Is my wagon a wagon?

Discussion in 'General Station Wagon Discussions' started by Poison_Ivy, Sep 22, 2018.

?

Is this a wagon or just a long-roofed something else?

  1. Of course, it's

    5 vote(s)
    15.6%
  2. Definitely not

    7 vote(s)
    21.9%
  3. Not sure

    6 vote(s)
    18.8%
  4. It's a small- bus or van

    10 vote(s)
    31.3%
  5. Other vehicle type

    2 vote(s)
    6.3%
  6. I don't care. It's not mine anyway

    2 vote(s)
    6.3%
  1. Doghead

    Doghead Well-Known Member

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    The clown horn delivered with these cars gives me the impression that I’m not being taken seriously in traffic. Japanese horns are for polite societies. In this country, Gladiator horns are required. So I went out and harvested some horns. Most of the high-tone ones are good. The low-tone ones corrode easier, for some reason. As soon as I found one that still functions, I started gathering the necessary fusing, wiring and relays necessary for the conversion.
    The one in the bottom image marked H is the high-toned:
    Hupen.jpg Hupen_2 - Kopie.jpg

    I had to go through some trial and error, in order to get it right:

    Hupe_Verbess.jpg

    I ended up using the original Daihatsu leafspring package, for mounting the low-tone horn. This horn was mounted in place of the original. Later on, I ended up not using the original bracket. I explained why, further down in this posting:

    Hupe_Neu.jpg

    The original bracket, at right:

    Hupe_Neu_2.jpg

    The high-tone horn had to find its place on the toy bumper, somewhere. There wasn’t much choice. I didn’t want to mount it in front of the radiator where a collision could propell it into the radiator. I also didn’t want to mount it too close to the catylitic converter attached directly to the manifold, because of obvious reasons.
    It wasn’t easy to gather material together. I ended up cutting a piece from footrest-holding bracket of which used to be mounted onto my old junk Yamaha SR 500.
    The question mark points to a casting flaw of which one wouldn't expect from a Japanese casting. Oh, well:

    Hupe_Hoch_Entg_Fert.jpg
     
  2. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    No one can cast, machine or otherwise manufacture to 100% flawlessness. Having said that, it's possible the part was overstressed, and a casting weak spot was revealed.
     
  3. Doghead

    Doghead Well-Known Member

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    From here, it looks like bubbles in the casting. I've never seen something like this, in cast-iron. Maybe, that's the reason as to why older aluminum-blocked engines had cast-iron liners?
    Focussing on the mountings will get boring. Therefore, let's switch over to wiring them up, in the mean time.
    To keep the hot wire as short as possible, I connected it to the alternator.
    Several changes mounting these horns had to be undertaken, since I initially was unaware that the brackets holding these were the leaf springs necessary for oscillating the most decibels possible.
    The image at the very bottom shows the final mounting:

    Hupe_Hoch_Entg_Fert_4.jpg

    The Mitsubishi casing, formerly housing a relay, was used for housing the heavy-duty horn relay and a 15 ampere fuse for each horn. The main fuse connected in-line within the hot wire is rated at 20 amperes

    Hupen_3.jpg

    Hupen_Beide.jpg
     
  4. Doghead

    Doghead Well-Known Member

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    The space I had to work with and the uneveness of the toy bumper made adapting time-consuming. Here are the steps taken, to make it all happen. I'm getting this out of the way, so that I can go onto other matters.
    Looking closely at the bracket of which is fastened with an allen bolt and a wide-based nut, it's a three leaf spring. Without this, the horn would lose plenty of decibels :

    Hupe_Hoch_Angebr_Stoßf_2.jpg Hupe_Hoch_Angebr_Stoßf_4.jpg

    In the mean time, I covered an unnecessary grill opening of which was robbing air flow to the radiator.
    I needed to get as many anchoring points as possible, given that the toy bumper wasn't intended for such updates.
    I added bug- and pebble screens, just like I did on my previous red one:

    Hupe_Hoch_Angebr_Stoßf.jpg Hupe_Hoch_Angebr_Stoßf_3.jpg Hupe_Hoch_Angebr_Stoßf_5.jpg Hupe_Hoch_Angebr_Stoßf_6.jpg
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2022
  5. Doghead

    Doghead Well-Known Member

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    I’ve read in a German forum that when brakes get bled, it’s advisable to place an object between the brake pedal and the floorboard. Otherwise, the inner workings of the master cylinder could get damaged, if the pedal hits the floor. It might just be Humbug, though. Before I found this out, I bled the master cylinder as I have every other previous to this one. After a while, it did start leaking. Since the repair kit is no longer available, I found an entire Nissin master cylinder marketed as a “TRW” for 166.06 Euros (€). I was lucky to be able to get even that.
    Because of tightened restrictions on junkyards, I wasn’t able to visit one, with the intention of matching up a European or other Japanese cylinder of which I could make fit into mine. I’ve measured this cylinder in millimeters, before going ahead mounting it. I might never need a new one, if I renew the fluid according to the manufacturer's timetable. But just in case, I'll try getting something close enough for setting aside, perferably in rebuildable cast-iron.
    They punched a pattern onto the housing, so that I can't gyp them on returning a cuckoo's egg:

    TRW_H.Z..jpg TRW_H.Z._Hint.jpg TRW_H.Z._oben.jpg TRW_H.Z._Nissin.jpg
     
  6. Doghead

    Doghead Well-Known Member

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    Now I know what you meant. I've never seen any of these or even have heard of them, around here. I like them, though. I wouldn't mind having one, if they weren't so thirsty

    https://www.autoevolution.com/cars/honda-element-2003.html#agal_75



    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
  7. Doghead

    Doghead Well-Known Member

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    I must have skipped over trying to get the old master cylinder re-sleeved. I couldn't connect with anyone here in Garmany who does this. So, I got in contact with a shop of whom bores out the original master and then drives-in a stailess steel cylinder.
    I then contacted this company, asking them if they would sleeve mine, being that they were certainly unfamiliar with doing some little-known left-hand drive vehicle. They wrote back telling me that because the barrel is of a common size measured in inches, this would pose no problem:


    Bremskraftverstärker_Nigel.jpg

    Not being sure as to if he could locate seals, I then offered to send a set, before shipping the master over there possibly in vain, paying for two-way freight without having anything done on it. I also asked if there was the option of just inserting the sleeve only. I can then do rest of the assembly myself. Since then, I haven’t received any response whatsoever. I suppose, they can afford being impolite to potential customers, through not answering e-mail correspondence. They do masters for expensive sportscars. So, who cares about ordinary clients.
    Here's a video of theirs:

     
  8. Doghead

    Doghead Well-Known Member

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    Here's what's got to get out of the way, in order to get to the thermostat. I'm going to bolt on the housing without a gasket, in order to flush the system out with rain water, as soon as the temperature gets back above the freezing point. Ti run the engine, I'm going to have to button everything up, except for the air cleaner, before starting over again when I install the thermostat and then fill the system back up:

    Thermostat.jpg

    While I'm in there, I'll take the opportunity to replace the master cylinder. That would be the first time I've ever had one leaking, after flushing it out with new fluid. The mud that was in there was probably what sealed it, just before:

    Thermostat_2.jpg
     
  9. markfnc

    markfnc Well-Known Member

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    What is a wagon?
    I'd consider the Taurus wagon a wagon.
    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
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  10. markfnc

    markfnc Well-Known Member

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    But then it gets confusing.
    Freestyle/Taurus X?? yes or no?
    [​IMG]
     
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  11. markfnc

    markfnc Well-Known Member

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    Ford Flex??
    [​IMG]
     
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  12. markfnc

    markfnc Well-Known Member

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    Dodge magnum??
    [​IMG]
     
  13. KevinVarnes

    KevinVarnes Well-Known Member

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    I think the Freestyle and Taurus X are greatly underrated and their CVT is partly responsible for that, but whenever I'm working on one and driving it, it just doesn't feel like a wagon. Feels more like an SUV or CUV or whatever to me.
     
  14. KevinVarnes

    KevinVarnes Well-Known Member

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    Flex to me is same as Freestyle. We have one for a company car here and it doesn't feel like a wagon to me. Magnum I would say yes.
     
  15. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    Funnily enough, Chrysler, Ford and GM all classed their ultra-short utility trucks with a second row of seats "wagons," and Ford's deluxe van was called a Club Wagon. So, as long as it can carry four or more, as well as bulky cargo, I'd say it's wagon enough.
     
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