Getting D Special back on the road

[moulton2speed]

We are the second owner of this D. Bought it in 1983 with 129k km on clock. It now has 230k km. It was parked up in 1994 in a 3 sided shed with a dirt floor. I've now sorted the shed ready for a resto to make a useable reliable classic, presentable but no showroom. I've checked the usual rust spots and so far not too bad. The body is straight and doors close easily. The paint is poor, so a respray will be on the cards.
My first job is to clean 27 years of caked on dirt for further investigation and planning. Not sure of the best way to clean up the chassis. The motor turns over but has not started. There is no water/cream in engine oil. The radiator has been reconditioned. This will be my first project so a little nervous.
Attached are some photos.

 

[moulton2speed]

More pics. Rusty sill, surface or worse?

 

[Johno1]

Avoiding too much water in the shed, with the engine out I have been using a variety of cleaning methods; mineral oil grease remover, narrow long handled copper brush, steel wool, sugar soap with hot water, degreaser very sparingly in trouble spots and air. A babies sandpit underneath To catch the gunk.

 

[Budge]

Congratulations and my best wishes. I left my DS in a barn for about 14 years.....

Although this would be the correct/ best place to document your restoration, it's perhaps also making your intentions known on the general 'Citroen' forum. you will get lots of help and encouragement I'm sure, plus possibly the offer of parts when needed. letting people on that forum know will also draw more viewers to your restoration thread here.

In terms of those pics and your question:

the lumpy silver bit in 11500 shows what will probably turn out to be quite bad rust under the silver. It is covering the 'outer sill'. On the plus side, the outer sill is non-structural and, if your confidence or budget extends to welding, the outer sills are easily replaced.

The rust under the car in photo 11501 is pretty typical and might (might) suggest the the join between the floor pan and the outer upright of the structural sill section is corroded. You need to have an exploratory prod with a screwdriver......If rusty, then that is a more important fix. If you are taking off the outer sills to replace, then that will give you better access to tackle this job. (can you see how the work is growing already!)

Photo 11493 - the boot area. That doesn't look to bad but might suggest that there has been a lot of damp in the boot and the boot floor is rusty. It might also mean that the area behind the covers on the 'C' pillars is rusty. look inside the car in the corners of the parcel shelf - so the other side of the 'C' pillars. take off any padded/ fabric trim and look for signs of rust on the inside of the c pillars.

Lastly (as if you needed more) that boot picture might suggest that the join between the fibreglass roof and the roof frame is compromised and lets in rain/ dew. that can cause a lot of unseen rust around the roof to body join. If you remove the roof to re-seal, you might find a lot more work and expense. depending on your budget (and because you said you aren't fussed about showroom condition) you might de-prioritise any roof explorations and concentrate on enjoying the car.

Announce your plans on the other forum. You may get some other opinions of what to do and whether you need to be concerned about certain things.

 

[forumnoreason]

I'd be looking after the mechanicals and all the bits that rub against each other like bearings and bushes and stuff, electricals all safe, then clean up the rust spots then register and drive! otherwise you go down a rabbit hole of expense and time and confusion and pain and expense and insanity. It took me over 5 years to sort mine out, in hindsight I should have just got it running smoothly and drove it, like I did years ago. I must say I took mine for a spin today and its so smooth and cruisy now, hadn't driven it for months and what a pleasure they are. It drives better than my Xantia!

 

[moulton2speed]

Good advice. Today, I have been cleaning the 27 years of dirt/ dried mud ( mouse piss) and wire brushing the chassis rails and exposed metal parts. So far there have been no holes when poking with a screwdriver. Boot and cabin floors solid, no rust.
The Plan: Paint rust areas with Penetrol or Por15 ( probably Penetrol) and then paint chassis rails with rattlecan black. When parked up in 1993, the only mechanical problem was a weeping steering rack/ split boot ( may need reconditioning). I do plan to take off the water pump to see extent of alloy head corrosion, which will decide whether I have head reconditioned. We have had two Ds and waterpumps were something I got good at replacing. I have already fitted a new starter and a reconditioned HP pump. There are 5 reconditioned spheres and a new muffler and flexi joint yet to be fitted. I feel sure the fuel tank and lines will need to be checked out. Also replace all fuel hoses and any suspect water and LHM hoses. LHM is still a nice bright green in reservoir after all this time. Not planning to strip it bare, but panels will need a paint. headlights will need to be either replaced with inserts or reflectors silvered (not sure which way to go). Will leave roof as is. C pillars look good and black strip above rear window has surface rust only. On first inspection, rear suspension mounts are solid. While it does need a fair bit of work, it does look like the bones are solid.

 

[forumnoreason]

If you can find it KBS make the same stuff as POR15, local product or distribution and it's price is far less than the later US gunk. I used it on my frame up front and clear coat in rear. Getting it all clean first was a BIG job. groan. A trick is to get oil into the box sections to halt rust, there's also the Mike Sanders Cavity wax system but that is easiest done with the car stripped. ps just from photos of your D I think the original paint looks great because it's original and fits the vibe, my GS has tired paint but I like it because it's original! Once you start tarting things up there's no end in sight because you'll obsess and on it goes as you tell yourself now this needs to come up to standard and that and that...

 

[moulton2speed]

Thank you fornoreason. I recently used KBS fuel tank liner on my 1987 Yamaha SDR200. It worked well, but required detailed preparation with KBS cleaning fluid followed by KBS etching fluid and finally, when completely dry, their POR15 tank liner . It is rather thick and once dry is like concrete. I have read some good reviews on the net about both POR15 and Penetrol . It seems Penetrol needs less prep and flows much better ( for cavities).
I have to remove the bonnet, but am unsure the best way to do this- remove, either leaving the bonnet struts on the bonnet or attached to the engine bay scuttle? Can't find any advice on the web on bonnet removal?

Checked the boot floor under the torsion bar cover today, and happy to discover it is solid. Once bonnet is removed (low garage clearance) can put car on stands and clean up suspension anchors, linkages and hubs.
From the photos one can see a lot of mud on the floor and red dirt ( mixed in with rust) on the D, as we live on a farm. I've realised a big part of this job is cleaning. The built up dirt sticks like the proverbial to the painted surfaces let alone the rust.

 

[moulton2speed]

more pics from today.

 

[forumnoreason]

mark with a pen and photo the retaining bolts on the hinges to body then remove bolts leaving hinges attached to bonnet. That is if you're happy with how its positioned in the first place. Then you can just plonk it back on. You can make up two bonnet stay also from factory manual specs that will pin back the bonnet when you want it out of the way, it'll sit vertical on the car with the stays locked into the hinges. Download the manuals from the links in thread titled "thread of excellent threads". Sounds like you could get the Karcher onto it but don't go spraying water around the bell housing on the gearbox.

 

[rmingrap]

Any update on the D?