Exhaust down pipe removal

In my last post I said that this is not a job for the feint-hearted especially on a RHD vehicle where the steering column is in the way, a vehicle ramp or pit would make the job a lot easier and I don't have either so it's out with the trolley jack and axle stands. Removal of a lot of bits and pieces is necessary and some special tools are required. So here goes. Caveat: These steps are for a RHD, Manual gearbox, Carburettor model. Probably not the quickest way but this is what I did.

• As always with any job in the engine bay, disconnect he battery. Why? have you ever seen a wedding ring welded to the permanent live on the back of a starter motor? I strongly suggest you don't search for it!
• Place front of car on axle stands at a height where it is comfortable to work from under the bonnet and underneath the vehicle, slacken off o/s/f suspension sphere with use of a strap wrench or sphere removal tool and release hydraulic pressure at the regulator.
• Remove air filter, a little awkward, but I replaced the two M7 mild steel steel nuts with stainless steel ones, the rust on the manifold studs is not an issue anymore. A 11mm ratchet spanner is useful here. Remove air intake to carburettor and breather pipes from rocker cover and crankcase.
• Remove heat shield above manifolds.
• Removal of gear change rod is not necessary, however it does make things easier and would be a good time to check the bushes.
• Remove o/s/f suspension sphere. Keep the sphere away from any contamination source especially dust or grit. I use a clean carrier bag and some paper towel to soak up any LHM. And use a bung for the suspension cylinder.
• Steering column/wheel is removed from inside the vehicle. Set the road wheels to the straight ahead position and note the position of the steering wheel, it should be at about twenty past four position. Remove bottom pinch bolt securing the column to steering pinion valve. Slacken off special screw retaining a sleeve at the top of the column. Caution when you do this as there is substantial spring holding a cone at the top of the column in place. From inside the vehicle remove top of the switch housing, there are two screws underneath securing this, slide along the gear change diagram and lift the cover out. With the key in the ignition and the steering lock released you can now remove the column, have someone under the bonnet to catch the clip, washer, tube, another washer, spring, another final washer and a cone. Keep these parts in the correct order.
• Remove exhaust manifolds. Undo four nuts connecting manifolds to down pipe and eight nuts securing manifolds to cylinder head. This require the patience of a saint and an array of sockets, universal joins, spanners etc. and the hands of a four year old!
• With the manifolds removed the down pipe can be uncoupled from the flexible pipe and removed upwards from the engine bay.

Removing the middle section made it easier to remove the flexible pipe but not necessary, as I had a new middle section to go on after it was a good time to do it.

The air filter, gear change rod and suspension sphere removed ready for steering column removal.

Heat shields removed.

Both manifolds off and steering column removed.

With the flexible pipe removed the downpipe can be lifted up and out.

I will continue with the refitting on my next post.

Exhaust down pipe

Well what can I say... other than it's been a strange couple of years!

Hope you're all okay.

So work continues on the restoration of the DS, will it ever stop? Some classic car owners say that restoration never stops because there is always something to do due mainly because of the manufacturing techniques and materials used in classics, I don't think they were really expected to last more than 10 years let alone 40, 50 or more. Or maybe they are perfectionists trying to make every detail correct. It's for this reason I decided to insure the DS and make everything road legal and use it as a rolling restoration, work from now will be to achieve this condition and I will worry about the correct details later.

DVLA registration class has now been changed to classic and no MOT is required but must be in a legal and roadworthy condition. Classic car insurance now allows me 3000 miles fully comprehensive with breakdown recovery for less than my 'laid-up' policy, so this should be quite achievable.

The exhaust has been progressively becoming noisier and noisier and now fumes are also becoming apparent. So before I pass out in the drivers seat I thought that now was a good time to replace the offending downpipe. This section of exhaust looks to be the original part but has been badly welded before in various places and looked like 'The Eagle has landed' (Any welder will tell you what this means!)

This is not a job for the feint-hearted especially on a RHD vehicle where the steering column is in the way, a vehicle ramp or pit would make the job a lot easier and I don't have either so it's out with the trolley jack and axle stands. Removal of a lot of bits and pieces is necessary and some special tools are required.

Here we can see the offending exhaust down pipe with a visible hole in the thin metal at the rear and where the Eagle has landed at the front.

New old stock downpipe

Close-up showing original part number

My last purchase was a new old stock downpipe with the original (DX 182-44) part number still visible. Apparently remanufactured exhausts don't sound quite as good as the original, but I'm not too sure. The black paint was only ever to serve as a crude rust preventer while stored in a parts department.

 All the black paint was removed and bare metal treated and coated with black VHT paint, hopefully this will make it last another 40 years.

I will continue with the removal on my next post.

Replacement seat covers - front passenger seat

My previous post described how the front seats are very similar to each other. So the procedure is the same which I won't go into again. The front passenger seat was in a considerably worse state than the drivers as you will see from the images... enjoy.

Front passenger seat after tan sheepskin seat cover was removed

Much worse condition than the drivers side

The best thing about this side was the rear closing panel

Hog rings securing bottom of closing panel

Removal of hog rings

Closing panel removed

Label identifying Pallas trim 

Back of seat with closing panel removed

Removal of trim in corner to gain access to seat frame bolts

Removal of these bolts separates the seat into two halves

Seat cushion removed from frame

A good time to clean up any threads with a M7x1.0 tap

Fitting the new seat cover

Finished seat base

Detail of securing with hog rings

And back in the car

Too sunny today for a decent photo, more to follow when the light is better

Replacement seat covers - front drivers seat

The front seats are very similar to each other. The frames, padding and covers are identical, only the backrest adjustment knobs were fitted on opposite sides (facing out). On the Pallas there is an additional height/rake adjustment for the drivers seat, this can be compared to a standard frame courtesy of the 648 replacement parts catalogue shown below.

Standard front seat frame (left) and Pallas seat frame with height adjustment (right)

Removal of the seat couldn't be easier. Wind up the backrest all the way (this will assist in removal through the door aperture later) Slide the seat nearly to the most forward position and remove the two M7 bolts at the rear of the seat runners then slide the seat back until you can access the two front bolts, these only need to be slackened off sufficiently as the frame is slotted here (the slots can be seen in the above 648 replacement parts catalogue) The seat can now be removed and placed on your best dining room table to be worked on.

I seem to remember in the 1970's fluffy tan sheepskin seat covers were all the rage, however, I knew these were hiding something more sinister as I'd already had a peek and it wasn't pretty.

Front drivers seat removed

Lifted the front corner to have a peek

Not pretty!

On the back of the seat the lower half has a closing panel trimmed with light grey leatherette material and also houses the ashtray. The material was in quite good condition apart from a small scuff, fortunately a piece of this material comes with the new seat covers and is easily replaced.

Back of front seat showing the closing panel

Under the front seat showing good framework and springs

So the first job is to remove the closing panel which is held in place by four pozidrive screws at the sides and hog rings underneath the seat frame, there is no need to remove the ashtray at this moment. There is a reinforcing clip on the closing panel which hooks under the back of the seat frame to stop the closing panel from distorting when you open the ashtray.

Screws securing side of closing panel

Hog rings securing trim under seat frame

Removal of the closing panel trim revealed more labels as shown in my previous post, the markings on this label make it more apparent the trim is made for a Pallas (PA) trimmed vehicle.

Label identifying Pallas trim

Another label under the seat frame (not sure what'202' or 'cav' signifies)

The 1970's fluffy tan sheepskin seat covers kept the chrome in good condition

With the closing panel removed you can see that the seats are not 'handed' and can be used on the left or right with cut-outs for the ashtray available on either side

Access for the ashtray (in this case on the right hand side)

A hair clip and the back of an earring fell out of the seat frame - If these could talk!

Continuing with the disassembly - remove the hog rings in the corner of the backrest, this will reveal two M7 bolts on either side of the frame. Remove these bolts and the seat frame will separate into two halves making re-trimming a much easier job.

Remove hog rings in corner of backrest

Tensioning wire can be left secure until later

Bolts securing the two halves 

Seat halves separated

Removal of the seat covers are now quite straightforward, I started off with the cushion as it looked the easier option. As shown above there is a tensioning wire which runs around the circumference of the cover and secured in the corners. There are several hog rings along the sides and metal tangs in the front corners, remove these and the cover slips off. After a good clean of the seat foam I loosely fitted the seat cover. I used Bulldog clips before I permanently secured it with hog rings so I could check the finished look and make any adjustments. Happy with the fit I secured everything in place.

Bulldog clips in place to check the final look

Hog rings permanently secure sides of seat cover

The cushion is now complete ready to receive the backrest.

The backrest is the same procedure as the cushion. Removal of the cover is simply done by removing hog rings from the perimeter, glue is used down the front sides to keep the concave shape.

Removing hog rings from inside perimeter of seat cover

Here you can see where the foam was originally glued

With the cover removed you can now see where the front headrests locate. Headrests were an "accessoire" even on the Pallas spec. On models produced after December 1972 the size was reduced from the full width headrest to a narrower version as can be seen below.

Holes in top of seat foam to accept headrest guide tubes

Guide tubes locate into top of seat frame

I first had a trial fit of the seat cover before I started spraying any glue on it, when I was happy with the shape and fit I used a heavy duty spray adhesive on both the cover and foam and allowed it to go off for a few minutes. When it had gone tacky the cover was held in place and allowed to fully dry.

On the original seat cover there was a reinforcing seam on the edge where the hog rings went through, the new seat covers didn't have this, instead the edge of the material was rolled over on itself to form a tube. So the hog rings do not pull on the material directly I fed a length of electrical cable through the tube to give them something substantial to grip onto.

Original cover with reinforcing seam

Feeding cable through tube at edge of cover

Hog rings secured around cable inside cover

The remainder of the seat cover can now be secured after the fit has been checked first with the use of Bulldog clips.

Checking the fit before finally securing with hog rings

The back corners are left open to allow access for securing the two halves of the seat frame together, I used a little drop of Loctite on these M7 bolts.

Securing bolts left side

Securing bolts right side

After the seat halves have been secured together the final corner pieces can be held in place with hog rings.

The rear closing panel trim is a straightforward replacement using glue along the edges.

Inside of rear closing panel

Outside of rear closing panel

Close-up of ashtray aperture showing reinforcing clip

Ashtray polished up brightly

Closing panel secured under seat frame with hog rings

Ashtray back in place

A quick once over with steam from the iron removed any creases. Please see caveat from previous post. 

Refitting the seat back into the car is, as they say, "is the reverse of removal" Leave the front two bolts in place loose as these slot into the runners. Tighten the back two bolts first then the front two.

And relax...

Next...the front passenger seat