to free up some capital to ensure the essential work on the car is finished, I'm happy to advocate for the cheap, but still reasonable quality, tyre.

Again- once I'm a little further along, which I will be when my federals wear out, it'd be XAS's all the way, but now? I think these budget tyres are pretty good. I paid $75 each fitted, 9 months ago.

Hope this helps.

Toby
 
Thanks Toby. The Federals was the path I eventually went down. WE bought some Atlas Flappers also, and now everything's on, it looks great. I can't work out how to get photos from my Samsung onto the site. Have taken some surface rust away and other mintor stuff but this weekend removed the points and moved into the electronic age. A bit. Next job is front and rear panels and interior floor and seat mounts. Have rear completely off and about to start the dusty job.... No where NEAR as much rust as Celia.
 
Celia's been playing daily driver the last week- a role she plays well!

Always easy finding her in the sea of black and silver corporate car parks!

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So- I made up my road trip capable toolkit today in my new leather tool bag!

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Inside, I made up a toolkit comprised of:

- A pair of latex gloves
- A role of '100mph' tape
- Long nose pliers, side cutters and small vice grips
- A spanner roll with everything from 8mm to 17mm, with 2x 11mm and 2x 13mm's
- A 1/4" drive socket set
- A box cutter knife
- A Phillips head and flat head screwdriver
- 19mm socket and 1/2" drive ratchet
- Assorted hoseclamps
- An adjustable spanner

Here it is, all packed:

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Very tidy. The engine bay altogether looks so pristine, it makes me think you wouldn't want to drive it too much and get it dirty! Well done!!
 
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