Tonys 306 Cabby - Dead...

[insomaniac45]

So, with my list in hand, i though it time to start tackling it. 

First was to sort out the bumper. With so many minor issues with it, from scrapes to cracks to mis-alignments. I though it best to sort out the gap between the passenger wheel and the arch. 

Here it is. 



As you can see, it is very tight..... 

So first things first take it off. 

Once it was off i was able to inspect the front. And im not very happy to say the least. It looks like it has taken a hit on the tow bar. Pushing the surrounding area down and in. 

Drivers side


Passenger side. 



As you can see the plate that the bumper mounts to is slightly off kilter. Which would mean the whole front has dropped a little. Now there is nothing i can do here unless i get the car jigged. It still drives fine, and handles well. Everything else still lines up ok. 

So it is going to have to be a bodge. Well a temporary fix long term until i can get it straightened later down the line. 

Here is the bumper


The white plastic insert is damaged. it is no longer attached internally to the skin of the bumper. So i have had to go drastic here and use rivets to pull it back and hold it in place. 

The next issue was all the plastic supports on the underside are broken off. So i have had to cut metal supports to bolt in position. 

 

These were made from angle, then cut flat. I did not want the full strength of the angle, as in the even of a front end nudge, it would damage the sub frame they are attatched to, instead i am prepared to accept them damaging the bumper. 

So, with a bit of fettling, and adjustmants, and spacers, here is the gap left under the passenger light. 

Before - 



After - 


Much better. 

Now for the arch, 



Still not 100% perfect, but it is now clear of the wheel, and stand off you would not be able to tell. 

Still to do is fix the scratches and cracks in the bumper, but tbh i am thinking of modifying it as the centre grill has separated from the bottom of the bumper, this cannot be repaired without it being noticeable. so i am thinking of removing the whole black plastic section, apart from the fog lights, and filling it with mesh. Kind of like a high flow bumper. 

So, how do you think my first part has gone? 
Not as good as i was hoping, but at least she does look alot better now


Tony.

[Poodle]

Shame to see it's been in a front end smash, tidy job of the fix though! I've actually got one of those black plastic grills in fairly immaculate condition if you'd like it, can have it tbh, thing has been sat here for yonks.

[insomaniac45]

It is a little disheartening, but it makes me realise as to why i got it so cheap.

I may have to take you up on that offer Poodle     How easy are they to fit? as i thought they were plastic welded into the bumper. 



Todays task - Clean the leather interiour. Years of grime and no proper clean or care take their toll on good leather.

[Eeyore]

bit weird how ther eis so much panel gap. My estate was wonky but wasnt a huge gap like that!

[insomaniac45]

By the looks of it, its pushed the lower front section down a little, the wing has a small crease in it, luckily it is on the inner section of the arch, and can be rectified with out it being noticeable.

The Huge gap was being caused by all the supports being broken and the white insert being broken away from the skin of the bumper. Which made it look cracked.


Todays Task,
It took a little longer than i thought, but i am pleased with the results. I still need to hoover and properly clean the plastics, But the leather is now cleaned, and fed


I wont bore you with all the shots, but i saved the worst for you. 

Passenger door - 

Before -



After - 




Passenger Seat back - 

Before - 



After - 



Rear Seats - 

Before -



After - 





It looks so much cleaner, fresher, and almost like new. 

 

still need to sort out the drivers seat back, as there is a small hole in the side support, but otherwise pleased with the results. 

All i have used, is a special saddle soap. It requires just a damp sponge, and a clean buffing cloth. 


Tony.

[Poodle]

Quite, no such thing as a free lunch eh. The grills are plastic welded on, but you can achieve much the same effect with a bit of time and a soldering iron, doesn't look as tidy, but you'll never see it from the outside. That leather has come up beautifully!

[insomaniac45]

I have been plastic welding things back together for years now even got bits of plastic dotted around for just such a thing 


I may not be able to stretch to a free lunch, (6 kids) but i can offer as many teas, coffees or squash as you can drink (we buy that in bulk....) 



I do think the back came up much better than i was expecting, the shameful thing is i have seen bits i have missed     like the drivers seat back, right on the right hand edge. ITs still al ittle grimey there.   but i will get that next time. 

I do need to get under the car at some point, as i think she is either venting fuel, or the tank has a small leak. 
My gauge goes down rather quick, either that or she is drinking fuel like it is going out of fashion.    For example, i can put £20 for fuel, gives me 1/2 a tank, then the next day its just over 1/4 and i have not really gone any where. s it me, or do i need to drop the tank off and inspect the sender unit, seals, and condition of the tank. 


Tony.

[Jonny81191]

Bring it to either Poodle's or my work, we'll chuck it on a ramp and have a look. Interior is looking very nice, good effort!

[insomaniac45]

Thanks fella

will pm you in a little while, just got in weather today is not nice.....

[Jonny81191]

Tell me about it, I've got to go out and pull bits off a HDi in a bit. Not looking forward to that at all.

[insomaniac45]

Hey guys, I have been thinking it may be worth me replacing the cam belt. as i have no idea when it was done.

I have looked at the haynes manual of lies. and it seems simple enough, but you can never turn down first hand experience.

Is there anything i may need to look out for? i do not know what tensioner is on there, but i am hoping it is the dynamic tensioner, as it is easier to tension .


Tony.

[insomaniac45]

Little more progress on the cabby.

started to repair the paint work, lots of stone chips... like 15 years worth of stone chips. Its like it was driven 20 miles behind a gritter.........

but the bonnet is almost done, just got to wait for what i have done to dry, then tomorrow wash it again... then fill in the rest of the chips.... then once they have all been done, any that are too high get flatted off, then hit the whole bonnet with rubbing compound to blend it all in

results to come soon.

[insomaniac45]

It took alot longer than i was expecting,

had to order a kit of flea bay for mopping, as hitting the bonnet with rubbing compound by hand was taking an age........ all in all the finishing took alot longer than i was expecting, but i am happy with the results. Still a few small areas that need some attention, but overall it is looking great.








i still need to pay close attention to the passenger wing, boot lid, and drivers door handle area. Plus i may need to re-spray the hood lid, as it has rubbed through to the base coat in places where the roof has been rubbing it. But if those areas look like this, then i will be very happy with it

On the other hand, i may need to get some quotes to have the lover sections of the car blown over as there are millions of stone chips in the paint work.


BTW, what bumper strips fit? herd a laguna one fits, but not sire on year. I think she needs a little trim on the front,

[Poodle]

That's looking great! I've seen you around, recognise the plate, will wave next time if i'm paying attention. I'm usually in a knackered-looking, dark green 205 gti replica, in case you see me first.

Personally i'd stick with the oem gti6 style splitter, there's not much else that fits nicely and looks appropriate. The laguna one can be made to fit, but it needs a lot of cutting and reshaping, think i've still got a butchered one somewhere if you want a look.

[insomaniac45]

Lol. if i see you first, i will wave

That would be great, i will have a look at how much the GTi6 splitter is. Plus i have been toying with a rear spoiler, like a 406 one, The arse looks so big, and needs something to make it look a little less plain. ebay reckon £40 for complete front bumper assy. Might have to go with that soon. As the front fog is smashed too.

[Niall]

Looking good! The laguna splitter fits very easily. Its very soft plastic so can be shaped very easily. I had one on mine but recently changed to a Cupra R splitter. Bit of a bastard to fit but once its on there it fits fine



Also, why did Peugeot not do leather door cards for the 3 door . they look awesome in comparison to the cloth which goes horrible!

[insomaniac45]

That does look sweet Niall.

So small update, nothing new happening apart from keeping her clean atm.

On the list so far, is -
Full service,
Oils, waters, filters, and belts inc tensioners.

I have a small issue atm guys so need your help.

On the Aux belt it sounds as though my power steering pumps bearings have gone dry, is this a common issue? or should i check further down for something else.
Also, on initial start up, until she gets warm, it is very tappety. Once warm the sound goes almost completely. (History - when the rad popped she did hit 100 degrees not quite red, but pretty much there)

So before i go ahead and start doing anything else, i want the heart to be running beautifully with no noises that should not be there.



On the planning front.
Showed the missus a Cabriolet with a maxi style body kit.

This one infact


her responce.....

do it. !!!!!!!! now just to save save save, oh, and do the half a million other jobs that need doing before i can even think of putting any cash away for a maxi kit, and a set of morettes... Would look sooo nice though .

Tony.

[Poodle]

Dry pas pump bearings is fairly common, dribble some wd40 onto the shaft and see if the noise goes away. I've probably got a spare pump kicking about somewhere, you will have to come and help me dig for it though! I would check everything else on the belt route first though, especially the sprung tensioner, just in case.

A maxi kit would be awesome, they're rare as hens teeth. Used to be a bright yellow one on .net, was a bit of a dog though, and bearing in mind it was genuine the fit and finish was fairly awful.

[insomaniac45]

unfortunately if the body kit is not fitted with care, and time, it will always look crap, but i do intend to buy the standard 306 kit, and modify that to fit the cabby, unless i can find a cabby one for about £600 when i have saved the readies, (next year some time) but that is all pipe dreams atm.

I will try the wd40, i have lithium based grease, and about 5 or 6 other types, if it does quieten it down, then i know it is that that is the issue,
And of course, i would be more than happy to help rummage will have to be evening time though, cant do much during the day (6 kids at school and all hell breaks loose until the youngest are in bed :p )

Thanks once again poodle.

What about the tappety sound? once warm, it is only noticeable when the bonnet is open, but it sounds terrible when the engine is cold. or would you be happy to pass you ear over it when i come to help look for this PAS pump   
Thanks once again for all your help. 

tony.

[Poodle]

As far as i understand it, all of the factory built maxis were fairly poorly finished, at least in terms of panel gaps etc. To be honest i wouldn't envy you the project, bodywork really isn't my forte, all up for cheering from the sidelines though!

Evening time suits me, i work the 9-5 plus Saturdays anyway. I'll pm you my number.

Tappety sound i'm not so sure, will have to have a listen when you drop in. I'm not so hot on my petrol engines, do these have hydraulic lifters..?

[Matt]

Dimma/maxi cabs look sick. Just make sure it looks better than springs' old one

[Niall]

They do have hydraulic lifters which are just as bad as the 6 ones for ending up with air locks in them, dirt in them blocking them or just giving up all together. Sometimes a oil change with a slightly thinner good quality oil will fix it, other times its a case of needing to work out which lifter it is (easy enough) and replace them (not so easy)

[insomaniac45]

Thanks so much for all your inputs .

I am in need of replacing the cambelt, so i may try an oil change first, if that does not work ,then i will do it when the cam belt is off, Kill 2 birds with 1 stone.


As for the dry bearings, a drop of multi purpose light oil have sorted it, it was either the PAS pump, or the idler. I did them both at the same time, but again, the idler will get changed the same time as the cam belt, possibly the PAS pump as well, if i can get over to you poodle lol.

Thanks once again guys,

plan of action has been made, now to put it in place.

[insomaniac45]

Ok, with the recent damage to the car, i am thinking long term plans here.

I intend to powerflex the engine mounts, and polybush/powerflex the suspension bushes. 

i know what i need to do them. 

But if i want to put on the GTi6 exhaust and inlet manifolds. what do i need? other than the manifolds, and do they simply bolt on?

I know the exhaust will be tight, as i have aircon, of which i do intend to get working again so i dont want to loose anything from that system, 


Currently all i have done engine wise, is fit a nice new closed filter. 





i will be loosing the original inlet rubber, and going straight in,  this will free up a little space, and smooth the airflow into the manifold. I will also be modifying the cold air duct. At the moment its standard, and pointing down behind the bumper. I want it to sit above the panel, and be wider. Allowing it to suck in all the air coming through the gap between the bonnet and bumper.

[insomaniac45]

Ok, so after a few annoying things, like wrong ball joints...... and wrong bearings.......

she now sits on new front wishbones, and new track rod ends luckily, the ball joints are still ok, but are still on the list of things to change, but they have been bumped down the list a little. Next to do is the wheel bearings when they arrive.

but i also have
- new rear ash tray
- new indicator stalk (she ticks when not being used....)
- new drivers window switches

So she is getting there slowly

Next time i have a few hours, and some daylight, the front bumper is coming back off, and i am going to try and pull the front out a little again. This time using an old rop trick i know, and the tow bar on the boxer...... No i am not going to just reverse really quick....... I have seen tooo many bad endings that way. The trick is, to twist the rope, this then shortens the rope, making it tighter, and making the force adjustable

[insomaniac45]

I firstly must appologise for my lack of presence.

Things have been very busy round here, leaving me no time to do anything but sleep, eat, and house work.......


So, today me an the missus had a day off, so with her blessing, i was able to crack on, and get some real work done for a change.


Pictures tell a thousand words, well i must have used all them swearing while trying to get this B*****D out.......




Yes it is the lower engine mount. I didnt take the housing out of the car, as i didnt want to loose any G/Box oil. and i did swear quite a bit when i accidently hit my wrist with the hammer....

So, now she sports a nice new PowerFlex bush.



I also managed to get the drivers side wheel bearing changed today. I managed to get the swivel assy off quite easily, but from there i had to take that part to my local garage, where they charged me a drink to swap the bearings out

This is all i got from that part.



this was a bit of a bugger to remove, but with some hammering and persuasion bars she came out with in about 10mins.


I was also able to do this....



For any one that knows this car, there are 2 things different here.

1 - the tow eye is now straight, (yes so is the rest of the front now thanks to some rope, my big boxer, and a long bar.

2 - the passenger spot has been replaced. So she now has all her lights working... YaY


Also, i noticed the drivers door was about 3mm high. So i managed to sort that out, so now the body lines are all even,



I kept seeing it im my right mirror, seeing the top of the door higher than the body, along with the reflections being out of align. It was opne of those things that was getting to me, so i sorted it by adjusting the door hinges.

Thats about all for now, but hope to do the passenger side wheel bearing next wednesday.


Tony.