Report on (slow) S2 Coupe rebuild progress

[lancialulu]

Norman you may wish to check but the 2 empty holes on the regulator may be where the factory put in self tappers(!) to lock the regulator after adjustment. If thats the case you should also lock it as the effort of operation will move the regulator out of adjustment.....

[Jaydub]

Excellent work and very useful narrative on reassembling everything. It takes enough time to do the work without having to sit down and explain it all, so for that effort, thank you very much Norm. Keep up the good work.

[nthomas1]

Looking great - but doesn't it all take time !

Maybe try some talc on the window channels until they bed in ??

You are absolutely right Simon about it taking a long time - especially for a mechanical novice like me!   Thanks for the talc suggestion.  I'll also have a chat with Omicron who supplied the channel and see if they have any suggestions.

[nthomas1]

Norman you may wish to check but the 2 empty holes on the regulator may be where the factory put in self tappers(!) to lock the regulator after adjustment. If thats the case you should also lock it as the effort of operation will move the regulator out of adjustment.....

That's really useful input Tim.  I have the original screws, and yes, they are self tappers.  There was one on the driver side and two on the passenger side.  I thought they were a bodge by a previous owner but now I can understand their purpose.  The only challenge is whether to slacken the three machine screws that hold the regulator in place and jiggle the regulator around until the holes for the self tappers align, which would get my regulators back to where they were before disassembly. Or to drill new holes through the outer skin holes.  Decisions, decisions!   

[nthomas1]

Excellent work and very useful narrative on reassembling everything. It takes enough time to do the work without having to sit down and explain it all, so for that effort, thank you very much Norm. Keep up the good work.

Thanks John. I may well be too verbose for some, but as a novice mechanic myself I thought it worth including a lot of detail to help anybody else with a similar lack of mechanical expertise undertaking the task in the future!

[nthomas1]

Following on from Tim's comments I've attached small self tappers to keep the the window regulators in position.  There were two holes drilled in each inner door skin which lined up with corresponding holes in the regulators.  The holes for the three main attachment screws are quite large to allow some movement of the regulators during adjustment, so the self tappers are essential to avoid movement after final positioning. 

[nthomas1]

A couple more small jobs on the doors completed.  In each door there are two foam rubber blocks that the window rests again at the lowest point of travel, I presume to stop the window rattling.   I had removed these during disassembly and have now refitted them.  Also, there is a plate attached to the rail at the bottom of the door glass in each door.  The plates incorporate a small rubber block and stop the window glass from being raised too far.  They stop against an adjustable screw at the top of the door.  I have now refitted these. See pictures three and four.

[nthomas1]

I've been getting the door handles and locks ready for reattachment and have a question that I could do with some help with.  What would be the best lubricant to use on the lock mechanisms, and what is the best way to apply it?

[jimbo64]

Hi norm I’m going to use wurth white, long-life maintenance grease with PTFE
I’m no expert but think it will be up to the job, nice work by the way
Jim

[frankxhv773t]

For I job like that I go for grease in a spray can because it blasts into the nooks and crannies. However I am conscious that it is thinner in consistency than grease in a tub.

[nthomas1]

Jim and Frank - thanks for that advice.  I think I'll use a spray grease to make sure I get into all of the nooks and crannies, then maybe then add some regular grease in specific areas.

[nthomas1]

I’m back from Spain so able to work on the car again.  I’ve spent the last few days cleaning up the interior trim parts.  I’ve used lots of elbow grease, and a bottle of the impressive Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber Care. I found the best approach on the grained vinyl parts to be a preliminary clean with the Autoglym, then a second application worked into the grain with with a small bristle brush using a rotary motion. 

My car had carpet glued to the tunnel under the gear lever but I plan to leave the rubber exposed when I re-trim the car so I had to remove all of the adhesive stuck to it. Mostly done with a finger nail, a few millimetres at a time, but worth the effort.

While the visible parts of the trim have come up really well, the undersides in some cases are in pretty poor condition - see the fourth picture below for a couple of examples.  I’m wondering what is the best way to treat them. I’ll treat any exposed metal with rust remover, but I’m not sure what to about the areas of dense foam or other backing that are showing significant surface degradation.  One thought was to spray on some expanding foam to stabilise the surface, and then carve away any excess.   

I would welcome any advice.

[frankxhv773t]

I have often thought of using expanding spray foam that way too but never had the occasion to try it. A word of warning though, check how much it expands and adjust application accordingly! I have had some exciting adventures with it when doing DIY jobs on the house and it is a devil to clean up when it has gone rouge on you. I await your progress with interest.

[fay66]

Norman,
Soon after I put Fay back on the road I got fed up with getting covered in foam dust every time I went over a bump.
So I decided to replace all the rotten foam.
I removed all the lower padding at knee level and scraped out the old foam, then using the metal former and the semirigid outer cover I remade these using expanding builders foam.
It's a messy job and best if you can do all you want to do in one day, as after that everything hardens and clogs up.
I then cut off the excess with a craft knife.
It works well where you have the metal former and the outer cover, but if you have a part that relies on it shape to keep the foam into place, then you may find as I did, it distorts the the face of the component.
All in all I was about 80% successful, the major failure was the trim panel that runs under the instruments on the Berlina that connects to the air vents at either end of the dash.
Brian
8227
 

[fay66]

here's one I made earlier
Sorry it's the top one.
Brian