405: Major Works

[ekjdm14]

Those little HDi engines are lovely little things aren't they Although I think the low-end is enhanced somewhat by 1st gear being pretty much a crawler gear, they're surprisingly good for their size. Same peak power roughly as the NA 1.9 (unsure of torque specs but good for a 1390cc at any rate) except out of a much smaller lighter engine and who's going to argue with £30 tax either?

I can also see the merits of the NA though, they're just so workmanlike and easy to work on, tolerant of cr*p fuel (or indeed, not even fuel!) and with one small mod I can see them joining Detroits and Cummins and some soviet lumps amongst the vehicles to be driving round merrily after the apocalypse/mass EMP event takes out anything requiring electricity to stay running.

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

Those little HDi engines are lovely little things aren't they

indeed yes, and this one 'd be all the lovelier if some [bleep] hadn't shunted it yesterday!!

Two owners from new, living in the same little Close, then step-daughter gets it, does only 400miles in it and now its a write off. I'm going to investigate the practicality of having it for myself, in particular with regard to Insurance; as its too good an opportunity to miss, even if it is a bit small....

...if all goes horribly wrong with the 405, it'd be an excellent little stop-gap, including to get me to to the South of France to find another one.

Damage is limited to the Boot Floor and possibly the Bumper (no creasing to the rear wings or roof) so could well be an easy fix; and it'd be a damn shame for such a mint motor to meet the Crusher, it really was in outstanding nick.

Anyone interested, if I choose not to have it (ie if insurance cost is prohibitive), put your hands up.... further info will be made available if relevant.

Other party's Insurers (Gold Star for E-Sure) have at least acted swiftly and daughter already has a '19' plate hire C3 to run about in for now (a sea of plastic, much of it cheap & nasty looking... and a tappety sounding engine despite only 9k on the clock - surely its not supposed to sound like that, I must be mistaken...)

Back to my engine: I've just fitted the PAS Pump, Alternator, Lollipop assembly. Got the alternative pipe I need for the new lower (non-AC) mounting location and also it has now turned on the starter. Sounded ok for compression but my spare battery isn't much cop. Hoping to have it running within the next week or so.

There's been a problem with the Coolant Flange, behind the Water Pump; but I have a replacement now and a new O-Ring for it is on order.

And I've 'offered up' the Corsa (can barely bring myself to use the preceding 'V' word) Header Tank, and made a cardboard template for the bracket I'll need to be able to fit it.

More soon....

[ekjdm14]

Ouch, what is it with 206's getting rear ended lately? damn shame, but at least the other driver stopped and insurance are stepping in for you. If you do get the chance to buy it back give me a shout if you need any rear end parts, obviously the parts car bumper is already spoken for but the only other bits I'm taking from the bodywork are outer quarter panel/lamp recess and inner arch supports I think. (the parts car is China Blue, '04 plate).

[Gibbo2286]

This is a proper 'rear ender'

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

will do ekjdm...

...and isn't it just Gibbo!

Passed a big Merc Saloon parked at the side of the road yesterday, with its rear OS Wheel at a similarly jaunty angle, but didn't see any damage

[ekjdm14]

Ouch, similar angle to the 206 wheel before I pulled it out from under to move the car! What's the betting that RAC van met it's fate on a motorway hard shoulder trying to help someone, thanks to someone either asleep or on the phone?

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

my thoughts exactly, and either way, one heck of a frightening way to be 'brought back to reality'

Reminds me of how a nearby Military Base used to acquire a severely damaged vehicle every Christmas time and park it close to the Gates ... in this case, primarily as a 'Drink Drive' deterrent. Made you think

[ekjdm14]

They used to do that at the local fire stations in Cheshire a few years ago too. I think they still should as it can be just the prick of conscience some folk need, specially this time of year. Speaking of which, heard 3 young'uns sadly died last night down south somewhere, just before midnight when their car hit a truck Words can't describe how awful that must be, we can only be thankful that in our cases it's only metal/glass and plastic that's been damaged and they can be repaired or replaced relatively easily.

On a brighter note, happy new year to you all. Here's to 2020 being one heck of a smoother year than the one just passed, same goes for the decade ahead!

[Gibbo2286]

The RAC van features on the TV motorway programme, the driver said he'd parked it behind the broken down vehicle two car length back with the wheels facing off so that if it got bumped it would steer off the road

It was hit so hard that it flew in the air and landed on its side.

Can't remember which show I was watching but it was only a few days ago.

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

Phew!! I shall attempt to find the RAC Van prog, thanks Gibbo.
And happy new year to you ekjdm and everyone.

Does anyone know / have you experienced the legal process involved in putting a written off car back on the road?

I'm guessing it will most likely require a fresh MOT

Is there anything else involved?

I've found a couple of articles about buying a Cat C, D or S car but none that explain what's involved when the repair is done and the paperwork starts.

Its not actually been written off as yet, but photos have gone to the other party's Insurers and no doubt it soon will be. I'm keen to have it for myself while I do the engine swap on my 405, coz as much as I'm hoping it'll only be a few days, I'm also aware how these things have a bad habit of 'growing'

Any thoughts whether to attempt to belt out the damage with a big hammer & drift, or to cut out the damaged boot floor and weld in new? I'm inclined towards the potentially quicker Hammer method if its likely to be reasonably effective...

Insurance is also a 'Question Mark' at the moment. Has anyone a recommendation for cost-effectively insuring more than one car? My enquiries so far regarding a completely separate policy, for which I understand I cannot use the NCD against my 405 or a Multi-Car quote, have met with some pricey results.

[ekjdm14]

Argh, just lost the reply I'd mostly typed out earlier and finished now!

Short version is I'd want to repair that properly with new panels if I were thinking of it's long-term future as a tidy nicely cared for car, you could likely bash/pull it out to where the tailgate would shut, & fix the foglamp and still pass an MoT with not much in the way of repairs but if you could stand forking out for another 206 as your stopgap (with short MoT and rust/rear axle issues looming as that kills prices) then you would have all the parts needed ready and waiting once you'd got the 405 reliable once more & could end up with a very tidy, cheap to run and super reliable spare car for not much money at all.

Of course this is just from looking at the photos & maybe it looks worse than it is. Considering that a repaired write-off would be hit in the resale value a "proper" repair might actually be a silly idea if you can bash it vaguely into shape and have the hatch close/seal ok. Just be sure the "chassis" legs aren't kinked at all since that may be a safety/MoT issue & I notice the towing eye has had a whack, fortunately avoided on ours.

Sorry I've not been much help have I lol, my instinct would be try to make it right and have a nice car but not sure if there's any real-world point in having a mint boot floor?

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

Thanks for the response ekjdm. I've done that on occasion and empathise with your frustration.

Its tough isn't it, frankly this car deserves the proper treatment, therefore a boot floor (repair), for the limited amount of aggravation involved in hacking a section out of a scrapper and welding it in; but in other ways it doesn't make sense. I've been watching Pete C's Bramble Cortina Mk 3 Resto on Youtube of late and that project makes a boot floor look completely insignificant, albeit he does have some proper facilities.

Its in that deep metallic red colour that often peels, but this one hasn't and it drives beautifully; substantially more so in fact than the mechanically identical, same year, 99k mile 206 SW 1.4 HDi that I travelled 100miles round yesterday for on daughter's behalf.

I'm biased, but at 155k, its a proper advert for 'mileage isn't everything'. Attached pic of mine and daughter's return with it having made a 60mile round trip for this one in Hubby's very similar 80k 2002 206, surprising to think they'll have left the factory looking the same

The new SW will do her fine, but its not in the same league; its certainly the best of a rum bunch available at the moment and if all goes to plan, coz its based on a car she's used to; she'll realise that Estates aren't scary. Thankfully the enormous C3 Hire car is building her confidence there too. She'll have a baby and its sizeable pram soon so an Estate to me, also admittedly biased; is the most sensible thing; she's just needed a bit of persuading and the 'adequate' SW will be just the thing. The current owner's agreed to supply a year's ticket, so she's not picked it up yet.

I hadn't planned on having any Stop-Gap other than SWMBO's surprisingly thirsty (it turns out) yellow Polo (its averaging only 38mpg from a 1.2 3 pot, ouch! ...and the ride and noise levels on the road aren't what I'm used to), and the 'official' line is that the 405's only gonna be off the road for 5 days, but even I know, deep down; I'm being a bit optimistic; so double that is all the more tempting!

I've gotta find a way to hang onto it!!

at least for a short while, coz ultimately its too small for me

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

Getting Back on Topic....

some progress with the engine

PAS Pump and Alternator fitted with suitable Cast Iron mount (which could really do with a coat of paint), Aux Belt and Lollipop. These might come off yet, but I wanted primarily to ensure that I had small parts such as fixings 'readily to hand' when it comes to final fitting.

PAS Pump has a replacement 'feed' pipe as this will be lower down in the engine bay than it was previously with the AC & PAS set up

Also fitted is wiring for
Glowies
Stop Solenoid
Starter Solenoid

Its not yet got a Fuel supply, but hopefully with a feed from a Gallon can and priming; it'll fire up.... I'll probably give it additional support from the Hoist too. It appears from turning it on the Starter that its inclined to 'fall forward' (ie onto the alternator, rather than onto the Inlet Manifold) hence the placement of the two bottle jacks.

...oops, only one at the time the pic was taken, there's a second under the Bell-Housing.

[Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur]

back 'all over the place' again...

Its still 'madness' here with Daughter's car search having re-commenced. The 206SW owner kindly let me out of the deal without penalty when the MOT it was agreed it'd be sold with showed up Advisories regarding 'Exhaust Gas Fumes from an Injector' and play in the Steering Rack Inner Tie Rods...

...there were some trifling 'Fails' too of no great consequence, that he was happy to sort.

but I wasn't really sure how about how serious fix the leaking Injector issue could be. Something I'd read about 'Coal' setting rock hard when an Injector leaks seemed potentially very worrying and I could do without an awkward Inner Tie Rod job in a year's time, both sides of the Rack.

...so the search is back on. And there's not much out there. A Nissan Micra 1.5DCi is possibly going to be viewed soon. Anyone know what the Nissan 1.5 Diesel is like, in terms of common issues / reliability?

Meanwhile, I've also been making bracketry for the Corsa Header Tank, the 'main' one will go behind the Vauxhall Bracket (not shown). The 'extra' flat-ish bit is intended so that I can temporarily 'hang it off the top of the Bulkhead' a bit like you would with a Picture Hook

[Gibbo2286]

I've been weighing up the possibility of buying a Nissan Note, the 1.5 dci diesel is an option I'd go for but they mostly have huge mileages, a four year old one with 199 thousand and many with over 150k so I'd guess that they must be pretty reliable.