1966 404 Coupé Injection Restoration

3 minute(s) of a 255 minute read

Here is the back side of the mechanisms that are now in my door.

6-26-2018

The photo above is of a Jaeger sports instrument panel for the 404C that was sold as an accessory in the 1960s.  I have wanted one for a long time, but they are rarely for sale and when they are, the cost is very high, 1000+ Euros.

So I have been looking to make one myself, using Canadian versions of these same gauges from the same era (or just afterwards, late 1960s).  In this case I have put together five of the six necessary gauges, as shown below:

The speedometer with trip odometer is from a Renault 8 Gordini, Canadian version, as are the battery and temperature *F gauges.  The rev counter is from a Renault 8S from Canada, which has a redline at 6200
RPM which is about correct for a 404 Injection.  The fuel gauge is also from the 8S, but identical to that fitted to the Gordini.

Now all I need is an oil pressure gauge to match, and them to make a plate to receive all the gauges.

However, when the 404C is first assembled I will be using the original instruments.  This one will be added a few years later.

7-28-2018

I do have an oil pressure gauge to match now....and....

What a fun day! OK not really. I managed to get the passenger door lock installed and working, something that eluded me last time. Then I put the side glass in and tried rolling it up, and the cables were binding on the winding drum so it would not go up more than halfway.

Recognizing that the previous installation was not done properly :( , I had to take it out. The drum that has the cable windings on it was a total mess, a rat's nest of tangles. I spent about 90 minutes doing random stuff to it like un-looping cable, not fully knowing what I was doing. But in the end I got the drum wound properly - one end of the cable on one side of the drum and the other end on the other, with five windings of cable over the drum in between. Holding it carefully I reinstalled it in the door and then installed the glass again (1 hour's work there) and it works!