vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,280
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Apr 19, 2016 22:59:52 GMT
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That's what came in the box. I didn't have any suitable proper bolts, they were all too skinny or too fat for the holes so I reckon I'm going to replace them anyway.
The sender, I have learned tonight, lives on the head against the bulkhead where it's almost but not quite impossible to see what you're doing. I'll get that fitted when I'm at the unit next.
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One observation. I would reverse the way you have the bolts holding the ball joint. Why? The way you have them currently will cut into the cover and cause it too leak. Nah, they are correct this way. Otherwise they would foul the driveshaft. See the workshop manual, it's explained there. Re headlights: Sure they sell them in LHD and RHD versions? Glass looks symmetrical to me. Long time ago I had a Peugeot 204 with non-halogen bulbs, you could switch between LHD and RHD by turning the bulb a few degrees. There was a little plastic slider at the socket, you could set it in two positions before inserting the bulb. Maybe same here? |
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,280
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Apr 20, 2016 12:08:17 GMT
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The lights can be switched for driving abroad (whether left or right hand drive) but you don't keep the MoT required kick-up on the beam pattern. If I switched a left hand drive light to right hand drive I couldn't go through an MoT with it. So that means I can't just fit LHD lights and switch the bulbs to the RHD side which would be really easy. The pattern on the lenses isn't symmetrical. Unless I can find someone with a passenger side headlight my best option remains to be swapping the fixing tabs on the lights I do have or buying a good left hand drive light and swapping the lens. As yet I've been unable to find anyone online through the various clubs with a correct sided spare and hold out very little hope of finding one at an autojumble.
There are, at most, a dozen 6s in the UK. RHD market specific parts are therefore a bit of a nuisance.
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,328 
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Apr 20, 2016 12:42:18 GMT
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You don't need that kickup I believe, otherwise American LHD headlights would fail the MOT. They have a flat dip beam making them suitable for either side of road use. No kickup isn't an issue, just means you'll get slightly less light output.
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,280
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Apr 20, 2016 16:19:28 GMT
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I've been told you can only eliminate the kick-up if it's a left hand drive car with left hand drive headlights. Mine is a right hand drive car so I have to have right hand drive headlights complete with kick-up. The MoT garages I've spoken to have all told me the same thing and won't test it with lhd lights in.
In other news, the Rover is booked into a garage to get the key fob issue sorted. A quick job, and fairly inexpensive. I'd far rather be driving the Rover than the Corsa B, as good as the Corsa B is, it's not my car.
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,280
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Apr 30, 2016 16:50:07 GMT
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The first thing to report in this Rover update is that my first experience of booking a car into a garage has not enamoured me of them. Rover was booked in with Rovetec to get the fob and immobiliser sorted out, booked on the Thursday, delivered to them on the Monday. I couldn't get a reasonable price on transporting the car 5 miles from home to Rovetec so splashed out £25 on a towing pole and my brother dragged us over there in his Picasso. Dropped the car off and toddled off home, expecting a call in about an hour to tell me the job was done. As soon as we get out of the car the phone rings to say they can't do my car would I come and pick it up? Trundled back over and got the car picked up. Rovetec thought I had a newer system on it than it does, three pin rather than twelve pin. They could do the car in a week when the kit would be repaired/replaced but they couldn't store the car for me in the meantime. My brother found another garage around the corner, North Eastern 4x4, so we took it there last thing on Monday. Late on Friday it was done, new fob, reprogrammed, lovely job. The bill was considerably more than I wanted to pay but I can't deny they did a good job as the car now works fine, half the bill was the labour which is always very expensive with garages. That said, NE4x4 had to get someone else in as though they had a fob in stock they didn't have the kit old enough to talk to the car which, as it happens, is the same as early Freelanders and them being a Land Rover specialist meant they knew what they were dealing with. What is annoying is that one I got the car home and put some stuff in the boot I noticed the outer shell of the spoiler bouncing freely, which it wasn't doing when it went in to be fixed. One or the other of the two garages must have pushed against it to move the car and that means I have to reglue it. Not thrilled, but I'm not going to kick up a fuss about it because it's something I can fix for nothing. Today, with it being glorious weather, I gave the car a thorough wash and wax. Looked great.  Just as I was finishing off a fellow Rover enthusiast appeared, stopping off for a brew on his way up further North delivering Peugeot. He was dropping off a full set of OEM Rover floor mats, something that I got on eBay for 99p.     Very nice to have a full set of proper mats in the car. I've never seen a set in another R8. The last thing to tell you all is my little light-up bat keyring fell off so it now hangs from the rear view mirror. A fitting counterpoint the spider on the parcel shelf. Oh, and you can see the glorious day turned into rain and hail just as I was taking these pictures.  |
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Last Edit: Apr 30, 2016 16:51:09 GMT by vulgalour
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Apr 30, 2016 20:18:09 GMT
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I think the throttle cable needs replacing, it's not only frayed but has a habit of sticking when you've pressed the pedal down because the cable doesn't move smoothly in the sheath. If your local motor factors / stealers is one of those places that doesn't keep spare parts for Retros in stock, have words with them then think about getting your old cable stripped & rebuilt  I had great results when a place in Newcastle* rebuilt a front brake cable on an older imported bike for me very cheaply, they used the fittings from the old seized cable and installed new inner & outer cables  Highly recommended as local, independent & helpful A-Z stickers on Westgate Road (in the middle of the bike shops) www.westgatehill.com/az.htm (the rest of the site is also worth a look for folk outside of Newcastle to see what they're missing! ) * There are bike shops in other places than Newcastle, but why settle for a poor imitation   |
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Last Edit: Apr 30, 2016 20:20:22 GMT by nomad: Typos + ...
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,280
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Apr 30, 2016 21:00:54 GMT
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I'm not entirely sure what it's catching on yet, I can't operate the pedal and see what its doing at the same time so I'm hoping to have an extra person to help me with that this weekend. I'll give the chaps you point out a go if I come unstuck, so far I've not been able to find a direct replacement cable but that's not to say there isn't one out there somewhere.
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,280
Club RR Member Number: 146
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It has been nice to be behind the wheel of the Rover again, I didn't even get that cross when I found out the car was covered in tree pollen and bird poo after having spent most of my afternoon yesterday washing and polishing it. I felt good about car things, so trundled over to the garage to work on the Renault. Mike also Vax'd the seats and carpet in the Rover, I'll get some pics of that tomorrow when it should be dried out and I'll have some light for pictures. Made a bit more progress on the Renault today and intended to have all the front suspension rebuilt, mainly because recently the new shocks arrived.  For two reasons, the upper wishbone was removed from the car. The first was that it should make getting the spot welds drilled out easier, the second that I thought it might make getting the shock out easier too.  With both upper wishbones on the bench drilling out the spot welds for one side was fairly easy and it was ready for the new ball joint in no time. The other one, however, was the most difficult set of spotwelds and rivets I've ever had to remove. It didn't matter how you went about it, it just didn't want to let go. You can also see the lower passenger ball joint just to the left which was just a case of unbolting it, someone had replaced this many, many years ago and made my life a lot easier.  Strange heads though. Rather than a hex bolt or, as in the case of all the new ball joints, screw-headed bolts (both flat and cross type) they were a smooth D shape which meant making use of some mole grips.  I'm going to replace all the 'bolts' that came with the new ball joints, I don't trust that they're up to the job in all honesty. Threads pointing down because that matches what was on the car and seemed to fit better. Upper wishbones refitted for now to make sure I don't lose any fixings, they're very easy to fit and remove really.   Mike managed to get the top nut off the shock on the passenger side but we couldn't get the bottom bolt out, there just seems to be too much tension on everything. We'll figure it out. On the driver's side I could get a spanner on the top nut of the shock but couldn't figure out how on earth Mike managed to move it on the passenger side, there seems to be just enough space to get the spanner in and nothing else. I do hope I don't have to remove the inner wings to replace them. Finally, one of the old brake pads was removed and tried against the new ones I'd bought. Previous owner certainly got as much use as he possibly good out of the old pads. As you can see I've managed, yet again, to buy the wrong part even with cross-referencing of brake type, car year and all the rest. Trouble was, there were two brake pads listed wherever I looked for my car and nobody knew exactly which I needed so I took a gamble on the ones that looked right from memory... and got it wrong. No great loss, it was only £8 delivered for a full set of pads and I'm sure I can rehome them along with all the other wrong bits I've bought.  In other news, I recently managed to get a Hydragas dalek, a thing I've been trying to buy and failing since buying the Princess four (FOUR? crikey) years ago. It will get a full clean and service to check all is well, what I do know is that it does pump fluid. It was more expensive than getting someone to come out and pump up the Princess but it should pay for itself long term and they're always in demand so selling it won't be a problem if it comes to it.  |
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,280
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Sort of a big update today because things are going quite well. Over the hump of everything being in bits it's now the more pleasant task of putting the car back together again. First job was to get the shocks swapped over, I was struggling to get tools and hands into the gap so Mike kindly got the old ones off and the new ones on. The old ones were deader than a dead thing, all the rubber parts were just flat and deformed.  New ones fitted and everything went together fairly easily. I couldn't get the bolts I wanted for the ball joints today because it's bank holiday Monday, but when I do get chance to get them I'll go round the car and replace the ten that I need to so that the ball joints are held in with proper bolts and not the rubbish that was supplied.  Of note is the outer driveshaft boot on this side. The old spring wire clip thing had lost its spring and we didn't have a suitable clip in to replace it so I used a tie wrap instead. As far as I know this is perfectly fine as a solution, it holds the boot in place and keeps dirt and oil on the correct sides of the rubber. I'm going to order some new CV/driveshaft boot clips anyway but again, Bank Holiday Monday put paid to getting any today.  The temperature sender was reconnected, the bolt for it was even still in the head. Bit of a curse word to do as access isn't great, but it's done.   Alternator fitted and new drive belts on too. Couldn't fit the tensioner because I dropped the nut and it vanished, you wouldn't think it could, but it did. I'll get a new nut, I didn't have any in stock.   Just plonked the radiator in the hole to keep it out of the way for now. I've got some wires to connect, the radiator to flush and connect, and a new clutch cable to fit under the bonnet. Once that's done I can actually test fire the engine, which I still haven't done. I want everything to be right first and with the engine having lots of lovely oil in it I'm not worrying about it seizing or anything in the meantime.  Took the spotlights I was given apart to check them out. They're past the first flush of youth but serviceable. Used the Rover to provide power and they work perfectly fine, don't even need bulbs.  While the Renault has been in the unit drying out and being bashed about there's a lot of dirt appearing on the floor. Quite a lot of it is in the rear of the bodywork so all of this will need a really good clean out. I need to clean up and refit the mud flaps too, they're both fine it's just that one fell off and one has nearly fallen off.  Since I'm down to much smaller jobs now I started checking various little things. I noticed the rear lights didn't look quite right, look at where the screw holes are in the passenger side lens.  That would be because it's a small back and the lens doesn't fit it. I reckon this is an earlier style light cluster with a later lens bodged on top. I'm seriously tempted to fit an early light lens this side just because.  The other side hasn't got extra holes, but it looked like there might not be reflector fitted.  Nope, no reflector! I can cut a new one from a spare Princess lens I've got, seems like a sensible solution to that problem. I don't know where the old reflector has gone and this is the first time I've had the rear lights apart so I suspect it's not had one on this side for quite some time.  Because I had so few things left to put on the car now I cleared it out, put the rear seat back where it should be and put the mat back down.  Persuaded the driver's door card to sort of go back on. I've got a better card on my spare door that I'll fit because it's the same colour and nicely aged.  What's left of the front mats were plonked in too. I need to buy a scrap of carpet to redo the carpet bits, that shan't cost me much.  Loosely put the lower cowling back under the steering column, all the screws for it have gone missing. I'm still trying to figure out what the neat rectangular hole in the side of the dashboard is for where those wires are coming out. I haven't found any likely spare parts or switches for it, my suspicion is that someone had a fan over ride switch installed and have since removed it.  This is all that's left to go on the car now.  Loosely put the sill trims back on. They really need a clean and some of the wire clips replacing. I've got all the end caps too, they're in the boot.  The front end sits higher than it did, I'm sure of it, and is much firmer than it was since fitting the new suspension parts. I didn't disturb the torsion bars so I hope it's just that it now sits at the normal height rather than it's sitting too high.   The wiper arms were removed - the easiest I've ever removed on any car - for when I test the electrics. I don't want the wiper arms accidentally mangling things or themselves if there's anything wrong with the wiper motor. Next big mechanical job is the exhaust and front brakes. I have no idea if the master cylinder is any good and won't find out until the new brake pads arrive. The discs I bought do appear to be the correct ones, we compared old and new before refitting the driveshafts. I've brought the old headlining back to see if I've got enough fabric in stock to redo it and, since I want to take the windscreen out to cure the leak it strikes me as sensible to do the headlining at the same time if I can. To my knowledge, for the MoT I only need the following, providing everything else I've fixed is good: Headlight (sourced) Throttle cable Battery Brake fluid (in stock) Gearbox oil Tyres |
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Could be a foglamp switch?
Front will settle down when you roll it around a bit.
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,280
Club RR Member Number: 146
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I don't think it's foglights, the car doesn't look to have had any fitted. Looking at some pictures and going off suggestions on other forums it could be rheostat for the dash lights or a hazard light switch. I'm not sure, not every picture I find of this dash has a switch there and none of the pictures I've found are that clear.
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The front end sits higher than it did, I'm sure of it, and is much firmer than it was since fitting the new suspension parts. I didn't disturb the torsion bars so I hope it's just that it now sits at the normal height rather than it's sitting too high. Drop the tyres pressures until you get the height you want? ( if you get down to 5 psi stop and try something else ) Stick some extra weight on the front until it settles down? Filling the washer bottle would be a good start  Chop the springs? (obviously - you'll have to fit springs first ) Coilovers!!!! Fit a mahoosive oversized engine? Start with 700cc, it that's not enough try an 850/900cc ?  The least interesting option would be to loosen all the suspension bolts with the car on it's wheels, roll it a few yards to untension everthing then bounce the front end a few , retighten *without* jacking the car up (if you tighten rubber bushes when the car is up on jacks, the rubber is put under tension when you remove the jacks - ie instant lift, followed soon after by overstressed rubber bushes breaking up  ) |
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LOL @ Nomads comment... |
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194? Willys Jeep MB 1965 Volvo 544 Special 1968 Opel Rekord 1975 Opel Kadett Estate 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E 1985 Datsun 720 King Cab 4x4 diesel 1997 Volvo S70 2.5SE (ex. "Volvo544special65" - changed to more reader friendly username.  ) |
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Nice to see some good progress on the Renault, I'm still impressed you can keep three projects on the go at once, I'm busy enough with one!
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a tumescent update !
zip ties ok on cv boots, although i found they are too narrow and not quite tight enough to stop the boot walking about in its land.
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,280
Club RR Member Number: 146
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timmy201: no children, working from home and nothing better to do. It's a winning combination I got some proper metal CV clips, which are basically zip ties but stay put a bit better. Current fix is okay but I don't trust it to last long term. If that update was tumescent, this one runs the risk of pitching tents. There are certain milestones in any project, particularly one as brave/stupid as this one. Today, the milestone of lights was achieved, mostly. Mike was at the unit well before me today and called me just as I was getting stuff together to go in to let me know he'd already hooked up all the electrics, was I going in to help? Of course I was going in to help, and I was very surprised he'd already put all the wires where they needed to go. Key in the ignition (which you turn towards yourself and is on the left of the column, counter intuitively) and see what happens. Oooh, an ignition light! We didn't have one of those last time we put a battery on the car.  Soon we realised that more work was going to be needed, connections cleaned up, bulbs replaced, that sort of thing. On trying the various controls we found the wiper motor works at speeds Slow and Not As Slow, the new wiper blades were fitted when the screen was cleaned and that proved entirely satisfactory. The blower fan works, and blows both Slow and Not As Slow, so again that was deemed adequate. Sidelights and front indicators did nothing, indicator switch did nothing, headlights worked on dip and main (twist stalk for sidelights, pull down once for dip and again for main), we tried the hazard switch and one indicator worked on the rear. Here's a boring video.  Rear running lights work and, after the switch came unstuck, so did the brake lights. Reversing lights were found to be purely decorative, there's no wires at all running to them and by the looks of things never were on this car so the tailgate is probably off another car, perhaps the same donor as the other metallic green panels came off as this one was also metallic green (that's at least one front door, both inner front wings, one outer front wing for those keeping tabs). Here's an even more boring video.  Also learned that the passenger side lens is the wrong type but that it's because there were two manufacturers offering the same rear light with a slightly different design. Info from R6 guru Mr Reno on that one. I'm going to replace just the lens as the one fitted is not only the wrong type but also appears to be from the wrong side of the car. After some jiggery pokery and a full compliment of new bulbs we had both indicators on the back working.  My brother fiddled bout with switches and switch cleaner and got the indicator stalk working and the telltale for it on the dash working. Also of note is that the dash lights illuminate, the hazard warning light works, the ignition telltale works. As yet there is no visible telltale for dip or main beam aside from a very dim red light on the far left so there's some investigation still to do on the instrument cluster, it may be bad connections, dead bulbs, or something of that sort. Odometer/Speedometer cable was also reconnected as that had come unseated at some point.  The interior light works, both door switches operate with the passenger one needing a bit of a clean as it's a little sticky.  Up front, everything but the driver's side indicator works. We've not found the reason for this yet, we suspect it's a bad connector or earth somewhere, we just ran out of time to investigate further. Used the old headlight bowl just to test the new bulbs and see that things worked. Rather than use the original golf ball type halogens I used a variant that has the same mounting bracket but is more like an H4 in shape. It ups the light output considerably without looking overly modern, a sensible modernisation. I've already forgotten what the bulb type is called.  The most frustrating thing to discover is that the starter motor appears to have died. We did bench test it a little over a year ago but didn't then bench test it again before refitting it to the car which we should have done. It can be resurrected by a local guy who won't charge a great deal and who did a great job on the starter motor for my Princess. So we didn't get to see if the car would run today which was a shame. We did learn the handbrake definitely works and appears to work quite well. Only a short day on the car today but a very productive and rewarding one. Seeing so much spring to life after being dormant for such a long time was really exciting, probably disproportionately so.
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Last Edit: May 4, 2016 18:08:00 GMT by vulgalour
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I have a Renault works manual for the 6, and one of the circuit diagrams shows a "Brake circuit warning light bulb checking switch". Could this be your mystery missing switch?
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74 Mk1 Escort 1360, 1971 Vauxhall Victor SL2000 Estate.
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,280
Club RR Member Number: 146
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so.. a switch to check the brake warning light is working? That sounds ridiculous enough to be right. They only give you a red light to tell you when you've cooked the engine rather than a sensible temperature gauge but go to the trouble of fitting a switch that lets you check if a warning light is working.
Or it could be a missing rheostat. I really don't know.
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Good to see a lot of progress on this. Needs lows, though. |
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Highly recommended as local, independent & helpful 
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