C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

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rutter123
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by rutter123 »

I take it TATA steel have upped their production to keep you in good supply.
Fab work your doing there I'm doin similar work myself but the worst area the rear axle mounts where the rust worms have really taken a hold.
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vulgalour
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by vulgalour »

I should really have bought shares just before I started welding up the Princess, I'd be quids in now ;)

Tomorrow, all being well, I'll be getting the towing eye welded back on and the small patch on the rear sill step. After that I hope there isn't more welding to do, it's certainly the last of it I know about. We'll see if I have to remove the rear axle to do the front-to-back pipes, a job I'm tempted to do just to inspect the area anyway given how many people have had a nasty surprise there on otherwise decent looking cars. We shall see, I've not had any cause for concern on that part of the car and since Dean repaired the back end of the sills before I got the car, I suspect if there were problems he would have found them at that point.
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by panky »

You're blazing away with the repairs, great to see.
I'm no expert but I think you can check the axle mounts by lifting the back seat and checking around the mounting bolts. May not show the whole picture but might give you an idea.
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vulgalour
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by vulgalour »

That's one area of the car that's surprisingly clean, or at least what I could see of it is from when I stripped the interior bits out so hopefully we're okay.
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by panky »

That's good news
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rutter123
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by rutter123 »

There is no need to remove the rear axle to re-pipe they can be fed thru over the top but in my view I don't think it would hurt just to undo the 6 securing bolts and drop the whole thing a few inches to inspect the mounts as looking from the top won't reveal any horror stories that could be lurking on the underside this will also give you a chance to check the mounting bushes (all mine had perished) and the condition of the inner sills, maybe worth removing the fuel tank as well as rust can set in around that .
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vulgalour
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by vulgalour »

I don't especially want to get in as deep as tank removal at this point if I'm honest. I just want to drive the car. I had a scope around the inner sills and what I could see of the mounting points while the car was on the lift and didn't see any horrors, so if something bad is lurking, it's very well hidden.
---
Cracked on and got the towing eye surrounding metal replaced and then the towing eye itself welded back in. I cleaned the whole crossmember back, which was difficult because whatever it was painted in was seriously tough stuff. After that, doused it all with rust treatment, then paint. Looked loads better after that too.
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While the paint was drying I had a look at the front-to-back pipes. Removing them without taking off the rear subframe is possible and since I wasn't keeping these, I just snipped through them where it was difficult to get them out. This made removing them annoying, but possible. I also checked around the rear axle mounting points as much as I could and there was nothing particularly terrifying to see, it all looked pretty reasonable. Then the first casualty when trying to remove the pipe that goes into the hardline connector, somehow I managed to snap the pipe and the stub of it is left in the union. This is very annoying and I don't know how to fix it.
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Then the next annoying problem was the union at the back, which decided to round off. Access to this particular union is terrible and I can see me having to dismantle quite a lot of stuff that has nothing wrong with it, just to get in with a tool big enough to undo this union. The union in question is the top right one on the four-way block.
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The pipes themselves are a bit scabby in places, so they definitely needed replacing. However, I couldn't find where either of them had failed so I begin to wonder if it was one of these pipes that had burst. Before putting LHM in I'll be dismantling the suspension on this side rear corner to see if I can find anything else that might have failed because while the pipes are actually quite dry, the displacer and surrounding area is still a bit wet with LHM that's leaking from above them somewhere.
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The only other thing of note was a slightly squashed section. I couldn't figure out what had caused this, so I assume it was a manufacturing defect.
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I'll get some fresh pipes made up by Dean, if the offer still stands, now that I know what length these need to be. With that done, I couldn't really do anything else on the suspension, I didn't want to get into dismantling the rear corner because I hadn't got enough time to be getting into that if it became an involved job. Instead, I finished off the work at the front with lashings of underseal.
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That should keep things happy for some time to come. Then I made an attempt to fit the bumper. I'm pretty sure this is a two person job because I can't seem to get the side blocks on the bumper to go into their respective holes without another part of the bumper coming out of alignment somewhere. I also have to think about a solution for fixings since the bumper was previously held on mostly with cableties, a perfectly adequate solution, just not really the way I want to put this back together. I'll probably use bolts/screws and trim edge clips looking at how Citroen have put everything together. The bumper is essentially decorative at any rate, so it doesn't need a lot to hold it in place since there's not really anything to it.
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I do have one bit of welding left to do. I would have done it today if I hadn't chosen to do battle with the pipes, because to fix this little bit of rust I've got to remove quite a few trim pieces to access it properly. There's also a little bit on the rear arch to sill join in the usual Citroen place that needs cleaning up and might need a little patch, depending if it's pinholed or not. Flash makes these areas look far worse than they are.
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Another little job was putting the rear wiper back on straight.
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While not quite finished, it does at least look like a car again.
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rutter123
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by rutter123 »

The pipe unions can be utter sods to remove, steel unions into cast blocks is never s good combination, if you're changing the pipes anyway I usually cut the pipe close to the fitting and use an 8mm socket to get them out. I've tried the brake pipe spanner approach but they can still round off, failing that a decent set of pipe grips should budge them.
Applying some heat does help or soak overnight in penetrating fluid. I had to drill out and re-tap the fittings on my rear struts..
I have spare 3 and 4 way axle beam unions if you need them.
On mine I just cut all the pipes and put the unions in a vice to get the fittings out.
The coiled brake pipes can leak where they are clamped at a 90 degree bend on the rear beam, both of mine were very corroded under the clamps, the only failsafe is to replace every pipe, as you say annoying but necessary..
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vulgalour
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by vulgalour »

I think a socket is going to be the only way I can get the rear union out. If I get desperate I do have some Irwin easy-out bolt gripper sockets to hand, I'm just not sure I've got one small enough for an 8mm nut. It'll sort. Will be interesting to find out what has actually failed on the pipework, I'll give the curly pipe suggested a closer inspection, hoping there's a replacement available if that has gone because I'm not sure I could make that myself.
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by Tim Leech »

The bumpers are a paint in the arse, they can be down single handed but you need to hold the bumper with your knees, line the blocks up and push hard....
Lots of Motors, mostly semi broken....
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vulgalour
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by vulgalour »

Oh well, since you know how to do it you should visit and show me. I'll get the kettle on ;)
rutter123
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by rutter123 »

Replacement pipes are readily available from Pleiades in sawtry cambs see their website they make them from cupra nickel so they wont corrode and even bend/coil them into shape for around £20 a side and come with larger 10mm fittings much more user friendly.
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by vulgalour »

Finally got some time available to do some work on the BX and Mike was available to help too. The new pipes from Dean were just the job and it was surprisingly easy to feed them through the gap between the body and the rear axle, it was actually more difficult getting them to route tidily at the front than at the back. They were very easy to locate in the clips on the inner sill. We did get the broken pipe out of the front union with the application of heat, because we got a bit desperate. As far as we can tell there's no harm done but we'll know for certain when the LHM goes in. For the other union that I'd rounded off, cutting the pipe short and using a hex socket was just possible, though I did have to use a short pry bar to brace between the block the union goes into and the axle tube to stop the whole thing moving as I tried to undo the union. Got there in the end, no harm done. New pipes were refitted with the proper little rubber tubes.

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On looking around the back end for leaks, it looks like it could be something to do with the boot on the rear sphere on the passenger side, it's difficult to tell without dismantling everything, but the LHM doesn't seem to be coming from any of the hard lines. I don't regret replacing the two lines we did, they definitely needed doing sooner rather than later. I'm not sure whether to dismantle the suspension on the back now or fill with LHM and see what happens.

There was a minor hiccup after reconnecting the battery in that at first, things behaved like no battery was connected. I'm sure Dean had mentioned the cut-off switch on the positive clamp being a bit dicky sometimes and since I'm not planning on using it, we removed it. That cured the lack of power. Next was the lack of glowplug light. At first I thought it might just be a blown bulb so to be sure, Mike got the multimeter out and we found there was no power going to the glowplugs. A wiggle of the relay on the inner wing and power was restored. It's probably either corrosion on the relay connections or a less than perfect earth since this is the area I'd done lots of bodywork in. Something to keep an eye on for the future. With that sorted, the BX could escape the unit, slowly, and loudly, because there's no working footbrake and the backbox hasn't been refitted yet. I'll put the backbox back on once I know nothing is leaking at the back, it makes access a lot easier since there's somewhere for my head to go when I'm looking at stuff.

Next challenge is to try and figure out where this clamp/bracket goes. I'm pretty sure it's to hold up the end of the beige air intake tube, I just can't figure out where exactly it's supposed to mount. You can see from the engine bay shot where the beige tube is supposed to run, which would suggest the clamp should fit to one of the front wing bolts, it just doesn't seem to be quite right when I try that. Ideas welcome.
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Importantly, the boot interior light works.
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Annoyingly, the bonnet now seems to be slightly warped and I have no idea why. It's not the bump stop or the headlight making it look like it's sticking up on the driver's side here, that whole corner of the bonnet now actually bends up slightly. The bonnet was stored well away from heat and welding and kept safe until it was ready to go back on the car so either I didn't notice this before, or it's magically done it all on its own, which is entirely plausible for French plastics. Ideas on how to fix this also welcome.
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Finally, I got some shots of the BX with the Princess because I like to do that and it's conclusive proof that when it comes to cars, I've got a type.
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rutter123
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by rutter123 »

I don't know if you are aware that the bonnet bump stops are adjustable by winding them in/out they are threaded into the slam panel.
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vulgalour
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Re: C'est Bleriot - 1987 17RD Hatchback

Post by vulgalour »

I removed the bump stop and the bonnet still looked like that.
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