1966 404 Coupé Injection Restoration

7 minute(s) of a 255 minute read

These are the wrong bolts; I got the correct ones today (below) from Joern Haarmann.  The precision-machined shank is  a lot longer on the correct ones than on the ones above.  This machining accurately locates the lower portion of the big end.  Some are advising me to not bother because none of these re-used rod bolts are known to have broken, but I will be changing them, so the engine is as close to new as possible.

8-31-2021

Today I got a rebuilt Hydrovac booster from Todd Langton, Le Club 404's USA representative.  I'm the Canadian representative of the club but Todd has more stuff!  He bought this apparently unused NOS unit, which nevertheless had surface rust, several years ago, and had it rebuilt by White Post Restorations in Virginia in 2018.

The unit in my car was NOS in 1993 when I bought it, probably made around 1970, never rebuilt, but mounted on the car with brake fluid and all for 20 years.  I was pretty silly to think it would work after all these years.

When the engine is out in October I will remove the unit I bought in 1993 and install this one, and (I hope) successfully bleed the system before reinstalling the engine.

10-1-2021

10-2-2021

Got one of the two door seals done!  Original part from 1975 (replaced then) and will be installed to replace the ill-fitting modern replacements shortly.

Now I have to do the other side - clean the rust residue from the rubber then insert the plated clip strips.

10-3-2021

The other one is now done, as of yesterday....

Next task: remove engine block.

Engine's out again, to replace the rod bolts and put the replaned head on again in comfort on the engine stand.  That's my son in the photos wearing the Peugeot overalls.

10-11-2021

I finally got around to whipping the first piston out to do a conrod bolt swap and when I took it apart, the new bearing was scored and after having a close look at the big end journal, the culprit was a significant gouge on the freshly reground crank.  Good grief!

So the work was suspended (though I did change that rod's bolts) and the crank has to come out for at least a machine shop polish or maybe a regrind to 0.5 mm.  I'm glad I decided to take it apart because a gouge like this would probably lead to a rod knock after a while. 

I once had a Renault 12 with a knock (car cost $50) and when we changed the rod bearings, the big end of the knocking cylinder had been punched when the car was new at the factory.

I think I'll look for another place to do this second regrind....ugh

10-13-2021

t's hard to say but this looks to me who ever assembled the engine, when they pushed down the pistons the sharp edge on the connecting rod come in contact with the crank. That sucks, also i don't see any chamfering on the oil hole on the crank maybe very little from the factory, but from experience i'm chamfering mine to get more oil on the outside edges of the bearing. Look for a more experienced shop.

That's the plan.  I've found a good candidate shop already.

The entire reassembly operation will be done here at home.  When I've rebuilt a 404 engine in the past, the open conrod bolts have been wrapped in tape to prevent just the sort of journal damage you see in the photo...

10-19-2021

Engine is in bits again and at some point I will take it into a machine shop with instructions to clean up the mess the other shop made, even if it means taking the journals down to 0.5 mm from 0.3.

10-22-2021

I ordered this a couple of weeks ago - Hall-effect points replacement for the Ducellier M50.

10-23-2021

Hall-effect, or magnetic effect ignition is a must on any old car, makes them usable, manly because the points today are so low quality, also 2-40-year old distributors do wear out. Check your distributor for wear, electric ignitions are much more powerful in the spark department and have better control in the timing advance. I did convert my little niva to Hall-effect, in fact that kit is so cheap many people are taking them apart to convert the other 4 cylinder engines to electric ignition. I paid 55$ for that kit everything you see on the picture. Parts are cheap for the russian cars.

Rod bolts are changed, and I installed the two original door seals.  The doors sit better now when closed but still are a bit too "tight" against the seal, so the issue is the thickness of the interior door panels I made, so I'll redo them as a mini-project once the car's on the road.

11-21-2021

Tapped out the new liners from the block because now I am reduced to second-guessing the shop's every move.  They did have some weird black sealant goop on parts of them which makes me glad I whipped them out again.  Will re-check protrusion without the rubber seals and then reinstall sans goop.