The 1957 Dope Dauphine

[Adey]

Gearbox side steadies/mounts done. Not pretty but usable, a little tight for space and I could remove them and tidy them up a little more but they will work and are solid in comparison to the ones I removed. £6.50 vs £65 ish delivered for the oem style ones. I've now not got much left to do before I can raise it back into the car. Hopefully I can get the rear beam refitted by the end of the weekend.

 

[Turbell]

Gearbox collars look like the ones that take a boot, wonder if some generic drive shaft boots would cut and tie wrap on, as you know you'll have had felt seals in old set up, are they in these new R8 collars?

 

[Adey]

They do look like the ones, I've seen the boots for sale too, also have some new felt seals come to think of it, wonder if I can fit them now as an after thought

 

[Adey]

No pictures as its much the same but the rear beam/transaxle is ready to go in (bar 2 washers and hub nuts). Roll on tomorrow

 

[gordini stu]

Been busy l see . Great progress and documented well . Good luck today

 

[Adey]

And the axle is in the car, one of those little but big moments that are a big step in the right direction. I used the trolley jack to manoeuvre it into position and then lowered the car down onto the axle. I need to sort out a brake line that sheared on removal and then look at the gear linkage and clutch cable. Water pump and gasket turned up this morning also so I'll get them cleaned a little and fitted later on. Clutch and carb should be here next week, once fitted I should be able to get the engine somewhere close. Still need to acquire a pair of rear engine mounts but I might adapt the originals as a temporary measure.

 

[Adey]

@Turbell any tips on how to make sure the gearbox is in neutral before i connect/weld a plate to my selector rod?

 

[Turbell]

Put a pair of grips on gearbox selector, and you’ll feel gate, so on a three speed H for instance clock and back would be reverse, same but forward 1st , anti clock back 2nd, same forward 3rd.
You’ll have to feel around perhaps and find reverse, turn input shaft and see diff reverse.
Not sure of pattern on that box, as to where reverse is....my 318 is right over clock and forward through a gate....you have to imagine pushing stick forward moves selector back..
Go back and forth with grips on selector and you’ll feel being able to wobble...? Make sense?

 

[Adey]

kind of, I can picture it in my head as such. cheers

 

[Turbell]

It takes some wanging about with grips, clunk clunk ...

 

[DaveL485]

Do the shafts sit inside those big tubes then?

 

[Adey]

Yeah, axle tubes or trumpets they are called from reading? The tubes hold the drums on the end, everything pivots off the gearbox using the tubes.

 

[Turbell]

Swing axle independent suspension, first used on the Rumpler Tropfenwagen....that amuses me, later of course beetle and that Icon of handling the Chevy Corvair .....
Think Beetles use a Z bar to keep it in check, main issue is only pivot/mount point is inboard hence passive rear wheel steering, 8/10 use a trailing arm to smarten things up, but as this then adds a pivot 90 deg to existing rubber bushes allow some movement .....which then defeats the object of keeping it all in check.
Various period mods use a leading arm ( fuel tank in the way of trailing arms) with the same issue, or I have seen pics of added springs opposing the vertical ones to tighten it .
My leading arms on the 4cv are as close to the OE trunnion bearing pivots as I can get, to try and triangulate it, using rose joints
Dauphine rear end is fully rubber mounted as well, so imagine if they’re worn/separated....
Still won plenty of Rallies in 4cv, Dauphine/8G A110 form though , later 110 went double wishbone, back a long time ago ,when cars were different and each had its own idiosyncratic ......thingies...

 

[Adey]

Delivery from Mr @Turbell one new old stock clutch friction plate and a pair of carbs. Them in hand I cleaned off the flywheel and fitted the clutch with a nos cover plate. I picked the best looking carb, removed the auto choke gubbins and boshed it on. Managed to fit the old 6v coil on the side of the block to keep everything all together, I think the 8s ran like this anyway. Also removed the m7 stud that was for retaining the dizzy and tapped it out to an m8. That now puts me at a point where I can fit the engine in the hole. @rustedandrotten is hunting for a few more bits I'm in need of, rear engine mounts and a clutch cable. I should have it in there in the next few days and then it's on to all the time consuming little jobs, wiring, getting the throttle to work as well as the gear shifter which I still need to fabricate.

 

[Big Steve - Raider]

Nice and clean!!

 

[Turbell]

Looks nice and tidy, got a lot of cables but unsure what’s what, see how you get on, but I usually make my own out of something too long, slit it to length and weld a new nipple on, I’ve run for years like that, GTA rear handbrake cables, 4cv clutch cable , no bother

 

[Adey]

What a grueling morning that was, nothing would line up easily at all so end up rolling around on a wet floor in intermittent rain. Its in the hole and resting on the old engine mounts now though. Straight away the starter motor doesn't want to sit in the hole so that needs some investigation. Wrapped up for now as I cant feel my fingers.

 

[Adey]

Last night i extended some of the wiring and reconnected everything back up. The starter is a 6v 2 bolt type and the gearbox is for a 3 bolt 12v starter. Not good at all as i really wanted to stay 6v. The 2 outside bolts in the gearbox seem to match the 6v starter but the starter doesn't fully engage with the box and the gear pushes on the starter. I tired to be cheeky and put some spacers between the starter and gearbox but it either doesn't engage and spins or clicks and sounds like it engages but doesn't turn the engine. The gearbox is in neutral and i can turn the engine freely with a short bar on the hand start cog. That leads me to believe the starter either has the wrong gear on it, is goosed (but spins fine) or its just an alignment issue....

Ive been reading up on some french forums and the normal c series alternators seem to be very easily adapted for fitment on my block. But converting to 12v gives me more work to do and sorting more electrics out and i dislike auto electrics a lot.

 

[DaveL485]

Starter engagement is very fussy, which is why they are dowelled so they locate exactly right. Looks like you need a 12v conversion mate.

 

[Adey]

Early ones arnt dowelled, my gearbox certainly has no provision for it. i think thy locate via a machined face though. urgh 12v @Turbell ill be annoying you with more questions if i do this, sorry