15 Six: End of the mechanical overhaul

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I start with the brake line, made from the steel tube I bought

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I use for the first time my special tool to shape the flare at each end of the tube, with a common flare shape or the Citroën specific one. Here this is a common flare, made in three steps, the first one is to position the tube correctly

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Then I use a die with two different sides, to flare in two steps the end of the tube

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Here is what it looks like. I needed a few tries before getting a good result… so I had to shape another line because my first flare was not good at all. That’s the usual “try and error” process 😉

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Once the first flare done, I check how the line fits and I do some adjustments

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Then I realize the second flare…

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… and I install the line. Here at the front the shape is not the final one, I wait for the connection fitting to be back into place

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Then it’s time to install the seals for the wheel bearings, in the pivots

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The installation is quite easy

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Here are the engine mounts with their new paint. I found some green paint on them so I painted them green again, but I think this is not their original color

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Here are the new transmission axles, they are not identical to the original ones (they don,t have the “bibax” shock absorbers)

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It’s better to install them before reinstalling the engine

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Then comes a big moment, the drivetrain reinstallation. I did that alone and it went very well

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I tried to protect the paint, using straps instead of the usual chains

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I put the drivetrain back without the front mount, I thought i will be easier that way and it was, especially when the transmission plates have to go through the front axle

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I put the front mount back when the drivetrain is in position

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Here is a big step forward

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I’m happy to see the drivetrain back into the car

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For a few days I had big doubts about the transmission axles, I thought they were too short…

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… so I did various tests and measurements

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The original and new axles are very different

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To clarify the situation I tried to reinstall the brake drums, beginning with the installation of the wheel bearings, but I positioned the rings the wrong way…

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… so I had to remove one of the rings to put it back the other side..

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… and extract the bearing…

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… to eventually putting the bearing back the way it should. But anyways I was not able to reinstall the drums 😉

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Eventually, by measuring the section of the axle that goes inside the pivot, on the new and old axles, I was able to confirm that everything was OK. It has been very worrying 😉

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I move forward, with accessories and various connections

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The fuel pump is back…

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… as the starter, just cleaned

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For the exhaust manifold, one of the 7 mm studs had been replaced by a common 8 mm bolt. So I bought new 7 mm studs and some repair studs (7 mm on one side and 8 mm on the other side), here on the left of the picture. I’m very happy of having found that

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I install all studs but the 8 mm thread seems weak and too short, so I’m going to order and install a “helicoil” repair thread

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I go on with the dynamo installation

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I initially thought that the belt was too short because the dynamo is not centered on its mount, but I saw on pictures that it was not centered before anyways

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But putting it back into place was has not been easy, I had to use straps to position and align the dynamo

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I can then install the hydraulic pump

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The “123Ignition” electronic distributor then takes place. I’m happy with those I installed on the SM and the Jag so I do the same for this Traction

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I then put back the hydraulic pressure regulator, overhauled, with a new accumulator sphere

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I then call Claude and Dominique to help me. In three days we’ll make huge progress. We start by reinstalling the flexible brake lines

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I had made a replica of the special tool dedicated to the adjustment of the front brake shoes… but we discover that we won’t be able to use it because it doesn’t fit correctly onto the pivot and around the wheel bearing. I’m very disappointed

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So Claude laughs at me and adjust the way he always does, with a caliper 😉

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Then it’s time tu put the drums back, it wasn’t easy but Claude and Dominique did it

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Silicone brake fluid (DOT5) was used but here in North America this kind of fluid is colored purple, so we won’t just mix, we’ll replace the whole fluid

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The bleeding operations is then a success, so the new brake line and all connections seem OK

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Two repairs, horrible and with no insulation, were done on the wiring harness, Claude works on doing a clean repair

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Here is the result, it’s clean and significantly safer

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The exhaust manifold is back, after having installed, as planned, a “helicoil” repair thread to secure the repair stud located at the very left

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Then the inlet manifold is back, after cleaning and brushing. It all begins to take shape

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I did a very light sandblasting on the protection screen to clean it

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The carburetor is back, startup is close

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Then it’s radiator’s turn

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The exact position of the radiator will be set later, with the front grill, side panels and hood

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The top coolant hose must be drilled to reinstall the temperature sensor

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Between the radiator and water pump a simple straight hose was installed, I fitted a steel tube, as it was originally

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Here it is, we are ready to star the engine. As the hydraulic circuit is not ready (at this point I did not paint the tank yet), I remove the belt driving the hydraulic pump

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It doesn’t start immediately because I made a beginner mistake while setting the engine on the timing point, I was one turn off, but once this issue fixed, the engine starts and the exhaust manifold begins to change color

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Because I plan to install a coolant expansion tank, I removed the radiator pressure valve, so we had to install something temporary to take what’s coming out from the radiator

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Then we put back the side panels

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Before putting back the front grill, we install an electrical fan, it will allow to face big traffic jams, they are quite common in the Montreal area

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The front grill is then reinstalled

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I love the way a Traction looks without its fenders

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Fenders are now back, with the front bumper…

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… this is not easy to align all these body panels, with also the radiator. By the way, this is not perfect

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As we did for the front brake circuit (right bottle here), we replace the fluid for the rear circuit (left bottle). This car has been equipped with a double brake master cylinder

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The additional headlights were simply not connected so Claude connects them, by installing a protected (fused) relay located underneath the voltage regulator using an existing hole on the fire wall

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Here is the beauty with all her clothes. Thanks to Claude and Dominique, their experience brought great progress

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I go on alone, with the installation of the coolant expansion tank. Made of glass, it’s the kind of expansion tank fitted on various Renault cars during the fifties and sixties, for instance Renault 8 and Caravelle

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I make a bracket that uses two existing holes in the fire wall. The result looks strange, let’s say it’s art 😉

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Here is the tank installed…

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… and ready to work…

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… but I start by rotating the clamps to get a cleaner look…

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… and then I modify the bracket to better hold the tank vertically

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And voilà ! I still have to fit a longer hose to hide it a little bit more. I may have to replace the hose because I’m not sure it will take the temperature correctly

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Before driving the car I sure have to install the licence plate. I used a french licence plate as a base, to avoid making additional holes in the trunk lid

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I was able to chose the number “15” in the licence number, that’s cool because it all depends on the goodwill of the person we meet at the licence office

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Tail lights were working differently from one side to the other one…

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… it’s not surprising, they are not configured the same way…

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… but anyways I’m going to install LED plates…

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… here are they, fitted into place

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Here is the result, it seems visible and it will be a safety plus

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Here is the engine bay once the hydraulic work done

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The quality of the new ignition wirings seems poor so I replaced it with a better one, with silicone wires

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On this side, I replaced the expansion tank hose by a longer one, it shows a little bit less that way

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