DS Pallas Restoration

Congratulations!!:banana:

The car looks awesome!!! This colour suits these cars so well!!

Im jealous :nownow: Your car is truely beautiful, I know it takes blood sweat and tears, well maby some cursing too, in the end it is all worth it!!

Enjoy her now!!

Cheers
Corne
 
Thanks for the kind words!

The car is by no means finished but is now a drivable rolling restoration... and very drivable it is too!! :banana: I am really enjoying the car and making a list of jobs to be done.
What have a put on that list so far? I certainly need to rebuild the steering rack, if only because the boot tore first day back on the road! For now it steers well and has minimal external leaks.
Add to the list a rattle in the front roll bar, the need for a set of four spheres and I believe a front height corrector needing a rebuild.

The clutch cable broke... in my front yard! Luckily I had a spare second hand one in the garage.. which also broke within a day and again at home. I had both cables rebuilt and also found that the lever on the bell housing was in a sad state so that is replaced too... nice smooth clutch action now.

To complement the clutch improvements I thought I should do something about the slack in the gear change. Now I know most DS have a slack change due to tired rubber bushes in the ends of the long push/pull rod alongside the steering column but mine were OK. The slack was largely in the two ball joints and the crank behind and below the air cleaner but Citroen, bless 'em, made these adjustable. The wobble in the pivot shaft was largely fixed by putting a wave shaped anti rattle washer behind the securing pin. The adjustable balls joints each have a screwed plug pegged with a small split pin. With he pin out you can turn the plugs with the tool shown below.. a strip of 18mm wide steel sheet. One end was bent to a hook to reach under the lower ball joint. Each one took almost half a turn and the pins replaced. With all joints greased and the slack gone (this fix addresses the up/down movement of the gear shift lever) the result is fantastic!
 

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Thanks for the kind words!



To complement the clutch improvements I thought I should do something about the slack in the gear change. Now I know most DS have a slack change due to tired rubber bushes in the ends of the long push/pull rod alongside the steering column but mine were OK. The slack was largely in the two ball joints and the crank behind and below the air cleaner but Citroen, bless 'em, made these adjustable. The wobble in the pivot shaft was largely fixed by putting a wave shaped anti rattle washer behind the securing pin. The adjustable balls joints each have a screwed plug pegged with a small split pin. With he pin out you can turn the plugs with the tool shown below.. a strip of 18mm wide steel sheet. One end was bent to a hook to reach under the lower ball joint. Each one took almost half a turn and the pins replaced. With all joints greased and the slack gone (this fix addresses the up/down movement of the gear shift lever) the result is fantastic!

Hi Michael

thanks for this tip.. I had a look at mine today and the lower ball joint was pretty slack.. not that my gear change is bad, it seems quite smooth and precise.. but I do like things to be just right.. :approve:

Not having your home made tool to hand I had a look around the shed and found the tool below.. fits the said screws so I could reach under..ugh:disappr: and adjust the slack.. all good now..AND I even got the split pin back in from underneath. (why is it always the inaccessible ones??)

Matthew:):)
 

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Hi Mathew, You managed to get your hand underneath the thing?? I was not game to try.... afraid of being trapped. :) My bent tool (ok, ok, no need for such vulgarity :rolleyes:) enabled me to adjust from above, and I cheated with the split pin and put it in from the outside.

So, was there a significant improvement ?
 
Hi Michael

the manifold was off at the time so my access was a bit easier.. I had a sheet underneath it so nothing fell into the abyss!!:eek:

I haven't driven it yet so time will tell..

Matthew:)
 
I am spending too much time driving this car to do much work on it. I have also been busy with paid work but that is another story.

A great spring day in Sydney so I busied myself with little things, like non functioning lighting for the ash tray and the heater controls. The glove box light finally works too. The problem was a riveted electrical joint fixed by a little solder.

I counted up today I have now added six relays to this car, High beam, low, long range lights and radiator electric fan plus two for the hazard light system.

Next week I will get back into some serious work with some hydraulic jobs.

Oh and having a working speedo that reads in KPH is great thank you very much Green Blood!
 

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I keep on putting off jobs but the weather this weekend is perfect for a bit of open air fixing. I want to get the front cylinder seals done, clean out the height corrector and replace a pair of bump stops.

The stops were still there but had become almost totally flat. Thanks for the tips on this site they came out of the freezer and simply dropped into place. Cylinders were not so easy to get out as the extension piece needed removal and was flipping tight. Had to remove the battery and heater to get stilsons and a long extension to work.

I am hoping to get it all back together tomorrow with the exception of one boot. Last time I looked they were both in good nick but one has now developed a small hole. I only have a spare for the rear. I will need to source a spare before I can finish the job :(

Anyone local got a spare front boot in stock I can beg, borrow or steal ? (Or buy! )
 

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All rebuilt by Sunday evening with some urethane repairs as a temporary fix on the boot.

Height corrector was fairly sludgy inside and certainly now is more responsive to load corrections.

The cleaning of the cylinders was interesting though. Having removed the left hand sphere I found, sitting atop the piston a small piece of timber, maybe 15mm x 5mm x 3mm, with a splintery appearance and soft being soaked in LHM. Possible a piece of broken off "broomstick" from someones moving of a dead car? I found no pieces in the height corrector though and the cylinder was not scored.

I have found a new job to do. The right hand side drop link has some play in it and explains an occasional clonk and wheel shimmy from the front end.... I think I have read that a good secondhand unit is the solution as they can not be rebuilt.
 
Michael

You make me want to go out and fix all the small niggly things on my car, she is on the road for 3 years now and some things show it needs attention.. will we ever finish our resto's?? But still we enjoy it every moment!!

You have a twin sister in South Africa too!! LOL

This pic of my car was my first long ish trip with my DS and the first time in over 20 years this car ran!!

The lady in the pic is the late previous owner of this car's wife. Oh the memories!!

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Nice photo! Lovely car! (But then all D's are lovely!)

20 years off the road? Amazing that it survived. Mine was off the road for mere 10 years.
 
I had a battle yesterday fixing a faulty hand brake. No sooner had I finished that job than the car dumped half a litre of LHM on the garage floor. I should not complain as at least she chose to do it at home!

When I refitted my front front height corrector I was a little doubtful about the position of the pipe seal on the high pressure supply but it gave me no problem for three months... until yesterday. Anyway, off with the guard and splash shield. I had a spare height corrector to which I had fitted new rubber parts so fitted that. The car was re-assembled and drivable by 10pm!

The good news is that the front now stays up much longer (cue ribald jokes) which is fantastic. I figured I deserved a day out today so did the long hot drive across to La Perouse for the Cit Car Club picnic but alas it seems half of Sydney was also celebrating Andre's birthday as the place was grid locked with traffic with no spaces in sight. I did not see any other Citroen either :cry:, except for a nice CX down near the rifle range.

Today was a good test of a modification involving an aluminium heat shield running full length of the engine pipes from manifold to flexi. I am sure it make a significant difference. Now I have to design out the harmonic vibration it has at 2,400 rpm!
 

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I had a battle yesterday fixing a faulty hand brake. No sooner had I finished that job than the car dumped half a litre of LHM on the garage floor. I should not complain as at least she chose to do it at home!

When I refitted my front front height corrector I was a little doubtful about the position of the pipe seal on the high pressure supply but it gave me no problem for three months... until yesterday. Anyway, off with the guard and splash shield. I had a spare height corrector to which I had fitted new rubber parts so fitted that. The car was re-assembled and drivable by 10pm!

The good news is that the front now stays up much longer (cue ribald jokes) which is fantastic. I figured I deserved a day out today so did the long hot drive across to La Perouse for the Cit Car Club picnic but alas it seems half of Sydney was also celebrating Andre's birthday as the place was grid locked with traffic with no spaces in sight. I did not see any other Citroen either :cry:, except for a nice CX down near the rifle range.

Today was a good test of a modification involving an aluminium heat shield running full length of the engine pipes from manifold to flexi. I am sure it make a significant difference. Now I have to design out the harmonic vibration it has at 2,400 rpm!

Your car just gets better with each new pic you post Michael :wink2:

Interesting mod on the exhaust, keep us informed :)

Cheers
Chris
 
Thanks Chris. Lots more to do still but she is now very drivable :D
This is the view the neighbours are getting used to.

I will develop the heat shield further and report back. Space is very fight down the side there and I am trying to avoid any obstruction to air flow. This is fitted in addition to the standard shield but not shown in the photo.

I am also working on a radical new custom bonnet prop for workshop use which gently cushions the leading edge of the bonnet. I might put these on the market... make my fortune ! :banana:
 

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Introducing Francoise

I think it is time to name my DS. I have "lived with her" for a while now and it is time to make an honest woman of her.

Why Francoise? Obviously Francoise Hardy was the inspiration. For me she embodies the sexy feel of France in the sixties.

Here is a little clip from 1973

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PK5c6ntpm8&feature=related

But there is more to the "Francoise" story than just youthful reminiscences! Both my Francoise and Miss Hardy have aged gracefully as only a French woman can (and my wife too of course!!) and have a mature beauty that still turns heads. This clip was made in 2007, hang in until she sings:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG0qiVW-mdI

Oh, and the restoration continues... more trim fitted outside and inside.

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Arrrghhh! What a miserable job!

I had planned to fix my increasingly slow starter motor when I was also ready to do a head job but it would not wait!

The head job is needed because of the ongoing problem of combustion gasses leaking into the cooling system. Whether due to a failed head gasket of sorrosion I don't yet know, but with sure signs of valve stem seal problems (occasional clouds of smoke on start up) the job must be done.
I took a spare head to the engineers and ordered a set of inlet valves and a gasket kit from Oleopneumatics in Adelaide. The head is almost ready.

Back to the starter motor.... I had to get push started in the Woolies car park. Can't crank start 5-speed D's. I thought it might be ok to just fix the starter now and put off the head job until later when I had more time. My manual (Autobooks) says the starter can be removed with the exhaust manifolds in place... there is a YouTube video showing the job being done in 26 seconds! ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB4EhKH93Kk&sns=em) but I guess that is only on left hand drive vehicles.

No doubt about it, the manifolds must come off, but some time in the past the car was reassembled with a mixed bag of fasteners... all sorts of mixed nuts, two different sizes on the manifolds, random fasteners on the engine pipe... :mad: people do some terrible botches.

It gets worse. The starter motor was held in by only one of the possible three screws. The easy one had been sheared off and I am guessing the "hard to get to" one was just too hard to get to!

Well, the starter is out and in pretty reasonable condition. It needs brushes as I suspected but all the rest works fine. Tell you what though, I have not enjoyed the job so far. Think I will go ahead and remove the head while I am this far in. Needs a bit of cleaning up while I am in here too.
 

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Quote by michaelr " I had planned to fix my increasingly slow starter motor when I was also ready to do a head job but it would not wait!"



I wonder if a head job would fix my slow starter?

Sorry, it had to be said ;-)

Michael, use the correct fasteners and studs, all will be well.
Replace the starter mounting bolts. The one which was remaining would surely be well stressed.

Yep, a head job would fix my slow starter, I'm pretty sure.
 
Do you have the heat shield that protects the starter? It seems to have a fair bit of external corrosion.
 
Do you have the heat shield that protects the starter? It seems to have a fair bit of external corrosion.

Yes! The heat shield was on so I was surprised to see the rust on the stater body. It will wire brish off, and there was no corrosion on the alloy parts. I suspect the starter was "reconditioned" at some time with a very poor paint job.
 
Quote by michaelr " I had planned to fix my increasingly slow starter motor when I was also ready to do a head job but it would not wait!"



I wonder if a head job would fix my slow starter?

Sorry, it had to be said ;-)

Michael, use the correct fasteners and studs, all will be well.
Replace the starter mounting bolts. The one which was remaining would surely be well stressed.

Yep, a head job would fix my slow starter, I'm pretty sure.

I knew as I typed that someone would have to reply! :rolleyes: :wink2:

I have replacement bolts for the starter mounting and will go looking for new nuts for manifolds. The 13mm hex nuts on half the manifold studs were a real PITA. Not enough clearance for anything except flimsy 1/4" drive sockets. Nerve wracking.

I have already changed the engine mounts so I guess the only other thing to do down there is a replacement battery cable.
 
Well, that starter motor was fairly simple once I got it out. Needed brushes and a commutator clean up. I found a set of brushes at a local auto electrician so it just took 15 mins with a soldering iron. It is back in again now so time to get this head changed.


With the rocker cover off it was a bit of a sticky mess. What I found inside was not very pretty either! The car was running OK so I was surprised by how bad it was.
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The main reason for pulling the head was a leak of coolant into one or more cylinders. I can not see any clear evidence of head gasket failure. Piston #2 had some soft crystalline deposits.
Cyl 3 was heavily encrusted with about 1mm of what looked like ferrous oxide.
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Luckily the bores look good so just a clean up and tomorrow I will drop on the new head. MIA in Cromer seem to have done a thorough job. They pressure tested it and fitted new valve guides plus a set of new inlet valves that Roger Parker supplied. Hopefully ready for the French Car Day on Sunday !
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