Red Rallye resto

[bashbarnard]

Its an easy enough fix so dont pani about it but as sam says really.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ben_w]

Rallye update time, although it's far from dramatic, doesn't contain much new and involves me grinding (form an orderly queue ladies… )

First job this morning was clean the Insignia in and out, and take photos for the Autotrader ad. Done, Autotrader ad now live.

Then it was out with the grinder and time to take a pew on the front wheels stacked up in the engine bay!

Not much to show, and I'll go into a few details in a minute but left it looking like this.



Getting there, slowly. I'm trying to do as much of the bare metalling as I can to keep any blasting costs down.

I took the driver side engine mount off. Doesn't look too bad. Need to finish removing the paint to check for any cracks but didn't look bad. You can certainly see where the washer sat.



The next couple of pics (and I think a lot of previous ones where the failure of the underseal allowing water ingress), i think serve to prove that any 306 restoration will need a significant element of bare metalling. It's everywhere, to one extent or another.





Now this bit doesnt look right. If i didn't know better, I'd say this had some kind of repair work when the car had its front end bump.







Again, some clear failure of some of the coatings/sealants, although accident damage may be the reason here.

[WiNgNuTz]

Are there any 306's left in existence that haven't had some sort of shunt in their lives?!

In all seriousness though, this is one hell of an epic restoration, the OCD is next level! Love it, easily gonna be the best example of a Rallye when you're through with it, no doubt!

[Ben_w]

Right,

Back into this. Been a while but I'm getting frustrated with the lack of progress. Cash to progress has been an issue but a decent PPi payout has lubricated the wheel of progress.

I still don't know what's happening with the engine and gearbox that got left in my mates unit. A cheap gearbox came up on a Facebook group (£40!) so I jumped at it. It was an easy call in on the way home from my brothers wedding in Newcastle.

So, it wasn't the cleanest. Properly greasy. Spent some time on it today. Took off all the brackets, sprayed it with neat G101, agitated with a brush, then took the pressure washer to it. Pics in no order as imgbb is being crap.









So it's a lot cleaner. I'm still planning on stripping it and sending the case parts off to be vapour blasted. I think factory finish was bare Ali but I might look at clear coating it once blasted clean.

I'm also just putting together a parts list for my parts man....

[Ben_w]

Tonight's little build project...



The engine is coming out of the donor this weekend and needs a home. £32 delivered from eBay.

The smashed 6 I bought has donated a few bits but has absolutely been stripped bare. Just the engine, front end suspension and subframe and team beam to go and it literally is just a bare shell. Still, free engine and £600 from it isn't to be sniffed at!!!

[Ben_w]

Another long day stripping Got the engine and box out yesterday and got them separated.

Nothing left really now. Just the rear beam to come off. Will be arranging for the shell to be collected this week.





Took a few more bits for myself. Main front to rear brake lines to use as templates as Peugeot don't supply pre bent stuff any more. Fuel lines as mine were covered in that horrible stone chip stuff. As many of the pipe fixings as I could get off... Etc. I also took lots and lots of photos to help as a reference when I start putting it all back together.

Really need to get back into this. Had two very decent PPi cheques over the last month so funds are now available.

First job is to get the car off and have the whole front end blasted and primed. Need to talk to them about how as I'd like to do the same as I've done underneath. I will be asking them to spot weld on the new brackets on the inner wing for the fuel cannister thing and the wiring loom on the passenger side. In the mean time, I need to start stripping down the engine, sort out all the bits I want powder coating and get them off to the powder coaters and look into whether it's worth having the subframe stitch welded before I have it coated.

I've also another parts list in with my man....waiting to hear on that.

[Mighty306]

Looks like you had a busy weekend!  Good to see that not much is going to waste.  I presume you're removing the brake servo before the shell gets shipped off?  They're pretty expensive new so worth keeping a used one in good working order.

Looking forward to hearing about the next stage on the Rallye.

[Eeyore]

how do your neighbours feel about two half cars on the drive?

[Ben_w]

Not sure where you get two and a half cars from but the neighbours haven't said a word. They all understand I'm a bit of a petrol head and know this one isn't staying long. I guess ultimately, and perhaps as arrogant as this sounds, I'm not fussed what they think really. I'm desperately trying to find a unit/workshop so I don't have to do this on the drive at all but not having much luck.

James, yes, I want to remove the servo. Struggling massively with that though. Removed all the fixings I can see and it still doesn't want to move.

[Ben_w]

Servo removed, lobbed in the spares box! Shell now scrapped.

So, my brand new beam tube from Peugeot arrived today. Part number is 514889 which is the correct number according to service box for my Rallye. That part number is the beam tube and bearing pack. Beam tube has a separate number of 514888.

Anyways, pics….















The bearings….







Pleased with it. Did wonder what colour the tube would be, but is black with a date of 10.2011 on it.

Only issue is that the end brackets haven't been pressed onto the tube fully which is frustrating. They are 5-10mm short of being fully seated. Shouldn't be too much of an issue. I just need to find an Ali disc (softer than steel so won't damage the tube) to stick in the end to press on and seat them home. A bit of heat won't hurt either on the brackets to help expand them a bit.

[Mighty306]

Wow, am amazed you can still get beam tubes from Peugeot! It's poor that the end castings haven't been fully pressed on to the tube though. I wonder how many tonnes you'll need to apply to fully press them on?!

For others looking for a tube (& not looking to restore fully to original) Stef is now supplying new aftermarket beam tubes. I got one recently n it seems really well made. I'll get some pics up soon.

[Ben_w]

This still continues to bubble away in the background.....

Had another parcel arrive today, mostly NOS (never thought I'd use that term for 306 bits!) from a dealership in the canaries of all places. Shipping costs were interesting but I got a load of stuff I was after.....



Another side skirt, which now gives me a brand new pair, a new window scraper, boot flooring mat (which goes nicely with the new sound deadening layer I already have..) then a number of small brackets/clips/bits and pieces which include offset washers and bolts for the rear beam, brake line clips etc....

[Piggy]

Nice to see this still alive!

Stef205 does some nice upgraded bits for rear beam, IE stainless offset washers...

[Ben_w]

I know he does Piggy but in time honoured tradition.....not OEM

Need to get busy on this again. Kinda miss it really.

[Piggy]

OEM+ ?

It's only the material after all?!

[Ben_w]

So, still going and hoping to get a lot more done on it this year. Fed up with looking at it and the wife has just got a new job with a £7k pay rise so likely to be some spare cash this year! Woohoo!

So, with a relatively mild New year's Eve behind me, I needed something to do today…..with it being too cold and wet to do anything on the body of the Rallye, my attention turned to the engine I have waiting on the stand in the garage.

This engine is the one that came from the 6 I broke last year (I can say that now…!!). The only difference between a Rallye and a 6 is that the 6 engine has an Aircon compressor, and as a result, a different auxiliary belt set up. The compressor got binned ages ago (if I remember correctly, I had to take it off to help get the engine out). There's a big bolt on cast bracket that bolts to the engine block which carries the compressor, alternator and power steering pump. I'm pretty certain this is the same across the 6/Rallye engines and it's just a case of getting rid and swapping the aux belt set up. Need to check if the tensioner is different but it's no a big job to swap, even less so if it's part of a complete rebuild out of the car.

So, onto the strip down. First job was removed the rear engine mount as it hold the  intermediate drive shaft, which didn't want to budge. Removal and introduction to a BFO hammer persuaded to two to part company. You can see the rust formed.on the inside.of the bearing housing.... Exhaust manifold next. Please excuse the term of phrase but what an utter arse of a job to get off. Being pretty much an equal length item, it's a of a tangle, with access to the bolts holding to the head minimal at best aside from the 4 at either side. Add 120k miles of heating and cooling cycles, chuck in many puddle splashes etc and it's likely easier to get the wife to put out than it is get the damn thing off….

Now, there are ten bolts, screwing onto studs mounted in the head, holding the manifold on. 13mm, rusty, crusty mess of thing(s). 4 came off with the 13mm socket. The rest just laughed at me. Didn't laugh so much when I hammered Mr 12mm on. More easily on some than others but in the end I won. Except for the fact not a single bolt unwound, rather winding the stud out of the head. No biggy, at least none sheared.

With the exhaust manifold off, I turned my attention to the inlet side of the engine. No really dramas here, removed the loom as much as I could, fuel rail, injectors, coil pack all off and then got busy taking the inlet manifold off. Again, no issues, no stuck bolts etc. It was only when I took it off I realised the Helmholtz resonator box had been removed and the manifold plugged. Something else for me to replace…..

With all that off, it was time for the rest of the ancillaries to come off. Only issue was a snapped bolt on the power steering pump. A stud extractor should sort that.

The block has plenty of surface rust, once stripped, a good vapour blast should sort that. I had a Halfords gift card for my birthday so bought myself some new mole grips as my old mines were knackered and some proper pipe clip pliers. How I've managed without these, I have no idea. No more using a screwdriver and stabbing yourself in the hand as it releases....



























I have had the bargain spotter fired up too. Brand new, in the Peugeot packaging, fuel filler door. £4, delivered!




Interesting in that it's got a defect in the primer....nothing 10 mins with a sanding block won't fix but not what you'd expect in a brand new part!

[C2K]

Whilst it's cool that you're finding lots of NLA parts around the globe - i have to ask what was wrong with your old filler cap and such? Seems like some stuff is being replaced just because you can buy it somewhere?

I'd rather save money for things that need welding up or spraying or whatever. Still, coming along nicely.

[Ben_w]

Si,

Whole car is to be painted. Spares useful to have, especially when they are £4 delivered....current filler cap door has massive lacquer lift too so figured save all the strip and prep and just paint this new one when everything else is painted.

I'm after as many bodywork spares as poss. Wings, doors, etc. If this car ever gets bumped, it's the lack of available body parts that will see it off.....at least if I have spares, I stand half a chance.

[Ben_w]

Whilst my Rallye is still on axles stands doing its best to look like a while Rallye, I've been busy in the background.

Funding is now in place to get the whole front end blasted and dealt with. I need to do a little more digging around regarding this small spot of rust on the bulkhead sorted. Whether it needs welding (probably....) and whether it gets done before/after the blasting work, I don't know yet. Id imagine before as once the front end is blasted, I won't want it sitting around bare. It will need something putting on it pretty quickly, if not immediately. I will probably couple that with having those rusty brackets replaced.

I better get on and find a local company who can do it. Need to ask questions on the welding first though. And before any of that, I need the snow to get lost now.

Aiming to really get back on with this this year. Hasn't really progressed much at all last 18 months and I'm missing the detail and the chance to escape and go and work on it for hours at a time!

I really now need to sit.l down and make a bit of a project plan with jobs to do, some sort of running order etc. If I don't, I'll just end up doing random bits well out of sequence....

The inlet manifold that came on the engine from the 6 that I broke has had the resonator removed and a plug inserted. Am I just better off getting another manifold with the resonator box or is it fairly easy to change back if I just find the missing box?

[C2K]

We need to make an effort to meet up fella. Love to see this. I need to get my holiday and house move done then come up maybe around may.

Keep plugging away mate. Wouldn’t bother with the resonator myself unless you’re looking for trouble, but I appreciate where you’re going with this car.

[Ben_w]

More than welcome to come and have a look and a brew mate!

Anyway, there are a few more update bits for this.....

Desperate to escape the seemingly never ending conveyor belt of X Factor type shows or celebs doing some rubbish stuff which is now churning out rubbish on a Sunday night, I escaped to the garage on Sunday night.

I was keen to see in what condition the bumpers and skirts I took off were in. Please excuse the lack of pics but my phone protested it was cold and the battery went flat pretty quickly….

First job was the front bumper. Now, you may remember when the front end all came off, I found evidence it had previously been bumped as it had a slam panel with 'Thatcham approved’ stickers all over it. I was never able to separate this from the bumper as a rusty bolt had sheared it's captive weld and was just rotating inside the bumper moulding. I noticed the slam panel was a bit rusty around the flange of the nut so after a couple of other attempts, I gave up and wellied it with the hammer which pushed it through the slam panel and separated the panel from the bumper. Slam panel is getting replaced so happy days. I then noticed the first bodge…



In that pic, the nut I hammered is top right. Bottom left is clearly a stud that sheared when the insurance repair was happening as the stud should have gone through a hole in the slam panel…..except said hole was still covered by a sticker and the sticker was unbroken. Further inspection revealed the bumper isn't in great shape. Grill is broken in several places…









Again, no major issue as I've a brand new one of these in the Peugeot bag in the garage. The rest of the bumper isn't great though either. Dents, scrapes, poor touch ups, bent corners & broken brackets….









I'll keep this as a spare but I'll be adding a new one to the parts list. I'll need to transfer the fog blanks over but then given a new pair are only £15 from Peugeot, I might just get some new of those too.

Rear bumper. Generally in much better shape although I suspect this is because it had paint recently. Not the greatest job as there were runs both sides...I suspect it has slightly too much paint which ran…



Got busy with a sanding block. Was taking it off nicely until i adjusted the angle and went through what I think was a thin bit of paint.



Again, not a massive issue as this bumper will also need paint if I'm to keep it….







I'll put the feelers out for a new one of these too….polished up ok though!



So, body work aside, I got in some more with the engine. All the ancillaries are off and it's pretty much a bare block, just the oil filter and a couple of pipes to go. I drained the oil and set about trying to get the sump off to check the oil pump sprocket. Need to check it's the later version with the keyway, rather than the earlier friction fit version. I'll upgrade if it's the earlier version as these have been known to fail. They just spin on the shaft and you lose all oil pressure. I've already checked it has the later style, single bolt cam pulleys which is good. I noticed that the sump appears to have been off at some point as it looks like it's been put back on with a load of sealant (I'll get pics), supported by the fact that despite removing all the bolts, the sump doesn't want to come off…….even with a drift, a big hammer and touch not best described as delicate. I'll check I've not missed something stupid and try again at some point.

I'm just starting to make several lists:

Jobs to do
Things to buy

Both are growing at an alarming rate! First job really is save some £££ and have the front end blasted. I can't do any more on the body until this is done. I can't have the bulkhead welded either until thats done.

Following a heavy weekend of drinking, sport (we played in the Peoples FA Cup 5-a-side competition Saturday) and too much food (friends round last night and then out for mahoosive Sunday dinner with family today), I did a bit of tidying up, and sorting out of stuff with the 306.

The biggest news is that my brand new bonnet arrived. My parts man stumbled upon a pair new at a dealership local to him. Given mine came off worse following an incident where I'd whacked my head, again, and decided to lash out at the nearest thing (the bonnet) and practised an uppercut on it, coupled with the rust I'd been finding, a new one made lots of sense, especially at the price.

It has a couple of storage dings which a small amount of prep will sort. It's a genuine panel, and the correct part number for my Rallye. Important as there were a couple of changes over the years. I then had a look at the badge on my existing bonnet to check it would fit and discovered the mounting lugs are broken. I think this is where i pushed my buggy back into it and the engine cage has caught the badge. One more bit for the parts list....

---

My parts man, Craig, also managed to find a new bolt for the power steering pump. A really odd bolt, which is now marked NFP I think and we only managed to find two across all his contacts europe-wide....the other one went to someone else as they had the same issue as me with it shearing during removal

[Ben_w]

Bit of an update for today.

Firstly, looks like I've found a mobile blaster who can do the work I need doing, at my place, and fairly quickly too. He's tied up until the end of next week but should be good to go after that. Price is very very competitive too.

Secondly, I've scored some right parts bargains:

A selection of nuts/bolts etc I will be needing



And then my utter bargain. A brand new, genuine Peugeot, 306 passenger door. Correct part number for my Rallye.





£25!!!!!!!!!!! Servicebox says Peugeot want £1178!!!!!!!!

[Eeyore]

certainly finding the parts. Shocking how even new old stock parts arent looking that new these days!

[Ben_w]

That door had been stored in a barn for a very long time! It will clean up fine, just needs a good wash.

[Ben_w]

Friday night update....

Still buying bits and pieces, mainly nuts/bolts etc. Got a brand new power steering header tank from ebay for £20...

Bigger news is that the vapor blasting guy is coming tomorrow (Saturday) to do the front end. All a bit short notice as was hoping to have it on a jig by then so could rotate the shell and do the few bits underneath ive missed.

Jig ive ordered today but wont be here until monday. Bonus is its a floor loading one, on wheels.

[Ben_w]

Out early this morning to get the car ready. Had to blow up all 4 tyres, refit the wheels, turn the car round, then get it back on axles stands and have the front end suspension off.

Eventually, despite it being absolutely chuffing freezing, everything is off, few more clips and bits removed....ready to go.



Removing the emergency fuel cut off switch and another stud sheared. Joy


And then another example of the reason I'm.going this far and need to get all the factory coatings off....underseal/stone chip stuff cracked



Peel it back and it's like this underneath..

[Ben_w]

So,

The blasting. I got the results I wanted/needed, mostly. Lessons to be learned? You bet your b*llocks to a barn door there is.

So the guy turned up, looking pretty professional and started getting set up. Had a look at the car, explained what I needed doing, pointed out the front end loom connection and to be careful of that and told him what was what. He got set up, put down sheets to catch the media, fired everything up and got busy.

Problems arose fairly quickly. The factory underseal proved very difficult to remove. Very difficult indeed. So much of a pain he had to turn things right up and used lots of media, most of which is still on my drive....driver's side proved more difficult for some reason than passenger but, eventually, the job was done.







So I had a good look round. The best news is that no new nasties have been uncovered. Not too bad. Whilst removing the underseal, it's left the seam sealant in place which I'm fine with. It was however, so cold, a lot of the water/blast media mix had frozen on contact. Again, I did ask was it too cold etc. No, wasn't an issue. Numerous watering cans of hot water was fetching it off.

I then nearly punched the guy.



The one single bit I'd asked him to be careful about. The single exposed electrical connection I've kept clean and dry for 18 months. :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored:

The only reason it's still there is that accessing it from the inside means, I think, taking the dash out. Not really somewhere I want to go, so I hadn't. I've managed to scrape a lot of the sand out with a small electrical screwdriver. Tomorrow, I will get the wife hairdryer on it and get it warm and the sand dry and then get an aerosol air cleaner to blast it all out.

To top it off, he hasn't used an inhibitor in the water :confused: I had to get a drying towel and dry everything off. There's no way I'm getting any primer on it tonight, its way too cold so it's dry and covered with a polythene sheet.

Gut says he's a bit inexperienced. I asked him how long he'd being doing it. He said about 2 years.

So what do I have? Well, I have a blasted front end, which ultimately is what I wanted. I have no new nasties which is good but I have a bare, exposed bay I desperately need to get some protection in and the best part of 3 bags of crushed glass media on my drive.

Lessons learnt? Ask for a couple of quotes and compare. Ask about methods etc. Ask about experience. Ask, ask and ask again. Take it somewhere and have them do it at their place, not on your drive.

Am i happy? Yes and no. Yes I got the front end blasted. No, because I think I should have trusted my gut and waited for better weather and asked more questions. My impatience won.

I'm worried about it flash rusting, not much more I can do about that though now. I'm off for a bloody hot shower, followed by lots of alcohol. Tomorrow is another day. Iay run out and get some spray primer, just to get something on it quick because having opened by Electrox, it's not useable any more so need to order some more. However, I just need some kind of protection in the bare metal

[Ben_w]

To make life easier with the work i have still to do on the underside, i bought a rollover jig. If im honest, i should have done this at the start but i didnt think id get this deep into a restoration. Bare metalling the underside took an ages and made a mess of my back and shoulder and it took the physio a while to get it right….not going there again.

So, i asked about on one of the Facebook groups and was recommended a self loading jig that comes in a kit form for pretty sensible money. The self loading bit sold it to me as i was worried about how id get it up onto a jig. So Tuesday night this week, i picked it up from the guy on my way home. Spent an hour yesterday putting it together.

Came with the biggest pair of nuts ive seen in ages. I think they are M486…!



An hour and a couple of cups of tea and…..ta-daah!



Fixing the car to the jig is easy enough. The front chassis legs are open with available holes to the sides so thats easy.






The rear, less so. The guy who recommended me the jig has a 306 on one but had some properly custom mounts made for the rear, involving drilling extra holes into the body. I wasn't over keen on that approach.






It was suggested a towbar might be a much better way to go. Seems sensible, given it bolts up to the chassis legs at the rear. Far stronger. So a quick post again on one pf the facebook groups turned up one 20 miles from me.

Picked it up on the way home and got home to my massive box of stuff from Bilt Hamber.



More Electrox, Epoxy Mastic, spray electrox for the hard to reach corners, seam sealant and Hydrate 80.

I've a mate whos a coded welder by trade. He popped by today and picked up the tow bar and bracket from the jig. He's going to weld some extra bars on that will connect directly to the jig. That sorts that out. Also got a brand new drivers side wing for £30.

So, this morning, with a hangover, i went out and took off the polythene sheeting. Given we are a week on from blasting, id been worried about flash rusting. No real issue in the end.



So got busy with the Hydrate 80. The blurb from BH is:

“Hydrate 80 provides powerful protection to rusted steel surfaces, its electrochemical function stabilises existing corrosion by converting the iron oxides into a protective metal complex, it also combines with surface moisture and oxygen depriving the corrosion process of the conditions it requires. Paints and coatings applied to a hydrate 80 treated surface demonstrate amazing improvements in long-term performance”

Not that the original surfaces were rusty, not after the blasting anyway. Little bit of flash surface rust but thats it. It is however, a very good coating to put down to protect the metal. It goes a funky colour…



Much application later and the engine bay has its first coat (you have to apply two, second coat at 90° to the first, to ensure proper coverage i assume)











Couple of bits the blaster missed which ill deal with when the shell is on the jig.





Called it a day at this point as i had my neighbours Jag to fix and two utterly filthy cars to wash…..

[Eeyore]

Great work. This is way beyond what ive seen before! Shame the guy didnt get all the bits. Not sure how you can be inexperienced after 2 years!

[Ben_w]

In his defence, the bits missed are in an area which wasnt the easiest to reach with the car in the position it is. The factory underseal was an utter pig to remove and i think hed had enough by this point. Was that cold the blast media was freezing on impact. We had to hose it down with hot water once done just to get the media off.

The last picture though is absolute testament as to why the factory underseal has to come off. It looked fine before removal. You can see whats festering underneath. Left, thats going to eat it from the inside out.

I am considering now having the dash out. There is the usual bit of bulkhead rust behind where the ECU is but also similar under the servo. Ill get some pics up in a minute.