Zel's Fleet Blog - BX, Jag XJ-S, Sinclair C5, Mercedes 208D & 230TE, AC Model 70.

[CitroJim]

Interesting to see the 25 has fuel injection... Is that one of Renault's own systems? Very avant-garde for a E reg car!

[mickthemaverick]

Zel, I think you may have missed my last post about central locking remotes and mince pies?

I thought I might have cracked the central locking problem today, but not quite sadly. So you might still be on for that!

Sorry to say Zel, you have now missed the boat for the remote unit I'm afraid. It got its first bid today and will now sell. Sorry about that!!

[Zelandeth]

Interesting to see the 25 has fuel injection... Is that one of Renault's own systems? Very avant-garde for a E reg car!

Renix is the name I'm sure I've heard mentioned around this system. The V6 was using K-Jet, this is a fully electronic setup though - which probably most unusually for the period actually does have some degree of on board diagnostic capability.

Speaking of diagnostics, there's going to have to be a certain amount done on the instrument cluster. Though I suspect scratchy contacts are all that's to blame.



In the top left corner of the panel I should see the oil pressure light and ignition light when I turn the ignition on. So far I've seen none or either one of them, but never both! Plus the indicator for the sidelights actually turns up for the party roughly 50% of the time.

I'll need to pull the dash apart to look at the central display anyway so a thorough clean of all the connectors and lamp holders can happen then.

-- -- --

A set of four tyres has been ordered and should be here in the next couple of days. I'll inspect the spare and make a call on that then - if it's wrecked I'll pick up an additional budget tyre in the next couple of weeks. I like having decent tyres on the car but don't really see the need in having a premium tyre on the spare which hopefully will never be used.

There's definitely quite a lot of knocking/clonking coming from the front suspension. My main suspect from the sound of it is drop links. However all of the usual suspects are available from Autodoc for less than a tenner apiece for Delphi/TRW items so I've just ordered a set of everything likely to be associated. Drop links, lower ball joints and anti-roll bar bushes. I'll then chuck it at my usual garage with a simple instruction to shut up the front suspension. When the parts are that cheap it's worth it to save having to take the car in, get it diagnosed, then take it back while we wait for parts, then take it back to be sorted...no, we'll just go in with the usual suspects already in hand.

Plus the roads round here are really hard on all of the above components so I'll likely need to swap them at some point anyway.

The windscreen wipers were utterly shot and *slightly* too short.



The driver's one was a 18" blade, passenger's a 16". They should be 22" all round. The one on the rear didn't have any actual blade left so was also changed. I can actually almost see out of the car now, a vast improvement! Windows are still absolutely filthy, but it's better.

I stopped on the way back from that to grab a couple of photos at a spot that's very slightly less unsightly than my driveway with the building site that is our garden.







I know it's a car where the styling is quite divisive, but I've always really liked it. The pre-facelift cars like this really do look properly purposeful from the front in particular.

One of the first things I wanted to do with the interior, even before cleaning it, was to throw some leather conditioner on the seats and trim as it was clearly really dry.



Don't think I've ever seen the first application be absorbed that quickly before. The difference between treated and not is immediately apparent (furthest away seat hasn't been done yet).



Much better.



The front seats look equally healthier after their first treatment.



I reckon it's probably going to take four or five treatments before I call that done, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. Just really wanted to get started on that rather than wind up splitting something.

Back to doing actually useful things tomorrow so unlikely to be much car news for a bit. Caddy will be back home tomorrow so the 25 will be staying on the drive for the most part at least till the new tyres arrive as I'm really not comfortable driving around on what's currently on there!

[MattBLancs]

Think I'm with you on the heat shield on that exhaust manifold (though would likely make dipstick and oil filter even warmer!) Could make a template from a bit of cardboard and then cut out from a bit of galv sheet. Mind you might be worth first trying to cut a thread on each of those rusty stud / "stumps" !

Seats look mega comfy from the pictures!

Were the grey bits of the bumpers nearer black originally? That'd be the only but if the visuals I had to have a go at, otherwise it's quite a smart looking thing to my eyes.

Those tyres really are ancient, the "new" one pictured just looks, well, hard on the picture!


Have you a plan for the lacquer peel? I've a 306 with pretty extensive peel on roof and a bit on bonnet, plus a 206 that has gone - only on plastic bits soo far (rear spoiler and trim above number plate) but wasnt sure if possible to just re-laquer or its sand back and repaint fully to do a proper fix?

[Dormouse]

If you feel up to it, wet and dry the peeling laquer to feather it in and remove the flaky edges. Then a polishing mop with 4 stage colour restorer to blend, polish, build up and seal in a gloss. Not the same as a repaint, but emminently cheaper to achieve an acceptable, if not perfect, appearance.
Don't use Back to Black or any silicone restorer before you plan to paint OR make sure if you do that you limit it to only the trim areas.

[Zelandeth]

Think I'm with you on the heat shield on that exhaust manifold (though would likely make dipstick and oil filter even warmer!) Could make a template from a bit of cardboard and then cut out from a bit of galv sheet. Mind you might be worth first trying to cut a thread on each of those rusty stud / "stumps" !

Seats look mega comfy from the pictures!

Were the grey bits of the bumpers nearer black originally? That'd be the only but if the visuals I had to have a go at, otherwise it's quite a smart looking thing to my eyes.

Those tyres really are ancient, the "new" one pictured just looks, well, hard on the picture!


Have you a plan for the lacquer peel? I've a 306 with pretty extensive peel on roof and a bit on bonnet, plus a 206 that has gone - only on plastic bits soo far (rear spoiler and trim above number plate) but wasnt sure if possible to just re-laquer or its sand back and repaint fully to do a proper fix?

The clear coat situation will really need to be assessed when I've had a chance to clean the car. There's a huge amount of ingrained gunk and moss, so we will likely lose some more in the process.

The worst bit I've seen so far is the bootlid spoiler. Though that's pretty easy to deal with as it's a self contained thing - that in the short term I'll probably just rub down and paint - it would probably look absolutely fine matt black for now. Radiator grill is nearly as bad, though easy enough to sort as I can easily work with it off the car. The worst part to deal with is the rear quarter - and I think rubbing down the edge to try to stop it spreading is probably the order of the day there. At the very least the doors are also going to want paint, probably the front wing too (odds of me finding a replacement in the right colour I imagine are near zero) - so expending major efforts on it probably don't make sense right now.

I will be seeing if I can get some paint made up so I can at least touch in that great big scrape on the driver's side doors so it doesn't stick out quite so badly.

The bumpers should be a darker grey, but definitely not black.

The seats are actually if anything more comfortable than they look. Renault did a fantastic job of just making the cabin such a lovely place to be.

[Zelandeth]

Sweet, the stereo works!



Well. Sort of.

The tape deck does anyway - which was probably the most important bit. Radio appears to be dead.

Neither the upper control panel or steering column controls do anything. So the radio *may* actually work, but this system as I recall has muting if off station, and the seek controls are on the upper control panel, not duplicated on the head unit itself so I can't currently try to tune into anything or switch bands.

Could it really be as simple as a dodgy connection or someone not having plugged things back in (I have an invoice for the 12V outlet having been rewired, so this will have been out to access that)?

Not holding my breath, but would be a nice surprise if so.

Also, yes it still sounds bloody decent, even on the original speakers, must have been absolutely epic back in the late 80s.

Had a phone call this morning to say that the tyres had arrived so hopefully will get those fitted tomorrow morning. Will feel a lot more comfortable driving the car once I'm not driving on tyres old enough to have their own driving license...

[Zelandeth]

Before:



During:



After:



Much better.



Definitely feels more secure on the road and the ride is a little more compliant.

Had a bit of a nosey around while it was jacked up. No particular horrors to be found under here. Drop links are definitely a bit baggy I think based on how much I can move them by hand.



Rear similarly held nothing scary - though it looks like we'll be needing to revisit the exhaust at some point based on seeing exhaust bandage peeking out just forward of the rear silencer.



Suffice to say given how complex the routing of the system on this is that I won't be using a £50 eBay special system on this. Trying to make one of those fit caused me enough swearing on the van, never mind when I've got about an inch of free space to play with.

This will definitely need sorting properly though.



We did spot one bit of grot on the underside that I missed when looking at the car, though in fairness I'm not massively surprised. I was concentrating mainly on the sills, areas around suspension and subframe mounts and the like. The rest got a pretty quick glance over while I was trying not to get run over by passing traffic.



Not the end of the world. Shouldn't be too hard to sort. I'd say someone has damaged that area in the past by jacking the car there from the looks of it. The other side is spotless in the same area.

I think we actually had a full compliment of the relevant warning lights present at one point this evening for the first time.



Today was the first time I've seen the engine management light appear on startup (which had been taped over on my last 25). I'm not 100% sure, but we *may* still be missing the coolant temperature warning light - not absolutely sure on that.

I've had a bit more of a play with the stereo and I think we're at a decent starting point. We definitely have life from all six speakers and they all seem healthy. Which given they're the originals is quite impressive.



What's even more surprising is that despite their very normal looking construction, even at ear bleedingly and floor shaking high volume levels there's still no breakup or apparent distortion. I dread to think what the unit price of these speakers must have been. I really should look to see if they're built into any sort of chamber in the doors etc to help tune things, as this really does blow any other factory system from the era I've come across clear out the water.

Not to say we don't have issues, we do. Most obviously (aside from the non functional external controls already mentioned) is that there is quite a lot of whine on the tape input. Which I'm guessing from the sound of it is coming from the cassette deck motor, so it's suppression components aren't up to scratch after this many years. That may be as simple as replacing a capacitor or two, though if it doesn't break anything else (like confusing the auto reverse system) just disconnecting the motor may actually be a simple solution there, doing away with the inevitable mechanical noise as well, as I'll only be using this as an input from a modern source. The actual mechanism doesn't need to physically run. Will have a think about that one a little further down the line. I think the output level may be a little low, but the tape heads look absolutely filthy so I'm going to get those cleaned before I make a judgement there. This may even kill two birds with one stone, as I may just have the volume cranked up way higher than normal so I'm just picking up on what would be normal background noise levels otherwise. Not sure when I'll have time to do much more with that than to clean the heads as I suspect the unit as a whole isn't exactly service friendly. Plus I really don't want to break it!

A replacement for the cracked tail light is now on the way courtesy of eBay, likewise a new power window switch to replace the one in the driver's door which the top keeps falling off of. Little details but ones it will be nice to get ticked off.

[CitroJim]

Excellent Zel I have the opposite in Bluebell. Radio works but tape doesn't! Radio for me is essential whereas I can live without tape. I have noticed my stereo beacon light only occasionally illuminates so the decoder needs a look at. I expect my non-functional tape deck is just a broken belt. And if you plan using yours do replace the belts.

Amazing your speakers are still good Bothy AXs needed new ones.

Thoroughly enjoying your 25 adventures Definitely keep up the good work

[Zelandeth]

Excellent Zel I have the opposite in Bluebell. Radio works but tape doesn't! Radio for me is essential whereas I can live without tape. I have noticed my stereo beacon light only occasionally illuminates so the decoder needs a look at. I expect my non-functional tape deck is just a broken belt. And if you plan using yours do replace the belts.

Amazing your speakers are still good Bothy AXs needed new ones.

Thoroughly enjoying your 25 adventures Definitely keep up the good work

You'll have to let me know when you're back in our neck of the woods and I'll bring it round for a look.

Been bumbling around in it today as Abby has nicked the Caddy to go to a work event, though I'll obviously be trying to keep it away from the salt as much as I can.

Front suspension definitely needs help. It's horribly rattly/clonky over rough surfaces. The parcel with all that lot is apparently on the way now at least. Drop links I may do myself if I can get the grinder in to remove the old ones, but anything deeper than that it'll be getting chucked at the garage over Sherrington way to be sorted. Something which really is noticeable though is that while the suspension is quite soft as you'd expect, there really isn't much body roll at all when cornering, even moderately enthusiastically - or as far as I'm willing to try with possibly questionable ball joints waiting to be changed anyway. It feels astonishingly planted for such a big squishy car and the steering is nicely weighted. Nothing like the Jag where you sort of felt very far removed from the actual act of driving, and where it would go round corners at quite significant speeds but you were very aware of it. Admittedly it *is* something like half a tonne lighter than the Jag!

Spotted that one sidelight is out (really ought to do a proper lighting check...) but I don't have the lamp in stock so will need to procure one tomorrow. Will probably stick a fresh set of headlight bulbs in too as they seem dimmer than I'd expect.

Has very much reiterated my feelings though back when I oh so briefly had my last one and drove it (for the whole 3 miles or so!) that I really don't think I've had any other car which suits me quite so well. Comfy, roomy, has plenty of poke to feel satisfying, handles far better than it has any right to, has an interior which looks like it came straight out of the concept car, has an excellent stereo, and looks satisfyingly different to the masses from outside too.

[CitroJim]

I'm back now until just after Christmas Zel and then I'll be back out on my travels again. Would be great to see you and the 25... Likely I'll have a blub for it too...

Drop me a quick message just before... Today I'm likely to go see the granddaughter, tomorrow morning I'll be up at Salcey Forest parkrun and on Sunday morning I'll be running the MK Winter Half Marathon but apart from that I'll be home...

I expect it takes very little plan in any suspension joint to make a right old rattle. It may not be as bad as it sounds

Good plan on the headlight bulbs.. I put a new set in Bluebell... Very bright white looking ones that look almost like HIDs... It's given her excellent lights...

[Zelandeth]

Will likely be Monday Jim (weather permitting!) but I'll ping you a message before I set out.

Not been a huge amount going on. We've got a guest staying this weekend so it's mostly been a mad dash to get the house properly tidied up.

I did find time to swap out all the headlight bulbs though, they were definitely all well past it and now seem far brighter.

I also grabbed something else today which I think is a pretty good indication of my intention for this to stick around on fleet long term.



Given this car predates modern security measures and that the rarity factor means that whatever any payout from an insurer might be I'm unlikely to find another one it just seemed sensible. Would have preferred an actual Disclock but nowhere locally stock them in anything but the smallest size which won't fit, so we'll make do with this. May upgrade it at a later date. To be fair it is mainly as a visual deterrent to some undesirable who might be looking for a quick joyride than anything else. If a properly organised car thief wants something you've got it may as well already be gone.

Most other cars on fleet have either fallen under "has sufficient inherent security, hidden features I've added, or meh it's insured." Well aside from TPA, though she lives in the garage blocked in by two other cars so it's less of a worry there. Really should get a wheel clamp before we go on any more overnight trips away I think though.

I spotted that in addition to the original dealer plates that there's also an original window sticker (just about!) still present too.



Sadly that's had it though and will be getting removed shortly as it's turned to powder and more of it keeps landing on the back seat every time I close the boot.

Been a day of incessant phone pinging to the point at which I just set it and my watch to completely silent - I posted yesterday evening on Twitter about this latest arrival and appear to have discovered that large French barges are popular. I think the most attention any of my prior posts have got was something around 50 likes or so, probably most of whom I knew.



548 and still counting...Never expected it to be something so many people would be interested in.

[CitroJim]

I'll be around all Monday Zel...

Good plan on the steering wheel device... I'm contemplating one for Bluebell... Again, like your 25, she's virtually irreplaceable

[MattBLancs]

Where do you put the thing when not in use? That's what I wonder about.

Temptation is pop it loose in passenger footwell - ready to reinstate at the and of the journey - but it's quite a big mass to have available to fly about the cabin if unlucky enough to be in a crash. A faff to put it in and out the boot (and either strap it down or else ignore the thing sliding about across the boot carpet, thud, thud!)

[Zelandeth]

Where do you put the thing when not in use? That's what I wonder about.

Temptation is pop it loose in passenger footwell - ready to reinstate at the and of the journey - but it's quite a big mass to have available to fly about the cabin if unlucky enough to be in a crash. A faff to put it in and out the boot (and either strap it down or else ignore the thing sliding about across the boot carpet, thud, thud!)

It will go in the boot. It comes with a bag, that will be tethered in place so it can quickly just be slipped into it.

Yes it's a bit of a faff, but that's just the world we live in now.

-- -- --

Only actual car related job I was determined to get done today was to make it so that I could actually see out of both the Caddy and Renault. The Caddy had developed a horrible greasy film on the inside of the screen which I was reminded of every time I was driving into the sun.

The Renault screen was just absolutely filthy inside and out. Plus had these marks left from stickers etc in the past.





That one on the driver's side was an absolute swine to remove because of how close to the base of the screen it was.

Also removed what was left of the old dealer sticker as it was just crumbling away to nothing.



Then gave the car a really quick hoover to get rid of the bits of sticker than ended up everywhere and gave the dash a *really* quick wipe down.



I'll need to get the sticky stuff remover involved to try to get the tape residue off the dash above the glove box.

The only bit I put any real effort into cleaning besides the glass was the instrument panel as it was annoying me how cloudy the plastic looked.



The first of my replacement parts arrived today which allowed me to deal with this.



The driver's side switch had lost both of its retaining lugs so wouldn't clip in place. It also periodically fell to bits.



Much better.



Small change in the grand scheme of things, but satisfying none the less.

The throttle cable as I suspected was seriously slack so was adjusted. You can see where the clip used to be.



You can see where the clip used to be - that has removed about 2" of free play at the pedal, so I definitely wouldn't have had even close to full throttle available before. Curious to see if there's any difference noticeable when driving next time I have the car out.