Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

i have decided i love my cheap 1.9 td 406 after an adventure in europe. there are some issues though.
we got a engine warning light 1700km from home, decided the fuel filter housing was leaking having wrestled with this before, by passed whole filter unit and installed cheap inline filter, and had no problems since but now need to decide what to do. i do want to get rid of the peugeot piece of crap, i would like to get away with see-through plastic or glass inline filters but i would like to know which ones are better than others and how ideally they should sit in-line and in relation to the pump. i also need to know how to deal with the wires (sensors?) and the heating/coolant circuit that goes through the bottom of the filter unit i plan to rip out. lastly, i’d like some sort of heat exchange or electrical thermostat unit but am not sure what solution would be most elegant and cheap.
there are also some other issues: i need to do something about the sunroof that ideally doesn’t rely on electrics or existing waterproofing as both are shite.
I want new non-electric front seats but am unsure what is good and what will fit.
I need to do something about waterproofing and soundproofing elsewhere in the car.
i want to fit the led fog lights i got on ebay but am not confident these will be plug and play.
currently my best hope(s) is to do some of this myself, meet an aspiring mechanic who will want to work on these things with me to get experience, make a new friend, or work out which bits really require a garage and which bits don’t.
When people say they ‘went to the local scrap yard and picked up…’ what actually does this involve doing and is it possible in the middle of london?

I can’t answer the majority of your questions but the scrap yard seems now done on line unless you actually have one nearby. Google ‘breakers yards’ and you should find one. There are sites where you tell them what you need and companies will email, phone or text you offering you the part you need. Ideally you should have the part number handy. It actually works too.

Thanks TGR, the forums pertaining to these old cars are full of people who do seem to live in/near scrap yards!

It is not Pug, it is the same make as the pump injectors. Unless it is a proper diesel filter beware that part of the filter position and job is to remove the water that the fuel has collected. If the car starts first thing after been sittine for a while the filter is not letting in air so don't worry.

PM me as I have poked different versions of the XUD engine and it is a trusty lump. Depending on the pump it car run SVO ;)

Oddly, there are a couple local to me but I was advised my a mechanic to use the internet to source parts. You can get a warranty on some bits too.

Other option is to look on ebay for people breaking the model of your car.

Good to see this bit of love for the e46. Mine is now over 180k miles and is still just a joy to use.

Your tidy version makes me feel I should have taken bit better care. But that is just aesthetics. Car has been and continues to be awesome

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It’s not that tidy tbh. Bubbling arches, big scratch down one side that the previous owner tried and failed to touch up, and plenty more minor bits.
But having it on holiday, and the slight opportunity to drive it properly reminded me of how much I enjoy it. I’ll be sad when it goes, but I hope that won’t be for a good few years yet!

Much better when the engine was fitted to the rover ;)

I used to love roaming Devon scrapyards for spares- got some real bargains but this was pre-internet. Health and safety would have been appalled- so many opportunities for injury
https://youtu.be/Bos4_eu3GXk

late to this thread. Am in Heathfield, E Sussex. A few months ago I missed out on a '73 Pallas 2.3. Of course it would have been a money pit but I will have a DS at some point. Did you have work done in Sussex or elsewhere? thanks.

Hi there 👍🏼They are serious money pits . I got the recent big service done @ Citroen classics in Staines and was in Sussex to pick up a vintage Citroen poster.
How about bidding on this? Quite a striking colour, sort after year and not too far from you?
https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1969-citroen-ds21-pallas-g21zE8

@lynx you mean the xud was better in a rover? really?! Anyway, I am so gratfeul for you saying get in touch, I will, if that is OK, i need help! Start thinking of things I can do in return!

thanks johnnettles2 for the link. Prices are all over the place, and like all such things I suppose you have to buy the seller. The description seems genuine, perhaps I will see if I can go to see it. Have put it on watch. At roughly where the bid is now I expect it will owe the seller all of that. It is the same colour as the one I missed, although that had nice brown upholstery. Never thought I would say "nice brown".

I can't comment on the mechanical side of things, apart from saying the xud is known for being bullet proof.

Seats? Peugeot always made good seats, or used good supplied seats. Just find the manual versions of yours from a scrap yard. Although,if there's nothing wrong with yours, why change?

Water proofing? Check all door rubbers for tears. Often replacements are cheap. Also check all drainage is clear. Clean out the sunroof gutters, there's probably a drain hole going down the a-pillar that needs clearing.

Sound proofing? Hmm, hard work for little gain. You can use dynamat or equivalent for damping down resonant sound but it won't reduce road noise massively. You could try new, high quality tyres. And making sure everything is tight in the car. No loose door panels etc. To properly insulate the car you'd have to gut the interior and add about 50-80kg of sound proofing materials, including the roof lining.

Where was the one you missed advertised?

thanks TRA

it was not advertised, it was bought by a friend near Framfield, he collects so many things, cars, bikes, whatever. Good fun. He also had a really nice vintage Fiat 500, late 60s I think, dark blue, with a sunroof and new red vinyl interior. He is not a dealer - just a hobby for him.

No, the comment was that the BMW 4 cyclinder diesel was used in the Rover 75, minus the swirl flaps the BMW has. The swirl flaps can be an issue.

Rover used a version of the turbo charges XUD 1.7 turbo charged and 1.9 n/a engines without electronic controlled pumps so these are favoured by people transplanting the XUD engine in to other things.

Also XUD head design was done on the South coast..of England.

Where is the water leaking to, do you have a sunroof? Check blocked scutle panel drains.

Think that the old type of scrap yard you can wander round has gone. Even the breakers at 3 bridges doesn't allow people round post covid all the bits are off the shelf now.

As for return, some use for the shite that fills my brain from working on cx and bx and pug diesels.

Have anyone cleaned the stuff off their headlights with wet and dry? I tried 1200 grit the other day on a test patch and it’s just scratches. Did I do it wrong?

I used a kit from a local Auto Shop. Worked well. YouTube is probably your best bet. Ed China and his mate did it recently on a Merc and it worked. Don’t forget to seal the plastic when you are done!

I’m pretty sure this is what i used

https://youtu.be/3MpFWUFUVCI

I’ll look into that. I’ve got some 1200 grit and some washing up liquid to get me started but I think I need some 2000 grit too. I do have some cutting compound somewhere too.

That kit was cheap - £11 ish. Does what it says on the tin and all you need is a bit of time and patience.
I looked at YouTube and there seems to be loads of options - toothpaste to aluminium polish - maybe best to use something that you know works.

Need finer paper IMO 1200 is a good start 1500grit then 2000grit.

Mind you I do cheat and just use cutting compound as I have big tubs of faracle. Or use toothpaste ;)

All good advice. My headlights look terrible