[missa91] My 309GR 1.3 '86

[missa91]

I wanted to share some photos of some work i have done in the past on my dear 309. So i decided to start with this.

I had my speedo cable break, and it messed up my speedo in the instrument panel, so i got another one.

I found exactly the same type as was the stock one and fitted it with a new cable. because i couldn't find a original part i had a guy make me one. The cable was badly made and the speedo went once again.

I searched for like two months before i found the right cable and then got another instrument panel from a vital. The guy gave it to me for free and said the car it was from was crashed and the speedo didn't work. but i knew i could fix it, or at least try.

So i did my best and now everything works great. Here are some pictures of the dismantling.

[missa91]

So, because the gas prices keep rising and rising, the first chance I got to scrap together some money, I bought LPG equipment and installed it at a friends garage. It was a whole afternoon of work, but we got it right. After that you have to go to an technical inspection here in Serbia, which the whole operation passed.

I wanted to post a few pics of the whole work done...







Why the front right panel was removed?! Because I had a little incident with it, so we grabbed the opportunity to fix it. But all we did on that occasion was to righten the sheet. And I am ashamed to admit, but I still haven't painted it.

[missa91]

As of June 2010 I have a problem with the rear suspension. There is a loud noise coming from the rear right wheel. At first I thought it was the shock absorber, then I thought it was the exhaust, so at last I went to check out my suspension at a workshop and they diagnosed it as a failure of the rear silent blocks.



So, I decided to change both of these myself, and because I was doing that I thought i would by new shocks at the same time. I ordered the parts by catalog numbers. And, work started. I don't have a garage, but it was nice outside and I decided to do it in front of my house.







Once under the car I saw how bad the damage is to the body by corrosion caused by water getting into the boot.







But, after removing the shock absorbers I was in for a nasty surprise. And you can clearly see which if you compare the shocks on the car and the ones i pulled out of the box. Stupid, I never opened the box before I started because I trust the parts shop, they never gave me the wrong parts before.



I was unable to finish my work, but I later replaced the shocks and got the right ones. But, as I was under the car I saw that the actual problem was not the rear silent block, but the front one which is mounted on the torsion bar itself. At this time I can't seem to be able to get a replacement and I consulted a few mechanics, who told me that replacing that small part of rubber would be a entire day's work.

[amilo123]

First of all, a very nice 309, well maintained!

I had the same problem with the speedometer on my 1986 309GT. I disassembled the instrument panel like in your pictures and I managed to fix it. But when I took it out of the car I noticed that the plug (a green plastic one) that goes from the speedometer cable to the instrument panel was broken, I thought it was no big deal. The cable itself can be pulled out from its housing with no problems...I think this is not ok no?

But I went on with the reassembly, only to find out the the speedometer is indeed working, but the needle is wobbling a lot, especially at low speeds.

My question is how did you attach the cable on the transmission side, in the engine. Is it difficult?

[missa91]

The cable shouldn't be taken out of the plastic housing! you can never fit it back as it was and that is prone to cause the needle wobbling. But the problem can be also on the transmission side. In my case it was fairly difficult to put the cable back, but i managed. you need to take your car out of gear and then hold the cable firmly onto the transmission. As you hold the cable you need to move your car forwards or backwards, it doesn't matter until the cable goes in completely, then you fit the security pin. You can also check that there might be a strain on the cable, because the grommet at the entry to the cabin might need to be moved to allow more cable to the speedo.

But I must add, the Simca 1.3 has a very different transmission side on the cable than any other engine. I could send you the Haynes manual if it helps.

[missa91]

Well you have your vaporizer, it requires coolant to run through it, You have the tank, I fitted mine in the boot and you have a copper pipe from the boot to the vaporizer running underneath the car. On my Simca I fitted a electronic vaporizer because my ignition is electrical. You have three valves. One is the main gas valve and one is the main LPG valve. There is a selector in the cabin and once you turn the key to the running position it opens the one that is selected, either LPG or gasoline. Then for the LPG there is a second valve on the vaporizer which opens with every impulse the ignition coil sends out.

From the vaporizer there is a hose running to the carburetor and all you do is put a hole in the carburetor body to allow for a little fitting to be inserted. The carburetor is only needed to regulate the fuel/air mixture, all other settings are done on the vaporizer itself.

The LPG filler cap on the rear bumper



The tank in the boot





The selector to select gasoline or LPG



The vaporizer itself, the left is the main valve for the LPG and the right one is to release gas to the carburetor at any ignition coil pulse




The hose that leads the vaporized gas from the vaporizer to the carburetor and the fitting you have to make a hole for




The hoses that are used to heat the vaporizer by means of the coolant and the main gasoline valve





And there she is, all her beauty



Please excuse all the dirt and dust, I had to move some construction material yesterday and it was really raining heavily.

[alargeau]

It's the first time I see an LPG conversion in a Simca engine! Did you fit it yourself?

[missa91]

yes it was fitted by me and fine tuned by my mechanic. Of course you have to pass inspection, which it did. And the tank and the vaporizer need to be TUV tested.

Any questions are welcome

[missa91]

Because my 309 didn't have electric windows and central locking, my friend and I decided to dedicate one day to such a cause. Here are some photos of the operation...


It took 19 hours to fit, exactly as it would be in the factory, thanks to the Haynes manual and wiring diagram. This was last summer... To day, I had no problems with the windows and locks, not even when it was -18c.

[thefunkyboy]

You have found the LPG system on a old car in a scrap?

[missa91]

No, it was new, I mean you can still buy the same in a store. The tank looks old, but its because I have transported a lot of things and the paint got scratched. After that there is the problem of water getting into the boot of the phase 1 models so it corroded a lot. And I don't have a under shield for the engine so the vaporizer got dirty.

The only maintenance required for LPG is to change the membranes on the vaporizer every 40k km and the LPG filter which is in the main gas valve. The two cost like 25eur all together, and you can do it yourself in like 30min.

[amilo123]

The cable shouldn't be taken out of the plastic housing! you can never fit it back as it was and that is prone to cause the needle wobbling. But the problem can be also on the transmission side. In my case it was fairly difficult to put the cable back, but i managed. you need to take your car out of gear and then hold the cable firmly onto the transmission. As you hold the cable you need to move your car forwards or backwards, it doesn't matter until the cable goes in completely, then you fit the security pin. You can also check that there might be a strain on the cable, because the grommet at the entry to the cabin might need to be moved to allow more cable to the speedo.

But I must add, the Simca 1.3 has a very different transmission side on the cable than any other engine. I could send you the Haynes manual if it helps.

So I should get a new cable?

[jojoe31]

can we install the LPG system ourselves in France or Europe ?????,

Hope that your engine will support it ..The lpg is very dry...it's highly recommended for engine with less then 100 000km or with a full new engine..

[alargeau]

I don't know if LPG is bad for the engine. It's part of the DOs and DONTs and the old government tricks... like here in France where the 95-E10 is said to function only with cars from 2000 whereas some countries use it since decades.
I don't either if you can install it yourself in France/Europe. I know in the UK they sell DIY kits so I guess you can do it there but I doubt you can do it in France.

[missa91]

You should ask at the DMV for instructions. In Serbia anyone can install the equipment but you have to have papers on testing done to the equipment which every company provides. But there is also the catch that a LPG tank has a 10 year life span. so every 10 years you need to replace it.

I ran more than 70000 km on LPG without any problems.
Yes, LPG is dry, but the usage scenario is that you start your car on gasoline and when it warms up you switch to LPG. But with carburetors it's a practice only done in winter when starting a car with choke and LPG is impossible.

So anyone with automatic choke, when its cold outside must start the car with gasoline. In this way, the engine and carburetor get preserved by being oiled from gasoline.