My 404C resto begins!

Yeah it's true - I had a spare few minutes after work and before an evening work meeting (online) to do a bit of car work so I did this. Some minor preparation was needed, like annealing a couple of old copper washers I had to reuse and derusting the head of the bolt at the end of the master cylinder.

...and the glass reservoir is very unlikely to be lost again or broken now that it's on the car!
 
Mike,

Are your hand-brake cables really tight/taut. I've used new cables throughout and there is very limited cable movement. All cables are wound back as far as possible and the brake shoes have been adjusted to the slackest setting.

Just seems strange.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Dan
 
They're tight but the handle reaches the end of the ratchet and so I need to tighten them a bit more. When under the car, putting the pins into the yoke made me think they'd be super tight but they are still a little slack. I'll have to take another crack at it. I can also adjust it at the handle so maybe I'll try that first. My cables are used, installed in 1989. Apparently there were various lengths of cable and maybe you got a pair that are a bit too long?
 
Mike,

Are your hand-brake cables really tight/taut. I've used new cables throughout and there is very limited cable movement. All cables are wound back as far as possible and the brake shoes have been adjusted to the slackest setting.

Just seems strange.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Dan
hi Dano, if I recall the handbrake outer cable lower mount clamp is a variable to cable travel as it can be loosened and outer cable steel pipe can be moved forward or back to be another point of cable adjustment.so depending where clamp is positioned on outer tube will effect positioning of adjustments at cables..... ..jim
 
This weekend all I did on the car was install the exhaust pipe. With a lift it's a short job but on the ground in a 1.5 car garage it's not. I had to lift the rear up enough to maneuver the rear section so I could actually mate it to the centre section. The clamps on the cylindrical resonator are NOS Peugeot 404 parts that were plated in cadmium in Victoria, as is the rear one on the hanger, but the u-bolt on that hanger is not the original type although it looks the same from below. Good enough! Some fine-tuning may be needed to avoid any noise during normal driving but for now it's good.
Exhaust resonator.jpeg
Exhaust clamp.jpeg
 
I'm with you on the doing it on the ground thing. Well do I recall years ago fitting exhaust systems under cars on my stone toppings driveway.
 
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Ditto the above comments. It is a job that has whiskers.
 
The hanger that I have a close-up photo of is not reinforced with fabric - it's straight rubber - and could be prone to snapping. It also doesn't hold its position that well. So I'll be looking to get some fabric-reinforced belting to replace it and give a more robust support. The muffler at the back has fabric reinforced strapping and so maybe if I get a tad more of that (Peugeot NOS) I can make one up.
 
It is interesting how the slightest movement in alignment, can make the world of difference in how it hangs. Cloth reinforced rubbers are definitely the way to go.
 
Today I had some time to test clean the spare set of injector lines with Muriatic Acid to see if it would get more residue out. Boy did it ever! So I pumped about 100 mL of Muriatic Acid through each line of the pipes that had been on the engine with a large syringe, pulsing it back and forth. After the acid flush, they were purged with water, then acid flushed again, and again, until the solution coming out was not orange (rust) anymore. The water purges were at high pressure and that dislodged more particulates and fuel sludge which you can see in the green tray.

Following the acid/water purges, the lines were flushed first with WD40 to try and displace any remaining water - each line was done about 6 times until it ran clear. Then I used a syringe to punch about 70 mL of STP concentrated injection system cleaner through each line, letting it stay in there for a while. The final rinse was with MolySlip Combat spray. The lines inside, which previously - near the ends, and no doubt in between too - had visible black corrosion residue, are all clean now and a scriber inside will not find any loose stuff. The spare lines were also quickly cleaned.

Then I removed and cleaned the ends of the injectors and delivery valves that had been connected before to the injector lines (pre-final cleaning) and then reassembled it all. I also changed the steel clamp that holds the two lines for cylinders 1 and 2 (nearest firewall) to the intake plenum for an aluminum one I made, because the alignment was slightly off for the steel ones and it could have chewed into the line to injector 2 over time. The aluminum clamp I made is gently shaped and will cause no problems like that....

Finally, I got some rubber tubing for the radiator overflow and also derusted the two tiny steel clamps that hold the tube to the radiator. Then I painted them and installed the tubing.

So in terms of visible progress it was minimal but I am much more confident about the cleanliness of the injector lines now!
Injector Lines mounted.jpeg
Rad overflow.jpeg
Rad top.jpeg
Injector line residue.jpeg
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Excellent work with the fuel lines. It is great to see the the constant attention to detail. Prevention is always better than cure.
 
is that a fuel pressure switch on l/hand side of fuel filter housing mike? if so is it by light or gauge?.... jim
Jim: It is a Jaeger on-off switch triggered at 0.4 bar or less, basically to tell you if you're running low on fuel or if the electric lift pump is not working right. Normal pressure is 1.1 to 1.4 bar.
 
Today after work I got the last bits of the braking system installed. The Hydrovac booster is NOS but not rebuilt after being in the car with brake fluid for some time so it may not work properly. To be verified when the engine is started and I can do a test drive. I have a Le Club 404 contact in the USA with a newly (2 years ago) rebuilt Hydrovac and so if it is duff, he would do a standard exchange. The remaining tasks are to put all the fluids in (after the lower radiator hose and 75 degree thermostat arrive from Germany.....), verifying valve clearances (the long block builder did it but I will double check) and checking all of the injection system settings with the special tools. I also need then to buy a new battery and license the car.
Braking system 1.jpeg
Engine with braking system in.jpeg
Hydrovac and vacuum tank.jpeg
 
2 speed wiper motor installed - which does not leave a lot of room for draining new oil into the oil filler tube, hence the giraffe-style funnel. Another advantage is the screen in the oil filler tube on the engine is not overwhelmed by the rate of drainage from the funnel so it's a "fill and forget" situation.
Oil funnel.jpeg

Wiper motor installed.jpeg
Throttle Body Cable.jpeg


The accelerator cable on the fuel injected 404 has a brutally difficult-to-access fixing bolt. Nothing that about an hour of pain would not rectify, mind you.
 
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