Mike T

It has been good. The suspension part preparation has consisted of sanding with 80 grit paper and then wire brushing by hand with rust remover, washing, drying the cleaning with solvent. So the surface is very rough. It's brushed on and the surface is perfectly smooth after drying. Adherence so far is amazing. Agreed about powder coat, one nick and it comes off in huge flakes a year later.

Thanks Bill. Tonight I was sanding rust off the anti-roll bar components and a few other small bits. Fiddly work and most unpleasant....Friday night or Sunday I will paint them with POR-15 as well. I hope to finish cleaning the rear axle casing as well. Then I need to sandblast the cast iron crossmember, brake drums (outer surfaces), brake backing plates, Panhard rod, rear springs and some other bits and paint them as well. At that point the suspension cleaning and painting will be complete and bushings will need to be pressed in and it'll be ready. Meanwhile I hope on Saturday to have the new front (Peugeot OE) shocks installed. And then I have to start work on all the other parts: wipers, heater motor, door innards including window mechanisms, other bits and pieces. The gearbox needs new bearings so I will have someone in Victoria do that job, and the engine needs a rebuild. I will do that myself but lots of contracting out is needed. The new head needs unleaded valve seats, crank may need a grind, engine block needs to be boiled out and painted, and so on. Fuel tank needs to be cleaned out and sealed, radiator and heater core need work.

It is the thread visible at the end of the arm. I applied the estimated torque with a ~90 cm long breaker bar, holding the far end and using all my body weight 100+kg) and more to break the nut free. I had to use the breaker bar for about 10 turns of the nut, that is how bad it was!

Yes, the big threads stripped on the left arm. I had to apply about 1400 Nm of force to get that one off. Even after unstaking the nut, it was super tight. This is a weak point in the 404, if the threads start to strip, the suspension geometry changes and eventually the threads can let go entirely. I had bad threads on a 404C before and it took a while for me to realize what was loose when the steering got weird in a corner. That is why I decided to use brand new front arms in this case, which should be good for the next 50 years if not more.

On the right, new old stock front suspension arms with new bushings, painted in POR-15. On the left, the two arms that came out of the 404C. One had a totally loose bushing that fell out when the arm was removed (I drove the metal sleeve out with a chisel). That one is in good condition and I will repaint it for future spare parts. The one with the bushing still in it has damaged threading and will be recycled.

Yes, that is basically what it is. All the floor reinforcements from the Cabriolet are present in the Coupé. Even when very rusty, they are still stiff.

Shell is on the rotisserie Saturday.

Colour will be Bleu Foncé 1057. I am not sure what paint system they use. For box sections, they use Waxoyl to provide rust inhibition.

Today I made another visit....to drop off a cheque and to see the car. The work on the bodyshell has just begun, because only a day ago did the panels I dropped off at Island Quick Strip get back to Coachwerks! NOS panels after blasting (the other half floor is on the other side of the shop). Floors cut away completely, tunnel intact. Floor pieces! Next stop: recycling! 404C on the cart....300 SL in the background.

Seat foams arrived today. Left is backrest, right is cushion. And yes, I got a second pair for the other seat! Source: Comptoir du Cabriolet in France. Double yes, those grinders are both Peugeots!

Yes, I know.

The struts are both cleaned and one is painted, one is primed as of Wednesday evening. Main suspension arms are painted.

It's already insured for 7 grand w. Hagerty and will shortly be insured at an agreed value of $55K with them, once it's restored. Driving this car is the plan. Every time I drive a 404, it feels GREAT! I look forward to that feeling again. The diff is OK. It's worm drive and did until 1989 have the wrong oil in it, but it's OK for now, not unduly worn. Oil seals will be examined but I am not going to take the differential apart for now. I have new bolts and worm and wheel, plus the factory tool kit. Even the brake linings, with 82,000 miles on the originals, have lots of life left in them (they usually lasted 150K miles when the cars were new). Rear shocks are not rebuildable but they seem serviceable and I will see how it goes. Having run both Boge and Koni shocks in a 404 previously, I can say that they're both rubbish so I am not too keen to bin the rears for some aftermarket brand if I can avoid it. The bodies were rusty so I repainted them. Peugeot doesn't make new replicas of rear (or front) 404 shocks, yet.

Front ones: yes, rear ones: no.

I have been continuing to clean up the suspension as a priority, so the completed shell can be mounted on it just before the car is returned to me early in 2017 (spring?). Bear in mind that the car only has 82,000 miles on it from new. Summary: The struts will have new shocks installed (OE Peugeot) and I will have this work done by a motorcycle guy who does this in a big way. Both struts will be cleaned to the bare metal and the cast iron parts at the base and at the spring mount coated with Zinga under the satin black topcoat. The right one is primed already. I checked the track arm position with my factory tool and it's fine. Both front springs are in good condition but need some touch-ups with black paint. I will do that by hand to keep the mostly intact factory paint. The upper shock mounts are crap and I have two nearly new ones to use that I have had for decades, with another few decades of life left in them. The steering swivel needle bearings and races will be replaced, as will the grease seals. New shock bellows, new front wheel bearings will be used. Suspension arms are iron - the transverse ones were in good condition but needed a serious de-rusting and new bushings. They're both cleaned and primed, and once painted, will have the new bushings pressed into place. The front diagonal suspension arms are also iron and the first one I took off stripped its threading so I had to order two new ones from Germany. They're en route right now and will be used in reassembly. The other original diagonal arm came off intact and I will keep it as a spare. The cast iron front crossmember and related cast suspension mounts will be sandblasted and powder coated. The steering rack will have new dampers and springs fitted, if needed. The rear springs are heavily surface rusted so they will be sandblasted and powder coated black. The Panhard rod is also heavily corroded and needs new bushings so it will be blasted and coated, new bushings pressed in. The rear shock absorbers are original but seem OK. They have been primed and are ready for a top coat. If they're not working properly, they are easy to change. The torque tube will be refinished in dark grey after derusting. The aluminum rear axle will not be dismantled at this time but will be opened up for a cleaning. I have new worm and wheel, bearings, oil seals and more, but it seems to be in good condition so I will save those parts for later use.

Coachwerks recommended a dark colour and the one he mentioned was dark grey, but that's because a '66 911 with immaculately applied grey paint was in the other room...but that car has red leather interior but that's not a 404 interior colour. I prefer the blue and so does Sandy. But there is time yet, still to vacillate.

White has a dark blue interior. Original upholstery was a woolen cloth which moths ate and faded ferociously in the sun.

They used colours that were specific to the 404C models, all (other than Noir 1000) of which were different from those available on other 404s. 1962-1966: White Saratoga, then White Arosa 1132; Black 1000; Dark Grey 1055; Dark Blue 1057 on Coupés. 1967-1969: White Arosa 1132, Light Grey Metallic 1162, Light Blue Metallic 1158, Black 1000 I get to choose a colour from the 1962-1966 list.

Fancy looking Volvo there! ...so yeah I am definitely looking at dark blue on light grey.

Well the blue thing I can get over, it's not like we will be driving our cars together much if at all. The light grey seats would be offset with dark blue carpets. Rather than cloth I would go for leather (not OE for a Coupe but what the hey). Black vinyl seats were also available with any Coupe but a dark interior with a dark exterior doesn't do it for me, even black leather. No matter what the seating colour, the dash pads, door cappings etc were all black.

Yeah it's really straight, a couple little dings but that's it for bumps. A good starting point!

Funny you mention that. Mike Grams and my wife and I talked about colours. I brought my 1966 colour chip guide and Mike recommended either dark grey or dark blue, both original colours. He called the white "refrigerator white", which it is. So I am back on my heels again and it will probably end up as dark blue. The weight of history was making me think I should stick with white.... The only problem is that my friend Tim Bowles in Victoria also has an Injected Coupé....which is dark blue and has been since it was new!

The paint has all been stripped from the shell now and the car is back at Coachwerks in Victoria. Still waiting for the spare panels and opening panels to come back. Today it was sunny here so it was a perfect day to move a bare metal shell the 22 km from blasting shop to the restoration shop!

Thanks to la.siflobe for this one: 6801420, Carrosserie 11713, Cabriolet Injection 1967, Blanc Arosa 1132, Black Leather 2000, Car is for sale December 2016, carbureted engine, quite a few problems with the body, carrosserie number is too low ~ should be around 14400, FRANCE Total: 2064!

This one was sent to me by Richard Gretau today : 4498902, Coupé Carburateur 1966, Noir 1000, Tissu Gris, The car is at Richard Gretau's place in December 2016 for some body repairs; BORDEAUX FRANCE Total: 2063 !