404C Super Luxe
- Thread starter Pugknut
- Start date
Good job! Weird about the rod. I wonder if it's a (weight) match for the others.
Definitely weird about the conrod. I think it would be pure coincidence if it were matched weight, although I guess it is possible that this one rod was removed and cleaned and put back in with a spare piston for whatever reason. Not likely. Might have to do a leakdown test and see what state the system is in once I get all these other issues sorted.
The good news is that the sump gasket replacement was a complete success! No more oil leak.
Also the rack got a good clean and new boots just in the nick of time. Tie rod end kits would be nice sooner rather than later, but for now they seem OK.
Last thing on the list for the roadworthy is the washers, which work, but the old bottle has cracked and about to disintegrate, so I'm looking for a replica of the original design if anyone knows where they can be sourced. In the interim, an ugly repco special may be the only option. Attached is the bottle that was in there. I suspect this is also not the correct unit for this car, although I would gratefully accept one just like it as the mounting holes are already drilled.
The good news is that the sump gasket replacement was a complete success! No more oil leak.
Also the rack got a good clean and new boots just in the nick of time. Tie rod end kits would be nice sooner rather than later, but for now they seem OK.
Last thing on the list for the roadworthy is the washers, which work, but the old bottle has cracked and about to disintegrate, so I'm looking for a replica of the original design if anyone knows where they can be sourced. In the interim, an ugly repco special may be the only option. Attached is the bottle that was in there. I suspect this is also not the correct unit for this car, although I would gratefully accept one just like it as the mounting holes are already drilled.
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And just like that she's back on the road. I guess this has to move out of restorations thread now.
Fixed the charging issue (dead regulator)
New exhaust which is a pretty close but not a perfect replica.
The clutch still slips and she runs pretty rich and the waterpump still weeps to let me know she was sad for being left alone in a dark shed for too long. Even with those niggles, I think she's right for the summer. If you see us broken down by the side of the road be sure to stop and say hi
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The pic is from Safety Beach and the car beside us is the pilot car (Yaris GR4 Rallye). For the first drive we thought it might be sensible to have a second way of getting home.
Fixed the charging issue (dead regulator)
New exhaust which is a pretty close but not a perfect replica.
The clutch still slips and she runs pretty rich and the waterpump still weeps to let me know she was sad for being left alone in a dark shed for too long. Even with those niggles, I think she's right for the summer. If you see us broken down by the side of the road be sure to stop and say hi
.The pic is from Safety Beach and the car beside us is the pilot car (Yaris GR4 Rallye). For the first drive we thought it might be sensible to have a second way of getting home.
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i hope to see you at the french car day oct 22
Fingers crossed for good weather and we'll be there.
Thanks Ian. The parts book shows three different variants of the water bottle and the one that is typically shown on the injection cabriolet in pics is quite different. There are so many differences between the can and the other 404’s it’s mind blowing.
Hayden is finding some bits for me as we speak.
It should be like the one in my car, but they're difficult to find.
Thanks Mike,
great photo. So many things to do to bring my engine bay anywhere near this standard. So many missing parts for a start. Any thoughts on where I can find?
- Fuel pressure switch
- Air inlet hose from the air cleaner to the front of the car
- Air cleaner to throttle body hose, mine is badly cracked.
Most of the rest of it is there, just nowhere near as clean and fresh looking as you've achieved. Can't wait to see the final result, it must be so close.
I will get to the end of it this coming winter - I'm in the middle of a long 6 week holiday in Europe right now! Just getting over Covid, which struck a week ago....
To answer the questions:
1 - fuel pressure switch - I am not sure - I have a few and could possibly spare one but they may not work properly. A generic switch could work with a minimum pressure of about 0.5 bar.
2 - TealMaxLion sells those on eBay: https://www.ebay.fr/itm/202717234717?hash=item2f32e3861d:g:JhcAAOSwfWJdEQYi
3 - I got the replica that you see in the photo from West Auto Collection in Le Mans some years ago.
Cheers
Thanks Mike,
hope you get better soon and enjoy your holiday. Some great supplier tips there, time to start collecting parts for the eventual (inevitable) restoration.
Each to their own but so long as you keep the car in good condition what;s the point in restoring it
Restored cars look nice but they aren't original and they definitely don't look like they just rolled of the production line
It's already had its sills changed so originality is not easy with Pininfarina-built cars.
All french car day was good fun although we did get a little wet going home. The soft top is more of a sun shade than an umbrella.
Some really beautiful cars in all states of trim from classic, well maintained to full resto's. Something for everyone, although I didn't see anything that I would class as a Hot Rod or a rat rod, maybe that's a good thing. Plenty of nice competition cars and only one other 404C.
Prior to that we had a couple of days cruising down the peninsula and taking in the sights and tastes. I'd forgotten how awful and snatchy drum brakes can be in reverse, but was soon reminded backing out the steep driveway of the accommodation.
Time for new tyres and that should do until we get a chance to do the clutch..
I did find the cause of the fuel smell, and that was the fuel tank filler hose wasn't sealing at all well. Once that was fixed, fuel smell went away. The cause was the epoxy that had been used to seal the tank had overflowed outside the tank inlet and left a big drip which just needed to be smoothed out.
Some really beautiful cars in all states of trim from classic, well maintained to full resto's. Something for everyone, although I didn't see anything that I would class as a Hot Rod or a rat rod, maybe that's a good thing. Plenty of nice competition cars and only one other 404C.
Prior to that we had a couple of days cruising down the peninsula and taking in the sights and tastes. I'd forgotten how awful and snatchy drum brakes can be in reverse, but was soon reminded backing out the steep driveway of the accommodation.
Time for new tyres and that should do until we get a chance to do the clutch..
I did find the cause of the fuel smell, and that was the fuel tank filler hose wasn't sealing at all well. Once that was fixed, fuel smell went away. The cause was the epoxy that had been used to seal the tank had overflowed outside the tank inlet and left a big drip which just needed to be smoothed out.
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So we're planning a longer road trip to Sydney at the end of the month and the interior floor coverings really needed seeing to. SWMBO was complaining that the carpet kept falling off the firewall and hitting her on the foot. NOt to mention that you could see the floor through the holes in the carpet and there being almost none of the original underlay remaing something had to be done. Yes, you can just buy full carpet sets but where's the fun in that?
First step was stripping out the seats, simple and not too many strange things, although the original seat mount bolts had been upgraded to M8 Torx drive with heads machined down to fit in the slide mounts. Sensible really, the old M6 were pretty puny. Had to fix a couple of welds, but nothing too crazy.
Cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. Then clean some more. The floor had been given a really solid coat of that spray on bitumen gunk, and a handy hint in case you ever need to get it off you can use wax an grease remover from Bunnings. Works a treat!
So with apologies to the purists out there, but with modern tech comes opportunity for a better experience. Enter the Car Builders Stage 1 butyl and aluminium foil deadening material. Easy to apply (any pretty easy to pull up if someone wants to do that in the future). Hang upside down under the dash for half a day cutting sticking and rolling this stuff then proceed down the vertical surfaces, in particular the firewall and the drummy rear firewall and underseat. Yep, it's ugly, but it will always be covered up and it makes a HUGE difference where the steel tends to resonate.
Next step cut the Plush lay underfelt. Actually really nice to work with and apparently it won't rot or smell when the water eventually gets on it. Glued over the top of the stage one foil on the upside down and vertical surfaces. Actually under the plenum we had some of the original horse hair still in place which was handy for templates. Same with the trans tunnel.
Topped off with a layer of boat carpet for the time being (only $65 from bunnings, enough to do the whole floor but only just!
Job done, all up under $500 including a whole bunch of new firewall grommets. Quiet as a mouse? ha ha ha no you must be kidding, but a lot of the resonance and drumming is gone.
First step was stripping out the seats, simple and not too many strange things, although the original seat mount bolts had been upgraded to M8 Torx drive with heads machined down to fit in the slide mounts. Sensible really, the old M6 were pretty puny. Had to fix a couple of welds, but nothing too crazy.
Cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. Then clean some more. The floor had been given a really solid coat of that spray on bitumen gunk, and a handy hint in case you ever need to get it off you can use wax an grease remover from Bunnings. Works a treat!
So with apologies to the purists out there, but with modern tech comes opportunity for a better experience. Enter the Car Builders Stage 1 butyl and aluminium foil deadening material. Easy to apply (any pretty easy to pull up if someone wants to do that in the future). Hang upside down under the dash for half a day cutting sticking and rolling this stuff then proceed down the vertical surfaces, in particular the firewall and the drummy rear firewall and underseat. Yep, it's ugly, but it will always be covered up and it makes a HUGE difference where the steel tends to resonate.
Next step cut the Plush lay underfelt. Actually really nice to work with and apparently it won't rot or smell when the water eventually gets on it. Glued over the top of the stage one foil on the upside down and vertical surfaces. Actually under the plenum we had some of the original horse hair still in place which was handy for templates. Same with the trans tunnel.
Topped off with a layer of boat carpet for the time being (only $65 from bunnings, enough to do the whole floor but only just!
Job done, all up under $500 including a whole bunch of new firewall grommets. Quiet as a mouse? ha ha ha no you must be kidding, but a lot of the resonance and drumming is gone.
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Exactly what I did with my 404C - Dynamat under the carpets, on the firewall, the roof, the side panels - except on the floors, where I wanted to keep them free of that sort of thing to keep an eye on the new old stock replacements. Dynamat can exacerbate corrosion if it's in a wet area, and 404C floors can get wet!
And the Sydney trip is run and done. 2135km over four days at around 34 mpg. Seaford to Sydney on the Friday with a small stop in Bendigo. Sydney to Gundagai on the Sunday Arvo and then home on the Monday.
One small breakdown when the brake MC piston got stuck in the bore. Only have myself to blame as I'm the one who put it back together and must have burred the piston on the way in. Anyway, Bendigo Specialist Brakes to the rescue. Norm there even knew exactly what I was talking about when I said it had thermostable, apparently there were a few Thermostable 404's around Bendigo back in the day.
Also a quick shout out to all the people who made it possible in no particular order:
- Colin Hague for parts and stuff
- Trade Brakes in Clayton for coming up with the cups for the brake master cylinder for next to nix
- Bendigo Specialist Brake and Clutch for the rescue
- Evan Martin from Evans Classic cars for the excellent job he did on the KF tuning and finding the issues I didn't even know to look for.
I'd say she's now "restored" so far as she will be, and everything else from here is maintenance.
One small breakdown when the brake MC piston got stuck in the bore. Only have myself to blame as I'm the one who put it back together and must have burred the piston on the way in. Anyway, Bendigo Specialist Brakes to the rescue. Norm there even knew exactly what I was talking about when I said it had thermostable, apparently there were a few Thermostable 404's around Bendigo back in the day.
Also a quick shout out to all the people who made it possible in no particular order:
- Colin Hague for parts and stuff
- Trade Brakes in Clayton for coming up with the cups for the brake master cylinder for next to nix
- Bendigo Specialist Brake and Clutch for the rescue
- Evan Martin from Evans Classic cars for the excellent job he did on the KF tuning and finding the issues I didn't even know to look for.
I'd say she's now "restored" so far as she will be, and everything else from here is maintenance.