Jump to content

91 405 Mi16 build thread


andrethx

Recommended Posts

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.

Photo%20May%2027%202%2004%2005%20PM_zpst

Photo%20May%2027%202%2006%2029%20PM_zpsg

 

i also got my windows professionally tinted. here's a shot of the work in progress:

Photo%20May%2016%2012%2051%2026%20PM_zps

 

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:

Photo%20May%2017%209%2018%2038%20AM_zpsv

Photo%20May%2017%209%2018%2047%20AM_zpsx

 

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:

Photo%20Apr%2027%203%2027%2000%20PM_zpsa

Photo%20Apr%2027%203%2029%2055%20PM_zps2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 202
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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:

Photo%20Jun%2008%2012%2048%2007%20PM_zps

andre

ps -- it's a drizzly day here in Los Angeles....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

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:

67wgmS.jpg

i had been looking for a good-quality used replacement but i found a NOS one:

4Iv6Vk.jpg

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...

Z5LksW.jpg

i was on eBay.co.uk a couple of weeks ago and i found NOS parts for this as well:

MEET3s.jpg

now i just have to find time to install these items. :)

andré

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

uhn9Ej.jpg

YolZR8.jpg

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

s6wc1XiuAgS9cuEE6MbCavAuW4zUbL91urYcMGYu

 

FfiGDVEnqumIf-fVK8ACW7VKYdnLDZytiGO8cJDO

the rear deck speakers were trashed, so i removed them from the mounts and measured them to make sure my replacements would fit

1zglzQllJIqhS2qSZOU5jOn_QUgkQZecv6PMpkwt

DOjj1A8KriaKCn_RjXfFDkzSmHMC82ZUi51i6FGw

yesterday i gave the rear deck trim a good cleaning with all purpose cleaner and a microfiber cloth

kMNZV3rCJ9Q5zKrRKrP8ueEp8sUiUt5Ue73RzwUx

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

04xEfGPPwaZFb-bDhjw-VPTASxIcxEVrcZM0oHoR

xXOCtwDUPxlCHa2Vc5Vq4ycHRPkY1LSV87WpHK86

qYrZTYad1C7ZUpbB_NERbJ18eRDi6IBi3POuOSjJ

r09S_Dv9wenoaz3IttjJWMx9WPkOViaeHAnfOXZY

SDP0Dbb957_v-EFfKpq10xTbSRqBfkSbMyL8GJcL

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

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

c5aSvC8TT2NXZ9OreUuZuy09N5oYvoPWZd47t4p7

AitWu42xRrY8a40v1NFHRvxQq7Zchyp0mHr7CEKB

BzBz8EjHhOHbwSN-dmJVWtS0AEqD6KlA2mLNViOF

f36ewg-F9Z-XnyiMHGrYWKIGr9kxrSW3KSi2X6lm

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 :))

_zomTYh0gf0XrE8BXuTFzYjUyPXfx8FGZb3lP2uB

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.

bL52SRMuhMK7-2cKAdZBcXckqlKZ6gISjBVY6LaR

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.

tzXalJyX0g2cgwyqEGrud_Kbn8TUidIEIXhST80y

EknSP6ieDdX_jWNrfvQcN6cnTx97SLLovtyzg32P

EroPYEZD1jv1rtmfGSGceydi68Vqpj7E-5FKCVqN

andre

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...