GRIZZ’s ‘79 - 2WD BLAZER Challenge over in London, England. “~It’s not a Project~”

[Grizz1963]

Right

Fault finding.

Obviously being a 21 year old car it will have some.

Being French adds another dimension

So none of these affect its actual performance.

Paint…… being that it is possibly a fragile type of metallic it has faded a bit on the top surfaces.

On the bonnet/hood there are two “spots” of lacquer fail.





Next small thing.

Parking ding.

PDR job



One wheel missing a chunk.





Upholstery is leather.

Drivers seat is rough as a rough thing.

Needs repair or a replacement.









Lastly

@nickwheeler also noticed this driving behind me.

Hangers are present but rear box swings around madly.

Also not central to the exit an some clunking on potholes.

I will try sort that too.





LASTLY.



Booked the little toad in at my local garage for a genuine Peugeot cambelt and waterpump replacement on 20 December.

£360.00 plus tax.

Not cheap but I feel it a worthy investment as the service history becomes a mystery from 45k miles in 2007.
And it is on 103k miles now.

Lets hope it’s a worthy investment.

[Grizz1963]

Yesterday was the first rainless if cold at 4’C day.

The Caddy’s refurbished ECU was delivered the day before.

So I got going in refitting the Throttle position sensor which despite being awkward was not that bad to do.

Clever move (for me at least) to use a bit of masking tape to help seat the back, out of sight allen bolt.



Followed by cleaning out and washing the complete scuttle area as there was no ECU in the way.

A good place to start from when refitting it.

Much better.



Of course nothing is ever quite as easy as it looks.

Mounting bracket really let the rest of it all down.

Just not good enough after all the effort.



So it was time for the 115mm grinder with a 125mm flap disc, followed by some more vigorous wire brush action.

Amazing how much aluminium oxidation there was.



Much better.

Better than it looks



A quick wipe down and then some grey primer to hopefully give a basis for the satin black finish.

Primer.



Satin black



Refitted



Home made cover over it all.



Started it (on video)

Runs

Throttle working.

Silly grin.

Closed up scuttle area

Kept under dash open so that I can take it back to Cliffs to reset or delete the faults it had shown.

Also reconnected this one wire that was dangling around.

A switch associated with the clutch pedal.

No idea if it was disconnected before I removed the throttle sensor.

But I connected it anyway.

Any ideas?





Thanks as always for your replies.

[Grizz1963]

So today I used the Caddy to do a few chores.

Totalling about 7 miles driving.

After fitting the new ECU the glowplug warning light kept blinking last night and this morning.
Plugging a reader in showed nothing.
Then after part of my drive which included stopping and turning the car off a few times the reset automatically happened and the light has been gone since then.

I came home after fish n chips at Sallys house.

Helped the latest lodger unpack his truck and saw him off. Two minutes later he was at the door.
His 2018 Ford Ranger 3.2 was dead and would not start.

Battery suspected.

Caddy out on the street and on Mickey next doors driveway.

Brrrrrmmmmmm!!

Hero.




Short version for most.

https://youtu.be/9YUg_rpVnOo?si=__UXF4ZaTrXbZWSU


Longer all inclusive version for masochists and insomniacs.

Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/gPS5ypRaI-E?si=iFOKSQUVvUk8gEL0

I think the Caddy is now sorted.

Still a nice tool.

Thankfully

[Grizz1963]

Random things seen while inspecting the 206 CC interior.

Weirdest of cup holders in back seat.

Almost shoulder height.

Seriously?

[Grizz1963]

Bloody freezing today. 2’C at the garage. With a stiff breeze as well.

Caddy got some attention.

Small thing that has bugged me since day one.

This tight parking scrape.





So this afternoon I dragged myself out onto the driveway and added some pinstripes and a combination sticker to misdirect the eye.

Not going to be everyone’s thing but you could buy it and remove the stripes.









And once again………

A reminder.



Going to get the 206 some fabric seats over the weekend. 230 miles from here.

Should be good.


Video for those who like moving pictures.

https://youtu.be/d-dK_xVYIRA?si=39sNWmiJMmtbM6LT


.

[Grizz1963]

Fame at last ��

At 3 minutes

https://youtu.be/KMM-oDchkJA?si=pLNhQ4clzDmjpY-c




.

[Grizz1963]

Up early and out on the road.



First stop at @westbay for coffee, biccies chat and dog.



From there it was off on the next leg to just outside Manchester to collect a complete Peugeot 206 CC interior bought for £60.00



Got there and had a good chat with the seller.

Loaded up and headed out for the last 50 miles.



On the way I stopped for a pee and a Costa Coffee at a newly built service station.



On ordering the coffee, I was chatting to Harish, the barista, he gave me a muffin at no charge.
Random kindness of strangers again showing.





Then off again, headed for Whitchurch in Shropshire to Craigs place.

He was at a work function in Bristol overnight and got in at 08.15 this morning.

I took Hershey out for a walk this morning.

Brrrrrrrrr

-5.5’C outside.





Today has been mostly putting up a Christmas tree and having a look at his office in the stables that are nearing completion And of course some YouTube videos.

Maybe tomorrow will be warmer.

[Grizz1963]

What a surprise the weekend was.

Real chilly weather, so much so that we didn’t do a thing except vegetate.

Saturday morning dawned at -5.5’C yes minus.

It was bone chilling and despite going out to Craigs stables and workshops for an hour, the cold was too much to actually do anything fun.
So we headed back indoors and got the Christmas tree and stuff down from the loft for Daughter Elli to decorate.
Craigs wife was preparing for massage therapy exams so we watched some YouTube videos on car and house building.

Sunday morning







Not a lot done either.

Felt weird but sometimes its not a bad thing.

Monday morning I headed out back to Kent as soon as Craig got back from the school run.

Satnav was out by 30 minutes as usual due to traffic and a coffee stop.




Overpriced Starbucks coffee and a pee just over halfway back.



Home by 13.00

House looked like a couple of teenagers had been let loose (not really that badly) but certainly the lodgers were making themselves at home.
I knew the two 47kg bottles of gas were near their end before I left, and they were indeed empty with the system switching over to the other two.
Ordered some gas. £187.00 for two bottles delivered.
Thats a lot of money to just burn.
But you gotta live.

Once unpacked I got a load of weekend laundry going and brought the complete 206CC interior into the house as some of it needs cleaning up a bit.

The rear seat base needs a small repair right where the seatbelt anchor exits from the floor.

At £60.00 plus maybe £15.00 for the 100 mile detour to collect them…….

I still think it’s a bargain to replace the very badly damaged drivers seat.

Fix will be simple.

Unless I find a base for silly money like £20.00 then I don’t plan to do the repair.




Mate Martin said he would come over one day to neutralise the airbag sensors with a couple of resistors soldered into the system.

The front seats are immaculate



Treasure laid out.

Vax wet n dry for a couple of spots.



I also want to start valeting the green Toad interior as it can do with a good scrub down and baseline clean up of dash, controls and interior glass.

Then, weather permitting the wash and polish of the outside.

Frosty today.

[Grizz1963]

Couple of out of sync videos.

Fetching.

https://youtu.be/20doiwWRcLw?si=dli4ydPIvcZ4c8--


Inspection

https://youtu.be/gIyJWnADDQM?si=fer-OWe1tmznaE-M


Looking forward to fitting them.

[Grizz1963]

Astro van was bought with a short MOT in August. Expiring on the 20th December.

But despite not having a day job, I have been really busy with the two other cars on the drive the last few weeks.

All that got to a point of calm chaos with the Caddy now being good on all levels. Right down to the go faster stripes and paint damage cammo.
The 206 CC it parked up till the 20th December when the Cambelt and waterpump will be replaced.
Raining all day today and cold so no paint detailing gets done.

Back to the Astro…….

Swapping around the cars after I got a same day booking on Monday this week, I drove it down to the test station enjoying the power and eagerness of the 150 bhp the 4.3l V6 brings. Of course being empty in the rear makes it super light and perfect for drifting around corners.



The Test Centre was running a bit behind due to customers running late in arriving. Never seen that before but they told me and apologised when I got there for the 15 minute delay. No problem.

When the young tester took it in to test I could see the silly grin on his face.
The van really looks and sounds great from the outside too. .

I also heard but did not see it being revved in anger when the front wheels got stuck in the brake testing rollers. When I got around to look at what happened the air was heavy with tyre smoke.

Evidenced by the marks on the floor. 235/15 tyre treads. Black lines do matter for hooligans.

Hopefully I don’t get a bill for the damage to the floor.



Once up on the ramp the test continued till they were finished.
I had asked if I could take some pics and video of the very clean 30 year old underside once tested which they allowed while escorting me into the workshop.

Nice people as I mentioned.



Clean Underside also shown in the video.

Wanna buy a tidy van mister?

Not a bad looking 30 year old











Once I had taken my pics they dropped the van and took it off to get the emissions tested as well.
Another pass. Possibly due to my enthusiastic driving to the test centre.



Really liking this angle on the van.

In the video you can see just how low it actually is.

And it looked great parked outside in the carpark.



And finally like an expectant father at a maternity hospital, time for the yearly cigar.

Looking at the mileage at under 80k miles which includes about 7 years stored in a dry warehouse, it’s no wonder that the van is as nice as it is now.



Video for those who like sound with their pictures.

https://youtu.be/G5zGWeGuFI0?si=qRNvlXfiau_sEmEm

Thanks for checking in and any comments you care to take the time to make.

Now if it would just stop raining outside.

[Grizz1963]

Managed to find some smoked/clear side repeaters of unknown parentage for the Caddy.

Next job will be to find a set of clear front indicator lights as well.




Won’t be everyone’s taste.

Should work.



Loads of rain again today so a bit frustrating.

[Grizz1963]

Changed the front fender accent today between rain and wind sessions.

I think this is a better option than the one I had on before.

The square on the rear should have been different so I think I will address it when the weather improves.







Weather really screws with the progress.

In other Christmas news…..

My old S10 was seen out in the wild doing what gets done this time of year.



Yes its a screenshot.

Not my truck.

[Grizz1963]

Yesterday I was busy sharing information on FB about the Astro van when a guy, Michael, from Denmark reached out via Messenger.

Small time farmer, Blues guitar and harp player in a blues band.

More importantly, an awesome blue Astro van, used in summer as his gig bus. During winter it is dry stored and the Volvo comes out.

Funny how I never met a stranger in my life.

Look closely, pop out side windows, super cool louvers.

And the wheels are my taste.




Later in the day I washed the 206 CC as I really wanted to polish and detail it.

Rain interrupted plsy, sadly.





https://youtu.be/eUDojOVAtFU?si=cSK4esVQZ7BeBjtq

Hopefully the weather would change.

It did not….

[Grizz1963]

Sometimes I see stuff that makes me smile.

Tonight a trench cleaner over thr street.

Should be done yearly.

Not done.

And the council it seems are only clearing one side of the road.

Crazy.

https://youtu.be/l7WP3jjdBpw?si=Jxwvyftd5aozIjYG

Should just be thankful that I get to see some of my council tax used on something worthwhile.

[Grizz1963]

Cleanup time
Remember the day we collected the car?
Pretty, green, kinda dull inside and outside.



So I had to wait for the weather to give me a window of opportunity to was and detail the car.

Washed on Sunday. Ran out of dry time.



So yesterday I cleaned and buffed the glass.
Inside rear glass was the worst
Washed glass then dry cloth buffed till the difference was noticeable.



Much better. Glass is damaged from years of snow and frost scraping when you look really close enough.



Then started on the hood/bonnet, trying to get the lacquer damage corrected as much as possible.
Followed by the rest of the car.
Hand polishing allows you to get intimate and identify all the marks and correct some of the damage that does not need a PDR specialist.



Once all the paint has been polished, buff off the powdered polish followed by getting onto all the black trim.
Body rubbing strips, bumpers and then mirrors, glass trim and in the case of this convertible the roof seals as well.

Half and half, showing the before and after.



Big wide mouthed toad.

Suits the name “La Petit Crapaud”



Getting into every possible groove, and hidden dirt trap.

Makes me feel better.



Final result, it feels as smooth as it looks.



Now, if I saw this on a sales lot……
I would be interested in buying it.




A few hours of focusing on this makes a big difference to my day.

[Grizz1963]

Rained all day yesterday.

Rain again today.

Not ideal.

But the rain does make a good judge of my effort.







I guess all this rain means I should just go out and go shopping for ridiculous stuff for Sally to wrap up and hand over at Christmas.

And yes, not a fan.

Prefer to buy stuff that I need when I need it.

Christmas is every day

[Grizz1963]

Well.


First real use of the Caddy yesterday.


Company car collection was on Tuesday.


Now I am officially unemployed as garden leave came to an end on Sunday 10th.


With the 206 CC off the road on SORN till January and after its service, it was the first time I had to rely on the Caddy since its new MOT and ECU for real world use.


Reliable as expected

I drove it about 10 miles to a not so local shopping centre and parked in the underground garage. Forgot to take a photo of it between all the shiny, if dirty moderns.
it certainly is a small car, relative to everything else.


A really pleasant drive as it was when I fetched it from @Zelandeth and again made me grin.


Some shopping and socialising with strangers later, I headed home.


Happy and content.

Got home to three small parcels

Including these from @shampooefficient

Next job, see if they fit and apply





Now I need to get back onto getting tyres ordered and bought for the 16” alloys I bought for it. And finally fitting them.


Though I do really like the simplicity of the steel wheels and mini centre caps.


In other news, I had ordered some 2.2 Ohm resistors off eBay. Delivered in under 48 hours.


Once again surprised at the cost including postage

Made the mistake of thinking it was cost per unit.






Now I seem to have many or is that much resistance.





Just need to wait for Martin to have a job nearby so he can come do the necessary work for fooling the Peugeot into believing it has airbags in the seats, then I can fit the new interior. George the cat has taken them over as his new bedroom furniture.




Last thing …….



Saw this map, including a reference to my kingdom ��








​​​​​​​That is all.

[Grizz1963]

A good, if slightly chilly morning on Mud Island.

Rain stopped overnight.



Last night I got home as the Caddy turned over to 114000 miles or 183465 km

Almost run in for a 1.9 SDI



Then this morning I quickly fitted the £5.00 delivered side repeaters.
Easiest job ever.

Pop out, unclip, twist fit, repeat.



And fitted and working.





I think that works.

.

[Grizz1963]

Not much happened this week.

But I was asked by Aaron my one current lodger if I could take him and another guy to Rochester for their Christmas party.

Thankfully I had not got rid of the small jump seats yet, so refitted one and ran them to town.

Function over form wins this time.



When I got back, George was waiting for me. Tucked up like a hovercraft.
Impressive whiskers for sure.

It is coming up for two years that he has lived here.

Still thankful he chose this house to move into.



First time we met

https://youtu.be/n0mWn5PbP-M?si=43dcmBIMRCJzfuT1


This morning we had another great sunrise.

Looking out of the kitchen window, the van again made me chuckle, just because it is a nice and good looking thing. (Till the next pretty lady rolls into view. Long roof V8 Americans look out)



Peugeot 206 CC went into the garage yesterday to have cambelt and waterpump replaced as well as a general look over for any issues.

I need to find a sensibly priced source for some 195/55 16 tyres to fit on the Caddy’s alloys that are still waiting to be fitted.

And just like that it’s almost Christmas.

[Grizz1963]

I do feel at times that I am spending more cash than I should.

At 104k miles or 167k km there is no recorded history of the Peugeot 206 ever having had a cambelt or waterpump replaced.

So in order to protect what still is a nice car, I took the chance on driving it home a month ago on 25th November and pretty much parking it out back till the 20th which was the earliest day I could get it booked in for a going over and service.

So I took it to Cliffs

They have been there a very long time

From this building



To a modern workshop he had built a few years ago.



So next job of course dismantling and replacing parts.









Original plastic waterpump and cambelt looked good but seem to be original.






Underside looking surprisingly good for a 21 year old.

I will try get myself motivated to clean up a d treat the underside with some rust restraining/preventing type gloop.






Coolant, antifreeze drained and replaced as well.

Collected from Cliffs and parked up at home on SORN till 2024 as a convertible for Christmas just makes no sense to me.

Pleased its done now for peace of mind.

Next up.

VW Caddy alloys and new tyres.

[Grizz1963]

So at 17.45 tonight we had our 2023 Medway Christmas Tractor Parade.

Windy and around 11’C or 52’F outside. Not bad for beyond mid December.

Unlike USA automotive parades, there was no Candy thrown out at the kids along the route like I saw at Eureka Springs in September this year.

I heard 45 vehicles took part. Count them if you want and let me know.


Enjoy a bit of English Paradeing.

https://youtu.be/mgSN0BH4Q2Q?si=BVNFNDhyVp0EmhdV




AND FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN THE EUREKA SPRINGS PARADE.

ENJOY.


https://youtu.be/lG5UW0XIoMU?si=fRp9VhhDjlKR25Bv



MORE REPORTING LATER.

[Grizz1963]

Peugeot video

Slightly out of sync.

https://youtu.be/fcFWqhQJLUA?si=61dcSx1HmdX11JXs





Merry Christmas to all the readers and followers.

And a special thank you to everyone who takes the time to contribute and write actual replies on the thread or YouTube channel.

Here’s to a great 2024 for all of us.


.

[Grizz1963]

Not done much the last few days.


But today I made a sticker with a Sharpie for the cambelt etc.



Really wanted to use a printed style sticker that would look better.






​​​​​​​Still good to keep records.

[Grizz1963]

So 2024…….

So 2024 has started??

The Caddy has proved to being back to 100% reliable as expected with the ECU replacement.
It is actually a pleasure to drive and at Christmas became a convenient 4 seater for delivering and collecting people as a “designated drivers car” so my lodgers and myself and Sally could go out.
Usually Sally drives and I can have a drink if I want but this year I was happy to drive.

Like “Prozac” the Citroen Berlingo a few years ago, this is an amazing tool for lugging stuff and people about.
Shopping is great, open the rear door and just put the bags of food straight into the car. The rear doors split asymmetrically, which means that one is wider than the other.

Deceptively small as well, despite it’s ability to swallow huge loads. Load volume is a creditable 2.9 cubic metres. Load length is 1,728mm, load height is 1,279mm and load width is 1,530mm. And maximum payload is said to be 625kg so over half a ton in a VW Polo based van. Pretty sure many were abused with a lot more than that.

Note the size compared to other small cars parked in the Morrisons car park.



One of the jobs I held off on was fitting two new tyres and getting the fast slow leak sorted until I could get the reliability back to standard.

With the van performing faultlessly I took it in for two new 195/55-16 tyres and to get the puncture sorted.
Slow leak was due to extreme corrosion on the bead edge of the wheel and cost me £25.00 to repair.
Along with the tyres, total bill for swapping wheels, tyres, puncture repair etc was £191.00



Old, really good and hardly used tyres and steels with centre caps in the rear.



Fitted



Driving back home with the extra wheels in the rear it became apparent that the wider tyres and wheels were rubbing on the relocated rear shocks going around tight bends at speed.

So next stop is a pair of 10mm spacers.
That should be more than enough to push the wheels out a bit.
Handling feels great as well.

Back home I added the centre caps.



Personally I am absolutely 50/50 on the steels vs alloys.

So before vs after.




Over the Christmas season Bonnie spent more time than usual with Sally and indoors.
She also discovered wildlife television.
Amazingly focused on animal programs. Interacting at times.



Having had a pretty wet, cloudy winter but without too much extreme cold, George spends most of the time indoors. Sleeping.
Last week while washing the cars during some better days, George came out as well.
He loves the sun.
Mr Feral.

Only a sliver of sun needed.



More later

[Grizz1963]

Doorbell rings…..

Courier delivery

Cold chain box.



Opening it, a note at the top of a sealed foil pack.



Opening the foil bag……

A whole selection of pasties.



So I unpacked them into the refrigerator.

Later I zapped one in the microwave. Oven heating would be better.
I added a bit of Sweet Cider Chutney.



So….?

Who would send me a load of amazing pasties?
Mate Steve, another one of those guys whose actions speak louder than words.
Kindness.
Thank you very much mate.

Life is good.