Outa the shed, in the shed and on the bench.

[lo203404]

Outa the shed: Weather is behaving, so into it again with the blaster, this session is on 1135478's diff and axle housing, and some of her loose bits that came to hand. A quick squirt with undercoat on the hubcaps, light buckets and the other bits before oxidization sets in, and then the usual 1 hour cleanup afterwards. Still a long way to go with all the bits that need a hit, no short cuts when playing with rusty metal. Poor old hubcaps are beyond re chroming, but not to worry, they'll still come up respectable when all the moon craters are filled in! View attachment 226533View attachment 226534View attachment 226535View attachment 226536View attachment 226537View attachment 226538View attachment 226539

On the bench: After dark, this session is checking out the bottom end of 1135478's motor. This motor at a guess hadn't run since the late sixties, as when I picked her up in '76 (image in post# 30) the motor was seized due to no spark plugs in the head and bonnet up for who knows how long. Fast forward 40 odd years, and its pistons out after many hits of diesel down the pots with gentle tapping persuasion with a mallet over a week! Going over all the big end white metal bearings and journals and mains she's still a tight motor. Slight scoring on 2 of the liners, all 4 pistons with their rings intact. Back together she goes, being careful with the conrods going back down the slot.

 

[lo203404]

On the bench: After dark, this session is checking out the bottom end of 1135478's motor. This motor at a guess hadn't run since the late sixties, as when I picked her up in '76 (image in post# 30) the motor was seized due to no spark plugs in the head and bonnet up for who knows how long. Fast forward 40 odd years, and its pistons out after many hits of diesel down the pots with gentle tapping persuasion with a mallet over a week! Going over all the big end white metal bearings and journals and mains she's still a tight motor. Slight scoring on 2 of the liners, all 4 pistons with their rings intact. Back together she goes, being careful with the conrods going back downView attachment 226549View attachment 226550View attachment 226551View attachment 226552View attachment 226553View attachment 226554View attachment 226555View attachment 226556 the slot.

Outa the shed: More sunny days, so my trusty offsider is put back to work on 1601811's wheels that need the big clean up. One of the most awkward things to do are the wheel rims, but the blaster makes short work of these little buggers. Gun ready to go, so it's a quick hit directly after with undercoat. Pack up all the gear before the sun goes down and get the wheels under cover.

 

[lo203404]

Outa the shed: More sunny days, so my trusty offsider is put back to work on 1601811's wheels that need the big clean up. One of the most awkward things to do are the wheel rims, but the blaster makes short work of these little buggers. Gun ready to go, so it's a quick hit directly after with undercoat. Pack up all the gear before the sun goes down and get the wheels under cover.View attachment 227019View attachment 227020View attachment 227021View attachment 227022View attachment 227023

On the bench: More after dark stuff to do, this session is the pull down of the bottom end of 1601811's motor. Same routine as on 1135478's motor. Luck is holding out on the condition of this motor as well, things are nice and tight, nothing out of whack anywhere, so back together she goes, again being careful with the rods going back down the slot, don't want to scratch the journals,,,,,,,

 

[lo203404]

Outa the shed: More sunny days, so another big session awaits my trusty hard worker. Couple of radiators to 'polish' up, then a few square metres of wagon rear seat and back tray panels that need the big clean up. A very long day to complete this lot. Glad the sun is taking a bit longer to go down to give the panels time to dry before quick wheelbarrow trips back into the shed.

 

[lo203404]

On the Bench: After dark work awaits. Wriggle the motors around on the bench to re attach the clutch friction and pressure plates on motors 1135478 and 1601811. No sign of scoring on the flywheels or pressure plates, so that was a relief. Plenty of 'meat on the driven plates with tension springs and splines all tight. Interestingly, the pressure plate on 1601811 looks to be original by the stamped date on it. The one on 1135478 has an ink date stamping, being a Peugeot spare part from the late seventies. Big dob of 'sticky' grease up the slot before putting things in place. Centered them by using an old input shaft,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[lo203404]

On the Bench: After dark work awaits. Wriggle the motors around on the bench to re attach the clutch friction and pressure plates on motors 1135478 and 1601811. No sign of scoring on the flywheels or pressure plates, so that was a relief. Plenty of 'meat on the driven plates with tension springs and splines all tight. Interestingly, the pressure plate on 1601811 looks to be original by the stamped date on it. The one on 1135478 has an ink date stamping, being a Peugeot spare part from the late seventies. Big dob of 'sticky' grease up the slot before putting things in place. Centered them by using an old input shaft,,,,,,,,,,,,View attachment 227299View attachment 227300View attachment 227301View attachment 227302View attachment 227303View attachment 227304View attachment 227305

Outa the shed: The weather is holding out, so it's time to get these last few items from 1135478 and 1601811 under the nozzle of my trusty offsider, and then getting the undercoat on directly after. The blaster has certainly earned its keep over this period and will be parked up for a while, unless some obscure bits from these 2 that have been overlooked look a bit too time consuming to tidy up by hand,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[lo203404]

Outa the shed: The weather is holding out, so it's time to get these last few items from 1135478 and 1601811 under the nozzle of my trusty offsider, and then getting the undercoat on directly after. The blaster has certainly earned its keep over this period and will be parked up for a while, unless some obscure bits from these 2 that have been overlooked look a bit too time consuming to tidy up by hand,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,View attachment 227558View attachment 227559View attachment 227566View attachment 227567View attachment 227568

On the bench: After dark job awaits in the shed. This session is getting the heads back on 1135478 and 1601811, then setting the rockers. Good old 'Scientific Publications' gives the story on 'how to'. Last thing to do before the head drops on, make sure the threads in the block are clear, and also the head bolt threads, then moisten with a few drops of oil. On they go, and just go by the book. When done, the little buggers go back into the wheelbarrows and parked out of the way until it's time to drop into the cars,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[JohnW]

just while we are here Wayne at better brakes recognised the dimensions and supplied new pistons for my 404 callipers, out of a Ford Escort ,he is now retired .his memory was encyclopaedic !

Imperial size Lockheed brakes I guess, just like Renaults of the 50s.

Lew,

I'm surprised to see that you have to send your brake jobs up to my part of the world. Justin has been able to supply all my brake parts for the last 20 years. He even found that half a Toyota caliper kit suited the 404 calipers for my 203C. I'm interested to know where you obtained the 203 flexible hoses.

NS

I presume, if they are Lockheed brakes, that the good brake suppliers will have the end fittings in stock and can make you new hoses to Australian standard with new rubber or braided hoses. Certainly I can get my 1950 and 1964 Renault hoses in the suburbs
.

 

[lo203404]

On the bench: After dark job awaits in the shed. This session is getting the heads back on 1135478 and 1601811, then setting the rockers. Good old 'Scientific Publications' gives the story on 'how to'. Last thing to do before the headView attachment 227580View attachment 227581View attachment 227582View attachment 227583View attachment 227584View attachment 227585View attachment 227586View attachment 227587 drops on, make sure the threads in the block are clear, and also the head bolt threads, then moisten with a few drops of oil. On they go, and just go by the book. When done, the little buggers go back into the wheelbarrows and parked out of the way until it's time to drop into the cars,,,,,,,,,,,,

In the shed, and outa the shed: After re attaching the rebuilt front apron on 1601811 it's time to get out the tin snips on the floor pan bodywork. Holy crapsicals, what a friggin' mess! I'd almost forgotten how bad it was. At least 1135478's floor is still intact, only the bottoms of the 'longerons' to do. 1601811 is going to take some tidying up to say the least. Everything in the cabin has to be out of the way for starters, measuring up of how much metal is needed to fill in all the gaping holes. Glad I skinned the old Kelvinator before it went to the recyclers, just the right gauge metal for this little/big job. After plenty of spot welds and enough pop rivets to assemble a B17 Flying fortress, all the rusted out sections have been replaced with good old aussie metal. Also, a big thanks to all who have given a 'thumbs up' so far, good incentive to go hard! Still stacks to do,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[lo203404]

In the shed, and outa the shed: After re attaching the rebuilt front apron on 1601811 it's time to get out the tin snips on the floor pan bodywork. Holy crapsicals, what a friggin' mess! I'd almost forgotten how bad it was. At least 1135478's floor is still intact, only the bottoms of the 'longerons' to do. 1601811 is going to take some tidying up to say the least. Everything in the cabin has to be View attachment 228059View attachment 228060View attachment 228061View attachment 228062View attachment 228063View attachment 228064View attachment 228065View attachment 228066View attachment 228067View attachment 228068out of the way for starters, measuring up of how much metal is needed to fill in all the gaping holes. Glad I skinned the old Kelvinator before it went to the recyclers, just the right gauge metal for this little/big job. After plenty of spot welds and enough pop rivets to assemble a B17 Flying fortress, all the rusted out sections have been replaced with good old aussie metal. Also, a big thanks to all who have given a 'thumbs up' so far, good incentive to go hard! Still stacks to do,,,,,,,,,,,

On the bench: Whilst the cabins of 1135478 and 1601811 are mostly clear of stuff and it's going to be a wet week, now is the time to spend making up some extra items for these 2 that will, when driving, make a fracko of a difference. The drivers side glove boxes on both cars are being put to good use for some extra gauges / telltales. On 1135478, a Tacho and telltales for brake fluid level warning, hi beam, trafficators, these gauges courtesy of a dead Renault from Ren Repair many moons ago. On 1601811, the telltale lights are made up from the remnants of a 404 instrument cluster, can't let good usable bits go to waste. When sitting in the driver's seat with the glovebox lid open, you get a perfect view of the gauges / telltales, same same as if you were in the driver's seat of a 'C' model. Put the original backplate up to hide em ,,,,,,,,,

 

[lo203404]

On the bench: Whilst the cabins of 1135478 and 1601811 are mostly clear of stuff and it's going to be a wet week, now is the time to spend making up some extra items for these 2 that will, when driving, make a fracko of a difference. The drivers side glove boxes on both cars are being put to good use for some extra gauges / telltales. On 1135478, a Tacho and telltales for brake fluid level warning, hi beam, trafficators, these gauges courtesy of a dead Renault from Ren Repair many moons ago. On 1601811, the telltale lights are made up from the remnants of a 404 instrument cluster, can't let good usable bits go to waste. When sitting in the driver's seat with the glovebox lid open, you get a perfect view of the gauges / telltales, same same as if you were in the driver's seat of a 'C' model.View attachment 228340View attachment 228341View attachment 228342View attachment 228343View attachment 228344View attachment 228345View attachment 228346View attachment 228347View attachment 228349View attachment 228350 Put the original backplate up to hide em ,,,,,,,,,

Outa the shed: First job for this day after the previous days undercoat had dried on the replaced floor panels is under the car once more with a wide bladed spackle knife for this sticky little job. Bit of sound proofing goo on all the repaired sections of 1601811. Thin layers at a time over a few days so you don't end up wearing the stuff when gravity on the goo takes over.
In the days between those coats of stuff going off, was a good enough time as any while the cabins are empty to do a dummy run on the position and plumbing for the heaters on 1135478 and 1601811. Trying to find a 203 'Ducey' type heater even many moons ago was needle in a haystack stuff, so one had to improvise. From many visits to wreckers back in the '70's and '80's, at that time there were quite a few heaters still attached to cars, but finding a type that would fit in the narrow spot between the handbrake lever and the steering column was the trick. B.M.C. type cars came to the rescue with 3 or 4 'Smiths' type heaters picked up. The early 'Smiths' circular type and the next model, the Smiths 'Helmut' type is a perfect fit up the slot. Out of those only had a Helmut heater left, so 1135478 gets to try it out. For 1601811, had to make up a heater out of anything that came to hand, and it came down to bits of stuff hiding around under the house. A 504 heater core, a 404 heater fan motor, a '63 Victa air filter hose for windscreen demisting and a homemade box to hold it all together to the firewall. Just made it up the slot, a few mls. to spare on either side. Images show 2 methods of top pipe connections to head. Either at the back of head, or at the water pump. Need a 403 pump for this. Air bleeders shown at bottom of images.
With the heater plumbing, I've trialed 'poly pipe' and fittings. This stuff has been running in another 2oh for 1200 klms., and not 1 section of this has failed. Heating, 'warm as toast'!,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Pug72]

that's some great progress, well done

 

[lo203404]

Outa the shed: First job for this day after the previous days undercoat had dried on the replaced floor panels is under the car once more with a wide bladed spackle knife for this sticky little job. Bit of sound proofing goo on all the repaired sections of 1601811. Thin layers at a time over a few days so you don't end up wearing the stuff when gravity on the goo takes over.
In the days between those coats of stuff going off, was a good enough time as any while the cabins are empty to do a dummy run on the position and plumbing for the heaters on 1135478 and 1601811. Trying to find a 203 'Ducey' type heater even many moons ago was needle in a haystack stuff, so one had to improvise. From many visits to wreckers back in the '70's and '80's, at that time there were quite a few heaters still attached to cars, but finding a type that would fit in the narrow spot between the handbrake lever and the steering column was the trick. B.M.C. type cars came to the rescue with 3 or 4 'Smiths' type heaters picked up. The early 'Smiths' circular type and the next model, the Smiths 'Helmut' type is a perfect fit up the slot. Out of those only had a Helmut heater left, so 1135478 gets to try it out. For 1601811, had to make up a heater out of anything that came to hand, and it came down to bits of stuff hiding around under the house. A 504 heater core, a 404 heater fan motor, a '63 Victa air filter hose for windscreen demisting and a homemade box to hold it all together to the firewall. Just made it up the slot, a few mls. to spare on either side. Images show 2 methods of top pipe connections to head. Either at the back of head, or at the water pump. Need a 403 pump for this. Air bleeders shown at bottom of images.
With the heater plumbing, I've trialedView attachment 228481View attachment 228482View attachment 228483View attachment 228484View attachment 228485View attachment 228486View attachment 228487View attachment 228488View attachment 228489 'poly pipe' and fittings. This stuff has been running in another 2oh for 1200 klms., and not 1 section of this has failed. Heating, 'warm as toast'!,,,,,,,,,,,,

Outa the shed: First job for starters as not having the luxury of a rotisserie, is another one flat on the back under 1601811 with the spray gun to give her 2 coats of satin black. Have to pull the diff and torque tube assembly out of the way, as that will be next in line on the job list for seeing what lurks inside. While there's enough paint left in the tin may as well keep going and do the undersides of the mudguards and bonnet, engine bay, and as well the interior floor pan, as the sound proofing on the replaced sections has well and truly dried. Here's a trivia question for the 203 boffins out there. Why, as shown in the last image here, are the 'longerons' on commercials marked "X II" ? Here's a hint, coupes and cabriolets also have the same imprint. Simple answer. See who gets it right first!

 

[Greenpeace]

I have no idea, but I'll hazard a guess that it's Roman numerals to indicate a 1.2 mm thick (16 gauge) pressing.

 

[Pugpete69]

It's not to indicate "doors x 2" is it?

 

[lo203404]

I have no idea, but I'll hazard a guess that it's Roman numerals to indicate a 1.2 mm thick (16 gauge) pressing.

First cab off the rank and you're on the money! You must have had your thinking cap on snugly to get that correct at 2.30 am in the morning! Having worked around that panel on 1601811 a few times I thought there has to be a good reason for it to be marked as such. Curiosity got the better of me, so on a hunch I grabbed the verniers and done a comparison measurement between 1135478 (sedan) and 1601811, the wagon. Sure enough, sedan longeron comes in at 20 gauge (0.912) and the wagon 18 gauge (1.214).

 

[Greenpeace]

First cab off the rank and you're on the money! You must have had your thinking cap on snugly to get that correct at 2.30 am in the morning! Having worked around that panel on 1601811 a few times I thought there has to be a good reason for it to be marked as such. Curiosity got the better of me, so on a hunch I grabbed the verniers and done a comparison measurement between 1135478 (sedan) and 1601811, the wagon. Sure enough, sedan longeron comes in at 20 gauge (0.912) and the wagon 18 gauge (1.214).

It was only 1:30 up here in QLD so I was still "fresh as a daisy".
I figured it must be something that isn't obvious to the naked eye, so guessed it was the thickness.
I'll have to go and buy a lotto ticket today.

I've got one of those Smith's "Helmut" heaters you've been using in my shed. I bought it for a project but never ended up using it.

 

[lo203404]

Outa the shed: First job for starters as not having the luxury of a rotisserie, is another one flat on the back under 1601811 with the spray gun to give her 2 coats of satin black. Have to pull the diff and torque tube assembly out of the way, as that will be next in line on the job list for seeing what lurks inside. While there's enough paint left in the tin may as well keep going and do the undersides of the mudguards and bonnet, engine bay, and as well the interior floor pan, as the sound proofing on the replaced sections has well and truly dried. Here's a trivia question for the 203 boffins out there. Why, as shown in the last image here, are the 'longerons' on commercials marked "X II" ? Here's a hint, coupes and cabriolets also have the same imprint. Simple answer. See who gets it right first! View attachment 229237View attachment 229238View attachment 229239View attachment 229240View attachment 229241View attachment 229242View attachment 229243View attachment 229244View attachment 229249View attachment 229246

Outa the shed: With the diff assembly pulled out from under 1601811 it's now time to check out what the story is on the inside. First up, axles out, being careful on withdrawing past the oil throwers, and fingers crossed that they were still intact. The axle bearings still had an amount of grease within them as well as x amount of the black goo which had managed to run past the throwers. Next, separate the tie rods from the torque tube to axle casings, loosen the 5 nuts holding the torque tube to the diff housing and undo the diff drain plug. What came out was not all that surprising, seeing as it's been laid up since '68, going from it's last rego sticker, and not knowing what the previous custodian had thrown in it. Well, it sure didn't have the odour of R40 which was the go back then as great gobs of goo came oozing out, 'black gold, texas T' as old Jedd Clampett would have said. Equal amounts of goo from both the torque tube and diff casing, the diff seal definitely not doing its job, couldn't blame it! After the tube and diff casing were totally drained, helped by sitting in sun to speed things up a bit, ran a magnet through the all the goo, and no obvious pickup of any metal particles, so that was a plus. Next, disassemble the axle casings from the diff housing and recover the shims from both left and right hand sides. Package them up so there's no stuff ups on re assembly,,,,,,,,

 

[Steven King]

so many fixings one might think the commercial diff housing was some kind of high pressure vessel ...

 

[lo203404]

Outa the shed: With the diff assembly pulled out from under 1601811 it's now time to check out what the story is on the inside. First up, axles out, being careful on withdrawing past the oil throwers, and fingers crossed that they were still intact. The axle bearings still had an amount of grease within them as well as x amount of the black goo which had managed to run past the throwers. Next, separate the tie rods from the torque tube to axle casings, loosen the 5 nuts holding the torque tube to the diff housing and undo the diff drain plug. What came out was not all that surprising, seeing as it's been laid up since '68, going from it's last rego sticker, and not knowing what the previous custodian had thrown in it. Well, it sure didn't have the odour of R40 which was the go back then as great gobs of goo came oozing out, 'black gold, texas T' as old Jedd Clampett would have said. Equal amounts of goo from both the torque tube and diff casing, the diff seal definitely not doing its job, couldn't blame it! After the tube and diff casing were totally drained, helped by sitting in sun to speed things up a bit, ran a magnet through the all the goo, and no obvious pickup of any metal particles, so that was a plus. Next, disassemble the axle casings from the diff housing and recover the shims from both left and right hand sides. Package them up so there's no stuff ups on re assembly,,,,,,,,View attachment 229552View attachment 229553View attachment 229554View attachment 229555View attachment 229556View attachment 229557View attachment 229558View attachment 229559View attachment 229560View attachment 229561

Outa the shed: Forgot to mention previously, how I removed the axles. Homemade puller using a bit of threaded rod and pipe bending sleeve attached to the inverted brake drum on the hub and just kept tapping away. Then time for another big clean up. Umteen flushings of the diff housing until it's wheel, sun gears and roller bearings, worm and it's thrust bearings plus the casing itself were totally clean of any traces of the black goo that oozed out previously. Same applied to the axle bearings and their casings, every skerik of crud removed. Check that the delicate (bakerlite) oil throwers were intact. Last trick, it's time to go panning for gold. Well, what do we have here! There'd be a few bucks worth if it was,,,,,,,,,,,,