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...Lada, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#151 Post by Zelandeth » Wed Jan 23, 2019 2:12 am

Here are the crusty remains of the front to rear brake line once removed from the car. This had been bypassed by a temporary line for quite a while to make moving the car around less terrifying, but wasn't actually removed until yesterday.

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The in-line coupler will be saved (the fittings used on this thing are actually all nice quality), but the pipework is obviously only destined for the scrap metal bin.

New front to rear line is now in place (the temporary one I'd had just dangling under the car is visible to the right) and connected up at the front.

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The line you can see to the right of the frame is the temporary one I'd plumbed in a while ago - that's now also been removed.

Pipework has been run right up to the T-piece for the rear axle connections.

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Goes without saying that there will be a bunch of grommets, clips and bits of rubber sheathing installed to make sure it can't rub through on anything as this car has no shortage of rough edges.

I was a bit disappointed not to have time to get the lines to the rear wheels connected up yesterday evening as the lines are tantalisingly close to being finished. However it wasn't to be.

While I was crawling around under the car removing the old pipes I took the opportunity to thoroughly douse the handbrake mechanism in penetrating oil, so I'll be looking at seeing if I can get that to behave itself soon as well. A good parking brake is essential on this car as there's no way to secure it without it!

It gave me a good opportunity to have a proper look at the condition of the chassis as well. It's quite remarkable to be honest...I've no idea what they rust proofed these old crates with when they made them, but it's incredibly effective. There's nothing beyond light surface corrosion present, despite the car being 43 years old, and having spent the last 15 years in a boggy field with no wheels on.

Between a hospital appointment awkwardly scheduled right in the middle of the day and my getting stuck in traffic this afternoon I've nothing to really update today. However I did discover this evening that unbeknown to me at the time my husband snapped a hugely flattering photo of me while I was busy working on the seat installation the other day. If you wondered how compact the Invacar actually is relative to a person, here you go.

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Having a completely flat floor without pedals in the way does make it slightly easier to do stuff like this, and in fact it wasn't even that uncomfortable once I was folded into that corner.

Getting back *out* of that corner on the other hand, that was a process which I will simply describe as "inelegant."

The interior is actually decently roomy for a single person - especially compared to some of the contemporary microcars. In conjunction with my having chosen to fit a more comfortable seat, I can see it not being too bad a place to spend time on some longer trips - important given I've quite a few planned for later this year or next year...
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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Zelandeth
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Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Lada, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#152 Post by Zelandeth » Wed Jan 23, 2019 9:10 pm

Courtesy of traffic today turning what should have been a two hour round trip into nearly five, and an absolutely splitting headache - no work done today.

However I can confirm that my new fuel tank does indeed exist. I've seen it and it looks excellent. It has been successfully pressure tested too, so it just awaiting the boss for the sender being attached and the breather hole to be drilled in the cap. They now have the gauge sender in hand so can confirm everything fits before welding stuff in place.

Had a brief chat about the exhaust too and they reckon that it's well within their capabilities to recreate in stainless though they'd want to take a look at it before talking money - sounds like an excuse for a drive over there once she's on the road.

Vintage Tyres are just down the road from us in Bicester, so if time permits tomorrow I might wander over there to see about getting myself some nice new Camac 145 R10 tyres as that's one of the big remaining things on the to do list.

Have definitely decided now that I am sticking with the 10" wheels (being a 1973 car she probably would have been on 12" wheels originally). Four reasons:

1. The higher profile of the 10" tyres over the 12" ones should help the ride quality.
2. Being the tyre size originally fitted to the Mini, they're readily and cheaply available.
3. Cosmetic preference. I reckon the wheels look much more in scale with the rest of the car with the 10s.
4. Hypothetical grip improvement. They 10" tyres have a wider profile, and I figure that given these cars seem to have a reputation for getting blown around, the more rubber in contact with the road the better I guess.

Oh...and I have three ten inch wheels in good order, all of the twelves need help to at least some extent...if I even still have them... can't remember if I sent them all off with KP now I think about it.

Ride comfort and looks are the main ones though.
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...Lada, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#153 Post by Zelandeth » Fri Jan 25, 2019 11:00 pm

As hoped, I managed to get a couple of hours this afternoon to attack the to do list.

Getting the rear brakes actually connected up was of course the first order of business given how close to done that job was before.

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Just need to fit a couple of clips to keep the pipes from rubbing against things.

Oh - and get the flexis changed. Though the rubber is actually in pretty good shape, I've tortured them pretty well and there's no real perishing to speak of and they've stood up quite happily to me literally hanging my entire weight on the handlebars without any bulging or anything. They'll still be changed as a matter of course - but I'm happy enough for that to be after the first test runs. The front one has been replaced already with a NOS part I got with KP.

At this point I figured I'd save myself some time by grabbing an Easibleed. I want to change the fluid in the van soon and that's going to be quite tedious the old fashioned way and they're hardly expensive.

...However they do not come with an adaptor in the box to fit the old Girling master cylinder. The largest one in the box is a good 1/2" too small. D'oh!

Fine, back to doing things the old fashioned way. The piping runs being pretty short at least mean that it doesn't take long to bleed the fluid through. Even if the offside one had to be done from the union onto the wheel cylinder as the bleed nipple on that side still isn't interested in moving.

All done and I have what feels like a reasonable "pedal" - there's still more free play than I'd like, though as I've mentioned already the handbrake mech needs freeing up - and I've not adjusted anything. Not faffing around trying to do that inside the garage where I've no room to move.

Time for some moving tests though...so let's clear the car of the accumulated junk (again), button the rear access panel back up and shift the van so I've got a bit of room to play with.

Took a surprising amount of time to empty this tiny space again...

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I managed to ascertain that I do have brakes. Didn't have time to really ascertain much beyond that as the smell of petrol started to become obviously not just that from the open can out the back, but was Far More than I should be smelling...Immedialy obvious when I stopped the engine was the "Tssssshhh...Tsssssh..." of something dripping and evapourating from something hot.

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That would be petrol dripping out of the fuel pump, onto the tinware and then straght onto the offside exhaust branch. Rather unnerving!

That hose was weeping about a week ago and I trimmed the last inch or so off the end of it - today though it's escaping from around the access cover on the top of the pump itself. Grrrr...Easy enough to sort at least, and I spotted it *before* the car had a chance to set fire to itself!

Will get that sorted out (I wanted to give the screen in the pump another clean anyway so not all bad) tomorrow and then give the brakes a bit more exercise on the driveway. Next up will probably be either swapping out the indicator switch to one that works more reliably or fashioning a heat shield of some sort to cover the exhaust until I can summon the willpower to fully rebuild the rear apron.

She's pretty much unburied though which is pretty rare these days!

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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...Lada, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#154 Post by Zelandeth » Sun Jan 27, 2019 12:16 am

Today I simply confirmed that I really need to clear the garage up. Wound up wasting an epic amount of time when I dropped the cover plate from the fuel pump. It pinged off into a corner, and came to rest of all places, under the Crypton machine. Must have taken me half an hour to get to it and the same again to unbury the car from under everything I'd moved.

I have now ordered five metres of A1 marine grade fuel hose, so will get that all rerouted when it turns up. I have left the original piping in place so far so I can use it as a template for the correct routing.

Plans for tomorrow.

[] Test fuel system. Cross fingers it no longer leaks.
[] Hit the trim from above the windscreen with the carbide mop on the grinder to get rid of the old adhesive, then paint it.
[] Expose the handbrake pivot mechanism to excessive amounts of violence to convince it to move again.
[] Adjust and test brakes... possibly above walking pace for the first time ever... won't that be exciting...
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...Lada, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#155 Post by Luxobarge » Sun Jan 27, 2019 9:28 am

Zelandeth wrote:
Sun Jan 27, 2019 12:16 am
[] Hit the trim from above the windscreen with the carbide mop on the grinder to get rid of the old adhesive, then paint it.
Loving this thread - keep up the good work!

Just one comment, if you use an abrasive to remove adhesive, I'd expect it to clog up very quickly and not work, I'd be thinking about using a solvent first to get the adhesive off, then finish off with an abrasive - something like acetone or cellulose paint thinners would probably shift it. White spirit probably won't work though. If you don't have that, try petrol?

Cheers! :D
Some people are like Slinkies - they serve no useful purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them downstairs.

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

#156 Post by Zelandeth » Sun Jan 27, 2019 2:59 pm

It's a very hard stuff, which I've tried to shift with everything solvent based I have to hand. Acetone, petrol, diesel and several products which claim to be sticky stuff removers. Nothing had touched it.

It comes off like sand if scraped, so hoping that something relatively flexible like the carbide mop will work. Sounds like far less work than doing it millimetre by millimetre with a paint scraper...
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...Lada, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#157 Post by Zelandeth » Sun Jan 27, 2019 11:14 pm

I had been hoping to get the brakes adjusted today, but given the very gusty wind I decided that crawling around underneath an extremely light car that was jacked up probably wasn't the smartest idea. Not as though I've not got enough to a to do list as for there to be enough to be getting on with.

Let's check to see if the recent bout of incontinence from the fuel pump has been resolved.

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That would appear to be a yes. Though it does appear that there is still oil seeping from the dipstick handle...Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be one of "those" jobs which is going to keep being a pain. Might see if a new dipstick is a spare I can get with the rest of the engine bits I'm after.

There is a very brief video from when I was peering suspiciously at the fuel pump if anyone wants to see it...Just an Invacar engine burbling away at a fast idle...but knowing you lot you'll probably want to see it anyway so I may as well start uploading it hadn't I...

The angle grinder having been uneathed (yes, my garage is such a mess I managed to lose it) meant that I could finally attack that bit of trim from over the windscreen and get rid of the remains of the old adhesive. As expected, it was so old and dry that it just sanded off.

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Cleaned up nicely.

Quick coat of hammered black paint had it looking rather less scruffy and had rather improved the sort of 1960s industrial aesthetic that rather matches the rest of the interior better.

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Reliabily working indicators are kinda high on my wish list for the road test, so I pulled the indicator stalk off to swap it for my spare. It hadn't been too bad until I started trying to get the horn working, then it started playing up. So time to swap it.

Helpfully the plug was willing to come off so I was able to unplug it and bring the whole lot inside so I can transfer things over and tape the loom up again inside.

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The new stalk is set up for being on the right (SIII Land Rover I think), but I personally prefer that so I'm happy to move it over. Should work better with the control layout in there anyway. Right hand has throttle and stalk, leaving your left hand free for the controls on the dash - no arm crossing dance required to use the windscreen wipers.
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...Lada, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#158 Post by Zelandeth » Mon Jan 28, 2019 8:50 pm

Didn't take long today to get the new stalk wired up to the existing indicator stalk wiring loom.

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Not the prettiest job, but it should be electrically sound. The connections were made with crimp butt connectors which were then also soldered and heatshrink wrapped, before the loom was then re-wrapped. In hindsight I should probably have continued the wrap about an inch closer to the back of the switch itself...but I'm not worrying about that now. I did away with the grommet in the end as it was just getting in the way.

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Had to rotate the throttle grip slightly to prevent the indicator stalk from fouling on the cable when signalling right, and the cowling needed the opening made a little wider to accomodate the high beam flash feature which the original stalk didn't have. There was originally only one screw holding the plastic cowl on, so I had to have a bit of a rummage around in the box of random fasteners but soon had it properly secured so it doesn't wobble around like it used to.

The only thing that I need to be careful of is that at extreme full left lock the stalk can foul the dashboard, though I doubt that will really be an issue in the real world.

All the lights are now behaving properly again, however still no signs of life from the horn. Given that the front service cover was I believe open for a number of years, it's unsurprisingly looking a bit worse for wear.

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Connecting it directly to 12V resulted in nothing happening. Checking with a meter revealed that this does indeed seem somewhat poorly.

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Not going to waste time trying to resurrect that or find as close a match as possible. My plan has been since day one to fit something which is rather louder than standard, so an air horn will be getting installed tomorrow. My logic is that a tiny car needs a Very Loud horn, especially living in a city of blind Audi driving maniacs and never ending roundabouts.

Here's how the trim panel from above the windscreen has come out now it's had another coat of paint.

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The visor has now been reattached and hopefully I'll get it reunited with the car tomorrow.

Thinking about possible upgrades in the future I've also been thinking about the heating system. It seems to chuck out decent heat, and the biggest issue is probably that the airflow isn't great - especially at low revs - and let's not forget that quite a bit of my driving is probably going to be around town. So I'm definitely pondering the addition of an electric fan to replace the existing engine cooling air bleed setup. I'd obviously not want to pull any more air from the cooling system, so a bit of re-plumbing would probably be needed. Not something I'm looking at doing now, just something I'm sort of mapping out in my head as a possibility for the future.

In other news, for the last few weeks I've kept hearing something sliding around *somewhere* in the cabin of the Activa. However actually tracking down what it was had thus far been unsuccessful. Until this afternoon.

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That'll be it! This usually lives in the boot, so has probably been in there since the car was in the garage having work done for the MOT. It has now been returned to its usual home in the boot.
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...Lada, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#159 Post by Zelandeth » Tue Jan 29, 2019 9:52 pm

The wheels from the Invacar are currently at Vintage Tyres in Bicester, and should be ready to pick up with new tyres fitted in the morning.

A moderately deep level excavation of the loft turned up the air horn I'd bought a while ago for another project.

A slight problem turned up in that it couldn't fit on the original mounting point as it was too big. Cue some brief improvisation.

I still had a bracket in the front compartment which had originally been a support for the front brake flexible hose. However I had not been able to convince the end left over from the original hose to unbolt from it. However as KP used a different bracket I'd swapped that over and just left the original in there, it didn't really get in the way or anything. That bracket however was exactly what I needed to act as a spacer to attach the new horn.

So started a three quarter of an hour fight with it to try to remove the ferrule from the original brake hose. Between penetrating oil, brute force, having the whole thing glowing red hot... eventually the blasted nut threaded itself...and still won't come undone. So it's still there for now!

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I'll just chop it off with the angle grinder next time I have it out. Just one bolt to get it off the car after all. I'm not worrying about it for now. I'll need to wire up a relay to provide power for it as well, but being virtually next to the fuse box (it's about six inches away on the other side of the bulkhead) that won't exactly be a chore.

Speaking of electrical stuff, this tiny little combined DC voltmeter and ammeter turned up today.

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This obviously won't be a permanent addition to the dash as it's so out of period. However during the initial shakedown period I'll take as much information from the car as I can get - it did spend 15 years dumped in a field. The charging system is worthy keeping an eye on too as any glitches with the voltage regulator (which is mechanical) can destroy the battery and the Dynastart unit itself...so if it plays up I want to know about it.

The shunt which was supplied with this is rated for up to 100A continuous, and given that the starting circuit is fused at 50A this meant I could just stick it directly in series with the battery feed (and I wanted to change the ground lead as it was somewhat dog eared anyway). Version 1.0 has the shunt just attached to the battery.

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I don't like this. Even though it's not a permanent addition... it'll be getting moved to a better supported and tidier location tomorrow, probably either under the battery tray or on the tray the coil, solenoid and voltage regulator live on.

I hadn't spotted how manky the battery to lead connection on the positive side was until looking at these photos, I'll get that changed out for a new one tomorrow.
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...Lada, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70

#160 Post by Zelandeth » Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:36 pm

While I didn't actually have the opportunity to do anything to the car today, two very important parts have now arrived.

While my wallet may now be £200 lighter, I've got three nice new tyres on the wheels.

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I'm really happy with how in period those tyres look.

The other thing to turn up is this bundle of fuel hose.

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It's worth noting that I've kind of lost patience with hoses starting to disintegrate virtually as soon as they're fitted, so I may have resorted to slight overkill.

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Let's see how that lasts shall we? Only downside is that with the pipe walls being about twice the thickness of the ones on there I'm going to need to get a bunch more hose clips.

I'll get the wheels back on tomorrow (she's currently sitting on three very flat tyres) and get the fuel hoses routed properly so that's all ready for the fuel tank when it turns up - which should with a bit of luck be in the next couple of days.

So a short update (by my standards anyway!) this one, but quite important items to have ticked off.
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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