Dauphine Gordini restoration

i can recommend the bronze bush mod my dad made me some .50 years ago ,also a mod in the day was to fit ,tramp rods ,two lengths of flat steel attached to a bush located by a ring clamp on the axle tube ,then located at the rear chassis rail ,just in front of the engine mounting cross member ,attached with a bolt going up through the chassis ,the longer these flat steel bars the less they are going to affect the front to rear location of the swing axle .i remember having my head out the window of my 54 4cv when reversing ,and seeing clearly how much the rear wheel moved when backing up an incline ,when you consider the distance between the trunnions compared to the length of the axle tube ,there is a lot of leverage there ,a little movement at the trunnions represents a lot more at the wheel .pugs
 
Yes
i can recommend the bronze bush mod my dad made me some .50 years ago ,also a mod in the day was to fit ,tramp rods ,two lengths of flat steel attached to a bush located by a ring clamp on the axle tube ,then located at the rear chassis rail ,just in front of the engine mounting cross member ,attached with a bolt going up through the chassis ,the longer these flat steel bars the less they are going to affect the front to rear location of the swing axle .i remember having my head out the window of my 54 4cv when reversing ,and seeing clearly how much the rear wheel moved when backing up an incline ,when you consider the distance between the trunnions compared to the length of the axle tube ,there is a lot of leverage there ,a little movement at the trunnions represents a lot more at the wheel .pugs
Yes, the slightest wear at the trunnion pin is a lot of movement at the wheel. Those "tramp rods" need to have their rear pivots exactly in line with the swing axle trunnion pin line - not doing it that way is the source of some disagreement out there. Some "leading arms"like that have been done very well with the geometry and some have not....
 
Close to roadworthy now. Seemed to have ironed out some small running issues.

I've been searching the forum for rear axle alignment and trunnion bearing discussion. My LHS rear is slightly toed in which leads me to believe I need to replace bearings or made up some bushes to get everything straight.

Both my cars have this identical symptom, as well as other 4cv and dauphines I've read about online. Always LHS and toed in. Cant feel any play with wheel jacked up but will have to disassemble more to be sure.
As promised, here are this morning's rear suspension alignment details.

Just goes to show stringlines have their limitations! I have essentially zero toe-in at the left and what you'd describe as bugger-all at the right. Very pleasing. The tyres have tens of thousands of km on them with no scuffing or feathering but a wee bit more wear inside than outside as usual with swing axle suspension.

Rear suspension alignment 13 July 2020.jpg
 
Thanks John. On my list too to double check alignment professionally before rego.

Some more questions have come up as I put the finishing touches on the car:
- Fixed all the small oil leaks bar one. A small leak from seal behind crankshaft pulley pressed into timing cover (maybe 1 drop after a 5km drive). I'm hoping I can source a replacement (also have a spare timing cover with an ok looking seal in it) but unsure how to get the starting dog and therefore pulley off to gain access?

- I've got a small partial throttle misfire that could be a number of things (replacing the easy items one by one) but wanted to know if there was any SEV compatible electronic ignition units apart from the full 123 distributor? I put an Accuspark kit on my Morris and it made a world of difference.

1093 stripes are on so I'll take some photos tomorrow and upload.

Thanks all
 
Thanks John. On my list too to double check alignment professionally before rego.

Some more questions have come up as I put the finishing touches on the car:
- Fixed all the small oil leaks bar one. A small leak from seal behind crankshaft pulley pressed into timing cover (maybe 1 drop after a 5km drive). I'm hoping I can source a replacement (also have a spare timing cover with an ok looking seal in it) but unsure how to get the starting dog and therefore pulley off to gain access?

- I've got a small partial throttle misfire that could be a number of things (replacing the easy items one by one) but wanted to know if there was any SEV compatible electronic ignition units apart from the full 123 distributor? I put an Accuspark kit on my Morris and it made a world of difference.

1093 stripes are on so I'll take some photos tomorrow and upload.

Thanks all
I'd rate an oil leak of a drip in 5 km there as trivial, but that's me. Not a flood but of course it is offensive!! Thing is, there are about three potential sources in behind the pulley, the seal being only one of them. Others are the timing cover, the steel plate sandwiched between it and the block and the sump corners by the main bearing cap. Did you consider one of those you-beaut stainless steel sleeves on the pulley shaft? I think they are "Speedi-sleeves" and I got mine over the counter from Bearing Service Company. That deals with any wear on the shaft.

Just yesterday I saw one of our Perth 4CV folk and discovered that he'd fitted a 6V negative earth Accuspark kit to his tiny (standard) SEV Junior distributor - it required a bit of removal of the diecast housing to accomodate the electronic box and a bit of work to make a bracket or something to hold that electronic box in place but it works like a dream. Try a direct earth wire to the distributor body too.
 
Passed roadworthy today! Funny how half a year in lockdown accelerates things.

Ended up ordering a 123 distributor as well to stop the part throttle misfire. Could possibly be fuel related but keen to rule out anything on the ignition side. Getting consistent point gap between lobes with either of my distributors is a bit questionable.

Really surprised with the handling for its age now I've driven it more. No bump steer and squats nicely into turns.
 
Passed roadworthy today! Funny how half a year in lockdown accelerates things.

Ended up ordering a 123 distributor as well to stop the part throttle misfire. Could possibly be fuel related but keen to rule out anything on the ignition side. Getting consistent point gap between lobes with either of my distributors is a bit questionable.

Really surprised with the handling for its age now I've driven it more. No bump steer and squats nicely into turns.
Great news! Be interesting to hear how you go with the 123 unit. I can honestly say that my R8 has never started so well.
 
What 123 distributor did you end up getting? The ones I’ve seen for ventoux engine are for the R4, which rotates the other way.

I suspect that the evil little genius sitting in the 123 brain can probably work this out and compensate, but have been slow in putting my money down until I have got my head around this.

I have been very happy with the 123 on DS and 404, about to fit one to the Zed. They seem to make starting and general liveability much better, with small advantage in power and fuel consumption

Best Wishes

Andrew
 
What 123 distributor did you end up getting? The ones I’ve seen for ventoux engine are for the R4, which rotates the other way.

I suspect that the evil little genius sitting in the 123 brain can probably work this out and compensate, but have been slow in putting my money down until I have got my head around this.

I have been very happy with the 123 on DS and 404, about to fit one to the Zed. They seem to make starting and general liveability much better, with small advantage in power and fuel consumption

Best Wishes

Andrew
You can get the larger diameter Ducellier distributors that fit the Ventoux engine (I have one, bought new years ago and it works well). For my R8 I sent a spare R8 distributor to Hebels British Sports Cars in Holland - they machine up the body and fit a 123 unit to it. I reckon you could do the same to a 4CV or Dauphine if you had one of those later Ducelliers. And they work with 6V. The "genuine" 123 offerings don't seem to be quite what we want, if I interpret their website correctly.
 
This one

Hope it works! Engine codes in the chart down the bottom seems to indicate its compatible with both directions of rotation. Would be disappointing if there's any issues given the item description. Both my distributors are SEV and it matches them dimensionally
 
This one

Hope it works! Engine codes in the chart down the bottom seems to indicate its compatible with both directions of rotation. Would be disappointing if there's any issues given the item description. Both my distributors are SEV and it matches them dimensionally
Looking forward to a running report. They are fairly easy to install and set up - there's a warning about needing a high primary resistance coil, 4 ohms or so if I recall and new Bosch meets the spec.
 
20200816_183437_copy_1008x756.jpg


Still some more finishing touches to do. I have 7 of 8 side trim strips which is annoying. May be able to make the 8th with spare car under door strips.

Not in love with the mirrors. Didn't blank off the holes before painting so they'll stay for now.

The other car awaits disassembly or sale. Not sure if it's worth anything in its current state. Might be better to get a bank of spare parts off it for other's future projects/spares.
 
View attachment 124449

Still some more finishing touches to do. I have 7 of 8 side trim strips which is annoying. May be able to make the 8th with spare car under door strips.

Not in love with the mirrors. Didn't blank off the holes before painting so they'll stay for now.

The other car awaits disassembly or sale. Not sure if it's worth anything in its current state. Might be better to get a bank of spare parts off it for other's future projects/spares.
You could remove the stainless gutter molds from your spare car, polish them and refit them to your Gordini. They are impossible to find nowadays.
 
Hi

It seems we have gone down similar paths with Blanc Rejane Dauphines

This is mine which I finished a few years ago. Near total rebuild. It is Gordini spec standard Dauphine with 4Sp gearbox and 903cc pistons and liners.

Chees Damien
 

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Hi

It seems we have gone down similar paths with Blanc Rejane Dauphines

This is mine which I finished a few years ago. Near total rebuild. It is Gordini spec standard Dauphine with 4Sp gearbox and 903cc pistons and liners.

Chees Damien
Are you linked up with our Renault 4CV Register of Australia members in Tassie? We welcome all the rear-engined models and are keen to know of the ones that are "out there".
 
Hi

It seems we have gone down similar paths with Blanc Rejane Dauphines

This is mine which I finished a few years ago. Near total rebuild. It is Gordini spec standard Dauphine with 4Sp gearbox and 903cc pistons and liners.

Chees Damien

Looks good!

Been on the road for 2 weeks now and building up confidence with it. Funny how in my Morris I barely get a second look but this attracts some serious attention in town. Distributor still hasn't arrived but after some plug reading I realised I was pretty lean. Threw more fuel at it on main circuit and problem solved.

Tended to push a bit of coolant past the cap when filled up but seems to have found its level now. If i squeeze a hose coolant comes from bleed screw on heater so mustn't be far below it. Seems to sit at halfway on the gauge on a longer run.
 
Looks good!

Been on the road for 2 weeks now and building up confidence with it. Funny how in my Morris I barely get a second look but this attracts some serious attention in town. Distributor still hasn't arrived but after some plug reading I realised I was pretty lean. Threw more fuel at it on main circuit and problem solved.

Tended to push a bit of coolant past the cap when filled up but seems to have found its level now. If i squeeze a hose coolant comes from bleed screw on heater so mustn't be far below it. Seems to sit at halfway on the gauge on a longer run.

My Dauphine runs well but suffers from bump steer and the gear change is a bit sloppy.

I took it the local raceway for a track day and it appears to also suffer from valve bounce. Stiffer valve springs might help.

Yes, you get a few looks when out on the road

Damien
 

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Glad to know someone else has had one on the track. Definitely not my intended purpose for the car but there are some local historic sprints that I would mind taking it to. Won't be fast but also wouldn't be too many similiar capacity cars of the era that are faster.

No bump steer so far, to be honest the suspension is one of the biggest pleasant surprises. The road I live on has lots of tree roots under the bitumen that are harsh in a brand new car but I could take my hands off the wheel of the Dauphine if I wanted. Steering a touch on the slow side but much better since the alignment.
 
Hmm. Out of curiosity, have you had a professional alignment check? By coincidence I'm doing exactly this with the R8 tomorrow! String line work this week suggested to me a wee bit of... Guess what, toe-in on LHS!! Before I rebuilt the front end this last few weeks, the car drove dead straight, as it always has, and has no undue wear patterns except the usual greater wear on the inside of the rear tyres.

I've absolutely no idea how you'd have toe-in on one side without toe-out on the other if there's nothing worn. I guess that is partly your dilemma too.

There's a fair bit of comment around trunnions and trailing arms that I personally don't quite agree with. What I can say with confidence is that I fixed my 4CV worn trunnion pin issue 30 years ago with specially-made bronze bushes that are a slight press fit on the pins and rotate snugly in the hardened steel cups. Molygrease was used inside the cups and they were pretty much as installed when I had a look 25 years later. The other approach, now that they are available, is to get bushes machined to bring the trunnion pin diameter to exactly the size needed to fit new needle roller sets (20 mm if I recall).

You might try posting this question on the Renault 4CV Register Facebook page. Not all our members use Aussiefrogs and quite a few people out there know far more than I do!!

Cheers,
Hi John,
I experienced this same problem when I had the Dauphine Gordini and reckon it was caused by a tow truck driver pulling the axles down to transport the car. Although this doesn't explain the problem on the LHS compared to the RHS .Anyway I cured the problem by exchanging the LHS axle tube. When the offending part was measured it was about 4mm out causing the outer third of the tyre to wear prematurely.
 
Are you linked up with our Renault 4CV Register of Australia members in Tassie? We welcome all the rear-engined models and are keen to know of the ones that are "out there".
No answer came the swift reply........................
 
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