A few months ago I decided to put the 405 off the road for a bit of TLC. Didnt really have any definete plans, basically it was starting to get a bit tired, brakes were shocking, and it was needing a timing belt. All the stupid wee rattles and things were just annoying me. So it got parked up and sat for a couple of months till id collected all the parts etc then got started. Doesnt really qualify as a 'restoration' or anything, the term 'refreshment' is probably a bit more appropriate. Unfortunately I dont have that many work in progress photos, as there was quite a lot on my old phone which died completely and i need to get a memory card reader to get them off, so may add some more photos later. The photos are pretty big so just linked to them.

Car went inside, and engine came out. It was running ok, bit tappy occasionally, so got the head rebuilt at a local garage (strip, pressure test, skim, regrind valves and seats, reassemble with new seals etc). Built it all back up, with new timing belt and tensioners, drive belt, water pump, thermostat, clutch,It would have been criminal to drop it back in without cleaning it up and getting it looking half decent, so...

ready to go back in
bolted in!

While it was out I gave the engine bay a good jetwash as well and got all the grease and dirt off, made such a difference, hopefully next time something breaks i wont get so dirty trying to fix it Hopefully it will be healthy for a good while yet though, with the various new parts, treated it to a nice new nissens radiator as well, and a set of gear rods from Miles which are nice, gear changes have never been better. Acquired a pipercross induction kit cheap as well, its actually from a V6 mondeo so its a good size, best thing about it is the way its laid out it sort of hides the mess of pipework and wires underneath it

Also, I think batteries are horrible looking things, much better hidden, so to gain a bit of extra room it now lives in the boot. Ive still got to neaten the carpet up around the box and make it look a bit better - the whole carpet is ruined tbh, next time im at the dump I might see if anybody is throwing away a piece of old carpet, something with a nice jazzy pattern maybe

battery

Tried to tidy up the wiring as I was going along, cleaning and re-taping any exposed bits of the loom and trying to hide as much of it as possible. When i took it all apart i never labelled any of the connections so it was fun and games getting it back together properly, couple of plugs in the wrong place, eventually got it worked out though. Anyway, now it looks like this:

engine bay!
closer

As i mentioned, one of the main problems I was having before was the brakes were getting pretty bad, dangeruosly so. So I got seal kits for all the calipers and refurbished them, painted them up and stuck them back on, job done!

safety first!

Previously, the car had a set of 205 1.9 speedlines on it. I thought they looked ok, but they were pretty tatty and badly in need of a refurb, so I decided to get some different wheels. Obviously there was only one option for these It turned into a bit of a shopping spree though, I ended up with the interior from the same T16, full lot seats doorcards everything. Nice and comfy. So, essay almost over, this is the car as it looks today:

exterior 1
exterior 2
exterior 3
exterior 4
interior front
interior rear

I'm happy with it! Obviously its far from perfect; financial constraints mean ive had to keep the various dents and scratches etc, no bodywork at all. Still got a couple bits to do, stick the Mi16 badge on, and i need one of those trim bits for under the headlights, but just glad its back. Overall, its been worth doing just for the amount that i have learned - couldnt sell it anyway, it owes me far too much money

For anyone whos interested, this is where the 405 has been living for the last couple months; as they say - "this is where the magic happens" -

shed

As you can see its already been replaced by the next project, my mates 205 Gti6. Similar plans, except he has a bit more serious engine plans, so it should be interesting.

So, if youve read this far, well done.

Cheers,
Stuart

Nice work! Would give my left leg for some T16 wheels... I dont have spare cash see! Is the -6 maifold worth the money and effort?

Well, its not a lot of effort really it swaps over pretty easy. Ive not had it remapped, so wont be seeing very much gain from it, it does seem to rev up a bit quicker as well, not a huge difference though. Oh, plus it looks nicer

bet it sounds quite different with that inlet on now

just need a tubular manifold from miles and I reckon you wouldn't be far off 6 power


just wondering, but did you notice how much space there is between the end of the gearbox and the wheelarch liner?

another RWK plated Mi16, my mate has 2! and I've got an XWK plate onmine.

I know from putting 307 wheels on that there is pretty much no space between the liner and the gearbox..

Very impressive work, I like it

but they don't sit any nearer to the gearbox than an Mi16 wheel at all, just an extra half inch on the outside of the wheel IIRC.

Well, Ive had the inlet for a while just cleaned it up etc, and yes the noise is biblical. Still need to sort out a proper cold air feed for it, basically just need a longer piece of that hose stuff (any ideas where from?), its very flexible so could squeeze it into the original air feed at the top of the front grille.



Almost no space at all, will have a look soon and try to be more accurate. What you got planned? (6 box?)


Thanks for the comments folks.

*shrugs* they had the original tyres too and rubbed into the lining quite a bit.

Well, got its first proper drive last night, only about 60 miles or so, but was great! Except for, the exhaust. Started off fine, nice and quiet, then there was a bang (i think there must have been something on the road, never saw anything but then again it was very foggy) and its blowing so badly. Very very loud. I knew it wasnt in good condition, pretty rusty most of the way along, thought it would last a bit longer though. Not sure exactly where its blowing from, sounds like theres no exhaust on it basically. Although, it seems to be coming from directly underneath the car, so should be easy enough to fine when I get a chance to look.

On a more positive note, everything else is fine and it was nice to be driving it again

So, need to get a look at it and either patch it up or get a new one. Any ideas on best value for money for a new one?

Fantastic Job !!

That car of yours have came up very nicely indeed. Hopefully it will last a good while now

Bad luck on the exhaust. You could try online automotive for your exhaust.

http://www.onlineautomotive.co.uk/search_results.php?

Looks like a full system would be £139 !!!! Bargain.

Jim

Cheers, hopefull it will last yeah.

Had a look, by the time you add next day delivery and VAT its nearer £200. still not bad though.

Looks fantastic!

Job well done

Seeing this has given me some motivation to hurry up and get mine sorted Happy Birthday btw Stuart!

Thanks. Just a quiet one im afraid, got work at 7.30 tomorrow morning, will do my best to make up for it at the weekend

And yeah, get the 405 done!

Well, exhaust is done! Got one from online automotive (mentioned above). Just got the middle and rear sections, mostly due to lack of money. So its nice and quiet(ish) again. It still seems to blow a little bit, but from the front, where it has a home-made decat (the previous owner...). it doesnt seal very well, but ill have to live with it for now.

Soon as I got under the car the problem was pretty obvious, the back box had a huge hole in it and was so rotten a few more were about to appear. Good mornings work