Zel's Fleet Blog...Rover, Renault, Peugeot, Trabant, Invacar & Sinclair C5

Post pictures and stories about your cars both present and past. Also post up "blogs" on your restoration projects - the more pictures the better! Note: blog-type threads often get few replies, but are often read by many members, and provide interest and motivation to other enthusiasts so don't be disappointed if you don't get many replies.
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Zelandeth
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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#1141 Post by Zelandeth » Mon Jan 24, 2022 5:28 pm

3xpendable wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 4:17 pm
Zelandeth wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 2:49 am
Engine is your typical Honda clone which turns up on everything from go karts to lawn mowers to generators...and while I'd obviously prefer the real thing (or being me to be honest, a flathead Briggs)

I have one!

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That looks rather a lot of fun...
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

3xpendable
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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#1142 Post by 3xpendable » Tue Jan 25, 2022 12:44 pm

It keeps me out of trouble haha! It has a Briggs 206cc flathead engine and is raced in a hugely popular class out here called...Briggs LO206. No mods are allowed and the engines are hugely reliable. I did actually sell this kart recently though as it was one of 3 I owned and the one I got the least enjoyment out of racing because it is basically not much faster than a rental kart. When compared to my gearbox (shifter) kart, it pales in comparison:

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6 speed, Honda CR125cc 2 stroke engine putting out over 40bhp, 4 wheeled brakes.
This is me racing it at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

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Anyway, I don't want to clog up your thread...!
2013 Dodge Durango R/T
1965 Ford Anglia 106e Estate (Wagon). LHD.
1964 Ford Anglia 105e Saloon

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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#1143 Post by Zelandeth » Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:12 pm

Wouldn't worry about that, sometimes the diversions are the most interesting bits! That one looks a real riot, two stroke would suit that we'll I'd think.

-- -- --

Very little to report as I've been running around all over the shop again this week so far.

Horrible sounding clatter/rattle when the engine stopped on the Caddy resolved.

Before:

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After:

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There was a good 3/4" of free play in the bonnet when latched and the nearside was rattling. I think looking at it the nearside hinge wants moving back fractionally too, that's a job for another day though. At least it doesn't rattle now.

Broken driver's door lock pull has now been replaced as it was bugging me.

The pull for the door lock on the driver's door was broken off at the top and it was bugging me. For the sake of less than £2 from a breaker it made sense to change it - they just unscrew.

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Little details, but together they help make the big picture and make the car nicer to drive.

I think tyres may be on the menu soonish. For all these aren't at all old they just seem to have virtually no grip when the surface is anything other than bone dry. 2nd gear wheel spin shouldn't be a daily issue on roundabouts with 64bhp on tap when trying to move off anything resembling briskly.

Not really expecting to get any time to do much else this week as the diary is pretty full.
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#1144 Post by Zelandeth » Mon Jan 31, 2022 11:33 pm

Figured it was time that I did something about this.

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I was getting fed up of having to shove it back into place every other trip.

A tip from someone on another forum suggested that there was likely a spring clip meant to be holding things in place based on their experience on older VWs so I went looking.

Sure enough I found one behind the headlight doing nothing.

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Took a bit of figuring out that the spring was actually meant to fit into a groove on the back of the headlight, which has been deformed in this case so it doesn't fit very securely, the bottom edge kept popping out of the groove.

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In the above photo you're looking into the hole the indicator would normally be in, the front of the van is towards frame right.

Once I figured out how it was supposed to fit together it didn't take long to get it reassembled.

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That's looking at the back of the headlight from inside the engine bay.

I've noted that one side of the plastic peg that the spring hooks over is cracked (which is why it's sitting at a bit of an angle) so it will need to be replaced at some point. Not a big issue as they aren't expensive.

For now though it's properly fixed in place again and doesn't fall out if I brake firmly.

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I do have a question though for folks who know these cars/vans better than me.

Does anyone know how the radiator etc should actually be supported? The top of mine is currently secured by cable ties (having previously been hanging by the coolant and AC refrigerant lines) as there is no evidence of any viable means for it to be secured to the underside of the slam panel. I've also completely failed to find photos online of anything which looks like what's in place in my engine bay - not sure if that's just because AC wasn't a common option on the Polo/Caddy back in 2002 or if I'm just useless at internet searches. It's pretty obviously wrong in most cases though as the majority of them only have a position available for a single fan, whereas I've got two. The ones I have seen with dual fans show two which are very different sizes, and a plastic cowling...rather than these two which are pretty similar in size (the offside one is a bit bigger) and a metal cowl of quite a different design. So I'm confused.

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I'm guessing that there should be some form of bracket/block/fitting...thing...that secures the radiator to the bolt through the slam panel on both sides.

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There isn't a threaded hole or anything on the radiator for that bolt to screw into by the way - I did wonder if it was that simple, but no.

Attempting to trawl Google for anything helpful has proven completely fruitless...and in fact about 70% of the radiators shown don't even have *any* tab/bracket etc at the top corners shown at all. I'm basing this on Polo stuff, as trying to search for Caddy specific things is completely hopeless as the search engine totally ignores 2002 and just spits out a plethora of matches for the current models.

I don't think the radiator can be lifted very much as I think the bottom end (which feels like it's located by pegs rather than bolts given it moves pretty freely vertically) will then lift out of whatever retains it down there...which makes me think that there must be something missing between the slam panel and the top of the radiator. It's one of those situations where I know the solution is probably dead simple, but without a proper diagram of how it all fits together I'm just guessing.

I could pull the bumper off to try to get a better look at things, but with it looking like something is actually missing I don't really know what that would gain me anyway other than being able to see that something is missing...

The only other job I've done today was to replace the headlight bulbs. They looked pretty well done based on the condition of the filament and the new ones do seem a good bit brighter so I think they were due a change. Still not great, but I can actually see they're on in town now which is an improvement.
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#1145 Post by Zelandeth » Wed Feb 02, 2022 12:13 am

Looks like we have found the missing bit of radiator hardware.

Link

This definitely looks like it would attach to the radiator - though the space above it looks big enough that there would need to be another spacer of some sort involved too...though that's easier to engineer if needed at least.

You can see the attachment point on the radiator better here.

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My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#1146 Post by Zelandeth » Fri Feb 04, 2022 10:56 pm

Noticed that there's a slightly noisy pulley in the aux belt area on the Caddy. It's not bad, but with a long drive coming up at the end of next week I'd rather get it changed as a precaution. The tensioner in particular looks quite rough so that's my prime suspect.

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I'm not used to being able to walk into the motor factors and just get parts rather than having to wait several days for things to be ordered in.

Guess this is the upside to owning something made this century!

£130 later and we've got a new belt, tensioner and idler pulley.

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I'm not sure which it is that's making the noise so just picked up both. Depending how much of a pig to get things off are I may just change them both for peace of mind.

Just need to figure out how to de-tension the tensioner, as that's going to be a major part of the job I think.

Hoping it's not a major pain of a job to change...it looks *relatively* simple which has me worried!
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#1147 Post by Zelandeth » Sat Feb 05, 2022 6:14 pm

Okay, that's going to be one of "those" jobs then is it...

Only way to get a spanner (can't be a socket as it's too close to the chassis rail) onto the tensioner to back it off is from underneath, which means I need to get the under tray and wheel arch liner out.

That ain't happening today with how windy it is.

At least the actual bolts holding the tensioner to the engine are pretty easily accessible. However until I've safely restrained the world's strongest spring that's not a lot of use to me.
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#1148 Post by Dick » Sat Feb 05, 2022 7:53 pm

That's why i get my favourite mechanic dr Christophe to change my belts ... i saw them being done once and thought bugger that..... also check if the pulley on the alternator is ok, mine had a clutch in it that seized and caused problems.

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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#1149 Post by gazza82 » Sat Feb 05, 2022 8:13 pm

When I did the belts on my Alfa 156 I had to borrow a shortened 15mm socket .. a spanner wouldn't fit so needed a 3/8" breaker bar but then there wasn't the clearance!
"If you're driving on the edge ... you're leaving too much room!"

Retirement Project: '59 Austin A35 2-door with 1330cc Midget engine and many upgrades
Said goodbye: got '98 Alfa Romeo 156 2.0 TSpark to 210K miles before tin worm struck

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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#1150 Post by Zelandeth » Sat Feb 05, 2022 10:53 pm

Dick wrote:
Sat Feb 05, 2022 7:53 pm
That's why i get my favourite mechanic dr Christophe to change my belts ... i saw them being done once and thought bugger that..... also check if the pulley on the alternator is ok, mine had a clutch in it that seized and caused problems.
Have already asked my usual two garages - neither has availability before the end of the month, so if I want it done before the drive to Glasgow it's me, me or me who's going to be doing the work.

It doesn't *look* like it will be too bad once I can get to the tensioner from underneath. Hopefully getting the "grenade pin" into the locking position won't be too bad. I can't even move the spring on the new one in the slightest by hand with it off the car, so it's a pretty powerful spring!

Just modern car things really, automatic tensioners, under trays and such...

The alternator on this looks conventional at least so I don't think it has a clutch on it. I suspect the generation of Caddy after this would have introduced things like that when the push towards getting every MPG possible out of things really started to take hold.

I think with this one the direct injection system was considered to be quite forward thinking in itself when the SDI engine was dropped into it - worth remembering that on an 02 plate this one was pretty much at the end of the line, this van having been in production since 1996.

I have to admit that I'm quite impressed with it as a driver. My obvious comparison is to the venerable XUD, which I had in the same capacity in N/A form in my first Peugeot 306.

Which I think you'll agree was in exceptional condition for a we reckon ~175K mile car (the speedometer hadn't worked for about five years when I bought it showing 145K).

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This was the first of several French cars I've owned, my first diesel and my first encounter with the reality of how well a well engineered car could wear it's miles. I was used to things like Metros, Novas and Fiestas where by the time you were closing in on 100K you expected the car to be feeling really pretty tired. The *only* thing on that 306 that didn't work was the speedometer (and that was fixed by replacing the pickup sensor on the gearbox). There were zero squeaks, rattles, grumbles or general signs of age...it drove like a brand new car...and one I'd happily go back and grab now if I had a time machine. Sadly this was when they were worth nothing, especially a high mileage N/A diesel in a low trim level, and despite being totally devoid of any rust the failure of the heater matrix meant it was scrapped only a few months after I sold it.

Anyway, the engine is what I'm really here to compare to. Performance wise they're not hugely different, the XUD in 1.9 non-turbo form as I had there was rated at 71bhp, so a bit more than the 64bhp of the SDI. This doesn't surprise me given the XUD revs quite a bit higher, the governor being set to 5500rpm as I recall, rather than below 5000rpm on the SDI. The rev counter with the scale only going to 5500rpm is quite noticeable when you look at the cluster for the first time.

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My XUD engined Xantia for comparison.

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At idle there's not much to chose between them. The SDI is quieter overall, but it it sounds more rattly than the honest diesel clatter of the XUD which somehow just sounds reassuringly like one of those things that will just go on forever.

On the move though there's a marked difference which shows how far things have come, the SDI is far, far smoother. While the rev range is narrower it feels far less strained to use all of it, though you don't really need to. I don't think I've ever driven a car with a flatter torque curve from this - she pulls absolutely happily from idle, and I rarely find myself bothering to rev it past around 2500rpm as you just don't need to. Bit of diesel rattle, which does vary more with the throttle setting than on the XUD, but it sounds more like a well oiled machine, whereas the XUD in comparison never lets you forget that you are being propelled forward by a series of small explosions. Thing you're most aware of at motorway speeds in this van is a bit of a boomy drone from the exhaust, but I think that's down to the wheelchair conversion more than anything else as the rear silencer is moved a loooooong way forward compared to where VW intended it to be.

The way it delivers the power is very different, while the XUD 306 never felt underpowered, you did feel that you were having to work the engine to make decent progress, whereas the SDI in this Caddy while slower on paper always *feels* far more eager.

I've found driving around with it for a few weeks now to be quite interesting. I was prepared for it to be quite woefully slow based on what I'd read. On paper it really is. Comparative 0.60 times for the 306 above to the Caddy are 16.5 seconds for the 306 and apparently a whole 20.5 seconds for the Caddy... I'll have to time it as it really doesn't feel that slow...

The big deal world test for me performance wise is whether a car can easily maintain 70 on the motorway in the face of headwinds and gradients without requiring major flooring of the throttle or dropping gears, and the Caddy passed that test with ease. On 50/60mph roads you barely have to feather the throttle to maintain progress.

Economy so far has been coming in at around 42MPG, which is about what I was expecting. I reckon you'd be seeing high 40s driving around with a "normal" combined cycle, as I've said before Milton Keynes is absolutely murder on fuel economy for any car or van. It will be really interesting at the end of this week to see how she does during a 400-ish mile run up the motorway. I don't think we'll see much higher as I'm sure the aerodynamic penalty of having a box sticking out the will come into play at those speeds. If we see 45mpg or better I'll be happy.

...That turned into a bit of an unexpected ramble!
My website - aka. My *other* waste of time
Current fleet: 73 AC Model-70. 75 Rover 3500. 84 Trabant 601S. 85 Sinclair C5. 88 Renault 25 Monaco. 06 Peugeot Partner 1.6HDi.

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