Hoovered the head liner a bit:

Started shampooing:

Nearly done:

This hero:

I wonder if I should have kept all the run off and distilled it, lol.

Found the left rear light was full of water and this guy, sadly is GONE:

Of course I can't find a trace of that part anywhere so I think it's irreplaceable. I'm going to get some other kind of bulb holder and modify the bracket to take it.

All the other lights are working after I got this socket open and emptied about a whole can of electrical cleaner into it.

It was so 'electrical fire impending' in there that the side light was only getting 8V, it's a lot more like 'battery voltage now' heh.

It's pretty exciting to be working on the back end of the truck now, the interior is mostly ready to reinstall now, but it has to stay out till the scuttle is welded, with any luck I'm picking up the metal and windscreen on Wednesday so in the next couple of weeks we might be able to start reassembly of this 'heap'.

Any idea where I could pinch a switched live from behind the dash before it gets installed and i can't get at the loom so easy?

It's new stereo day and I'd like it to go to sleep on the key...

The cigarette lighter socket power is switched.

What a great project, I had a diesel one that my Dad had originally bought but the bodywork was far worse than yours and I couldn't get it in anywhere to do the work on. I ended up scrapping it unfortunately along with my first car, also a Felicia.

Needless to say, I have a few spares still lying around in the garage including a service kit (with oil) that you can get if you're interested. There's a few exterior trim bits too so let me know.

And keep up the great work!

Any bits and bobs would be appreciated but I think you’re closer to Norway than to the central belt! I’ll have to work out a wee scenic holiday to come get stuff ;p

Thanks for the positivity, this is the first car restoration I’ve attempted and it’s been great and horrible so far and bloody expensive :/

4 minutes ago, skoda_cat said:

I think you’re closer to Norway than to the central belt!

Actually true; if it were still running, @HeavyMetalRich best solution for getting stuff to Norway would be to put it on the Shetland Bus

15 hours ago, Paws4Thot said:

Actually true; if it were still running, @HeavyMetalRich best solution for getting stuff to Norway would be to put it on the Shetland Bus

Excellent historical punage there @Paws4Thot! Seriously though, Royal Mail works just the same here as it does on the mainland contrary to popular belief.😁

I’m knackered, I find renting vehicles way more stressful than I should.

I have a windscreen!!!

Does this look remotely legit: https://www.icor.uk/product-page/skoda-favorit-felicia-windscreen-rubber

I fancy a nice fresh flexible seal to give me the best chances of getting it installed without fracture and of actually keeping the wet out.

Ah, sadly the cigar lighter is actually a permanent live, the 'switched' but is on the lighting circuit. I want a switched on the key. I shall have to go spelunking.
I kind of plan to do away with the sidelight switch and make THEM come on with the key, so I don't need the buzzer nag and whatnot. so in that case i could use the lighting feed from the cigar lighter wiring.

I'll have a think.

so looking sternly at the haynes book of lies (I'd post pictures but I don't know if it's allowable to post wiring pages from manuals on here) and it looks like everything goes through the X relay in the fuse board. When the key goes to the accessory position it powers up a feed through that relay.

As we're a truck that would send power to the heater rear window switch, which I do have present, but i don't know why because i'm SURE that's not a heated rear screen. I think it must have come in from one of the donor vehicles.

Anyway I think that's where I'm going to look for an ignition switched live next.

Of course the iso connector is wired backwards so switched live is jumpered across to main live rather than the other way round so I still need to repin SOMETHING. sob.

Oh yay, the wiring on the headunit is clever so I can plug red into yellow and and get the real red signal on it's own direct feed. baller.

I wish it wasn't so COLD. Sunday might be tolerable to work outside. heh.

I pressed a pin out of the broken version of my side light switch, cleaned it up with a brass wire wheel and soldered a wire onto it.

Lots of heat shrink after clipping off that sharp bit

Stuck it back into the correct socket hole to match up with the white wire on the heated window feed (the truck does NOT have a heated rear screen so this is cool)

Works great, powers up and goes to sleep on the key, third position not second, but it looks like NOTHING on this car is connected to second position.

That's a relief, I'll be able to use apple maps so I won't get lost all the time. Heh.

It's too cold for doing metalwork, but I'm thinking about what and where I'm going to cut the original car and my repair panel to blend them together. I'm planning to use factory holes in each panel to align the panels so i can cut through both at the same time and get a good fit-up with just the blade kerf to fill with weld.

I think the rusty hole is where an original drain hole is situated, I'm going to tig weld a bit of plate in there before doing anything else.

Finally, proof of windscreen, filthy but all tucked up in its duvet:

The holes are indeed drain holes, you'll need them. Due to the windscreen being a gasket type, water does get behind it and will come into the cab if it doesn't have anywhere to drain.

It's a common Felicia problem, originally the holes were quite small, I had the ones on my car enlarged a bit last time I had the seal replaced and it seemed to help.

So if you do weld a plate over them, I recommend that you re-drill a hole in the plate. I think mine were increased to 8mm from 5 or 6 originally.

Yeh I was going to redrill, but that's a great tip on making them bigger, thanks!

I’m a wee bit confused, are the drains at the lowest points because the windscreen arches up a bit at the centre lines of the car?

Couldn’t work out why there’s not a central drain and this is the best I can come up with.

Do they rust out because meh or because they get blocked?

Used to have to rod the drains on mx5s like..

IS this the underlay that goes under the carpets in this truck, or what? And if it IS, then which way round do they even go?

I love how much this car is a complete puzzle to me :P

22 hours ago, skoda_cat said:

I’m a wee bit confused, are the drains at the lowest points because the windscreen arches up a bit at the centre lines of the car?

Couldn’t work out why there’s not a central drain and this is the best I can come up with.

Do they rust out because meh or because they get blocked?

Used to have to rod the drains on mx5s like..

I think they are situated there to catch water coming down the A pillars but couldn't say for definite.

And they rust because of both reasons yeah. They would get blocked and water would lie where they are and spill over into the cab and then they would rot out.

Those bits certainly look like the they go under the carpet. It should match up to the carpet at more than a couple of points. I would think the holes go into the foot well for the steering column and/or brake and clutch mechanisms.

hmm, I have three identical ones, you'd think the passenger side would be different.

If it comes to it I can get some underlay and cut it to SOME shape that fits more or less.

This stuff is the last soft fabric that still has smoke in it, so tracing it onto new underlay is probably the best idea.

On 16/04/2025 at 17:57, skoda_cat said:

Does this look remotely legit: https://www.icor.uk/product-page/skoda-favorit-felicia-windscreen-rubber

ICOR LIMITED

Company number 05278455

They have been around since 2004, 21 years so yes I would say so.

13 hours ago, skoda_cat said:

hmm, I have three identical ones, you'd think the passenger side would be different.

If it comes to it I can get some underlay and cut it to SOME shape that fits more or less.

This stuff is the last soft fabric that still has smoke in it, so tracing it onto new underlay is probably the best idea.

Not necessarily, the passenger side would be the same but a mirror image, so just turn one the other way up.

But yeah if they're still stinking, new ones would be good. I would be getting myself some stuff that would cut down on the noise a bit more.

On a side note, I forgot that I also have a couple of wheels off a Pickup with pretty much new winter tyres on in the garage.

I want to pop the rocker cover off for a bit of a look and to check the lash and whatnot. I've got a new gasket for the bottom edge but I don't know what search term to use for the two seals for the bolts. Are they anything special, or just a rubber washer? I've not lifted the cover yet because it doesn't currently leak so why rock THAT boat before I have new seals in hand...

I've tried searching this forum and have come up short. Any tips?

Those things that look like washers are actually more like rubber bushes. If they're not disintegrating, they should be alright to reuse until you can find new ones. Same goes for the gasket actually. The nuts shouldn't be very tight to hold the rocker cover on.

They look very squished and cracked. The HBoL says 3 Nm for the bolts so yeh, barely snugged!

Could I just make some out of rubber?

I have no clue what shape or profile they expect to be :/

Dunno where I’d be with out all the help in this thread. Thanks.

You probably could make ones, but again that might just be the top. Take one off and have a look at the shape. I'm willing to bet that the bit underneath that sits in the casting of the cover will be absolutely fine and then you'll be able to see what shape you might need.

Weather's not been very kind, so I turned myself to the interior problem.

I found the original case that the stereo cage goes in and copied it into freecad, made it a bit taller so hopefully the double din cage i have on order will fit snug.

I very much like how the original design just has two screws on the bottom so despite the radio cage and stereo lock in you can steal the whole lot just by undoing two screws under the dash. nice work Skoda.

I'm intending to put bolts down from inside so that even if you drop the nuts off the bottom you still can't get the bolts out without first removing the stereo.

I think this is good enough for a first experiment, but I suspect I'm going to want to bring the unit further forwards in the end.

The original cage is just shoved in there to show it's at least the right width :P

Obviously I have to cut the dash and get rid of the fag lighter and ash tray. I can put a 12V outlet in the glove box or something for anything that needs charged.

Obviously I have to cut the dash and get rid of the fag lighter and ash tray. I can put a 12V outlet in the glove box or something for anything that needs charged.

Another option, possibly for future consideration, would be to get yourself one of the centre consoles out of a car (you possibly already have one!) and cut a hole for the lighter socket in that and extend the wiring. Could look pretty neat.