1977 R4 TL restoration made in France

[Snoopy1974]

Good evening,

I decided to post another new thread on my second car, a poor 1977 TL bought ofr only 80 €

At the beginning I didn't know if I would restore it, but after an attentive check-up, it seems to be in good condition...

Different views of the car can be seen in my thread "Is there anyone who can help me to identify my car"...

My first wish is to repair the mechanical parts to have to french MOT and be able to have the "carte grise" with my name, to become the "real" owner of the car.

The first thing I did is to... dismantle all the system brake, the car was totally blocked, and all the different parts were out of service:



I had many difficults to access to the 2 bolts of the cylinder, I had to unscrew the flange to have a better access:

On the other hand, with my special wrench it's very easy to unscrew the brake pipe:

All the front brakes have been dismantled, I'm going to be able to move my car

 

[Snoopy1974]

Continuing of the story...
Few weeks ago, I started the motor in less of 5 minutes, it didn't start for about 15 years Unfortunatly the clutch was glued and totally out of order, so I decided in a first time to dismantle the gearbox to access to the clutch system.

I saw that there was many old oil in the clutche, maybe the seal of the oil pan wasn't in good condition, so I decided... to put the engine out of the car:

During the time that all the mechanical components are easy to work on, I started to clean them before fitting them back in the car:




Whan I removed all the dirty grease and oil sludge I painted the engine block and gearbox in green with special paint:





I'm actually waiting for the new parts ordered today

 

[Eoynteenie]

green? and good hear you were lucky with the engine, and that you have a R4 on its side in your garage

 

[orsome]

Continuing of the story...
View attachment 5899
Questions concerning ..the engine block and gearbox photo:
- does the thick black electric wires from starter go to battery plus or minus
terminal?
- does the minus wire from coil go to ignition distributor?

(having also a R4 type 1123 from 1977 and all details seem to be vert same, even the battery location)

 

[Steve Hennessey]

Can I suggest that you replace the manifold gasket whilst the engine is out of the car? Damn sight easier doing it now as it will be a pig to do when the engine is back in as your car is Left Hand Drive.

 

[Snoopy1974]

Hi

Steve, I'm naturally going to change all the gaskets before putting the engine in the car, inclued the manifold one.

orsome, the thick black electric wires from starter do go to battery plus.

Concerning the second question I'm going to see and I will answer to you as soon as possible.

 

[orsome]

electric wiring mess

Hi


orsome, the thick black electric wires from starter do go to battery plus.
-great, thanks snoopy
- my problem is, even i do have a german R4 book with wiring diagrams, is that i did remove wirings on 1992 and don't remember where to connect them and the german book refers wrong colour of wires(diam are quite OK).
- this far i ha succeeded to ligtht up the dasboard general ligth, indicator lamp for headligths, and after observating that fusebox was totally empty, after filling it with fuse the oil pressure indicator ligthed up!
- i had also tremendous problems with keys and ignition lock, because the one and only key found(this far) did not turn.I had a new one made by local mister minit key maker and had luck that he still had a such "blank" on his wall

Concerning the second question I'm going to see and I will answer to you as soon as possible.
- waiting for it!

 

[Snoopy1974]

Good evening,

yesterday I bought the first new parts...

And today I got back the parts which have been epoxy coated:

Look at these beautiful rims, absolutly NEW

And with the hub in place... waouhhh

It was so hard to wait for a minute, I immediatly started the fitting of the differents parts, first of all the manifold and carburettor; the manifold wich has been zinc plated, has been washed with air to take off the dust and sand inside:



Then the valve cover...

 

[orsome]

yesterday I bought the first new parts...

Good evening,

Snoopy, looking great!

Concerning new parts, did you put new cylider head bolts and if yes- where did find those?

 

[Steve Hennessey]

Looks good - have you checked the timing chain and tensioner? Sorry to give you more work to do

 

[jjad]

Is the Collared Dove a pet? Or just a bird with excellent taste?

Great work on the car, thanks for posting the pictures.

 

[Snoopy1974]

Hi and happy new year to all,

no, I didn't find new cylinder head bolts, I didn't touch these ones, concerning the timing chain I naturally checked it before fitting the painted cover.

And finally... my friend Snoopy died in august 2011, so this dove is actually my new mascot before finding another dog... maybe.. I'm still very sad :cry: :cry: :cry:




R.I.P Snoopy

 

[Eoynteenie]

its nice to see another abused R4 (a whole Honda CB400N Superdream Motorbike and a half in back of mine once)

Sorry to hear about Snoopy, althou some of the pictures you have of him(?) are great, could he map read?

 

[Snoopy1974]

Good evening to all of you

here are the lastest news of my TL, the engine and gearbox have been finished with all their accessories, new clutch, belts, and so on:

Then, they have been refitted in the engine bay:

Compare the "before" and "after", nice isn't it ??


The front and rear brakes are now new:


BUT... I have a big problem: this connector on the left side is extremely hard to access and it's impossible to unscrew with all the spanners I have, is anybody here has an idea for me ??

Thanks you

 

[iMacThere4iAm]

Cor, that engine looks nice

 

[Steve Hennessey]

Have you tried a brake pipe spanner similar to this? http://www.lasertools.co.uk/item.aspx?cat=517&item=1399

 

[orsome]

take alook at my problems

Good evening to all of you

here are the lastest news of my TL, the engine and gearbox have been finished with all their accessories, new clutch, belts, and so on.

Hi Snoopy, you are really proceeding with yr 77'

i wonder if you could help me further with my 77 electric wiring questions, pls take a look at my message under forum/R4 technical help and tips- pls send a photo of your fuse box open and if possible scanned copy of the 77-car manual(i've lost mine) especially the wiring description.

Any help would be higly appreciated

 

[angel]

BUT... I have a big problem: this connector on the left side is extremely hard to access and it's impossible to unscrew with all the spanners I have, is anybody here has an idea for me ??

This one always needs a lot of patience (and swearing...:-D). I use a short 10mm combination wrench. Alternatively try disconnecting the limiter valve inlet pipe (the one that comes from the master cylinder), this usually gives a little more space to use an ordinary brake pipe union wrench.

edit...just saw it's the copper pipe from the limiter valve. Be aware because more often than not, the union nut seizes on the pipe. To avoid twisting the pipe (and breaking it), undo the flexible hose from the other end, remove the metal clip and undo the flexible hose by turning it and holding the copper pipe/union nut still.

 

[Snoopy1974]

Hi,

Angel, I'm ashamed... I left the old brake hose at its place, I'll change it when the car will be completly restored and the body removed, I tried all the possible ways to disconnect it, I sacrificied an old 12 sides 10mm spanner to make a brake pipe spanner (mine was 6 sides and not easy to use...), but even with this new tool it was impossible !...

orsome here is the picture of the fuse box opened:

And the wiring which is connected from the coil to the ignition distributor (sorry the picture is blurred)

I have no scanner so i't very difficult to give you what you need, but I do have this book:

If you give me your adress and what you need exactly, and... if you can read french langage I will be happy to help you sending to you photocopies.

Actually there are 4, or 3,5 cars in my garage: my Seven replica, the châssis of my grey GTL, the body on its right side, and finally my little 77. I'm going to prepare it for the french MOT, I hope it will be quiclky done...

 

[orsome]

Hi,


the picture of the fuse box opened:
** a question-in the middle i noticed one fuse pointing head out of fusebox-is that just to place a spare fuse or what?
**connections/cable end colours seem to macth wit mine-OK


..what you need exactly, and... if you can read french langage I will be happy to help you sending to you photocopies.
**'I'll come back this issue, first of all electric wiring scheme's would be nice
**french language is not a problem, my adult daughter has been studying it


Many Thanks!

ps snoopy, to deligth you up i'll enclose here my/our "black helper" in garage