Sort of a big update today because things are going quite well. Over the hump of everything being in bits it's now the more pleasant task of putting the car back together again. First job was to get the shocks swapped over, I was struggling to get tools and hands into the gap so Mike kindly got the old ones off and the new ones on. The old ones were deader than a dead thing, all the rubber parts were just flat and deformed.
New ones fitted and everything went together fairly easily. I couldn't get the bolts I wanted for the ball joints today because it's bank holiday Monday, but when I do get chance to get them I'll go round the car and replace the ten that I need to so that the ball joints are held in with proper bolts and not the rubbish that was supplied.
Of note is the outer driveshaft boot on this side. The old spring wire clip thing had lost its spring and we didn't have a suitable clip in to replace it so I used a tie wrap instead. As far as I know this is perfectly fine as a solution, it holds the boot in place and keeps dirt and oil on the correct sides of the rubber. I'm going to order some new CV/driveshaft boot clips anyway but again, Bank Holiday Monday put paid to getting any today.
The temperature sender was reconnected, the bolt for it was even still in the head. Bit of a bugger to do as access isn't great, but it's done.
Alternator fitted and new drive belts on too. Couldn't fit the tensioner because I dropped the nut and it vanished, you wouldn't think it could, but it did. I'll get a new nut, I didn't have any in stock.
Just plonked the radiator in the hole to keep it out of the way for now. I've got some wires to connect, the radiator to flush and connect, and a new clutch cable to fit under the bonnet. Once that's done I can actually test fire the engine, which I still haven't done. I want everything to be right first and with the engine having lots of lovely oil in it I'm not worrying about it seizing or anything in the meantime.
Took the spotlights I was given apart to check them out. They're past the first flush of youth but serviceable. Used the Rover to provide power and they work perfectly fine, don't even need bulbs.
While the Renault has been in the unit drying out and being bashed about there's a lot of dirt appearing on the floor. Quite a lot of it is in the rear of the bodywork so all of this will need a really good clean out. I need to clean up and refit the mud flaps too, they're both fine it's just that one fell off and one has nearly fallen off.
Since I'm down to much smaller jobs now I started checking various little things. I noticed the rear lights didn't look quite right, look at where the screw holes are in the passenger side lens.
That would be because it's a small back and the lens doesn't fit it. I reckon this is an earlier style light cluster with a later lens bodged on top. I'm seriously tempted to fit an early light lens this side just because.
The other side hasn't got extra holes, but it looked like there might not be reflector fitted.
Nope, no reflector! I can cut a new one from a spare Princess lens I've got, seems like a sensible solution to that problem. I don't know where the old reflector has gone and this is the first time I've had the rear lights apart so I suspect it's not had one on this side for quite some time.
The small thing you want is always in the box at the bottom of the pile as my stash of Princess spares is always happy to prove. I reckon it'll be a couple of months yet until the Renault is MoT ready, got to hope I can find someone local that's able to balance the wheels when I get the new tyres fitted. There's going to be plenty of little obstacles like that slowing me down.
