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PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2013 7:18 pm 
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Location: Ridgecrest Ca.
Thanks for the update!

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 2:21 am 
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Location: Belgium
Various progress made in the last few days:

Restoring one of window mechanism:
Image

Replacing more panels:
Image

the new roof is installed
Image

And lots of small works done.

Hoping to send the car for painting in 2 or 3 months, after that electrical rewiring, brakes and engine work are next in the line...

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 7:37 am 
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Location: Mt. Vernon, WA.
You're making amazing progress and it's very impressive!!! I'm still waiting for the weather to improve so I can go back to work on the power window motors/switches on my Tbird since my 'shop' is Al Fresco-

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 5:40 pm 
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Location: Belgium
Hi,

Good progress made but only a few pictures:

Forming new panel for the back door
Image
It's a bit out of subject, but working on this part, I remembered the posts of Gary Austin about the conversion of Diamond Lil.
Before seeing his restoration thread, metal forming looks for me completely out of scope for a people with no skill in this field like me.
Our current work is really, really more simple compared to what he did, but I remembered the good time discovering each day on WIX the impressive progress done.
It's incredille how it's possible to miss someone you never see. :(

The back door finished: lot of work on this one: it's not visible but the door is a curve, not very easy when you are discovering the "real job" of metal forming.
Image

The left door's window mechanism is complete: on the next picture, we did trial with a template before ordering new windows. (More simple to adjust a sheet of plastic than the definitive window :-) )
Image
On this left door, the new sheet metal is ready for assembly; just waiting to work on the right door and use the new sheet adjusted for left door as a template for the right door. (In fact, there is no straight line on this car, so cuting a new panel to correct shape is not so simple)


And the fuel gauge, just before been removed of the car, for a complete restoration
Image


It's all about progress.

Just a few more information about this car:
In fact, it's not a complete/original Citroen. The "undercariage", the engine and all the mechanic part are "Citroen" but at this time, some cars could be sales "partially" build, and were finished by small company. When restoring the car we found the dataplate of the manufacturer of the car as "utility car". It was visibly a very small company. It explains why this model is relatively unknown (I only found one picture on internet of a similar car after hours and hours of search)

If you'are interested, next time I work on the car, I will take a few pictures to detail the relatively simple engine of the car.

Regards

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 6:55 pm 
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Location: Ridgecrest Ca.
Thanks for the update! Don't worry about your english....it's way better than my French! :D

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 4:25 pm 
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Location: Belgium
The progress were slowed down at bit, as the weather improved, we spent more time sailing than working on the car.
By the way: the right door was the last part needing to be dismantled.

Image
It's now done.
Currently working on the window's mechanism.

On the same time, working on small projet at home: restoring the gas gauge: repainting the background, restoring the labels by printing decals:
Image

Step by step, the list of points "to do" become shorter.

I hope we will achieve to finish the two door before the end of the month.

Regards

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 8:31 pm 
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Location: Mt. Vernon, WA.
DARN IT! I Hate it when I have to go sailing!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: The progress is amazing, I've just discovered a lot of the chrome trim in the cabin of the TBird didn't have a happy Winter :( , now I get to remove it and go hunt a plater. :?$$$$$$$$$$$$$!

It's interesting to read that your vehicle was actually either built or assembled from parts and not on the CITROEN production lines, U.S. car makers did the same thing up into the 60's in regional factories, the Ford and Chevrolet plants in Seattle built cars for the Alaska,Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Western Montana markets.

A very sought after 'goodie' for '57 BelAir fans is a 'Van Nuys' one piece front bumper since California vehicle codes required a one piece bumper, and not a three piece one and there was a Chevy plant in Van Nuys.

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 1:01 am 
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Location: Belgium
The Inspector wrote:
DARN IT! I Hate it when I have to go sailing!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

In South Netherlans where we sail, the season is only 6 months long, so when weathe is good, we run :-)

The Inspector wrote:
I've just discovered a lot of the chrome trim in the cabin of the TBird didn't have a happy Winter :( , now I get to remove it and go hunt a plater. :?$$$$$$$$$$$$$!

We will need one also for the "border of the radiator" who was platter, but is gone since a long time.
If you have the opportunity to post some pictures of your TBird, I'm really interested. Honneslty I'm a bit ignorant about the us car of this period.

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 4:50 pm 
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After a few weeks of vacation, time to went back on the car.

The window mechanism is finished and working
Image


Adjusting and fixing new panel on the door:
Image

Some adjustements to finish and after it will be the turn of the right door
Image

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 8:40 am 
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Location: Belgium
Hello,

Just a short update after a month of progress.

we finished the doors : new sheet of metal covering the wood structure.
Image

Image
The "body work" (correct word ?) shop peoples come back to try the fitting of the last parts in restoration.
Nice to see a "98% complete" car.

In the coming weeks we hope to have all the part back. After painting them, we will be able to start final assembly.

Dissassembling the "flood lights", cleaning and painting them : we will need to have them ready for assembling the car they are part of the structure of the front of the car:
Image

The gauges' panel was in need of some care:
Before:
Image
After:
Image

Image
Small parts cleaned, repaired or replicated : ready for assembly

After painting and assembling the car, the next step will be the engine, the electrical system, brakes, gear transmissions: Lots of fun for the coming months (or years)
This project is far from the complexity of restoring a WWII plane, but now I fully understang the difficulty to have a planned completion date ;-)

Regards

Loïc

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 9:19 am 
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The structure of your car is interesting with all the wood. The metal structure is attached with screws or nails?


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PostPosted: Sat Sep 21, 2013 10:37 am 
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Location: Belgium
The sheets of metal are all nailed. Only a few part a fixed with screws
But this specific car is not original : the real Citroën B14G build by the Citroën factory were 100% metal.

This car is a an utility car is from a small batch of cars built by a small factory using only the basis of a B14G: we don't know if its a original car modified later, or if the Citroën factory was selling undecariage without bodywork (It was common at this time)

We decided to restore it in the same state she arrived in our familly 40 or + ago : an original reconstruction to a 4 doors model would be a total destruction of the bodywork and a reconstruction from scratch : out of range for us but also, not a conservation work in the respect of its history.

The goal is not to have a new car but having a car of 85 years in good shape : some default in the sheet metal will stay and we're ok with that.
We will also keep its current color dark green, even if this color was not used in 1928.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 5:42 pm 
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As the work on the body is close to end and we are waiting some part to come back, last week, I removed the gearbox : need to check and replace a bearing between the engine and the gearbox:
Image
Image
Image
3 gears + reverse : with a completly illogical mapping of the gear and no synchronisation at all ;-)

And finally, after months of work replacing panels, sanding, etc, we started the paint of the car:
Priming the new panels:
Image
And first coat of green : will be darker after drying:
Image
Image

Still a lot of work ahead, but a good milestone reached, two very happy guys were leaving the hangar tonight

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:32 am 
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Location: Belgium
Hello,

If some people here are still interested, a small update of our restoration.

The last parts came back this week, allowing us to finish the reassembly of the car
Image

Image

The next job is rewiring the car: we started to installing new components mainly at the back of the car:
Image

And for two months I search a "new" disc clutch as the current one is worn and would be difficult to restore.

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 9:37 pm 
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Can you reline the clutch with new friction material? Some are installed with rivets as used for brake shoes.


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