1 – Drive the Car

First step was to get it registered so I can drive it.  I’ve now put about 100 miles on the Daimler.  It hadn’t been registered for around 20 years (although it was used on a trade plate for a few years after that) and It’s only done less than 6,000 miles since the year 2000.   A bit of use already has it driving better and better.

This is also helping me identify future improvements.  It runs well when warmed up, but not so well when cold.  The suspension work so far was the minimum required to get the car registered.  It will need some more to bring back the great ride these cars are known for.

2 – Clean and feed the leather

Preserving the special Vanden Plas interior is critical, and so one of my first steps was to clean and feed the leather.  The leather is not perfect but its really very good for its age.   I’ll want to do this a few more times.  I used the Auto-Glym leather conditioner.

3 – Clean the carpets

The carpets were pretty dirty.  I removed the ones I could easily and used my little carpet cleaner.   The ones in the car I did as I could.   It made a pretty big difference and the water out of the carpet cleaning machine was pretty dirty by the time I had finished.  I also noticed that the underlay material was missing on the passengers front, which led me to my next job.

4 – Replace the underlay on the passengers front

I had some carpet underlay on hand I bought for a previous project.  It was thinner than the material used on the rest of the car, but two sheets together was about the same thickness.  I used the front carpet as a template and cut two sheets to size and installed them.   These cars had pretty extensive sound deadening compared to a regular XJ.

5 – Installed a battery monitor and charge port

I use the BM2 Bluetooth Battery monitor in all my cars.  While the Daimler is fitted with a voltage gauge, I am not sure how accurate it is.  The bluetooth monitor allows me to quickly see the voltage of the battery even when the car is not running.  The gauge is particularly useful on the Mercedes and Citroens that don’t give you a voltage gauge, but I was able to verify that the alternator was working well, and the gauge in the car reads a little low.     In addition, I installed a port for my ctek bettery chargers so I don’t have to worry about alligator clips.

6 – Installed a second hand lower grille

The lower grille on my car was totally missing.  Its not immediately obvious on the series 1, but having a gaping hole under the front bumper is not ideal.   I was first given a grille which turned out to be for a series 3.  I then found one on uk ebay that was for a series 1 and fitted it.  A small improvement that makes quite a difference once fitted.

7 – Fixed rattling hubcap

On my first couple of drives, I noticed quite a rattle from the front drivers wheel.  At first I wasn’t sure what was causing.   I couldn’t see anything hitting the wheel when the car was jacked up.  I couldn’t see the trim ring touching anything either.   Turns out the Daimler badge on the hubcap was loose.  I’ve removed the hubcap and added some glue, and will refit and test.

8 – Owners manual and keyring

I purchased an owners manual and keyring.  I couldn’t find a Vanden Plas owners manual, but owners manuals for the regular Series 1 Double-Six are easy to find on uk Ebay.  At the all British day, I also purchased a Daimler keyring, which has sadly already broken.

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My original aim was to find a front carpet that would match the rest of the carpet in the car.    I tried a bunch of places in Australia and I wasn’t able to find one in any colour.   In the end I found a firm in the UK that was able to supply just a front carpet for me.      They were also good enough to send me a couple of colour samples to check how well it would look.

The available colour was a nice red, nicer than the purple that is in my car.   I wasn’t really in a position to buy a whole set, so I went with the new front carpet only.

I then purchased some underlay from Clark Rubber and glued it to the back of the carpet.    I’m pretty happy with the result.   It’s not a perfect match, but at least the Traction Avant front carpet is now in place and the car doesn’t look like a Jalopy without it.     It also has a heel pad so I will not wear through it when driving.

This car has come a long way since I purchased it a couple of years ago.   The valve adjustment has restored the low compression on one cylinder, and the front suspension rebuild has made it much nicer to drive.    The correct fuel pump has also removed the horrible buzzing from the electric one that was in the engine bay.

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The photo above illustrates the setup on the DS Comfort:   From the bottom, you have the stainless steel outer sill trim.   This is also present on a DS Pallas, not not ID variants (e.g. ID19, D Special, D Super etc).

then hidden by the doors, you have the silver fabric sill cover.   Above that there is a chrome strip that holds the inner part of the door seal, and then above that there is the Vinyl inner sill cover.  The Vinyl sill cover is the same as the ID model, and the DS Pallas has a chrome embellisher and carpet.

To remove, the stainless steel sill cover is just held on with a bunch of screws.   It is two pieces that are joined together, so you need to be careful to support both ends as you remove it.   As I understand it, the inner vinyl cover is glued to the sill, and fits into a slot on the chrome strip, so it can be peeled off.   The seats are only secured by four bolts, so it is easier to simply remove them.

This also gives you an opportunity to clean the sills before the new covers go on.   once the Vinyl inner cover is removed, then the screws that hold on the chrome strip are revealed.   These screws also hold on the inner door seal.   The outer trim that is hidden by the door is also glued on.  Mine had cracked and become very brittle, so it came off in a few pieces.

The previous owner had taken quite a bit of time to carefully cut the marine carpet to the shape of the sills.

Once all this trim is removed, the surfaces can be cleaned.   It is especially important to clean under where the stainless steel covers are, as my car that is rarely used in the rain still had mud hiding here, that would ultimately lead to rust.   Overall this job is not hard once you work out how to do it, and probably takes a couple of hours.   I was assisted by a friend from the CCCNSW which helped speed things up.

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I had ordered some new carpets and the correct foam for them from Citro Classique, and while I haven’t had a chance to fit the sill vinyl, the carpets are fairly easy to fit.   To do it properly there are little tabs to hold it down but I am not going to use those until after I have done the vinyl and the carpet sits in place quite happily.

The rear foam is a lovely thick piece with a cut out for the seat belts.   It is important to note that if your car leaks into the back seat the foam can stay wet and attract rust.    The foam however is great for sound deadening and provides a very comfortable ride especially in bare feet.

The carpet simply lays on top.  I went with a slightly darker shade than is standard so it does not show the dirt better.  I also think it goes better with my grey seats.   The front foam is in three pieces, with the centre piece much thinner than the outer pieces.   It also didn’t fit as snugly, perhaps RHD vs LHD?   The middle piece being thin does seem to be correct according to La Nuancier DS.

After that the carpet again slides in, with some fiddling to make sure it fits around the brake button and accelerator pedal.     These pictures also show the marine carpet on the sills which will be replaced soon.

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