My "New" D8!

[ally406]

CAUTION! Long boring read, enthusiasts only!

You might have noticed me around the last few weeks, but I haven’t properly introduced the latest addition to the fleet!

I had happily reconditioned the rear axle on my 405, and gave the underside a thorough inspection before refitting. Unfortunately I found the rear chassis legs to be almost non-existent, and the rot had spread up to the boot floor and to the rear wings I’ve cut off the legs, cut out the bad bits from the wings and boot floor, and also removed the rear cross member. I’ve got all new bits to go on, but that will take a lot of time and effort, which means in the meantime me paying £1.40 at the pump......like a chump.

Current state of 405:



So that set me on a mission to find a temporary car to run on WVO while the 405 is undergoing it’s surgery, and my quest led me to a scabby old crate on Gumtree. A 1.9TD saloon, 160k on the clock, in a seriously neglected state…..just the way I like ‘em. The owner seemed to have made a hobby of scrapping and denting her 406 off the gate posts. The interior was all dog chewed, filthy and stank of......old dog. No evidence of any belts having been done, in fact the opposite, the accessory belt was chewed and had run wide of the pullies. No service history since 122k, and the tar (sorry oil) was on the low point of the dip stick. I drove it away with 6 months tax and MOT, all for the princely sum of £375.

However me being me I couldn’t just drive the old dog until she died. It just wasn’t right. So I set to work:

Timing belt kit
Water pump
Accessory belt and tensioner (the difficult one….power steering pump off job)
Oil change, engine flush, and another oil change in the space of 100 miles.
All new filters
Interior stripped out, individually vaxed, cleaned and refitted.
Full air conditioning service.
New cam cover gasket (serious oil leak here)
Coolant flush and fresh coolant
4 new tyres (Toyo Proxes)
Basic 2 wheel alignment to stop her chewing up my new tyres!
New rear coil springs and cups (one was broken!)
New rear lower arm rose joint bushes (pig of a job!)
New rear horizontal links.
New rear drop links.
New rear brake pipes and flexi hoses.
New rear ARB bushes (sheered a bolt off, had to be re-tapped at a garage).
Instrument cluster removed to fix faulty speedo, bad solder joints redone, all new LED bulbs.
Central locking fixed, FOB fitted with new buttons and batteries.
Leak around aerial base fixed.
..... numerous other little things.

Over the next week:
Lower balljoints
Drop links
Lower arms
Track rod ends
Full 4 wheel alignment at Pro Grip in Larbert.

In the longer term:
Gear box rebuild (3rd gear synchro is worn)
New clutch (might as well)
De-EGR and De-cat.
Weld up the sills, the only weak spot on the chassis

Nice clean interior:



Not so nice exterior.....not to worry, it just means people get out of the way faster.



Doing the belts:





So after all this, I’ve decided I’m keeping her. The engine is in remarkable health, practically no smoke at all. Hardly any pressure at the oil filler, indicating nothing in the way of blowback. So what of the 405? Well, I’ve been watching too much Lobb Land on Youtube. Once she’s got her legs back, I think I’ll have a crack at a 200bhp XUD

[teamster1975]

Crikey you've been busy! That's one hell of a list of jobs mate!

[FarmerPug]

great to hear your keeping the old cars going, its great to read this stuff, thanks.

[iangt4]

great i seem to do the same thing, buy a banger, then i look and feel sorry for it, and bring her back to life, and to be fair i enjoy doing it, the only thing about my latest car is the fact i didnt really pay banger money like you did lol

[highlander]

£375 isn't much money for that much car!

That's Cossack Grey, I think, looking at it - same as HimBigChief had on his D8 saloon.

For the exterior:

Your car would look really nice with a set of shiny alloys - particularly thinking about Nimrod alloys (from a Rapier D9) or Hoggar alloys (from a D9 Coupe). Pull some of the dents out and give the paintwork a good going over and it'll look the biz.

For the interior:

Replace the steering wheel with a leather one from an Executive D8 or Coupe D8 (don't get a D9 wheel as it won't fit) - it's a nice and easy job to perform, and would give your car a bit of a lift - quite cheap too. If you're really keen, keep an eye out for a set of leather seats and door cards as well - again, from an Executive D8.

[ally406]

Hehe, I came to the right place then! Yes, considering it had £108 of tax on the screen, it was a good deal I think.

I do get a lot of satisfaction out of this sort of stuff!

I should have a D8 coupe steering wheel on the way shortly. The dog had chewed a big lump out of mine, and had destroyed the gear knob (already replaced).

As for the exterior, it actually looks better in the photos! Every panel has serious deep scratches and dents. I think it's had a prang in the past the passenger side wing and door has lost all it's laquer, probably down to a second rate paint job. I'm going to leave it the way it is, it's a laugh driving a car that looks like a heap. You can park it anywhere and not have to worry about people bouncing trollies off it, and you don't have to give way to tossers that think that putting on an indicator automatically gives them right of way

[CalamityJames]

Cor blimey, that's a fair todo list! My friend has a 405 running on veg oil with a bit of a tuned pump, and it still feels quicker than my 406 2.1 on SVO with a tuned pump!

Look forward to seeing how they progress!

[ally406]

Yes, I have to say that the 406 is noticeably slower than the 405 even pre-pump mod. The 405 only weighs 1.1 tons, as it has no equipment or safety gear. Them were the days! With the boost and pump turned up a bit, it could even be described as fast. I've always wondered if you could fit a 2.1 into a 405

[CalamityJames]

Yes, I have to say that the 406 is noticeably slower than the 405 even pre-pump mod. The 405 only weighs 1.1 tons, as it has no equipment or safety gear. Them were the days! With the boost and pump turned up a bit, it could even be described as fast. I've always wondered if you could fit a 2.1 into a 405

I've seen them shoehorned into a 205 (and 306 I think) so I'm sure it'd fit into a 405!

108bhp as standard with apparently the potential of 180bhp on stock internals!

[FarmerPug]

i like the sound of a 180bhp 405 put a mi16 kit on it it would look and go like the buisness.

[sirwiggum]

i like the sound of a 180bhp 405 put a mi16 kit on it it would look and go like the buisness.

700bhp with a coupe bodyshell and yer talkin

[plod]

Hell Yeah !!!!!!

[CalamityJames]

I'd kill for a 405 Coupé...

[FarmerPug]

i would also like one very badly now.
i love they way the stickers on it are of real respectable brands like pioneer and Michelin, not unheard of tuning companies, and max power.

[ally406]

.....me goes out to garage and starts welding.....