Xantiaman's Blog

Post by **myglaren** » 15 Sep 2009, 22:02

What was the topic, incidentally?

XantiaMan · Post by **XantiaMan** » 26 Sep 2009, 12:16

Sooo, back on topic!

I've been very busy with work all month and the last week in September looks to be equally as busy, no bad thing as i suspect it will quieten down towards the end of the year which gives me more time for my next project...

The Maestro is going back to its original colour but with a slight twist!

My new project for the winter has now started, with a test spray of the grille last night. This is a proper job, with the engine out, interior stripped etc.

The twist can be seen above. Originally a straight black, i am going for a pearlescent Black, often seen on BMW's known as Black Sapphire.

My paint skills have gone up massively since the car was painted in 2001, black is known to be a pain both to paint and keep clean but i'm pretty experienced at both now!

I'm really excited about it, and even Vicky is asking me what bit is being done next! I'm starting at the top with the roof, which needs a small repair next to the sunroof, dremel with cut off wheel all ready to go for this one!

I will keep you updated if interested.

The Activa as usual sits next to the house all week and sometimes moves at weekends, not this one though, as we are using the Transit for all our running around, its cheap on fuel! Hopefully next weekend it will be out and about. Then Santa Pod later next month, new tyres before then and maybe a decat pipe..

I've fitted a very useful bit of kit to the Transit.

Its a Flettner roof vent, which pulls all the fumes out. It works, as before if you drove along with the window open all you could smell is fumes, now its clean as. Might have less headaches now! I paid £26 brand new from eBay, a bargain as they are normally in excess of £60.

XantiaMan · Post by **XantiaMan** » 27 Sep 2009, 18:26

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Post by **CitroJim** » 27 Sep 2009, 18:47

Great picture

Now then Gareth, just because you've not had a deluge of replies it does not mean it's gone unread..

Are you spraying the whole of the Maestro black? I like them in red

How will you get on for decals? You'll need red ones on a black car. Are they still available?

That's a lovely colour though, that pearlescent black and it'll look really rather good in it. I thought at first you were going to paint it the same colour as the Activa!!! Matching cars...

Is that vent on the Tranny one of those that whirr around with the wind created as you drive along or is it electric? The former used to be fitted to all sorts of vans almost as standard and they used to amuse me as a little boy. Gave me something to look at out of the window of whatever BMC vehicle dad was driving at the time. They really used to fascinate me

Can't think what I found so interesting about them now really...

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 27 Sep 2009, 18:59

Looks a good colour, i like that 8)

Hope you dont mind me posting this here, but it just looks so nice 8) Love that colour.

(nice rain beading there

)

Do you know what power its producing now?

Chris.

KP · Post by KP » 27 Sep 2009, 19:24

I've never seen a meastro in any color other than red, was it offered at discount when they were made so it would hide the rust more as last i recall of my dad and grans was the doors rusting through, even though it was washed every week my folks lived a few miles from the sea near fleetwood and the gran folks lived miles away in beflast...

Looks good that black though, nice little metal fleck in bring it up a treat though if it were mine i would try it with less fleck, does show you are a top painter though looking at how well that has come out matey

i guess most of your time will be spent stripping the thing out as even back then from my experience cars seemed to have plastic covers that were a nightmare to get off

I don't think decals will be too much of an issue as with the originals still on the car most sticker places can make new ones up

Would you go for red on black or white??

I always wondered if those vents were electirc or wind powered as i always thought if they were electric and the van was parked up for long periods it would be a good way to drain the battery.... Do you have an additional power pack in the back of your van or genset to run your kit off gareth??

XantiaMan · Post by **XantiaMan** » 27 Sep 2009, 20:13

Hi guys,

Of course, the whole thing will be black. Just 49 Turbo's were sold Black and mine was one of them. I do a lot of black these days and when swirl free, looks amazing.

The decals are no problem. I had copies made a long time ago, all Turbo's had charcoal grey door decals, for the boot, it was red for all except the red, which was black

The latter are available from a club at a good price. I may leave it debadged, or get the rears made in charcoal so they are less noticeable.

The pearl shows up a lot because of the flash, in daytime its just right. If i spray further away, this increases the intensity, closer less so.

I've started on the roof tonight and cut a patch out next to the sunroof, its not pretty! It was caused by me when i refitted the sunroof tray, a drain got twisted and blocked, causing it to overflow. The foam seal in the tray acted like a sponge and for a couple of years, soaked the metal from underneath till it blistered. I fixed the drain years ago and to be fair, it hasnt got much worse in 5 years.

Above shows the progress i made this evening. I stripped the headlining out and the sunroof assembly before carefully cutting the hole you now see. I will be getting some Bilt Hamber rust killer to treat the inner surfaces as its a bit messy but savable, then making a patch to fit flush, weld, fill etc.

Citroenmad, i estimate its around 175bhp now and 200 lb ft. It really does shift with a shove in the back and being a manual you can launch it properly and change gears when you want

I always found autos felt faster, possibly the lack of full control over the gears.

We shall see soon if it betters its previous time of 16.2 at Pod, done a few thing since including proper boost control which gives better boost top end, the backbox also helped and this time if the track is better, get a 2.2 60ft time instead of 2.5, easily into the 15's then.

The Flettner is wind driven, it has a very free running bearing which even with the slightest whiff of wind, will start rotating.

All my kit is main powered, i would need a beefy genny to power most of my stuff and it would be extra weight, take up alot of space and noisy. Being mains powered means i dont have that additional cost either!

Citroenmad · Post by **Citroenmad** » 27 Sep 2009, 23:43

Thats an impressive increase, i didnt think a standard activa was that slow anyway so i came imagine yours is pretty nippy!

Did it effect fuel consumption with the extra power?

Chris.

XantiaMan · Post by **XantiaMan** » 28 Sep 2009, 15:14

Looks like i have another project!

For a while now i have noticed a ticking noise at idle, but its not been audible whilst driving and the windows shut. That was until this afternoon, when it suddenly got louder

Sods law dictates this is an engine out job to inspect/fix. I'm hoping its just the manifold gasket, but have a feeling it could be the turbo/manifold itself.

It seems to be a common issue (believe Andmcit mentioned about his S2 making noise?) so i will hopefully find a cure for it with minimal expense.

The annoying thing is, about an hour before i had booked it in for a decat! Got a good price on it, with flanges welded onto the old cat to be refitted for MOT.

This also means no Ace Cafe or Santa Pod meet

With the engine out, the clutch will be replaced also, one less job on the list which tbh isnt that big any way.

KP · Post by KP » 28 Sep 2009, 15:59

Is it just easier to take the engine out or can it not be done at all with the engine in situ?? Sure its not the inlet manifold maybe instead of exhaust? could pour water over it with a cold engine and listen maybe to see if the note changes as the water hits it??

XantiaMan · Post by **XantiaMan** » 28 Sep 2009, 16:02

KP wrote:Is it just easier to take the engine out or can it not be done at all with the engine in situ?? Sure its not the inlet manifold maybe instead of exhaust? could pour water over it with a cold engine and listen maybe to see if the note changes as the water hits it??

Its pretty easy to tell the difference between the 2. Its exhaust for sure, the EM would come on if there was a significant drop in manifold pressure also.

The turbo cannot be removed with engine in situ. On a 406, the subframe can be dropped to allow removal but not practical on an Activa!

I am trying to find for sure if the manifold and turbo are one piece. One of Jim's spares is definatly one piece, cant remember if it was an S2 Xantia or not. Seems the S1 may have seperate exhaust manifold/turbo.

Post by **CitroJim** » 28 Sep 2009, 17:47

XantiaMan583 wrote: I am trying to find for sure if the manifold and turbo are one piece. One of Jim's spares is definatly one piece, cant remember if it was an S2 Xantia or not. Seems the S1 may have seperate exhaust manifold/turbo.

As far as I can recall Gareth, the one you're thinking of on my bench at the time was from an S2 Turbo CT Estate...

XantiaMan · Post by **XantiaMan** » 28 Sep 2009, 17:49

CitroJim wrote:
XantiaMan583 wrote: I am trying to find for sure if the manifold and turbo are one piece. One of Jim's spares is definatly one piece, cant remember if it was an S2 Xantia or not. Seems the S1 may have seperate exhaust manifold/turbo.
As far as I can recall Gareth, the one you're thinking of on my bench at the time was from an S2 Turbo CT Estate...

Makes sense now. I've seen Sri turbos and they are separate units. Might see if i can source the earlier style as they seem more robust, thats assuming of course its the manifold not the gasket!

XantiaMan · Post by **XantiaMan** » 29 Sep 2009, 21:16

It seems the 406 Sri Turbo does have the separate arrangment of turbo and manifold.

I am unlikely to find one in good working order in a short amount of time, so i formulated another plan.

Today a member of this forum posted a low miles complete engine and gearbox from an S2 Activa replaced for a V6 conversion.

Although more than i wanted to spend, i would end up spending about the same if a different route was taken.

My car needs a clutch, with bite point towards the top and in colder weather, a little bit of slip. It would also be nice to have some spares!

This 'new' engine should have a good nick turbocharger on it, and with a 3k mile old clutch, that will be like brand new. Clutch would be £150 on its own, a turboocharger if i could find one at least £150. With this lot, i get a complete engine with FSH and a gearbox in case i ever need one.

It might be worthwhile swopping the box, as mine has always crunched into 3rd, partly down to the gear linkage which will be replaced when the engine is out.

So i will take the good bits i need and keep the engine itself as a good spare. Although a strong unit, you never know what might happen.

I will source the earlier manifold/turbo set up from a 406 and have this uprated as and when, and then if the new turbo suffers the same fate (i.e cracked manifold) then i have a solution.

I have called upon the help of an expert for the swop, as this will save lots of time and give me peace of mind too. I'll be doing all the heavy work, but it will make a huge difference to have a watchful eye over the operation and ensure it all goes back together as it should.

I pick the engine/box up on Saturday, so watch this space!

XantiaMan · Post by **XantiaMan** » 30 Sep 2009, 22:32

Engine hoist in back of van, so ready for Saturday. I need to get this done before the end of the month, so looking like i will have to attempt this one my own, so expect more than a few posts asking how to do things.