Project #2...Nissan Figaro

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Got the doors back on...me and MrC spent most of today refitting the innards. Definitely a fiddly job ...we got half of each door done but at least the glass is in and goes up and down! Still got the chrome and the locks to get done.

Tmrw I think we'll have a go at the cambelt!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Need some help/ideas with this. I dug this out of the radiator top hose yesterday. It was a lot worse but I stuck it in citric acid over night.

Here is the summary
Carries hot water for the radiator
Main pipe 25mm OD..vent tube 6mm OD
Second hand cost £50 (because it comes with hoses...the "special" Figaro premium has no doubt been added!)
Cost of stainless tubes ....less than £10

I can mig weld steel,stainless and mig braze.

But I'm struggling with is how to put the swages in the ends...but maybe there is a different way to stop the hoses pulling off?

My current idea is get some stainless tube...mig braze it together. To stop the hoses slipping off maybe cut a ring out of the same tube...slot it and expand it...mig braze it onto the ends....but surely it can't be this simple!

Going for braze as it keeps the heat down...

 

[steveo3002]

run a weld around the end instead of the swage , or if using thinwall tube try this

possibly get away without one anyway

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Cheers steveo....he really beat that pipe up but I think the underlying idea is very good. If he'd put a radius on the washer to match the pipe I reckon the result might have been a lot better too.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Ok so where to start! Right let's start with some good bits...MrC did a great job of building the door back up. Still needs a little more assembly but getting there. He really enjoyed the challenge of hunting through dozens of unlabelled parts bag too

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

I worked on the cam belt...mostly it went ok. I employed my trusty TDC detection tool in cylinder 1...that's the screwdriver you can see sticking out! Timing marks càn rub off or get moved but when the piston is at the top and the distributor points to lead 1 that's guaranteed!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Timing marks were pretty poor...but it's a simple enough engine. The bottom pulley mark was terrible (literally the tiniest notch) but with these old Japanese engines the crank pulley is keyed so really isn't too bad. Added few extra marks to be sure of course....one thing to note is that the cam cover is a 2 part jobbie. The cam pulley needs to be removed to get the bottom cover off...someone put a random allen bolt in the pulley..30mins wasted!

All spanner work...was going really well until one of the water pump bolts gave up! Literally took 2 of us 2 hrs to get it out!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

And this is why I always change the water pump when I do the belt change...what's amazing is this engine ran sweet when I drove it...I'm wondering if the wrong coolant got used maybe?

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Either I'm getting old and lost touch with reality...or people are really tacking the Mickey.

This is a simple A/C idler pulley bearing...asking price with postage...£26.

Really!!!!!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Am still finding neat little touches on this Figaro...have a look at this. This is the door rubber...the little clips are colour coded for driver and passenger side!

Pretty unique I think...never seen this before on another car.

The door locks were the same too

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Well you guys did ask for pictures!!! So this is how I do my water pumps. Am sure there are plenty of alternatives. I generally use the "blue" to stick the gasket in place...line up the holes...then I blue the part and stick it over the top. I pick out any blue from the bolt holes too (habit ). Then the belt goes on...I work from the bottom pulley...it's funny because every time I've done a belt I always think.. is this belt too small!! Tensioner is in place but only loosely bolted for now.

Pump has steel screws into alloy...I use the smallest socket and go easy...no swinging off the end!

You can see the two marks on the cam at the top...I usually use tippex but ran out...only had a sharpie! The belt will space everything anyway so really just need to mark the teeth so I don't end up a tooth out.

Next job is refit the bottom pulley and bolt, fit the tensioner spring...give it a few turns...recheck the timing marks...tighten up.

This one is way way way easier than a Toyota MR2 I can tell you!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

This is the bolt that took 2 hours and 4 or 5 attempts! Pretty poor welding...but did the job and we got it out.

There wasn't room to get a drill in either...got very lucky.

basically we did 3-4 spot welds over the broken bolt....then welded a nut on the end....then slowly worked it out.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Finally after much faffing about I got the belt changes out of the way. Changed all the aux belts too...I'll be sorting the valve cover out as it really lets the engine bay down but will wait till I'm checking the valve clearances (clearances need to be done warm).

Did all the ignition too...plugs,leads,cap,rotor arm etc while I was at it. Next job will be the fuel filter...

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

But what about that bearing I hear you ask...I decided to pass on the £26...opted for the £3.66 bearing instead!

There was a "but"...well almost. The £3.66 bearing is rated to 12,000 rpm. The Figaro tops out at 8,000 ish rpm but the idler pulley is a little smaller so will be running a little quicker....but we need to be sure its OK!

Quick fag packet calculation....

Circumference of crank pulley = 11.5 * 3.14 = 36
Circumference of idler pulley = 9.5 * 3.14 = 30

So at 8,000rpm at the crank... the idler will be doing 8,000*36/30 = 9,600 ....well within the bearing limit of 12,000.

£3.66 well spent in my book!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Passenger door is almost there...we're trying out some different vapour barrier. This is ultra thin insulation so will be both vapour barrier and a little insulation too.

Oh yes...and the speakers are back in...and they work too

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Got the cards on...these are as they came with a little cleaning. We didn't paint the interior so not bad for 28 years old.

The original "restorer" had throw in a bunch of screws from a local hardware store which then rotted into place. I went with stainless in the end ...I increased the cup washer size so they would basically cover the mess from the old rusty cup washers. Very pleased with them....ordered them yesterday together with new door inserts....arrived today....amazing service really.

We waxed the insides of the doors...you can see some of the wax around the vent hole in the end of the door....have to remember to wipe that off!

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Got most of the front panels on...they still need tweaking and final polish too.

 

[Robotstar5]

I hate it when "restorers" use whatever they have to hand, my boss had a 1960's British motorcycle "professionally" restored, he wasn't too happy when I pointed out that metric capheads had been used, makes you wonder what had been done to parts you couldn't see.

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Totally agree RobotStar...a proper show restoration should be nut and bolt perfect. Mr C knows every nut and bolt on a MK2 escort...he's been to shows where people have the bolts all wrong...

The BIG news today was we filled the tank with petrol...turned her on and fired right up. Sounds very sweet too which is great.

Check these out...builders screws I reckon. Rusted in solid....I had to force half of then out and cut them off with a grinder so I could save the cards. Very happy with the new ones...slightly domed so more in keeping with original.

I did have a "bleed out" ...didn't tighten the banjo bolt on the gearbox...bag of cat litter saved the floor

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Decided to pull the wings off yet again...decided I wasn't happy with the drain for the roof coming out under the bottom return of the wing. The wings are plastic but the water would just sit there I think. So stuck a hole in there so it would drain straight out...the second pic is from under the front wing return (directly behind the front wheel passenger side).

I also didn't want a big tube sticking out of the hole so this is the compromise I came up with ...cut the tube short so it can't be seen unless you have your head under the wing....anyone with their head under there would be too busy admiring the welding to notice the little hole anyway