andrethx Posted June 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2017 after much work and family drama, i am back. i managed to get the driver's side door gaskets installed, they came out pretty nice. the car is a bit quieter now, so that i can hear noises that i couldn't hear before. i also upgraded the windshield wipers -- the black paint on the wiper arms had turned whitish over the years so i had them powder coated in a satin black, they came out nice. rather than re-install or replace the original spray mechanism (the 405 has the spray jets on the wiper arms), i elected to replace it with a kit i got from the UK that replaces the long, thin spray jet that uses separate clamps to attach to the wipers with a one-piece spray jet that clamps around the arm; this allows me to use modern aero-style wiper blades. the kit came with 22-inch ANCO blades which were a bit too big for my windshield -- maybe the geometry on the UK wipers is a bit different -- so i got some 21-inch Michelin aero blades from my local auto parts store that fit perfectly and work really well. next i need to put the nut covers back on and route the new tubing i got for the spray jets. i also got my windows professionally tinted. here's a shot of the work in progress: rather than get a Southern California-style "limo tint," where the front side windows are untinted and the back window and back side windows are heavily tinted, i got a mild tint all around (except the front windshield, of course). the tint is very high quality and lowers the interior temperature of the car considerably. here are shots of the finished product: that weird effect on my back window is a reflection of a tree branch, not any sort of cracking of the glass or of the tint film. next up will be some basic maintenance, my front brake pads are squealing so they need to be replaced, and the steering has developed a bit of a clunk so i'm sure the ball joints are on their way out. also as you can see, i have the dashboard partially disassembled so that i can install my new stereo and change the dashboard light bulbs with LEDs. more to come. EDIT: almost forgot, here is the newly-recovered shift knob: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3AWDgst Posted June 3, 2017 Report Share Posted June 3, 2017 Looks great André and I love the tint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted June 3, 2017 Report Share Posted June 3, 2017 Excellent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goce Posted June 3, 2017 Report Share Posted June 3, 2017 Nice call on the window tint Andre, is not too dark make it look classy, as for the wiper arms, i've had to do the same thing on my mi16 when i got i about 8 years ago, and the freshly painted wipers make the plastic grill between the windscreen and hood look old and crispy, that really annoyed me, so i removed it, and together with the rear speaker parcel shelf which was also faded from the sun painted them black and they have come out like new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted June 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2017 thanks guys. washed the car today... i got these stickers from France, i had the window tint guy apply it for me when i had that done: andré Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted June 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2017 a while back my wife's Ford truck blew a head gasket -- it was a few months back during a heat wave (107 F/42 C!) when i was driving it in heavy traffic with the AC on. that is a whole other story in itself, but the relevant point is i recently got around to getting it fixed. i had the truck trailered to Ukit's in El Monte (about 30 minutes east of Los Angeles) and when i went to pick it up, i picked up a couple of peugeot parts from Ukit. the grill and lower headlight trim i got from him were in pretty rough shape but they were no worse than the pieces on my car and the net effect after cleaning them up and installing them is, i think, positive. i am still going to get my NOS grill painted and replace the lower headlight trims with new (and newly-painted pieces) but for now the car looks more complete: andre ps -- it's a drizzly day here in Los Angeles.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted July 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2017 i continue to extricate myself from automotive hell. the truck is back in action (as noted above), and i finally got my passat smogged and the registration renewed; there are other maintenance items on the passat that i need to attend to, but they are not as urgent as the emissions testing. lately, the little time i've had left over from work and family responsibilities have been take up with the truck or the passat, but i'm hopeful that i'll get to spend more time working on my 405 in the coming weeks. recently, i found a couple of items as NOS from european vendors on the various eBay sites. the handbrake handle cover on my 405 has been broken since i got the car: i had been looking for a good-quality used replacement but i found a NOS one: additionally, the control levers on my power drivers seat have been missing since i got the car; i wasn't sure what i was going to do about this...again, inasmuch as i thought about it i guessed that i'd look for used parts... i was on eBay.co.uk a couple of weeks ago and i found NOS parts for this as well: now i just have to find time to install these items. andré Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted July 1, 2017 Report Share Posted July 1, 2017 Good job! I have a used handbrake cover from my 405 if anyone wants it, free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted July 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2017 question for mike, or savo, or any of the other 405-knowledgable people out there: are these holes original, or were they put there by a previous owner of this car? there were two long, thin black screws here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goce Posted July 1, 2017 Report Share Posted July 1, 2017 My 605 has similar electric seat controls, one long knobe for the seat base and the vertical for the seat back , those holes are not factory also the visible phillips screw is also not factory, my guess previous owner whanted to cover the hole for the swich, there are plastic couplers that are common failure point, if the motor turn but seat doesn't move or only one side moves, hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted July 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2017 thanks goce. my theory is that the plastic clips that hold the switch assembly on the backside of that trim piece broke and the screws were put in to hold the switch assembly in place; it doesn't look like the hole was ever covered. another piece that i'll probably have to replace. it's pretty clear that the big silver philips screw is not original; there was an original black screw that fit recessed into the front screw hole that i had just removed before this picture to get the size so i could replace both screws with the correct size. had some time today, put in the handbrake handle cover. like most jobs on my car, it was 90% cleaning. next on my list is to get the dashboard back together. i need to get some LED bulbs for the instrument panel before i put everything back together. i have a new windshield wiper control stalk that i need to install and i still need to get a new turn signal stalk. hopefully can get to those items soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3AWDgst Posted July 2, 2017 Report Share Posted July 2, 2017 Great update André:-) What's the part number on that hand brake trim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3AWDgst Posted July 2, 2017 Report Share Posted July 2, 2017 On 7/1/2017 at 9:36 AM, Mike T said: Good job! I have a used handbrake cover from my 405 if anyone wants it, free. I'll take that Mike :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted July 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2017 1 hour ago, my3AWDgst said: Great update André:-) What's the part number on that hand brake trim? 7587.N9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3AWDgst Posted July 2, 2017 Report Share Posted July 2, 2017 Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted July 3, 2017 Report Share Posted July 3, 2017 10 hours ago, my3AWDgst said: I'll take that Mike :-) Send me your address and I'll send it off as soon as I can find it in the shed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted July 3, 2017 Report Share Posted July 3, 2017 Found! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my3AWDgst Posted July 4, 2017 Report Share Posted July 4, 2017 PMed Mike. I also found new one on UK Ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted July 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 a couple of days ago i found some time to remove the rear deck trim piece from the car. the most difficult thing about this sort of task in an old car is removing the part you want to replace/work on without damaging anything. the rear deck speakers were trashed, so i removed them from the mounts and measured them to make sure my replacements would fit yesterday i gave the rear deck trim a good cleaning with all purpose cleaner and a microfiber cloth i had some time late this afternoon so i painted the rear deck trim (plage arrière). it came out pretty nice, the dupli-color trim paint is a pretty good match for the original bordeaux color i gave it three coats with about 10 minutes of drying time in between (as directed). going to let it cure for a couple of days before i re-install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goce Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 This is strange to me, i've done this exact job more than ten times on all of the 405's i've owned but never seen a dark red in color, usually they are gray or black i've always used normal black paint meant for steels, as for your color mach i think is perfect, whale is apart i would recommend greasing the hinges for the trunk, i've used white lithium grease, seams to last for ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted July 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 10 hours ago, Goce said: while is apart i would recommend greasing the hinges for the trunk, i've used white lithium grease, seems to last forever. that's good advice, goce, thanks. i will definitely do that. the bordeaux color was pretty common in the US/Canada on the 405s. my rear-deck brake light is all cracked and in bad shape; i got another one but it's only slightly better. we have had the requirement for the high-mounted third brake light in the US since 1986 so for the 405, this light is a US/Canada only part and is thus very difficult to find now. at times i have considered replacing the rear spoiler with one that has an integrated brake light so i could get rid of the rear deck light. this would leave a hole in the rear deck panel so i looked at getting a rear deck panel from europe and they are all black or grey as you note. of course, i could get a grey one and paint it bordeaux but i've decided to stick with the original configuration (at least with respect to the interior brake light). i have a pair of A/D/S 300i panel speakers, they were very popular and well-regarded at the time the car was new ("period correct," as they say), i had considered putting them in the rear deck of this car but i think i'll save them for a future project. instead, i am going to replace the worn-out factor speakers with good aftermarket speakers and use the original grills so it will look original but sound very nice. the original grills are kinda tired so i'm going to refinish them in the next few days with satin black spray paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goce Posted July 8, 2017 Report Share Posted July 8, 2017 Just as a suggestion, modify or replace the rear-deck brake light with a dash cam, i've been running a dash cam on my daily driver and sure has come in handy, in fact this past winter had a guy hit me from behind, the 605 has only little paint transfer but the guy driving the passat acted all cool and when the police arrived states i've rolled back and hit him, and broke his headlight thankful i was paying attention and reacted, when the policeman asked are there any witnesses i pulled my dash cam and shows how i'm stopped and get pushed forward, little intense for a few minutes till the policeman understood me to look at the traffic lights in relationship to my car to determine what direction my car moved made me what a rear mounted camera as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted July 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2017 got my battery tray back from the powder coaters (#savospec ), came out pretty nice. they did a good job of masking off the threaded parts the battery doesn't seem to be holding charge very well these days so i'll be replacing it soon. i've also got some new wiring on order, more on that later. with the rear deck panel out, i lubricated the trunk hinges with white lithium grease (thanks for the tip, goce ) i got some speakers, but they don't fit into the factory grill/speaker mount setup, so i'm sending them back for something else. i think i mentioned that my rear deck brake light was broken -- i got another one, but it is also broken. my "original" light was basically glued together with the original incandescent light bulb inside, so i decided to use the parts i had to do the same again, but with an LED bulb inside. i am still looking for a new or better-condition rear deck brake light, but until then i will have something that looks presentable and that functions. the bulb socket is hardwired to that part of the wiring harness, so gluing the light fixture shut means that the entire assembly is hard-wired to the car. so the first step is to add a connector so that i can change the fixture out easily when i find a replacement. andre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike T Posted July 27, 2017 Report Share Posted July 27, 2017 Nice! I can't remember if I kept my 405's third brake light before I scrapped it, but if I did, Marc probably has it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrethx Posted August 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 new battery. this is the unit that the battery company specifies for my car but the hold-down bracket doesn't quite fit. i will probably add a bit of L-shaped rubber to each side to make the hold-down fit snugly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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