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This is the story of an '89 164 that belongs to a new friend of mine, Joe, who runs his own landscaping business. Joe has owned this 164 for nine years and had two other 164s before that. However, Joe is not confident with working on mechanical things, and flagged me down one day in the street when I was out-and-about in my blue '89 164. That was before Christmas.
The immediate problem to solve (engine cutting out intermittently) had confused several other people, but turned out to be nothing more than faulty plug leads and distributor cap.
With that out of the way, a special arrangement began where all sorts of work got done around my house and garden - trees removed, trees cut back, lawn tended-to, trees and plants planted, fence waterblasted, and even a load of metal taken to recycling thanks to Joe's tip-deck truck.
In return I promised to undertake a series of improvements to the 164...
- Polished the paint, especially the roof, bootlid and bonnet. I set Joe to work on the roof. He's not actually that dark originally but has a permanent suntan as a result of working outdoors every day.
I considered that getting the paint looking nice would serve as motivation before the work ahead.
As you can see, the 164 is not a bad looker considering it is over 20 years old. It has an early-style leather interior. I can't say I like the wooden Momo steering wheel (too small, can't see the instruments, and I don't like the feel of a smooth varnished surface), but never mind - each to their own.
- Replaced reverse light switch. There was bodged wiring between the reverse light switch and the idle air control valve. The switch turned out to be faulty (stuck 'on') and the idle air valve wiring was found melted behind the engine - repaired.
- Repaired brake light switch - dirty contacts.
- Replaced speedometer sender with spare, to get speedometer/odometer working.
- Added washers to right-rear door striker pin so that door opens and closes easily.
- Removed clutch damper. Inspected clutch hydraulics, no fault found.
- Drilled out worn-oval hole in clutch pedal arm and made/installed larger clevis pin to eliminate about 1" of free play at clutch pedal.
- Cut away excess carpet under clutch pedal - thin black carpet glued on top of original faded green carpet.
- New clutch ordered (clutch pedal still very heavy without correct over-centre action).
- Cleaned wheels.
- Levered metalwork away from engine 'dogbone' top mount - damage sustained during previous engine removal operation - to cure an annoying chirping noise.
Driving the car was a horrifying experience - mainly due to the 7mm of free movement in the suspension lower balljoint causing the wheel to find its own geometry. Unbelievably the car had a recent Warrant Of Fitness despite this fault and the non-working brake lights.
The story continues...
The immediate problem to solve (engine cutting out intermittently) had confused several other people, but turned out to be nothing more than faulty plug leads and distributor cap.
With that out of the way, a special arrangement began where all sorts of work got done around my house and garden - trees removed, trees cut back, lawn tended-to, trees and plants planted, fence waterblasted, and even a load of metal taken to recycling thanks to Joe's tip-deck truck.
In return I promised to undertake a series of improvements to the 164...
- Polished the paint, especially the roof, bootlid and bonnet. I set Joe to work on the roof. He's not actually that dark originally but has a permanent suntan as a result of working outdoors every day.
I considered that getting the paint looking nice would serve as motivation before the work ahead.
As you can see, the 164 is not a bad looker considering it is over 20 years old. It has an early-style leather interior. I can't say I like the wooden Momo steering wheel (too small, can't see the instruments, and I don't like the feel of a smooth varnished surface), but never mind - each to their own.
- Replaced reverse light switch. There was bodged wiring between the reverse light switch and the idle air control valve. The switch turned out to be faulty (stuck 'on') and the idle air valve wiring was found melted behind the engine - repaired.
- Repaired brake light switch - dirty contacts.
- Replaced speedometer sender with spare, to get speedometer/odometer working.
- Added washers to right-rear door striker pin so that door opens and closes easily.
- Removed clutch damper. Inspected clutch hydraulics, no fault found.
- Drilled out worn-oval hole in clutch pedal arm and made/installed larger clevis pin to eliminate about 1" of free play at clutch pedal.
- Cut away excess carpet under clutch pedal - thin black carpet glued on top of original faded green carpet.
- New clutch ordered (clutch pedal still very heavy without correct over-centre action).
- Cleaned wheels.
- Levered metalwork away from engine 'dogbone' top mount - damage sustained during previous engine removal operation - to cure an annoying chirping noise.
Driving the car was a horrifying experience - mainly due to the 7mm of free movement in the suspension lower balljoint causing the wheel to find its own geometry. Unbelievably the car had a recent Warrant Of Fitness despite this fault and the non-working brake lights.
The story continues...
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