MGB GT fettling

Talk about your cars etc here. Keep it sort of sensible and on topic please.
SiC
It's S small i C
Posts: 9246
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2019 8:59 am
Has thanked: 1805 times
Been thanked: 5251 times

Re: 405 Quasar Estate

Post by SiC »

I would be surprised if its the LED thats worn out. They get driven hard to give them the range, but they are hardly on for long as they're flashing away anyway.

I'd check the battery and its contacts.
User avatar
Eddie Honda
Rainman The Google Fu Master
Posts: 21168
Joined: Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:45 pm
Location: 寄居町
Has thanked: 13144 times
Been thanked: 12816 times

Re: 405 Quasar Estate

Post by Eddie Honda »

I wouldn't be surprised if it was dead. I ended up borrowing the LED from a remote control I was binning.
User avatar
Scruffy Bodger
TeeShirtFun
Posts: 5292
Joined: Mon May 27, 2019 9:18 pm
Has thanked: 7951 times
Been thanked: 2392 times

Re: 405 Quasar Estate

Post by Scruffy Bodger »

SiC wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 7:07 pm I would be surprised if its the LED thats worn out. They get driven hard to give them the range, but they are hardly on for long as they're flashing away anyway.

I'd check the battery and its contacts.
Very true but I'm not sure if that was the one with the button stuck in or not? I've just put 2 brand new Panasonic batteries in and cleaned the contacts with the wonder juice Shefag and Eddie recommended. The red led indicator on the side of the key shines brightly too.
User avatar
Scruffy Bodger
TeeShirtFun
Posts: 5292
Joined: Mon May 27, 2019 9:18 pm
Has thanked: 7951 times
Been thanked: 2392 times

Re: 405 Quasar Estate

Post by Scruffy Bodger »

20220105_192533.jpg
20220105_192533.jpg (282.82 KiB) Viewed 1113 times
20220105_192703.jpg
20220105_192703.jpg (257.5 KiB) Viewed 1113 times
OK. Managed to find the keyfob from a car I scrapped over 10 years ago. New batteries in and it shines really bright on the camera so worth a try at some point I reckon.
SiC
It's S small i C
Posts: 9246
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2019 8:59 am
Has thanked: 1805 times
Been thanked: 5251 times

Re: 405 Quasar Estate

Post by SiC »

Scruffy Bodger wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 7:19 pm The red led indicator on the side of the key shines brightly too.
Could well be the IR LED then.
User avatar
Scruffy Bodger
TeeShirtFun
Posts: 5292
Joined: Mon May 27, 2019 9:18 pm
Has thanked: 7951 times
Been thanked: 2392 times

Re: 405 Quasar Estate

Post by Scruffy Bodger »

20220108_150723.jpg
20220108_150723.jpg (221.94 KiB) Viewed 1076 times
20220108_152121.jpg
20220108_152121.jpg (276.33 KiB) Viewed 1076 times
Well, that was fiddly but I managed it and it was a fried LED :mrgreen: Failing eyesight and the shakes not helping.

Just need to fix the central locking now...
User avatar
Scruffy Bodger
TeeShirtFun
Posts: 5292
Joined: Mon May 27, 2019 9:18 pm
Has thanked: 7951 times
Been thanked: 2392 times

Re: 405 Quasar Estate

Post by Scruffy Bodger »

A while back a reporter piped up on the FB owners page asking for a more run of the mill back in the day daily for a write up and it's now been released
safe_image.php.jpg
safe_image.php.jpg (28.58 KiB) Viewed 999 times
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/classi ... s/#comment

UK’s rarest cars: 1992 Peugeot 405 GTX, one of only 41 left on British roads

This topseller competed with the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall Cavalier in the fleet market thanks to its svelte looks, comfort and taut handling.

'It is almost impossible to believe the 405 is now 34 years old. While some of its rivals now appear as dated as a Duran Duran CD, the Peugeot’s looks seem almost timeless. Even more remarkably, it remains in production.
The successor to the well respected 305 made its bow in July 1987. The new 405 shared a floorpan with the Citroën BX, while a significant attraction was the beautifully proportioned Pininfarina-designed bodywork. Within a few months of launch, the factory at Sochaux near the Swiss border could not meet customer demand. The 405 was also declared Car of the Year 1988, gaining the most votes in the award’s history.
Peugeot made the UK-market versions in the former Rootes Group factory in Ryton, to the south-east of Coventry, with sales commencing on 21 January 1988. The brochure made unsubtle references to “a new generation of professional motorists”, and a remarkably naff but renowned TV advertisement promised the 405 would take your breath away.
Marketing hyperbole aside, by early 1988 the Ryton plant was working two shifts for the first time in 10 years. PSA Peugeot-Citroen’s previous British medium-sized saloon was the 1980 to 1986 Talbot Solara, a car that seemed to enjoy being as uninspired as an edition of The Young Doctors. By contrast, the 405 looked downright elegant from the entry-level 1.6-litre GE or the flagship, fuel-injected 1.9-litre GTX. The latter cost £11,845 and boasted electric windows and sunroof, plus remote control central locking.
Performance Car stated: “Peugeot appear justified in having high hopes for the new 405 saloon” and Car raved about the ride, handling, seating and the “entertaining, almost silken character”. Meanwhile, Autocar thought it possessed “‘all the hallmarks of thorough development, the 405 shines in so many areas that it poses a serious threat to the established set”.
In other words, for the first time in many years, PSA had a viable rival to the Ford Sierra, Vauxhall Cavalier and Austin Montego as a company car. No European manufacturer had previously made significant inroads into the UK’s buoyant fleet market sector, but Peugeot dealers could highlight the 405’s 65 per cent British content, an important consideration at that time. Furthermore, its appearance could only enhance a business’s image, and by 1992 the Peugeot was the UK’s eighth bestselling car.
An estate and Turbo Diesel versions joined the line-up in 1988, as did the rapid Mi16 with its aluminium DOHC 16-valve engine. In the following year, Peugeot introduced the exceedingly desirable AWD Mi16x4; the production run amounted to only 1,046 units. By 1991 the 405 was facelifted as the Phase II. The 406 replaced the saloon in 1996 although the estate version of the 405 continued until 1997.
Paul Gritton came by his 1992 example seven years ago. It is believed to be one of only 41 surviving GTX models and one of only five with automatic transmission. He says: “I always wanted an automatic one when I was younger, but I had a Turbo Diesel because I could not afford the fuel at the time. When I saw this example for sale on eBay, I instantly fell in love with her and had to have it. She even had air-conditioning, which is a rarity on a Phase I model.”
And while French production ceased 24 years ago, and the Ryton works closed in 2006, the 405 lives on as the Khazar 406. The story commenced in 1990 when Iran Khodro began making the Peugeot, supplanting their venerable Paykan (aka a locally built Hillman Hunter). Last year production transferred to Azerbaijan and, despite the new name, that Pininfarina bodystyle is unmistakable.
Today, Gritton finds his Peugeot belies its 29 years, observing: “It has only done 45,000 miles from new, the automatic ’box is silky smooth, and it’s like sitting on a sofa when you get in.”
As for its looks, back in 1988, motoring writer Gordon Cruickshank believed the 405 proved “there is no reason why an everyday saloon should not be beautiful”. He was right.'

I did post a photo of mine up because there's only half of the GTX numbers left but I didn't even get a response :lol:
User avatar
paulplom
The Geordie Lord, Mario!
Posts: 25913
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2019 7:01 am
Has thanked: 10190 times
Been thanked: 5434 times

Re: 405 Quasar Estate

Post by paulplom »

They are a good motor like. A mate had one up here in the North East for years. A red J reg1.9d saloon. He did 120k in it before selling it to a bloke that would drive it to Belgium for the cigarette and booze run twice a week. He bumped into him a couple of years later and it had over 300k on it. Still hadn't been any bother. I drove it a few times. It was slow as fuck iirc but felt like it would run forever.
User avatar
Scruffy Bodger
TeeShirtFun
Posts: 5292
Joined: Mon May 27, 2019 9:18 pm
Has thanked: 7951 times
Been thanked: 2392 times

Re: 405 Quasar Estate

Post by Scruffy Bodger »

405 dervs can shift alright but you have to thrash them and do your best to maintain momentum, not too hard to achieve as they handle pretty well. I had a red J reg too years ago, rough as fuck tho as my mate had put it thru a hedge, hence the 30 quid paid for it.

300K's a fair mileage but I bet Warren knew of a few that might have done a bit more than that?

I snuck out for 5 minutes to check the antifreeze on my new* one yesterday, my finger wasn't long enough to taste test it when I bought it but it's parked by a bush so I dipped it with a stick. Thankfully it's really bitter so will withstand the cold snap we've had the last few days and nights until the belt gets done. Apart from the scratches on the passenger side and a bit of a ding I knew about it'll polish up OKish I think? It's the first time I've got to see it with dry bodywork and it's remarkably lacquer peel free which is rare for one of these.
User avatar
Scruffy Bodger
TeeShirtFun
Posts: 5292
Joined: Mon May 27, 2019 9:18 pm
Has thanked: 7951 times
Been thanked: 2392 times

Re: 405 Quasar Estate

Post by Scruffy Bodger »

After testing positive with the lurgy I missed my slot with the mechanic and he couldn't do it before the 02nd of Feb. I've had to move it on a bit and have managed to get it booked in somewhere else on Wednesday morning. As it turns out the bloke doing it is someone I haven't seen for 30 years and as such knows his way round cars that are less than brand new. I did apologise for being fussy but did stress to him that it needs bleeding properly as theirs no expansion tank as such, hopefully he took it the right way? It was a known problem on 405's and theirs actually a special* tool that was used to raise the fill level. I've fallen foul of this in the distant past and can do without sourcing another engine.

I'm also toying with the idea of making it look a bit less like just another shitty old car for when it's parked on the High Street outside mine to try and minimise damage to it as well as fitting a tow bar. I'm thinking maybe a set of banded steels for starters?
Post Reply