MikeT

Magnaflux, I did this with my 404 engine parts.

Canada only got 50 of them - all with 40 HP diesel engine (!) whereas the European ones (74 HP) may not have been limited production - therefore may not have been numbered.

The new master cylinder is installed along with the glass fluid reservoir I found yesterday. The brake line that takes fluid from the Hydrovac booster to the wheels is now connected to its hose (the new one I got last week) and it's bolted to the firewall.

The Architects Garage did this one for me - my car as it might have looked in front of the Pininfarina factory in Torino in 1966.

My best guess is that here on Vancouver Island (home to fully 10% of 450 cdis) is that about half of them are either scrapped (like my first one) or off the road (like the Canada 1). If this is correct and holds country-wide, that would leave around 5000 on the road. They're well into the time when the third and fourth owners have them, buying them cheaply and they will run them into the ground, doing as little maintenance as possible. The survivors long-term will most likely be the more expensive models - loaded cabriolets will probably end up being 50% more likely to survive than stripper pures.

One of the hoses I hadn't managed to get a good replacement for up to today has finally been found - at Serie04. This is the one that connects the Hydrovac (brake booster) slave cylinder to the brake piping. An exact match, Made in France.

The nice thing about doing it on a bicycle is it takes about 13 hours in the saddle if going moderately and every minute of it is spectacular!

I cycled from Jasper to Banff in two days with my son 6 years ago - if you think it's very nice in a car, it is far, FAR nicer on a bicycle. We get there once a year in normal circumstances, or at least to the Selkirks and Purcells.

Did a bit more today.....

Not really, I am slowly assembling it when time allows. Should be driveable in May sometime.

The engine is in. A bit more engine/injection/exhaust system assembly and then the brakes to come....

Thanks

The smart is temporarily out in the elements because I need the room to install the Peugeot 404 engine. That should happen tomorrow. The lower photo shows the clutch centring tool inserted before the pressure plate bolts have been tightened to 9 lbs-ft.

Tomorrow the rebuilt engine goes in the 404C so I connected the smart's battery and pulled her outside. Still need to figure out whether Julia wants this car. Today my wife said "I miss the smart!".

The hood has been removed in anticipation of the upcoming engine installation. Ready to go except for me moving the unlicensed smart out of the garage, moving the engine from its stand to the hydraulic crane, mounting the clutch driven disc and pressure plate, then mounting it. I'l have to wait for a day when my eldest daughter is available. Maybe the next couple of days, maybe a bit later. The green tape and padding are some of the precautions I have employed to protect the paint from damage when removing the hood and installing the engine.