Inspection and freeing up and cleaning the wheels and brakes
Richard's Renault Dauphine
The Restoration of my Renault Dauphine
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Inspection and freeing up the wheels
The first step is to free up the rear wheels that sat so many years in the mud. At first I thought maybe the hand brake was on, but that had been scraped years ago. Everything is rusty and stuck. I got out my pressure washer and took more dirt stuff off of it to get at the bolts.
The front wheel bearing race is cracked, so a set of bearings will be in order. The brake linings are worn to the rivets and the backing plate is bent. I'll look for parts and then replace the bearings, re-build the cylinders and re-line the brakes. The front suspension was very rusted in place, but a lot of patience got it out for sandblasting and painting.
The steering is locked and I needed to make a set of keys. The insides of the steering rack show some wear so I'll be looking for a new pinion or both rack and pinion. Also I see that the front stabilizer bar is sheared off at the left end, so one of those will be required as well.
The rears are really stuck. I finally ended up taking the whole units off the axle and pounding them apart. They were filled with mud and rust. Time to sand blast everything and paint, hone, resurface, re-grind, etc.
I finally got the replacement seats from Buenos Aires, so I'll fix them up and upholster them with the rear seat.
The front wheel bearing race is cracked, so a set of bearings will be in order. The brake linings are worn to the rivets and the backing plate is bent. I'll look for parts and then replace the bearings, re-build the cylinders and re-line the brakes. The front suspension was very rusted in place, but a lot of patience got it out for sandblasting and painting.
The steering is locked and I needed to make a set of keys. The insides of the steering rack show some wear so I'll be looking for a new pinion or both rack and pinion. Also I see that the front stabilizer bar is sheared off at the left end, so one of those will be required as well.
The rears are really stuck. I finally ended up taking the whole units off the axle and pounding them apart. They were filled with mud and rust. Time to sand blast everything and paint, hone, resurface, re-grind, etc.
I finally got the replacement seats from Buenos Aires, so I'll fix them up and upholster them with the rear seat.
