Double02

A few more action/glamour shots from the trip I just did.

Dave is there every year, usually running at the very, very front of the pack. He's a bit infamous. Bill was also there although I don't really know him so didn't get around to talking to him. I always try to encourage people to bring out the French cars. It's far too dominated by Porsches and Minis.

I did a few more updates this spring in preparation for a big rally event this last weekend (see separate post under the events/trips forum), i.e. repaired the minor accident damage (new grille, bumper mount, etc.), sorted the fan clutch, and changed the fuel filter. It was great to get the fan working properly again as the car is nice and quiet again, and those extra 7 hp are really appreciated going up some of the steeper hills around town. I also shined it up so it was looking its best. The car ran quite well and it was a great trip, although as usual I now have a new punch list of things. Mostly minor, although I think it's time to look for a new transmission. This one does have 186,000 miles on it, and in addition to that leak from the shifter fork and rattling in the main shaft, it has developed some whine in the gears under load. I know replacements are around, it's just going to be a case of finding a known good one that isn't so far away that shipping becomes a huge deal. Hopefully I'll find one that's close enough that I can pick it up myself with a long-weekend road trip.

For Day 2, we had an early start since Saturday is generally the long day. The hotel was great but we barely got to see/use it. It's a shame since Revelstoke is a pretty charming town. The route took the Needles Ferry to get to Nakusp, and then a cable ferry to continue up through Lumby and eventually back to Kamloops on 97. These ferries are part of the BC highway system, so they are free, but subject to the usual ferry lineups and unpredictability compared to a road or bridge. The section between the cable ferry and Lumby was a new one for me and it’s a new favourite. The ferries make for some extra wait time, but it’s always better with a group. The 604 handled everything, although we did field a few ‘is it supposed to sound like that’ and ‘did you know your car is smoking’ questions from the diesel-ignorant. First in line, as it should be. Love this line-up. A friend's new Lotus Esprit was one of my favourites and top contender for ‘Most Bananas’ car. Typical garage party/wrench-fest/toxic air competition. Those CO detectors are never going to be the same. One of my other favourites Again the Pooj performed very well, comfortably meeting the speed limit and navigating the curves with ease. It did develop a few minor issues, with some gear whine under load in third later in the day, and a return of last summer’s temperamental starting issue. It always started eventually, but sometimes required repeated attempts at the starter button before anything would happen. This made for a couple of slightly embarrassing choices such as leaving the car idling (with clutch depressed to eliminate extra transmission noise) during the cable ferry crossing. Pretty hard to hide that on a small ferry, but we did our best ‘We are French so we do not care what you think’ impression. And speaking of smoking Peugeots The Day 3 route was a little uncertain as the plan was to head to Cache Creek, then up to do the Duffey to Pemberton, but Cache Creek had been under water on Saturday. Luckily the waters receded so we made it through. The gear whine continued, and while we freed the sticky parking brake in the morning, it made me hesitant to use that either, or turn off the car unless absolutely necessary (see non-start issue from yesterday). Minor stuff, but a bit comical. Aside from taking it a little easier on the Duffey due to these issues, we made it to Pemberton just fine. Unlike the Cobra replica that went into the barriers at the top of the hairpins on the Pemberton end of the Duffey. Intermittent rain made things a little slick apparently. As usual, there were few photos from the last day, although I did get this nice shot of the French connection at the finish. We cruised along with this beautiful DS at various points though the weekend. I could watch that car for hours. To sum it up – it was great, the car was great, co-driver was great, and thanks again to Scott for selling me the 604. In a sports car crowd not everyone gets a French diesel sedan, but those who do get it loved it. I'll try to add some better glamour shots from the pro photographers who participated as they become available. I'd highly encourage anyone who likes great cars and road trips to attend one of the events these guys run, and I'd love to have more French company.

The 2018 (and 10th Anniversary) Spring Thaw is in the books. This event is run by Classic Car Adventures, a small company based in Squamish and Port Alberni, BC. It's a non-competitive rally format, with a route book and rally diagrams, but no timing or speed element. It takes place over three days is Southwestern BC, and this was my seventh event. French content is always minimal, but there are always a few out. The place names are almost certainly unfamiliar to anyone from outside BC, but there's always google maps if you are curious or want to track down the roads I mention. This year’s route started in Kamloops and ended in Pemberton, so that’s officially 1,165 km, but the door-to-door distance for me was about 1,750 km. My ’82 Peugeot 604 TD was the luxurious cruiser of choice. Between the Kamloops 9:30 AM start, the lack of serious Coquihalla-climbing power in the Pooj, and a strong desire to avoid a 4AM start, we opted to head up the Fraser Canyon on Thursday. The car did just fine and rarely had to slow down on long hills. It seemed like at least 2/3 of the ~90 teams made the same choice, so Thursday night was effectively a bonus add-on Thaw day. Some of the Thursday night crowd: Almost the same as my first Thaw entry – an original-owner ‘74 This p1800 that had no charging system and wouldn’t pass any vehicle inspection I can imagine, but still finished. Best hidden headlights ever The official Day 1 route took Hwy 5A to Merritt, then the connector over to West Kelowna, then Westside Rd up to Sicamous, with a planned finish in Revelstoke. 5A and Westside Rd are always nice, if not true hidden gems. A C2 Corvette lost a tire on the connector and launched into a ditch, around 4 m lower than the road surface which would have made for an interesting extraction. The car didn’t roll, and the occupants were OK but it will take some time and money to get the car back on the road. There was another, non-Thaw, fatality accident between Sicamous and Revelstoke, so with only 1 hour left on the route we all got stuck in Sicamous for 7 hours, and promptly took over first, the Chevron, and then the biggest pub in town. Very nice Fulvia 1600 HF And I got the chance to try a friend’s MGB GT for maximum contrast with the 604. Fun car, and much better than I expected (from a primitive design standpoint). We eventually made it through the hell-scape of cars and semis lined up on the highway, stop & go traffic, near fatal levels of airborne hydrocarbons, non-stop glare from oncoming trucks, and BC’s complete lack of road markings to get to the Revelstoke hotel, where pretty much everyone collapsed into their beds around 1:15AM.

Starting to bring the car out of hibernation. It doesn't need, and isn't likely to get, much in the way of work or upgrades this year [courtesy of home renos], but something needed to be done about the parcel shelf which had faded to this weird shade of purple. Exhibit A: before Exhibit B: after

I actually have Hagerty now so won't have to go through the hassle again. I'd planned on it all along but my timing was just a bit off. To prove it was the right call, the local head Hagerty guy told me his mom had a 504 Coupe in the UK, an his brother races Renault 5s.

I definitely would have preferred a payout that would have funded Euro lighting, but ICBC insists on paying to replace like for like, insists on receipts, and I'm not going to try any funny business with insurers. I'll still do the upgrade eventually, along with bumpers.

Final video is up, including some nonsense in a VW Fox my friends picked up for the return trip after delivering the 604. Thankfully I haven't managed to uncover any new issues in the last couple of months. For minor sorting - the fuel gauge is working, all the instrument cluster lights are working, and I have a front license plate bracket. Just need a brush for the fan clutch and it will be ready for anything. I did get in nearly 1,000 km of driving recently, including 500 km one day on a fun rally through the Fraser Valley. The car has been a real pleasure to drive and while it is now hibernating for the winter, I'm looking forward to taking it on some road trips next year. Considering the car sat for over ten years I figure 1,500 km is a pretty good first-season achievement. Over the winter I'll get the parcel shelf re-trimmed since it's faded to this weird mauve colour. It will also need some minor front end repairs since an idiot in a Smart car rolled through a stop sign and turned left, the wrong way down the street into my lane, and straight into my bumper. I saw him coming and hit the brakes so was only going about 30 km/hr at impact, but it did damage one of the bumper mounts and cracked my grille. Took a bit of educating the insurers to convince them the car wasn't a $1,000 heap since 604s don't exist in their computers, but repairs are now approved and parts sourced. Would have been easier to just do it myself but since the other driver was such an idiot I wanted his insurance to take a punitive hit.

More videos up on the resurrection process. As before, it's not taken very seriously. Part 2 - Mechanical and prep for the paint Part 3 - A bit of mechanical, and paint

Thanks guys. I found a 3x3 array of relays under the dash, just to the driver's side of the steering wheel. Only one of the relays was round, and wiggling that one around restored turn indicator operation. Dirty contacts apparently. It would be nice to find a diagram of the relays for future reference.

Is it located under the dashboard?

I really do need to find a 604 service manual. Any recommendations? I lost my turn indicators on Saturday. I'm guessing this is a flasher relay, or possibly a fuse. Can anyone indicate the location and part number for the relay, and confirm which fuse protects the turn indicators? Bonus photo:

This is my filter, so looks like it does have the priming button. Probably a good idea to replace it on a PM basis.

Good question, I have no idea but will check. Thanks.