Yeah thanks for that - I could actually do with a winter helmet, mine is very tight on top of the beanies

No work done today as I went to Toulouse with the CYLINDER head to be machined.

So the guy comes out and says I have the wrong head..... (me) but you don't know what crankcase I have....... (me) it is the right head but I just messed up with the piston choice...... (him) so you want to make yours into a 15/6 (the big 6 cylinder Traction)........(me) no, I just want the edge shaved and by the way the 15/6 has 6 cylinders......

He then proceeded to argue that the 15/6 just had bigger cylinders and not 6..... oh dear.

So I pick it up on Thursday, just hope he has not drilled out two more cylinders in the head for me

Not a huge amount of work done this weekend as I needed to get my little AZU van ready for its MOT tomorrow morning. Had to jump the car to start it as the battery was a little low. Fixed the intermittent headlights (not screwed in correctly) and the rear brake light (bulb had wiggled loose) and checked the tires - all is well and this time the MOT will last for 5 years



I did manage to put the lights back on for test. Took a while as I had one blown bulb (brand new) which stumped me for a while and then a dodgy (dirty) connector on the back of the headlight. As all my wiring is brand new I always think the worse and go off fault finding the circuit when it was just a simple bulb and connector. All good now and surprisingly bright.



I have started on the bumpers - the previous owner bumped them a lot so the brakes are bent totally out of shape so trying to find the correct angles and arcs to get them back. But that metal is pretty thick gauge so bending is proving difficult. I will give it another go tomorrow and try and find another 11B to see if I can get a template from it to make sure the radius is correct (as at the moment I can not see anyway this will go back together )

Is it an optical illusion, or is the van tiny in comparison to the Traction?
In your first photograph, it almost looks as though it's cringing in the corner, so that the big bully won't notice it...

p.s. A multimeter should be your best friend when sorting vehicle electrics ~ a quick prod lets you know whether voltage is available, or not.
Had a reminder about that today, after the first belt of HT for many years.
Not sure if it's done the old ticker any good, but at least it didn't stop it.

p.p.s. @Jono, I do know about wide angle lenses.

Has something to do with the tracs hovering above the ground I guess... (I had the same at first) and came to this conclusion...

It does look little but actually when side by side the van is much taller. It is just that it is behind and lower.

Hey Ken, check out what is on the front wheel, I live and breath by that Fluke meter and that is why it had me confused as the voltages were all there, so I ran a dedicated earth but still nothing. It was one of those double faults that take time but are nothing in the end.

It's camera trickery that was used in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films.

It is a bit but the thing that put me off the Traction when I first saw it was the size of it. The headlights alone are huge.

But after working on it for the past year it is just an oversized 2CV

The light switch on the steering column is exactly the same in both cars, as is the indicator switch and load of other little parts.

there is only 2 years between them.

Collecting my machined head tomorrow morning so in the mean time I have been fettling with the knackered bumpers. The previous owner learned to drive in this car as well as take all his mates to all the local parties (even our Mayor said she ended up in the back a few times). So the bumpers were bent out of shape in every direction. I t has taken a while to find decent photos and drawings to determine a visual pattern to bend the back to normal.

This steel is pretty hefty gauge so bending it without heat was pretty tough. But I think I have near enough got there. I will disassemble and paint the frame and then polish up the best I can the very rusty, pitted chrome.





Trying to squeeze the cars in the garage as the weather is atrocious over here at the moment. Non stop rain. Plus I have quite a bit of work on them. New alternator for the 4L. New rear door (painted already) for the Dyane as well as tidying up the engine bay and patching up the rust spots. Busy busy at Grease Nipple Garage

Notice the Traction has now shrunk in size against the AZU

So after driving the Traction Legére yesterday (I helped jump start it with my AZU) I am fully motivated to get mine finished in time for the next Traction Universelle meeting which is actually on my birthday in April. It is a trip to the Tarbes Bourse d'Exchange where the Midi Pyrenean section will have a stand. I promised myself it would be ready for April as our work season starts, so I have plenty of goals to achieve.

So the head is now machined and in place. I adjusted the valves to the 0.15 and 0.20 clearance for inlet and outlet. All is good and I will recheck them when the engine is warm (that sounds so far away but it may not be now )



I installed the manifold - wow! that is tough. The two upper nuts are so hard to get tight as there is zero room in-between the pipes. I ground down two spanners before I got anywhere near. I also went a bit mad with my polishing wheel - let me know when I have gone too far



Finished off the air filter housing with its new label - hard to believe this was the original, now all fitted with a modern round filter inside.



I need to get the engine on the ground in readiness to fit the gear box tomorrow. I think it will be easier to slide the gear box on than try to lift it to the engine and plus I am not sure the little workmate bench will take all the weight. So out with the lift again.



On with the rocker cover for a little protection



I was just unscrewing the bolts ready for the gearbox when one fell in behind the flywheel. Bloody thing dropped so it poked out but the head was caught inside between the flywheel and the oil baffles...... arrrgh So had to pull off the clutch and loosen the flywheel bolts and it dropped out. Will refit tomorrow and align the clutch again.



I sent an email to Castrol to find out which oil I needed and they replied pretty quickly with Castrol Classic XL30. I will flush the engine first with 20w40 first a couple of times before putting in the expensive stuff. Any other recommendations would be appreciated.

Beautiful job. Petrolhead porn!