www.citroën.cc

Renovation to do list

Items I really need to do…

The organic nature of these cars is evident over some time – you start to realise nothing stands still or stays fixed and it will continue to degrade regardless of whether you drive it or not.

• get synchro on gear 2 fixed
• clean and repaint engine bay
• maybe new steering wheel at some stage – current one has some heat damage but is covered currently with a leather wrap I made so no urgency to that
• work out a way to better clean the dimpled edging vinyl/plastic fabric around floor/doorways step
• maybe add temperature gauge and sender [not supplied on dspecial - and not urgently required]
• retouch chrome paint on dash fittings and rechrome dial surrounds
• rust removal and repaint of boot panel which has appeared as dots along the leading edge from the inside [which  is a very common problem.]  and the painted surface has crazed. I had the boot repainted and they did really bad job – it needs stripping again to bare metal.
• repaint roof again due to compression marks in small section of the fibreglass roof panel – sort of like circular stress marks
• de rust door edges and check drainage holes again – and respray with cavity wax.
• check rubber drainage seals and replace any corroded ones
• re-polish stainless hubcaps

Renovation process 2009

• November 2009 – rear right wheel rubber  boot replaced due to minor crack
• December 2009 – replaced breather tube on engine. The rubber tube was bent and compressed.

Renovation process 2007

• March 2007 – Wiring was all checked. Coil and Ballast resistor were replaced. {electrical things were not really working right as I was about to find out  in a while}. Steering return pipe replaced. Exhaust tail pipe was patched/repaired where it connected to the muffler. LHM was replaced and filters cleaned.
• May 2007 – Electrical connections in engine bay all checked and high tension leads replaced. [following sudden break down in the middle of Sydney city traffic and subsequent towing]
• May 2007 – 6 days later - Ignition was replaced with 123 ignition system
• December 2007 – Both rear suspension boots and  pivot balls replaced, and knuckles cleaned and regreased and holding pins retensioned.

Renovation process 2006

• January 2006 – Bought and fitted 2 new headlight mounts/units. The previous ones were degraded to a point where they needed to be re-mirrored.They were not the correct style and were ‘modern’ replacements that had been fitted in a complex fashion with perspex surrounds to mount them. It was very difficult to adjust them and make them work correctly with the self levelling system. It was easier to refit remanufactured ‘original’ style ones.
• June 2006 – Hydraulic pump bit the dust and had to be replaced. All the seals and bearings were checked and replaced and fluids topped up again. The boot lid was taken off for a repaint due to cracks forming in surface. [this repaint was not entirely successful]
• August 2006 – All LHM fluids were bled and replaced and filters cleaned. Brake fluids all bled and replaced. The instrument panel was replaced with excellent new identical one with no broken corners. The rehostat adjuster was replaced and all lights and bulbs checked and repaired in minor ways.

Renovation process 2005

• January 2005 – OH NO! got hit by sudden major hailstorm with the car in the open – 10 minutes and 1-2cm+ in size – have to get about 13 small dents removed by paintless dent removal in the next two months [end of March 05 - delay due to local massive demand]. Surprisingly less damage than assumed at first – but about 2 impressions on almost every panel – but none to the fibreglass roof.
• February 2005 – replaced spheres with rebuilt ones. Rewired main fuse boxes under hood to use one modern fuse box. This has fixed the ongoing headlights erratic behaviour where the main beams would drop out on one or other headlight due to dodgy contacts in the fuse boxes – [sanding surfaces just won't fix everything].
• April 2005 – back from the paintless dent repairs – and a very smooth body work again! They even removed a tiny dent on one door from some careless person opening a door on one side in a carpark. All the windows were removed to do it and while they were off and out the door drain holes were checked and cleared and cavity wax sprayed inside the doors. Now to get some touchups done…
• April 2005 – The large pulley wheel on the end of the camshaft behind the radiator has developed a strange wiggling noise and appears to be splitting. It is made from two flat sections riveted together and has two belts running from it. It needs the wheel replaced so I don’t lose hydraulics suddenly when the wheel splits apart.
• July 2005 – Fully flushed gearbox and replaced oil with new synthetic fluid and Nulon additive. Gearbox oil Castrol Syntrax 75/90 with Nulon G70 additive
• August 2005 – I found 2 new tail light rear lense units! they look good… the previous ones mounts were failing badly and were close to falling off. Also got a new set of Dspecial style boot seal rubbers.
• September 2005 – Replaced left hand rear suspension rubber boot.