The cursed Rallye
Discussion
bitwrx said:
(Still can't get over the number of 205s still soldiering on over here. Saw a 'sacre numero' special edition earlier, and an XS, along with the obligatory brace of glds. Nice to see proper respect being shown to all examples of the best car ever made.)
The Sacre Numeros were a run-out model (a bit like the 1.8ds they did over here in Trio, Junior and Style edition. They were sold dirt cheap as basic motors, which is what the French seem to like. In Paris I saw very elegantly dressed men and ladies parking outside their offices in beaten up 20 year old 205s. Not a bad idea when you see the parking situation in central Paris!
Belated trip report:
The off
Hit the road at sixish, and got to Folkestone in time to catch the train before the one I was booked on... which was subsequently cancelled. Once on the train, I just had time to give the windscreen a quick clean, and fit this:
IMG_20140524_100658 by bbitwrx, on Flickr
Peages aren't too bad in the Mini, with no centre console and only 4ft to slide across. Didn't fancy the same in the Pug, so got myself a bip and go from SANEF.Looks a bit turd with no black patch to hide it behind, but at least I couldn't see it from the driver's seat.
Rest of the trip sous la manche was uneventful. Even managed to sneak in a quick photo of the car in front. Definitely deserves to go on the worst numberplates thread.
IMG_20140524_092501 by bbitwrx, on Flickr
The meet
Found the other two bimbling around the town of Vimy. Managed to assemble a very nice little picnic before taking a tour of the trenches up on the ridge. They couldn't - and I think still don't - believe how close together the front lines were. No more than 50m in places. However, there was no avoiding the scale of the memorial, and the loss of life that it commemorates.
IMG_20140524_131929 by bbitwrx, on Flickr
After lunch we got our collective toes down and made progress in the direction of Dijon. As a journey, only memorable because we managed to lose each other at a toll booth. With my bip and go chip, I went sailing through at 30km/h. As I did so my passenger realised that he had the ticket for the other car. And the driver's wallet. And phone. We didn't meet up again until about an hour of 40mph on the motorway had passed, and that was only after we stopped at a rest area. Not sure what we would have done if we'd not met up again. The French motorway network is a big place.
Anyway, back on topic:
Turns out a 306 can take three bikes
IMG_20140525_085415 by bbitwrx, on Flickr
IMG_20140525_085434 by bbitwrx, on Flickr
Made it all the way down south by the end of day two. Well, not quite all the way, but far enough. As I've already posted, the trip out to get pizzas was a real treat. Late Sunday evening down a river gorge in rural France. Brand new road surface, good visibility and a car that really is sorted now. I will get round to posting about it properly sometime, but now might be a good time to mention I had time for a couple of upgrades before. DS2500 pads and new discs at the front, and a Xsara quick rack.
To be honest, the pads are a bit much for normal driving; it's pretty hard to slow down gently. On a hoon though, they are absolutely cracking. Not only a high friction coefficient, but really good modulation as well. The Xsara rack completely changed the car. Can't believe it wasn't like that out of the factory. With the litte bit of toe out that I'd dialled in, the turn in is sharp, but not unstable. Well, maybe a little unstable when hard on the gas in 2nd.
The pause
Had a little cycle for 5 days. Some cracking roads, for cycling and driving. Highlight was the Col du Beal, where Froomey has since won the second stage of the Criterium du Dauphine.
IMGP0015 by bbitwrx, on Flickr
Surprisingly, nowhere to stay at the top of a minor French mountain, so we had to head downhill. 25km of butter smooth swooping grey downhill, that would only have been better had the Rallye been there!
Got to near Dijon on the Friday, and had plenty of time to get the Fiesta packed up with three bikes (slightly more disassembly required this time), and head to the bike show on Sat. Always good to see the old girl out on track:
Mod_IMGP0034 by bbitwrx, on Flickr
Took the train back down south on the Sunday, and hooked up with the car again on Monday evening. Just had time to do some washing, clean the screen, put the bike in the back and grab some dinner before bed.
Back on it
Lazy start for Espalion to Aix en Provence in a day. Google says 3h26. I managed to make it take all day.
Over the Millau viaduct before a little trip through the Cevennes, where exists a mind boggling number of corners. I actually made myself a little nauseous constantly sloshing around in the seat. Despite that (and a bit of broken up tarmac) I had a great time. Really slow progress though. Hard to get above 50mph and constantly travelling not-in-the-direction-you-really-want-to-go really does slow you down.
I took s m's advice and headed for the N106 hoping to do it and the road that runs roughly parallel on top of the plateau. In the end I didn't have time for both, and plumped for the latter, as it was less likely to be heavily traficked. It's a shame I can't do a direct comparison, but I can say that if the N106 is better, it must be mind blowing! This had a great twisty ascent, opening up to fast flowing straights and curves on the plateau, before tightening up again down towards Nimes. And nary a <<niche a cons>> in sight.
Was a bit fried when I got to the motorway, and managed to turn towards Montpelier, instead of Aix! Doh!
Picked a mate up from work before heading into town for dinner and drinkies.
IMGP0120 by bbitwrx, on Flickr
See that building over there. Behind that there's a hill. In the hill theres a hole. In the hole they're building a f
king great Tokomak. I know fusion is perenially 25 years away, but it's still pretty exciting.
La retour
Couple of days in Aix and it was time to come home. I knew I had to leave early to get home in good time to go to the supermarche (and a nice little marche in Normandy), so I decided on a 0515 wake up call. Right up until the last minute I was undecided on the route: head towards Grasse, and take in the Route Napoleon; or head for Mont Ventoux and crack out a decent sized col on the bike.
Sitting in the car, still a bit bleary, I typed in directions for a little town north of Grasse, and pressed the go button. Time to see if it lived up to the hype.
IMGP0155 by bbitwrx, on Flickr
It did.
That road has everything, even in just the section between Grasse and Digne. Big open fast bits, scary twisties stuck to/cut into the side of a cliff, hairpins, chicanes, the works. What little of the scenery I could see in my peripheral vision was pretty stunning as well.
I came off the route at Digne to head over to the Drome valley, back through Gap and Die towards Valence. I'd noted it as a good road when I passed this way in the Mini, so wanted to try it again. I'm sure it is a good road, but with heavy afternoon traffic and the context of what had just gone before, I couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed.
Managed to pick up a few nice bottles of Cremant and Clairette on the way through the Diois though, so all was not lost.
After a bit more shopping for saucisson, I finally hooked up with the motorway just south of Valence.... at about five in the afternoon. After a long day already, I was pretty beat. Option of turning off and finding somewhere to stay was pretty appealing. But the market in Bernay is pretty good. And I'd never make it if I stopped this far south. Just as I was mulling over the options, I was rudely interrupted by a pretty sonorous V8 rumble from behind. Looked back to see something that looked like it was heading for Le Mans under its own steam...
IMGP0160 by bbitwrx, on Flickr
This thing had some serious road presence. As you can imagine I was trying to make some progress at this point, but for the first time ever in France, traffic was getting in the way. I let Mr 24hrs through, latched onto his twin tailpipes and outrageous centre fin, and off we went. It was like a battering ram. If anything didn't spot him, he dropped a cog or two until they noticed (about 2 seconds later), and they immediately got out the way.
Eventually I had to concede that there was no way I could keep up with this thing long term (and I think I missed one or two exits I was supposed to take!), so I let him get on with his day.
A fellow car nut at work figured out today what the car was - an Ultima, but a little special.
Powered on through the night and after a few false starts at plastic hotels of the ibis budget nature, I found a campsite with a free pitch. Managed to put the tent up without waking anyone (it was 0100 by this time), and get a decent night's sleep. Was first in the shower and packed, paid and away before any of the caravanists knew I'd been there.
Had an easy day buying charcuterie, cheese, cider and wine before getting the afternoon ferry back from Le Havre.
Miles at start: 101202
Miles at end: 103562
Days' driving: 6ish
So 2360 miles at around 400 miles/day. Good number of driving days, but a few too many miles in total.
Car didn't miss a beat. Used a little oil (to be expected after 8hrs running at 4krpm!), and was a treat to drive. The only real issue was the amount of lateral support on some of the real twisties. I found myself bracing against the steering wheel to avoid pitching over the centre console. I wonder how hard it is to fit a decent set of Recaros.... Anyone breaking a RS Clio at all?
The off
Hit the road at sixish, and got to Folkestone in time to catch the train before the one I was booked on... which was subsequently cancelled. Once on the train, I just had time to give the windscreen a quick clean, and fit this:
IMG_20140524_100658 by bbitwrx, on FlickrPeages aren't too bad in the Mini, with no centre console and only 4ft to slide across. Didn't fancy the same in the Pug, so got myself a bip and go from SANEF.Looks a bit turd with no black patch to hide it behind, but at least I couldn't see it from the driver's seat.
Rest of the trip sous la manche was uneventful. Even managed to sneak in a quick photo of the car in front. Definitely deserves to go on the worst numberplates thread.
IMG_20140524_092501 by bbitwrx, on FlickrThe meet
Found the other two bimbling around the town of Vimy. Managed to assemble a very nice little picnic before taking a tour of the trenches up on the ridge. They couldn't - and I think still don't - believe how close together the front lines were. No more than 50m in places. However, there was no avoiding the scale of the memorial, and the loss of life that it commemorates.
IMG_20140524_131929 by bbitwrx, on FlickrAfter lunch we got our collective toes down and made progress in the direction of Dijon. As a journey, only memorable because we managed to lose each other at a toll booth. With my bip and go chip, I went sailing through at 30km/h. As I did so my passenger realised that he had the ticket for the other car. And the driver's wallet. And phone. We didn't meet up again until about an hour of 40mph on the motorway had passed, and that was only after we stopped at a rest area. Not sure what we would have done if we'd not met up again. The French motorway network is a big place.
Anyway, back on topic:
Turns out a 306 can take three bikes
IMG_20140525_085415 by bbitwrx, on FlickrIMG_20140525_085434 by bbitwrx, on FlickrMade it all the way down south by the end of day two. Well, not quite all the way, but far enough. As I've already posted, the trip out to get pizzas was a real treat. Late Sunday evening down a river gorge in rural France. Brand new road surface, good visibility and a car that really is sorted now. I will get round to posting about it properly sometime, but now might be a good time to mention I had time for a couple of upgrades before. DS2500 pads and new discs at the front, and a Xsara quick rack.
To be honest, the pads are a bit much for normal driving; it's pretty hard to slow down gently. On a hoon though, they are absolutely cracking. Not only a high friction coefficient, but really good modulation as well. The Xsara rack completely changed the car. Can't believe it wasn't like that out of the factory. With the litte bit of toe out that I'd dialled in, the turn in is sharp, but not unstable. Well, maybe a little unstable when hard on the gas in 2nd.
The pause
Had a little cycle for 5 days. Some cracking roads, for cycling and driving. Highlight was the Col du Beal, where Froomey has since won the second stage of the Criterium du Dauphine.
IMGP0015 by bbitwrx, on FlickrSurprisingly, nowhere to stay at the top of a minor French mountain, so we had to head downhill. 25km of butter smooth swooping grey downhill, that would only have been better had the Rallye been there!
Got to near Dijon on the Friday, and had plenty of time to get the Fiesta packed up with three bikes (slightly more disassembly required this time), and head to the bike show on Sat. Always good to see the old girl out on track:
Mod_IMGP0034 by bbitwrx, on FlickrTook the train back down south on the Sunday, and hooked up with the car again on Monday evening. Just had time to do some washing, clean the screen, put the bike in the back and grab some dinner before bed.
Back on it
Lazy start for Espalion to Aix en Provence in a day. Google says 3h26. I managed to make it take all day.
Over the Millau viaduct before a little trip through the Cevennes, where exists a mind boggling number of corners. I actually made myself a little nauseous constantly sloshing around in the seat. Despite that (and a bit of broken up tarmac) I had a great time. Really slow progress though. Hard to get above 50mph and constantly travelling not-in-the-direction-you-really-want-to-go really does slow you down.
I took s m's advice and headed for the N106 hoping to do it and the road that runs roughly parallel on top of the plateau. In the end I didn't have time for both, and plumped for the latter, as it was less likely to be heavily traficked. It's a shame I can't do a direct comparison, but I can say that if the N106 is better, it must be mind blowing! This had a great twisty ascent, opening up to fast flowing straights and curves on the plateau, before tightening up again down towards Nimes. And nary a <<niche a cons>> in sight.
Was a bit fried when I got to the motorway, and managed to turn towards Montpelier, instead of Aix! Doh!
Picked a mate up from work before heading into town for dinner and drinkies.
IMGP0120 by bbitwrx, on FlickrSee that building over there. Behind that there's a hill. In the hill theres a hole. In the hole they're building a f
king great Tokomak. I know fusion is perenially 25 years away, but it's still pretty exciting.La retour
Couple of days in Aix and it was time to come home. I knew I had to leave early to get home in good time to go to the supermarche (and a nice little marche in Normandy), so I decided on a 0515 wake up call. Right up until the last minute I was undecided on the route: head towards Grasse, and take in the Route Napoleon; or head for Mont Ventoux and crack out a decent sized col on the bike.
Sitting in the car, still a bit bleary, I typed in directions for a little town north of Grasse, and pressed the go button. Time to see if it lived up to the hype.
IMGP0155 by bbitwrx, on FlickrIt did.
That road has everything, even in just the section between Grasse and Digne. Big open fast bits, scary twisties stuck to/cut into the side of a cliff, hairpins, chicanes, the works. What little of the scenery I could see in my peripheral vision was pretty stunning as well.
I came off the route at Digne to head over to the Drome valley, back through Gap and Die towards Valence. I'd noted it as a good road when I passed this way in the Mini, so wanted to try it again. I'm sure it is a good road, but with heavy afternoon traffic and the context of what had just gone before, I couldn't help but feel a little underwhelmed.
Managed to pick up a few nice bottles of Cremant and Clairette on the way through the Diois though, so all was not lost.
After a bit more shopping for saucisson, I finally hooked up with the motorway just south of Valence.... at about five in the afternoon. After a long day already, I was pretty beat. Option of turning off and finding somewhere to stay was pretty appealing. But the market in Bernay is pretty good. And I'd never make it if I stopped this far south. Just as I was mulling over the options, I was rudely interrupted by a pretty sonorous V8 rumble from behind. Looked back to see something that looked like it was heading for Le Mans under its own steam...
IMGP0160 by bbitwrx, on FlickrThis thing had some serious road presence. As you can imagine I was trying to make some progress at this point, but for the first time ever in France, traffic was getting in the way. I let Mr 24hrs through, latched onto his twin tailpipes and outrageous centre fin, and off we went. It was like a battering ram. If anything didn't spot him, he dropped a cog or two until they noticed (about 2 seconds later), and they immediately got out the way.
Eventually I had to concede that there was no way I could keep up with this thing long term (and I think I missed one or two exits I was supposed to take!), so I let him get on with his day.
A fellow car nut at work figured out today what the car was - an Ultima, but a little special.
Powered on through the night and after a few false starts at plastic hotels of the ibis budget nature, I found a campsite with a free pitch. Managed to put the tent up without waking anyone (it was 0100 by this time), and get a decent night's sleep. Was first in the shower and packed, paid and away before any of the caravanists knew I'd been there.
Had an easy day buying charcuterie, cheese, cider and wine before getting the afternoon ferry back from Le Havre.
Miles at start: 101202
Miles at end: 103562
Days' driving: 6ish
So 2360 miles at around 400 miles/day. Good number of driving days, but a few too many miles in total.
Car didn't miss a beat. Used a little oil (to be expected after 8hrs running at 4krpm!), and was a treat to drive. The only real issue was the amount of lateral support on some of the real twisties. I found myself bracing against the steering wheel to avoid pitching over the centre console. I wonder how hard it is to fit a decent set of Recaros.... Anyone breaking a RS Clio at all?
bitwrx said:
I took s m's advice and headed for the N106 hoping to do it and the road that runs roughly parallel on top of the plateau. In the end I didn't have time for both, and plumped for the latter, as it was less likely to be heavily traficked. It's a shame I can't do a direct comparison, but I can say that if the N106 is better, it must be mind blowing! This had a great twisty ascent, opening up to fast flowing straights and curves on the plateau, before tightening up again down towards Nimes. And nary a <<niche a cons>> in sight.
Was a bit fried when I got to the motorway, and managed to turn towards Montpelier, instead of Aix! Doh!
Well, glad you enjoyed the roads in the vicinity! That has been one of my favourites so it sounds like you had a good drive too Was a bit fried when I got to the motorway, and managed to turn towards Montpelier, instead of Aix! Doh!
Great read by the way
storminnorman said:
Great thread. I really want to buy one now - what are the price ranges?
I don't think I'd be too put off by high miles, my HDi is on ~130 and has been very reliable (of course, if you ignore the suspension).
Such clean looking cars.
They do look good still. There's that line that runs from the bonnet all the way along the bottom of the windows and loops round the c-pillar and back towards the b-pillar. Shared with the 205, 106 and a few other hatches of the era, it's pretty timeless I think. I don't think I'd be too put off by high miles, my HDi is on ~130 and has been very reliable (of course, if you ignore the suspension).
Such clean looking cars.
You're right about high mileages though. In the same way Trigger's broom has lasted him well, I'm confident mine is good for another 100k...
Prices. Well. I paid £2500 for mine which would have been about 500 too much I think, were it not for the head gasket and heater matrix. As it was, it was about a grand too much, if not more. I know one in similar (unmolested) condition changed hands for about £2k last august/sep.
If you're not to worried about originality, you could pick one up for much less probably. I'm sure you have to watch out for a fair few dogs though. I expect these things come into the surprisingly-expensive-to-run category so may not always have had all the looking after a prospective owner may hope for!
Edited by bitwrx on Monday 30th June 19:35
Haven't spent much time with the car recently; in fact I don't think I've even had a chance to wash it since France. Reason being that the Saturday before the France trip I put an offer in on a house. Coupled with a busy period at work and the middle of the cricket season, my feet have barely touched the ground. Last week I realised it'd been over 10k since the last oil change, so I gave her a quick service.
Oil, filter, fuel filter and plugs were all replaced over last weekend/early this week. I did a compression test, and all were within a gnats eyelash of each other at 11.5bar, so pretty good health I think. However, it seemed the compression test did bad things to the battery, so it didn't have enough go to, er, go. I got it on the trickle charger over night, and topped up the electrolyte (thought all batteries were maintenance free these days?). It seems OK, but has obviously been venting a lot down the front end of the battery box. Since winter is coming, and the battery is the wrong size anyway, it's probably wise to stick a new one in. It's just a question of how lucky I'm feeling... And the fact that all four tyres are down to 4mm, and the exhaust has developed a bit of a blow.
Busy week at work, and another coming up, but the three day weekend has given me a chance to do this:
One garage, emptied of decades of junk... which is now in the back of the car. Not only does this demonstrate the versatility of a hatchback, but it's also a good opportunity to try out the lowered look:
Junk cleared, it's time to get the Rallye in its new home:
It's pretty tight, but if you go in at a bit of an angle you can get far enough to one side to get the door to the first stop, so getting in and out isn't too bad. It's not as wide as the lockup I had rented, but there is another garage to the left of the photo. Together, they will make a decent workshop one day (when I save enough to replace the roof and get a big wide door, and summon the energy to knock down the dividing wall).
Plan for tomorrow is to get the junk tipped at the dump, then get busy with bucket, sponge and hoover.
Oil, filter, fuel filter and plugs were all replaced over last weekend/early this week. I did a compression test, and all were within a gnats eyelash of each other at 11.5bar, so pretty good health I think. However, it seemed the compression test did bad things to the battery, so it didn't have enough go to, er, go. I got it on the trickle charger over night, and topped up the electrolyte (thought all batteries were maintenance free these days?). It seems OK, but has obviously been venting a lot down the front end of the battery box. Since winter is coming, and the battery is the wrong size anyway, it's probably wise to stick a new one in. It's just a question of how lucky I'm feeling... And the fact that all four tyres are down to 4mm, and the exhaust has developed a bit of a blow.
Busy week at work, and another coming up, but the three day weekend has given me a chance to do this:
One garage, emptied of decades of junk... which is now in the back of the car. Not only does this demonstrate the versatility of a hatchback, but it's also a good opportunity to try out the lowered look:
Junk cleared, it's time to get the Rallye in its new home:
It's pretty tight, but if you go in at a bit of an angle you can get far enough to one side to get the door to the first stop, so getting in and out isn't too bad. It's not as wide as the lockup I had rented, but there is another garage to the left of the photo. Together, they will make a decent workshop one day (when I save enough to replace the roof and get a big wide door, and summon the energy to knock down the dividing wall).
Plan for tomorrow is to get the junk tipped at the dump, then get busy with bucket, sponge and hoover.
bitwrx said:
Haven't spent much time with the car recently; in fact I don't think I've even had a chance to wash it since France. Reason being that the Saturday before the France trip I put an offer in on a house. Coupled with a busy period at work and the middle of the cricket season, my feet have barely touched the ground. Last week I realised it'd been over 10k since the last oil change, so I gave her a quick service.
Oil, filter, fuel filter and plugs were all replaced over last weekend/early this week. I did a compression test, and all were within a gnats eyelash of each other at 11.5bar, so pretty good health I think.
One garage, emptied of decades of junk... which is now in the back of the car. Not only does this demonstrate the versatility of a hatchback, but it's also a good opportunity to try out the lowered look:
Plan for tomorrow is to get the junk tipped at the dump, then get busy with bucket, sponge and hoover.
Looking good Oil, filter, fuel filter and plugs were all replaced over last weekend/early this week. I did a compression test, and all were within a gnats eyelash of each other at 11.5bar, so pretty good health I think.
One garage, emptied of decades of junk... which is now in the back of the car. Not only does this demonstrate the versatility of a hatchback, but it's also a good opportunity to try out the lowered look:
Plan for tomorrow is to get the junk tipped at the dump, then get busy with bucket, sponge and hoover.
Shame not much driving in it recently though
Quick update on the trials and tribulations of running a 15 yr old French car as a daily...
Forgot to mention in the last post that during the compression test, I managed to run the battery flat. I stuck it on the Optimate, and topped up the fluid with some deionised water, but it was a bit sluggish still. Procured myself one of these bad boys. Turns out the old battery was 15mm shorter - could have been part of the problem.
Next job was to plug a few pin holes in the exhaust. The obvious ones were at the rear of the mid section. The less obvious ones were the cracks where the pipe meets the mid box. Something tells me a new 'zorst will be on the shopping list before long.
While I was under there, I remembered about the surface rust at the rear of the OSF arch which I had always meant to sort out after last winter. That was last Saturday, just before I headed up to London to see an old mate and help him strip wallpaper (a trip the Rallye took in its stride, despite awful traffic heading back across town on Sunday eve).
So last night I jacked her up and started scraping the loose underseal off. There was a bit more than I thought (as always). It was also a bit more than surface rust.
I started peeling at where the floorpan meets the arch. Upwards, there's not too much:
Backwards, there's quite a bit:
It's actually rusted through in a couple of places. It's weird though; the rust seems to be well confined to just that panel. I can see another panel right next to this one through one of the holes - I guess it's part of the sill box section. In the Mini this would be the rustiest bit. Here, it's impeccably clean, with the factory undercoat/primer/anti-corrosion coat still fully intact (which is encouraging).
Similarly, the rust seems to stop very suddenly (which kinda shows up in the photos). So despite having a few more holes in my car than I thought, I'm not overly concerned. Long term, it's going to need welding (will add that to the list of bodywork to do...), but for the moment, I'm going to carry on with plan A - DeOx Gel, Hydrate 80, Electrox, underseal.
Cordless drill batteries are probably charged by now. Better get back to it!
ETA: Oh, and I noticed the tyres are down to 3mm all round, so it's time to get the C5 steeloys I have ready to accept some Michelin Pilot Sports. I like the Cyclones, but getting them balanced is such a headache, they've got to go. Only trouble is, the C5 wheels are black. And if I'm putting steels (or wheels that look steel) on a Rallye, there's only one colour they can be! (Does anybody know the correct shade of white? Paint code would be handy. Will be spraying with a standard (i.e. non HPLV) gun.)
Forgot to mention in the last post that during the compression test, I managed to run the battery flat. I stuck it on the Optimate, and topped up the fluid with some deionised water, but it was a bit sluggish still. Procured myself one of these bad boys. Turns out the old battery was 15mm shorter - could have been part of the problem.
Next job was to plug a few pin holes in the exhaust. The obvious ones were at the rear of the mid section. The less obvious ones were the cracks where the pipe meets the mid box. Something tells me a new 'zorst will be on the shopping list before long.
While I was under there, I remembered about the surface rust at the rear of the OSF arch which I had always meant to sort out after last winter. That was last Saturday, just before I headed up to London to see an old mate and help him strip wallpaper (a trip the Rallye took in its stride, despite awful traffic heading back across town on Sunday eve).
So last night I jacked her up and started scraping the loose underseal off. There was a bit more than I thought (as always). It was also a bit more than surface rust.
I started peeling at where the floorpan meets the arch. Upwards, there's not too much:
Backwards, there's quite a bit:
It's actually rusted through in a couple of places. It's weird though; the rust seems to be well confined to just that panel. I can see another panel right next to this one through one of the holes - I guess it's part of the sill box section. In the Mini this would be the rustiest bit. Here, it's impeccably clean, with the factory undercoat/primer/anti-corrosion coat still fully intact (which is encouraging).
Similarly, the rust seems to stop very suddenly (which kinda shows up in the photos). So despite having a few more holes in my car than I thought, I'm not overly concerned. Long term, it's going to need welding (will add that to the list of bodywork to do...), but for the moment, I'm going to carry on with plan A - DeOx Gel, Hydrate 80, Electrox, underseal.
Cordless drill batteries are probably charged by now. Better get back to it!
ETA: Oh, and I noticed the tyres are down to 3mm all round, so it's time to get the C5 steeloys I have ready to accept some Michelin Pilot Sports. I like the Cyclones, but getting them balanced is such a headache, they've got to go. Only trouble is, the C5 wheels are black. And if I'm putting steels (or wheels that look steel) on a Rallye, there's only one colour they can be! (Does anybody know the correct shade of white? Paint code would be handy. Will be spraying with a standard (i.e. non HPLV) gun.)
Edited by bitwrx on Saturday 11th October 16:14
One week later and she's still on blocks...
I was hoping to get all the rust off with De-Ox last weekend, but it wasn't playing ball. Had to work away for most of the week so needed to find a way of keeping the gel wet for three or four days. Came up with the cunning plan (that I think I stole off someone else on the internet) to apply a liberal coating and then covering it in plastic.
After five days it looked like this:
Which cleaned up to reveal this:
I reckoned that was as good as it will get, so on went the Hydrate 80.
As Mr Hamber indicates on the instructions, a dramatic colour change did occur. Looks like a magnetite film forming where the bare steel is, but I'm not really a materials bod, so that's only a guess. Probably a bad one at that. Anyway, that was just before lunch today. I now have to wait 24 hrs before I can paint over it so have been on stop all afternoon. Very frustrating.
Tomorrow the primer is going on. Have to wait 2 hrs between coats, and then 96 hrs before going over the top of that, so there's no way the underseal is going on this weekend. I need the car next weekend, so it looks like it'll be November before it's finished. I bloody hate bodywork.
Dug one of the steelies out earlier and gave it a wash off. Now just Googling the best way to key into existing paint. I can rub down most of it, but there are bits I won't be able to get to. If I was just blowing over with the same colour, it wouldn't be too much of an issue, but seeing as I'm going from one end of the spectrum to the other, I think I need to do a good job. I bloody hate paintwork.
I was hoping to get all the rust off with De-Ox last weekend, but it wasn't playing ball. Had to work away for most of the week so needed to find a way of keeping the gel wet for three or four days. Came up with the cunning plan (that I think I stole off someone else on the internet) to apply a liberal coating and then covering it in plastic.
After five days it looked like this:
Which cleaned up to reveal this:
I reckoned that was as good as it will get, so on went the Hydrate 80.
As Mr Hamber indicates on the instructions, a dramatic colour change did occur. Looks like a magnetite film forming where the bare steel is, but I'm not really a materials bod, so that's only a guess. Probably a bad one at that. Anyway, that was just before lunch today. I now have to wait 24 hrs before I can paint over it so have been on stop all afternoon. Very frustrating.
Tomorrow the primer is going on. Have to wait 2 hrs between coats, and then 96 hrs before going over the top of that, so there's no way the underseal is going on this weekend. I need the car next weekend, so it looks like it'll be November before it's finished. I bloody hate bodywork.
Dug one of the steelies out earlier and gave it a wash off. Now just Googling the best way to key into existing paint. I can rub down most of it, but there are bits I won't be able to get to. If I was just blowing over with the same colour, it wouldn't be too much of an issue, but seeing as I'm going from one end of the spectrum to the other, I think I need to do a good job. I bloody hate paintwork.
So November is nearly gone, and it's not going to get a proper coat of underseal this month. I think I'll wait till the spring. This is how it looked before it went back on the road after the last update:
Had a good trip down to Exeter and back, during which it was fairly clear that the exhaust still had more than the requisite number of holes! Did the Exeter, Bickleigh, Crediton, Exeter loop on Sunday AM. Really good run out, just how I remembered it (but with many more cyclists - don't they know the road is for cars!
). The inside front wheel was spinning up pretty much all the way out of Bickleigh. For those of you that know it, you can probably understand why. For those of you that don't, it's steep and there are corners. All the way up, I was thinking how useful a LSD would be...
The exhaust was starting to get bad really when I went for a pointless drive the other Sunday. Ten points if you can guess where, and why this road is utterly hilarious:
Which brings us to today. I think this was probably the offending hole:
There's now a brand new second hand Bosal on there. It's ste, even compared to the non-genuine part that was rusted out.
The mandrel bends are obviously going to be more restrictive, and there are bigger tailpipes on a G-Wiz, but it was £30, and still looks pretty new, so I can't complain. Much. It really is ste. It's shiney all along, with no sign of corrosion. The sticker is still on the mid box. But there's a rust hole already in the rear box. WTF. And look at the hanger brackets. Just so low rent compared to the old one. As for the silencers, can you spot the decent pattern part?
Will have to make a few calls in the week and weigh up a genuine item vs something a bit more boy-racer. The Maniflow system I had on the Mini sounded great, lasted really well and for <£200 for a full system was great value. A mid and rear section from them for the 306 comes in at £385, and requires the cat being modified. Not so sure...
Other jobs still to do are:
tty 206 blocking me in. 
Would like to take it out for a spin to check the exhaust, but I don't know who owns the 206. I had to go out the other week when there was a Golf parked in the way, so I asked the police nicely to find out who it was and ask them to move. Am tempted to do it again, but don't want to get a rep (with neighbours or police).
Had a good trip down to Exeter and back, during which it was fairly clear that the exhaust still had more than the requisite number of holes! Did the Exeter, Bickleigh, Crediton, Exeter loop on Sunday AM. Really good run out, just how I remembered it (but with many more cyclists - don't they know the road is for cars!
). The inside front wheel was spinning up pretty much all the way out of Bickleigh. For those of you that know it, you can probably understand why. For those of you that don't, it's steep and there are corners. All the way up, I was thinking how useful a LSD would be...The exhaust was starting to get bad really when I went for a pointless drive the other Sunday. Ten points if you can guess where, and why this road is utterly hilarious:
Which brings us to today. I think this was probably the offending hole:
There's now a brand new second hand Bosal on there. It's s
te, even compared to the non-genuine part that was rusted out.The mandrel bends are obviously going to be more restrictive, and there are bigger tailpipes on a G-Wiz, but it was £30, and still looks pretty new, so I can't complain. Much. It really is s
te. It's shiney all along, with no sign of corrosion. The sticker is still on the mid box. But there's a rust hole already in the rear box. WTF. And look at the hanger brackets. Just so low rent compared to the old one. As for the silencers, can you spot the decent pattern part?Will have to make a few calls in the week and weigh up a genuine item vs something a bit more boy-racer. The Maniflow system I had on the Mini sounded great, lasted really well and for <£200 for a full system was great value. A mid and rear section from them for the 306 comes in at £385, and requires the cat being modified. Not so sure...
Other jobs still to do are:
- Get the wheels sprayed and buy some new tyres (pretty much code critical now!!)
- Stick the O/S skirt back on. (Fairly unwilling to do this. It's going to have to come off again when I do the undersealing, and the rivets - 11 off - are ~£1.20 each from Pug. Have got a few rivets that will fit, but the proper ones are stepped half way along the shank. I'm not really sure why they're like this, but some French engineer of 20 years ago specced it like that, and they must've done for a reason...)
tty 206 blocking me in. Would like to take it out for a spin to check the exhaust, but I don't know who owns the 206. I had to go out the other week when there was a Golf parked in the way, so I asked the police nicely to find out who it was and ask them to move. Am tempted to do it again, but don't want to get a rep (with neighbours or police).So the stty exhaust is still on the car, and still really horrible.
Can't believe the last update was in November. Pretty uneventful winter really. Well...
Still haven't got the new wheels painted, so had to get some new tyres put on to the Cyclones. Luckily I've found somewhere that can do a half competent job of fitting tyres to centreless wheels.... about 50 yards from my new house!
They did the tracking as well, set to dead ahead. TBH it felt rubbish - wandered all over the place and felt really dead. And the tyres were wearing like there was a massive amount of toe in. Noticeable after 500 miles. Not happy. So I got my bits of wood and brickies' line out, and measured the toe. 13mm (thirteen) in. Thirteen. I was livid. I'd paid for that. Thirteen fking millimetres. Half an inch. WTF.
Took me a few hours, and a fair few goes, but eventually I got two consistent results at 1mm in. Happy with that. But it still felt funny.
After a few months, it started handling pretty erratically. Accelerating round a bend was fine, until an indeterminate point when it would lurch in towards the apex, prompting the removal of some lock. At which time it would lurch straight again. Something definitely wasn't right. And the pressure was on.
I was commuting from Bristol to Gloucester every day for a few weeks, and had booked myself in to do a hillclimb day at Gurston. The car was being used more than any time in the last year, and needed to handle nicely. Otherwise I sensed in my future an interaction with a Hesston shaped lump of wheat straw as I tried to not lift off round Hollow bend.
By process of elimination/chatting about suspension with a guy at work, I decided could only be an abrupt change of toe causing the wonkiness. Since I'd replaced all the bushes and track rods/rod ends in 2014, I thought it had to be the strut bearings, allowing the whole wheel assy to wobble around. But MOT man said in Feb that there was a small amount of lateral play in a lower arm bush - not enough to fail though.
That in mind, I borrowed a spring compressor, and visited ECP for a pair of lower arms and strut top-mounts.
I present to you my 13 month/13k mile old lower arm bushes (pattern parts):
IMG_20150403_181500
For reference, the (normally shorter-lived) P-bushes (genuine Peugeot):
New arms on:
Half a day well spent.
And she handles:
Yes, I missed the apex. Again.
But I had a really good day. Some nice motors there, some decent drivers, and a generally friendly bunch. Now all I need is a race suit, helmet and timing strut. And that seat. And some sticky rubber on those nicely painted white wheels.
At least I've got somewhere dry to work on it now though:
tty exhaust is still on the car, and still really horrible.Can't believe the last update was in November. Pretty uneventful winter really. Well...
Still haven't got the new wheels painted, so had to get some new tyres put on to the Cyclones. Luckily I've found somewhere that can do a half competent job of fitting tyres to centreless wheels.... about 50 yards from my new house!
They did the tracking as well, set to dead ahead. TBH it felt rubbish - wandered all over the place and felt really dead. And the tyres were wearing like there was a massive amount of toe in. Noticeable after 500 miles. Not happy. So I got my bits of wood and brickies' line out, and measured the toe. 13mm (thirteen) in. Thirteen. I was livid. I'd paid for that. Thirteen f
king millimetres. Half an inch. WTF.Took me a few hours, and a fair few goes, but eventually I got two consistent results at 1mm in. Happy with that. But it still felt funny.
After a few months, it started handling pretty erratically. Accelerating round a bend was fine, until an indeterminate point when it would lurch in towards the apex, prompting the removal of some lock. At which time it would lurch straight again. Something definitely wasn't right. And the pressure was on.
I was commuting from Bristol to Gloucester every day for a few weeks, and had booked myself in to do a hillclimb day at Gurston. The car was being used more than any time in the last year, and needed to handle nicely. Otherwise I sensed in my future an interaction with a Hesston shaped lump of wheat straw as I tried to not lift off round Hollow bend.
By process of elimination/chatting about suspension with a guy at work, I decided could only be an abrupt change of toe causing the wonkiness. Since I'd replaced all the bushes and track rods/rod ends in 2014, I thought it had to be the strut bearings, allowing the whole wheel assy to wobble around. But MOT man said in Feb that there was a small amount of lateral play in a lower arm bush - not enough to fail though.
That in mind, I borrowed a spring compressor, and visited ECP for a pair of lower arms and strut top-mounts.
I present to you my 13 month/13k mile old lower arm bushes (pattern parts):
IMG_20150403_181500For reference, the (normally shorter-lived) P-bushes (genuine Peugeot):
New arms on:
Half a day well spent.
And she handles:
Yes, I missed the apex. Again.
But I had a really good day. Some nice motors there, some decent drivers, and a generally friendly bunch. Now all I need is a race suit, helmet and timing strut. And that seat. And some sticky rubber on those nicely painted white wheels.
At least I've got somewhere dry to work on it now though:
Was thinking on the weekend that it's been a while since I've posted on this thread, which means only one thing: the curse is lifted! Kinda.
I'll run through the driving first (won't take long):
I noticed the NSR wheel gained a bit of negative camber over the summer. Very 'scene', but not a good thing on an unmodded 306. When it started squeaking, I knew it was new beam time. Fortunately I'd procured a good second hand beam (purportedly off a Xsara VTS) in anticipation. Managed to get them swapped over during a period off work recovering from an appendectomy. It's times like this I'm glad I took some time to source of a decent jack. Nuts to lifting this badboy with three holes in my tum.
I also had the opportunity to try out my super awesome genuine Peugeot detachable towbar as well.
(Sorry to all you purists...)
Also stuck some new old stock Pug pads and discs on the rear, with new sliders. Handbrake works again.
As some of you will know, the ABS sensors on these things are single use items; once on, they never come off in one piece. My intention was to stick the spare beam on, and quickly rebuild/refurb my 306 beam to get it back to factory spec, hence saving myself the cost of two ABS sensors. Sure enough, three months later, I'm still running around with no ABS.
It's only been the cause of one serious moment, playing silly buggers with Ma in the car just before Christmas: hard braking on cold pads/damp roads resulting in some serious fishtail action. How we stayed on the tar I have no idea. It's fair to say the Pug pads on the rear work better from cold than the DS2500s on the front... Anyhoo, MOT next week so ABS sensors are on order, while I contemplate reubuilding the beam a little longer.
It ticked over 120k last month, so I decided to give it a bit of a spruce up. New engine oil & filter (Mahle of course), and gearbox oil. It's also had a whole new set of wiper blades. I'd like say I've kept it real with Peugeot blades (you know the ones, with frames and a spoiler), but my bro has just got some aero blades for his 205 and they are way better (despite missing little bits on the nearside). So I got some of them. Kept it close to real by buying Valeo rather than Bosch.
There's a bit more to come, but I'm tired now. And you're probably bored. I'll leave you with a picture of me pointing at my cambelt:
I'll run through the driving first (won't take long):
- Lakes via Lincolnshire and the Yorkshire dales. Boss. Dales were fantastic.
- Early sun AM run out from Bristol with a mate in his Clio. Double plus good. Some new sections mixed with old faves. Made it to Aber before the cafe opened. Definitely the way to do it. Did see a VFR shaped dent in the pax side door of a Subaru (I think, or maybe a Rav4) during the slow run back to town; a little sobering.
- Post pub-quiz run back across Wiltshire, north to south. Caught the attention of the local constabulary with that one though, so cut it short.
I noticed the NSR wheel gained a bit of negative camber over the summer. Very 'scene', but not a good thing on an unmodded 306. When it started squeaking, I knew it was new beam time. Fortunately I'd procured a good second hand beam (purportedly off a Xsara VTS) in anticipation. Managed to get them swapped over during a period off work recovering from an appendectomy. It's times like this I'm glad I took some time to source of a decent jack. Nuts to lifting this badboy with three holes in my tum.
I also had the opportunity to try out my super awesome genuine Peugeot detachable towbar as well.
(Sorry to all you purists...)
Also stuck some new old stock Pug pads and discs on the rear, with new sliders. Handbrake works again.
As some of you will know, the ABS sensors on these things are single use items; once on, they never come off in one piece. My intention was to stick the spare beam on, and quickly rebuild/refurb my 306 beam to get it back to factory spec, hence saving myself the cost of two ABS sensors. Sure enough, three months later, I'm still running around with no ABS.
It's only been the cause of one serious moment, playing silly buggers with Ma in the car just before Christmas: hard braking on cold pads/damp roads resulting in some serious fishtail action. How we stayed on the tar I have no idea. It's fair to say the Pug pads on the rear work better from cold than the DS2500s on the front... Anyhoo, MOT next week so ABS sensors are on order, while I contemplate reubuilding the beam a little longer.It ticked over 120k last month, so I decided to give it a bit of a spruce up. New engine oil & filter (Mahle of course), and gearbox oil. It's also had a whole new set of wiper blades. I'd like say I've kept it real with Peugeot blades (you know the ones, with frames and a spoiler), but my bro has just got some aero blades for his 205 and they are way better (despite missing little bits on the nearside). So I got some of them. Kept it close to real by buying Valeo rather than Bosch.
There's a bit more to come, but I'm tired now. And you're probably bored. I'll leave you with a picture of me pointing at my cambelt:
Topbox said:
Nice thread op.
C. Grimsby is around on PHs. He was always the guru over on the gti6 forum when I had my 6.
How are you coping with the turning circle?! That was one of the reasons I got rid of mine.
Turning circle is fine. Don't know what all the fuss is about.C. Grimsby is around on PHs. He was always the guru over on the gti6 forum when I had my 6.
How are you coping with the turning circle?! That was one of the reasons I got rid of mine.
I still can't reliably parallel park or reverse into a bay...
So, it's timing belt time. Or is it?
These things have a reputation for blowing belts at relatively short intervals. If you believe the internet, anything more than three miles is chancing it. Coincidentally or not, the tensioner was redesigned on later models (sometime in '99), and the belt extended by one tooth to accommodate. Again if you believe the internet, the newer (or older) type is the one to have because someones mate had the older (or newer) one that st itself at only 40k miles.
I put all this (mis)information down to the slightly counterintuitive, but obvious-when-you-think-about-it, tensioning procedure. Basically, I reckon a load of people have cocked it up, and blamed the engine. (I include myself in this; it took me two goes to get it right when I did the head gasket.)
Now I'm fairly sure I got it right eventually - no issues in 32k/nearly three years - but there is one thing nagging (or two now I've seen the amount of slack highlighted in the last big post).I'm fairly sure that I used a First Line water pump. Rightly or wrongly I've come to the conclusion that First Line parts are generally pretty rubbish. I'm worried that the pump is going to st itself and take the rest of the engine with it, starting with the valves and pistons...
So despite the short interval, i'm going to do it. Now, I remember a few things about that job when I did it before:
Toight.
And there's no way of holding the pulleys still while I do up the centre bolts.
So, a few new tools required:
To be honest, I'm in two minds now:
These things have a reputation for blowing belts at relatively short intervals. If you believe the internet, anything more than three miles is chancing it. Coincidentally or not, the tensioner was redesigned on later models (sometime in '99), and the belt extended by one tooth to accommodate. Again if you believe the internet, the newer (or older) type is the one to have because someones mate had the older (or newer) one that s
t itself at only 40k miles.I put all this (mis)information down to the slightly counterintuitive, but obvious-when-you-think-about-it, tensioning procedure. Basically, I reckon a load of people have cocked it up, and blamed the engine. (I include myself in this; it took me two goes to get it right when I did the head gasket.)
Now I'm fairly sure I got it right eventually - no issues in 32k/nearly three years - but there is one thing nagging (or two now I've seen the amount of slack highlighted in the last big post).I'm fairly sure that I used a First Line water pump. Rightly or wrongly I've come to the conclusion that First Line parts are generally pretty rubbish. I'm worried that the pump is going to s
t itself and take the rest of the engine with it, starting with the valves and pistons...So despite the short interval, i'm going to do it. Now, I remember a few things about that job when I did it before:
- It was a pig.
- An absolute pig.
- Did I mention it was a pig.
Toight.
And there's no way of holding the pulleys still while I do up the centre bolts.
So, a few new tools required:
- Offset ring spanner, 18mm
- Special lever for sticking in the cam pulley.
To be honest, I'm in two minds now:
- 36k/3 years isn't that long - surely it can't be time for renewal already? Backed up by the condition of the belt and tensioner/idler pulleys.
- 36k/3 years is pushing it - they all go pop prematurely. Everyone knows that. Especially when there's a bit of slack in there. Obviously someone didn't fit it right in the first place...
- Changing the belt is a st of a job. You don't even have all the tools to do it.
- Changing the belt is perfectly straightforward, it just takes a while. And you get to buy/make some new tools! Awesome!
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