Lancia Motor Club

……...but we have had such fun bowling around in our B12 this year, particularly when the family were here when we were 6 up with the children in the back singing and waving to locals that I couldn't resist this 1952 B21S. The B12 is such a capable car whether going up and down steep hills 6 up or on the autostrada at 120kph. Quite remarkable really for a 65 year old car and so quiet with the windows closed.

It needs a total restoration both bodily and mechanically so that will keep me quiet for a few months! The good news is that it is virtually 100% complete.
I have a spare rebuilt 2.5l B20 engine which will fit and I also have a rebuilt B12 transaxle and a set of S4 B20 front brakes so I may reassemble using those for a sort of 'Q car' even though everything is there to rebuild as standard.
More photos to follow when it arrives.
Chris 

Lovely project Chris

Great news, great project, great to see another Berlina being rescued!

P

Terrific Chris, a worthy cause, but did you actually say that?

Looks like a nice project!!😎👍

Should keep you busy!

More than a Q-car could even be your rat rod :)

Out of interest, with it being nearly 100pct complete, are there particular bits that are often missing and difficult to find or "just" having everything that belongs still happily rubbing along together?

Work is progressing on the body and also the mechanics of this car. I have assured Jacky that the car will be on the road next Spring so its important to keep some momentum.
Photos will follow but briefly the body seems to have little rust and nothing really structural (which is why I bought it apart from the fact that the car was pretty complete albeit disassembled).
The timetable is for the bodywork to be finished around the end of October/November and when it comes back to me, I hope it will be fully retrimmed although I am still having trouble getting a dark enough shade of 'nocciola' wool cloth to my taste.
The engine block has a lot of broken studs and so that is at a local machine shop to hopefully be collected in a couple of weeks. I have opted for deep helicoils where needed. The block itself is in pretty good condition corrosion wise. I will be fitting new pistons, liners, camshaft, main bearinga and big ends all from Cavalitto which I have.
So far the only work I have had a chance to do ( because of our grape harvest, an oil leak from the gearchange rod on our 1st series B20 and a cracked heater hose on the B12 right up on the bulkhead in the passenger compartment) is rebuild the water pump and distributor and generally sort the boxes of bits out..
The original heads were found to be too corroded by the previous owner when they had been finally removed from the block after a struggle and I will be fitting a pair of B12 heads. Slightly larger valves and so I think the original Solex 30 (with no accelerator pump) will be a little unsatisfactory. Ideally I would like to fit a Solex 40 PAAI ( as fitted to B12s) as I like them  but I don't have one so I will try a Weber 40DCL if a Solex doesn't turn up in the meantime.
The transaxle is also in pieces but everything is there so new bearings, oil seals, rebuilt pot joints are the order of the day and this is my next job now on the bench while I am waiting for the engine block.
Chris

Early Aurelia saloons (very few of which are now on the road) seem to have been frequently trimmed in 'nocciola' wool cloth which is quite a dark brown colour. I 'think' I am correct in saying that this colour was superseded on B20s by a dark beige colour which is not unattractive but it is significantly lighter and seems to be available from several sources today whereas no-one has any 'nocciola' shade material on the shelf.

This is a shame but the reality is that the car needs a total retrim and having received samples from various suppliers and Aurelia friends, I have failed to find a source of supply for this.
I am therefore getting close to ordering what I think is the next best thing, a darkish beige cloth from Elvezio. This is the colour Elvezio himself used to retrim his B21S https://elvezioblog.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/lancia-aurelia-b-21-del-1950/ 
but the dreaded digital photography comes up with some strange colours.

Anyway attached is a quick photo showing a piece of the original cloth from our car from behind the rear seat armrest top left together with various samples of available cloths (Elvezio EE 14001LB is centre right) and also a dated cotton tag 5th April 1952 from a seat which is a nice thing to have.

I think I will also get the leathercloth for the beading and kickplates from Elvezio when I order.
Chris

Useful research, who would have thought there could be so much variation in one "shade" of brown wool cloth!

Will dig out my headlining and take a few pics.

P

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAh_Zk-P4k&feature=youtu.be

Can't remember if this was linked 3/4 years ago but worth a watch again.

Just noted its already linked in the post above.

P

Just to clarify, my photo should be rotated clockwise by 90degress to make sense of the words.
What is currently bottom left ( and | said was top left in my post) is what I have in my car and what I want to find but I have had no success at the moment.
Chris

http://classicandeuropean.com/product/english-wool-union-headlining/

Headlining only.

P

Trincero used to sell the nocciolo and the light grey interior cloths. No more?

By the way, you aren't considering the brown Berlina pin-stripe cloth instead? :)

The hidden edge of headlining. Ageing nevertheless has taken its toll. The Elvezio B21, as in the link, surely is the correct shade?


P

Frank, According to the text, Elvezio's B21 is dark brown (marrone) which is not apparent from the photos. Therefore the beige wool he used for his retrim- their reference ee 14001LB - is quite possibly equivalent to that originally used.

My black B21S originally had the dark brown wool shown top left (this is unfaded from the rear seat armrest)  and whilst I am not obsessed with originality, I do like this colour. At a casual glance of photos of the interior of my car, it looks as if some parts of the trim can be saved but sadly this is not true so a colour change is possible.
I am persisting with looking for the correct dark brown colour wool fabric as the trimmer wont be starting for a few weeks so there is not too much pressure in the situation just yet.

I know it is good to stick with the original but I can't say I like the trim of Lancias of that period which seems too austere and gloomy for my taste. The cream plastic wheel and instrument rims are horrid too and don't match the super elegance of the car as a whole.

Mike

Forgive me but I think you need to imagine the early 50s, particularly in Italy. Plastics were in their infancy and wool cloth upholstery was the height of luxury only surpassed ( for some reason) by leather.
The colours of dark brown wool upholstery and cream plastic knobs, steering wheel and instrument rims were cutting edge for the time and well ahead designwise of competitors.
Chris

Capsico Chris . I recall an advert from the period showing a chap in a small car being overtaken by a huge American sedan, the small car driver saying words to the effect that he didn't envy the car but did covet the wool upholstery so you are right - I still don't have to like it though! :)

Similarly the early Aprilias have a tasteful dash with round dials, replaced on the Lusso version and the post war Aprilias with something in the style of a juke box. It is of its time.

Mike

Well Chris, what can I say but congratulations!!! I can see yet another beautiful car back on the road due to your dedication and expertise!! Wonderful!!

                                                  Andy

A brief update on progress (or not).
I still haven't found a source of supply for dark brown wool cloth for the headlining and seats in a colour I am happy with but the headlining has been removed by the trimmer to use as a pattern.
It is interesting to see the superstructure beneath the outer bodyskin as I have always wondered about the roof rack mounting studs which all Aurelia saloons seem to have. as you will see from the photos (to follow) there is a substantial superstructure there. .

I have rebuilt the transaxle but I still have to finish off the brakes. New bearings & oil seals  were needed everywhere although all the gears & synchros were in good condition.

The body is being slowly stripped of paint and no horrors have been discovered (yet). Corrosion is minimal apart from the outer skin of the rear valance in its centre under the bumper where it has been damaged but the vertical inner metal of this section under the car which often corrodes because it gets all the weather driving along seems fine.
The eagle eyed amongst you will have probably realised that the body is being worked on in Languedoc by 'Dog'.
In the decision making as to whether to buy the B21S, each of the  body shops who I use here and in the UK were insistent upon the body being totally stripped of everything incl suspension and then being either dipped, blasted or baked in an oven to remove everything from the surface of the metal...……..and this meant the cost of refurbishing and painting the body was at odds with what the maximum the car would be worth when finished, never mind the trimming and mechanical parts costs.
Why couldn't the body (which appeared to be very sound) be done in the 'old school' way by basically just removing the paint on the outer surfaces and repainting? Particularly as I am staying with black. The wings are coming off, the inside door surfaces are OK but the dash needs painting and the underneath of the car is remarkably original and good. The engine bay which is body colour so black is a bit of an unknown at the moment but once its properly cleaned I think it will be obvious how far to go. Photos to follow.

Regarding the engine, what I didn't say in my earlier post was that I had given the work to this local engine machineshop ( who were recommended by Giuliano, my friend in a local car workshop here who I sometimes get to check my work over to see if I have missed anything) without getting a price from them...….and as the days passed I began to worry about both the cost and also whether they would ruin the block in drilling out the very hard 32 head studs.
Well, last Friday I went to collect the block, heads and inlet manifolds and I was very pleasantly surprised. The owner of the business is a very pleasant matter of fact 45yr old woman who said they were themselves pleased with the way the job had turned out. Each one of the machinists there who had done different aspects of the work came and introduced themselves and described what they had done (still no idea of the bill!!) and I loosely fitted a set of head studs myself there to check that the heads went down smoothly....which they did. They had lightly skimmed the heads and block (without touching the engine number) and repaired the frost damaged inlet manifolds and fitted extra deep helicoils as requested. The bill was about 50% of what I actually expected and certainly considerably less than I paid a UK specialist a couple of years ago for similar work.
So now I can push on with assembling the engine when I have some spare time - I have already stripped and rebuilt the water pump and distributor. 

Great stuff, nice to hear of pleasant surprises plus finding/knowing of knowledgeable guys to do some of the work required.

Looking forward to some photos!

P

Here are a couple of photos after the headlining had been removed showing the inner bracing for the roof rack and also the rear blind pull.

Here are a few photos of the body during stripping. Its a lhd car which has spent its life in Italy so the sill and floor area of  rhs of the car will always be much worse than the lhs as its has run in the gutter with rain, stones etc. For a 67 year old car ( built in April 1952) its not bad at all.

Brings back memories, yes, not too bad looking at all, plus you're working on several fronts simultaneously, must get on with mine!

P

My experience with projects like this is that the momentum must continue. Not sure why the same photo of Dog appeared twice but here are a couple more.
Chris

Mostly good, sills need doing from the first photo ( no problem for Dog I suspect!) , can't quite remember the protrusion/bolt at base of A pillar/sill area?

P

Fascinating to see the inside of the roof - and courage rewarded with the engine specialist.

I had a good feeling about them David based upon their attitude when I first turned up.
Chris

No metalwork problems with the lhs underside and sill area of the car as I alluded to earlier and the perforation to the outer skin at the bottom of the rhs A post is localised so all good.
Here are a couple of photos of the stripped lhs front wing and also the repair to the aluminium  front bumper which was cracked.
I have everything here now including new pistons, liners, main bearings, big ends, camshaft, flywheel, head studs  etc to rebuild the engine  so I imagine I will make a start later this week once I have carefully extracted a broken brass water union low down on the front rhs of the block.
Chris

Chris, work done on the body looks good! Agree with you that the total stripping, dipping, etc. is not really required - however you have done quite a thorough dismantling!

Regarding the engine, out of interest, what are you going to do:

Oil filter: keep the early one, which does not have a filter cartridge, or modify to take the later one?
Big end: Will you keep the white metal or convert to shells?
Oil pump: will you keep as is, or upgrade to later one for bigger flow?
Conrods: It was written elsewhere that conrods on early engines, especially 2 l B20, are a bit weak: new more solid ones, or reuse the existing ones?

As you are going to upgrade the heads to B12, and are looking for some more power from your B21 engine, above modifications could make sense!

We all look forward to a lot of engine photos....

A very logical set of questions Sebastien.
At the moment ( and this may change) my aim is to get the car back on the road in as close as possible to original condition and specification and then modify as and when is necessary or required.
The car has come to me with a full set of new white metal bearings and big ends ( and  pistons, liners, camshaft, timing gears etc) which match the crankshaft. Whilst the original cylinder heads were ruined under the previous owner ( hence the B12 heads) the general condition of the body, interior, transaxle gears and engine components lead me to believe the car itself has not done a huge mileage and therefore I am happy to use the original conrods.
The only difference with the B12 cylinder heads ( which had never previously been skimmed) from B21  is slightly larger inlet valves and the amount of metal removed in the block and head skimming was minimal so the compression ratio increase will be slight.
I now have a Solex 35PAAI ( in rather poor condition but probably saveable) and the only other decision is whether to use the new camshaft which came with the car or one of 'my' slightly sportier cams.
Regarding the oil pump and oil filter, I have fitted 'spin-off' full flow modern conversions to all our Aurelias so I will do the same with this engine and I will be fitting a later oil pump in good condition.

I hope that by building the engine carefully, we end up with a capable car which is perfectly happy in modern traffic including autostradas but if that isn't the case I then have the option of fitting a 2.5l engine and a B12 transaxle (and probably 4th Srs B20 front brakes at the same time).
(Our 1st series B20 has its original standard engine rated at 70 bhp but with one of 'my' camshafts and that goes along very nicely in modern traffic so I hope the B21S engine rated originally at 75 bhp will be OK with my camshaft, a larger carb and better breathing).
Bear in mind the car is effectively undergoing almost a total rebuild there is a strong argument for keeping things as original as possible, certainly to begin with, as to go away from standard would inevitably lengthen the time scale and I really want the car on the road in 2020.

Chris

Those front wings look like new, great only localised issue at base of A pillar, things coming along nicely, as ever Chris sterling work.

P

Found a sample with code attached, I think it was from Elvizio some years ago, cross reference with a code you have?


P

I have a sample of that colour Frank but its beige and I am trying to get an equivalent darkish brown.
Thanks anyway.
Chris

Chris, this is dark brown... honest!!

P

I have a 35PAAI in pieces so may be able to help with bits if you need any to repair yours. e-mail on f.tierney@btinternet.com if you do as I only get a few minutes access to the forum at any time.

Sent you a pm Frank. Thanks for your offer of help.
Chris

You are correct Frank. Apologies. Each day I feel as if I am getting closer to getting the colour of wool cloth I want …….but by golly the Italian domestic Post service takes an age!
Chris

Well, I finally received another sample of wool and matching leathercloth today ( with a note from the potential supplier telling me it isnt correct for a B21S and enclosing beige samples which they say are the correct ones!).
My initial impression was that if the car was trimmed in 'my choice' samples it might seem a little too dark and sombre...…..and then I referred to samples taken from my car which had NOT been exposed to sunlight and they are even darker.
You can see this clearly in the attached photos - one in room lighting and one under an anglepoise - but we are very happy with the colours and think it will be very period and yet quite luxurious with the black paint of the car.
By the way Frank, the colour sample you posted is not currently available with no plans to re-manufacture.
Chris

Just a brief update on things mechanical.
The original oil pump shows no sign of wear so I will reuse that.
The car came with its original camshaft ( which shows no sign of wear) and also a brand new one from Cavalitto. On examination, whilst the lobes look very different on each cam, the 'lift' on each cam is the same @ just over 5mm and the valve timing looks the same on each camshaft. Cavalitto's cam has a more rounded lobe so the valves would open slightly earlier and for longer.
About 20 years ago I had 8 'fast road' camshafts made by what had been Holbay and these had higher lift @ 5.6mm and different valve timing. I have one left having used all the others successfully in other engines so I will use this for the B21 as ideally I want a little extra power - maybe around 7 or 8 bhp which will come from the B12 heads, the camshaft and a Solex PAAI carburettor.
I have rebuilt the B12 heads yesterday and today with new valves, springs and guides having dropped a clanger last week thinking that the valves guides I had on the shelf would fit.
B12 exhaust valve guides are unique!!! Cavalitto saved the day with an order at 7pm last Thursday which turned up yesterday morning.
One of the B12 inlet manifolds has needed external weld repairs to a frost crack so there is a little work needed on the welds to get the nuts and washers to seat. Neither inlet manifold has any corrosion I am pleased to say.
So when I next get time, I will be fitting new liners, pistons, big ends and main bearings ( all white metal)  and crank....but not for a couple of weeks or so.
Chris

Not much work done since my last post due to last  weekend in the UK with the grandchildren staying over. We returned late Monday evening and then on the Tuesday I drove 1,000km over to Languedoc to see the progress on the car. Its now looking as sad as a car during restoration can do with no wings, doors, bonnet , bootlid or interior...……..but the good news is that it is incredibly sound and straight.
As mentioned before there is a localised repair to the bottom of the outer skin of the rh A post and the outer skin beneath the rear bumper is corroded ( but not the vertical which this panel attaches to). To be added to the welding required is a little localised rust in the floor of the rh drivers footwell and a couple of small holes in the front lh floor.
I collected various mechanical and trim bits including dials, pedal box, lights  etc which had been removed from the car for me to refurbish here and then Simon and I drove straight back here for him to collect his Fulvia GT.
I also visited the trimmer in Narbonne on the way with Simon to discuss the complete interior and agreed that he would do this when the car is painted, hopefully to complete his 4 weeks work by early March

Those of you who have tackled full restorations will know that the whole process involves a series of  highs and lows - the highs are when something doesn't need replacing/sourcing because the original can be saved and the lows are basically the opposite.
Well the aluminium top radiator manifold seems to be fine and much to my surprise the lower half of this ( which is common to many Aurelia models) which holds the thermostat and which has always been aluminium as far as I am concerned (and therefore often impossible to unscrew ) is actually brass on my car! And the thermostat works.
Jacky is in the UK till tomorrow evening so I have broken my rule as a retiree of not playing with car bits over the weekend. I have stripped, cleaned, painted and rebuilt the brake fluid and front suspension reservoir which was completely seized. Again that was slightly different to any I have previously worked on although the innards are always the same.
Regarding the engine inlet manifolds I referred to earlier, the flange on the one with the welded repair is slightly thinner than the other so I will use 2 gaskets when fitting it to the head to bring the level up slightly for the bridging manifold.
Tomorrow I have a nasty little job to do on the block carefully extracting a sheared brass water fitting on the rhs but when this is done I think I can get on with fitting the liners, crank and new white metal bearings and then the pistons.
Photos to follow.
Chris

This brass union is a stupid idea into aluminium! I had to deal it in situ as it sheared when changing the flexi pipe on my B12. I took an age to cut out a section of the threaded remains with a mini hacksaw blade and collapse the rest. Dealing with it on an exposed block must be more pleasurable..... I had a bit of a problem sourcing the correct banjo union as these old brass banjos which I reused when re making the flexipipe are much fatter and doesn't leave much thread as a result. I did find one though in stainless but hopefully wont need to be undone  for another 50 years

Highs and lows.....so here is the broken brass fitting after removal from the block. In the end a very easy job but of course I did have good access.
as far as the body of the car is concerned the  localised repairs to the front rh floor and inner sill have been almost completed - the bodyshell was braced just in case anything moved.
And on my bench yesterday I rebuilt several windscreen wiper gearboxes with new gears - the original Mazak ones are not terribly long lasting. I have gearboxes with 3 different output shaft lengths and whilst I know the longest ones are for B20 I have no idea what the other 2 fit. Maybe an Aurelia variant or possibly Appia/Aprilia?
And finally yesterday I started looking more closely at the external lights off the B21S. One headlamp glass was cracked on purchase but the car came with a spare and I have several myself. The inner round 200mm headlamps are complete with one being useable after some work but the reflector of the other is a mess so I need to locate a spare, maybe from a 50's FIAT.
The front sidelights looked beyond saving but on closer inspection they look to be original with the body being cast polished aluminium, not chromed Mazak as I thought. So they have cleaned up really well and the white rubber inner gaskets are in OK condition so I will fit new plastic lenses which I have. The rear lights are non original having a separate orange indicator lens. This was a common conversion done at the end of the 50's in Italy and these Carello lights also have polished aluminium bodies which have cleaned up well as have the lenses. I will therefore re-fit them.
Chris

As I recall a few bolts/connections fractured or broke off during refurbishment of my engine too, good they are straightforward fixes for you.

Plus in any restoration it always looks worse before it looks better, but you're bowling along nicely.

P

A little more progress on the project here in Italy. I have ordered and paid for a complete set of materials for the internal trim including the rear carpets and this should be delivered to the trimmer ( via Simon - thank you again) in a couple of weeks so he can get on with various bits of work until he receives the painted car in January.
I seem to be unable to find new correct chrome slotted domed head self tappers these days ( I cant remember where I bought the ones I have in the 90's) but I have a small stock of these and I have plenty of stainless screws, some of which  have a good polished finish. There are no cross head self tappers anywhere on the B21S by the way - It looks to me as if the factory started using these during the time of B12 production in 1954 round the inside windscreen trim and the chrome door kick plates although the trim screws are all slot head as the B21S
The original countersunk washers ( numbers 1 & 2)  are smaller than any I can find available today but I have some of each of 3,4 ( which I am happy to use) and 5 ( which is just too large).
Chris

Just a short note on engine matters.
The crankshaft is in good condition with no scoring or appreciable wear so I am fitting new white metal big end bearings as the existing ones have started to lose their bearing surface. These new bearings come in undersize and so have to be bored to give the correct clearance to the crank journals and I will collect the conrods and crank Monday week from my local engine machine shop on our return from Sicily.
The existing main bearings are fine as is the crank and the clearance and end float is within Lancia data sheet guidelines so I am refitting these.
The new standard 72mm Cavalitto pistons look lovely and interestingly they have a Teflon coating and the small ends are all fine. My next job is to fit the new cylinders pots and I will set them standing 0.2mm proud of the block.
There seems to be some disagreement over this with some experts saying they should be flush and others that they should be > 0.2mm proud but that is what I have always done and I have never had a head gasket fail. Mind you I only ever use the old fashioned copper/asbestos/copper sandwich gasket soaked in water for 24 hours before fitting.
I mentioned camshafts a couple of posts ago - attached are a couple of photos of the new Cavalitto standard cam and also the one which has come out of the engine ( which is the more pointy one). My general impression of the car is that it hasn't done a huge mileage so this camshaft may well be the original?
Both cams have the same lift @ 5.0/5.1mm and the lobes on the used camshaft are consistent so there seems to be no appreciable wear on the used one. The valve timing on each cam looks visually to be virtually the same (apart from the profile - the new one is a more 'modern' profile I am told to reduce wear) so little to choose between them.
My sole remaining new Holbay 'fast road' cam has 5.5mm lift and different valve timing and the very effective race cam I used had 6.4mm lift with more extreme valve timing ( which needed v careful setting up with regards to clearances between valves and pistons, pushrod length and touching  valve gear).
I cant decide which cam to use just at the moment. 
Chris

By the way - spot the error!
I mounted the new big end bearings the wrong way round to take the photo - the slotted bearing shell should be in the other half and vice-versa.
Chris

I've a box full of B12 screws, washers, small nuts, bolts etc Chris if any would be of use?

P

Thanks Frank - but you will surely need them if they are good enough to be reused?
all I am really after is some good unused small countersunk washers like '1' or '2'.
Chris

These are a box of spares I'd gotten specifically and separately, I've have all my originals, nearly all re-usable from memory. Will check at weekend through them and put up a few pics.

P

Had a ferret, the only ones I have are like "B", 8mm diameter, 5mm across opening, 6 of, 3 need cleaned up.

P

Hi Chris,
For small domed screws, countersunk washers etc, I use www.spaldingfasteners.co.uk    They will sell you small quantities of all those type of fastenings.
John

Chris, I have a spreadsheet with B10 fasteners and suppliers listed. Some might be out of date but I'll PM it to you in case.
The people I used for these washers (various) was Bresco:
https://www.bresco.com/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?page=search&SS=No4+cup+washer&PR=-1&TB=O&ACTION=Go%21 (https://www.bresco.com/cgi-bin/ss000001.pl?page=search&SS=No4+cup+washer&PR=-1&TB=O&ACTION=Go%21)
Willliam

I am feeling a certain amount of pressure as I realise the time I have over the next 3 months or so which I can give to the mechanical parts of the restoration is somewhat limited. We are still on course to receive the car back here painted and trimmed in early February so I need to get a crack on.
The body of the car is about to go into primer and the inside trim materials are about to be delivered to the trimmer.
We have no olives at all this year in our area generally so that has freed up some time but there will be some pruning of various fruit trees to do early in the New Year. We have just bottled our oaked Merlot ( 2017 wine went into our French oak barrel in May 2018) and its really lovely so we need a new label which will be very much in the style of our Pinello and Cabernet labels.

The weather at the house here is very rainy at this time of the year so I can easily escape to the garage having just had a week in the sun with high 20s in SE Sicily. 
I have fitted the main bearings and then the new water tubes + interference fit end caps  followed by new pistons & liners again with new white metal bearings which were bored to suit while we were away.  I had new 22mm crankshaft plugs which I thought were correct but my crank uses 18mm plugs so they are winging they way here for Monday - thank you Enrico. They can be fitted after everything else so that hasn't delayed me. I also fitted new bungs at either end of the crankshaft as it had a really good clean out.
Tomorrow ( breaking my rules of weekend car working! but only if its raining) I will hopefully fit the Holbay camshaft with new timing chain and cogs  and the oil pump and collector so I can refit the sump.
Then its the heads which should  be easy and I can do the valve timing. I have previously rebuilt the water pump and distributor and at the moment I am keeping the original cast aluminium oil filter assembly.
Some of the brake & clutch parts for the original transaxle went walkabout but I now have those so I can also hopefully virtually finish that off by the middle of next week when we leave here for a month.
My OE Metron dashboard instruments are fully functional but a little sad looking so I am taking them apart and sending the inner flat glasses with the numbers and characters printed on them to a firm in Monza who say they are happy to redo the print and for me to do the re-assembly. You can see what happened when I tried to clean up the clock! I actually also have a full set of the lovely green and gold Metron instruments in good condition (clock photo attached  - I have these instruments in my 1st Series B20 as well) )  if I am not happy with the results.
Chris

Impressive pace, even if not "working to rule". 

Any photos of a complete dash in that style?

Chris, I have a Solex 30 AAI with a manifold, and no home to go to, but I am pretty certain this is what you are rejecting as too small. If it's something you want, just let me know. It has sat about for 40 years to my knowledge, so the chances are that it has not seen too much work.
Kind regards
Tony Stephens

Thank you very much Tony. I will drop you an email later this week if I may.
Chris

Not much progress to report as we have been away travelling but certain things are dropping into place quite nicely, one important of which is that our recently bottled oaked Merlot is lovely.
The B21S timetable still seems to be on course and no one is anticipating any issues now with the bodywork or trimming.
My engine rebuild has stalled as I don't have the correct rocker gear studs  - B12 studs have a larger thread into the head than B21 - and these are missing although I think some good used ones might be on their way from a friend in  Belgium.
I have also acquired a complete B12 engine for rebuild if we find we need a little more power once the car is on the road.
Regarding the inner instrument glasses, I have had one redone as a test and it looks very good......but almost too good and bright!
In the meantime another Aurelia friend has sold me a complete set of correct instruments with good inner glasses which I think will look much more in keeping. I do also have a complete spare set of the lovely gold and green Metron  S1 B20 instruments as a fall back.
I still have to assemble the clutch and fit it to the transaxle but nothing will really happen now till after the family leave us after Christmas when I should  have a few clear days before we go off in the New Year.
Chris

Just a quick update ref Instruments.
Attached are a (poor) photo of the perfect newly printed glass, a photo of the original B21S gauge where most of the print is missing and a photo of my newly acquired gauge from which I will remove the glass and insert it in my original.
The 'new' glass is just a little too perfect for me but I am very pleased to have found someone over here who will do the work well and for a reasonable price so I may well still proceed with getting the rest of the poor quality glasses redone, particularly as the supplier has been so helpful.
Chris

Ooops. Forget the photos.
Chris

I know you have a "no weekends" rule and I expect also a "not while family are with us for Christmas" but maybe there's time for research if not actual hands on work, and perhaps there's a way to patinate the glass?

Your are a hard taskmaster David!
I will post photos of my rebuilt (with good used glasses) instruments for your approval when I have done them.
Chris

We have had the family here for a week at Christmas with glorious sunny days each day so no opportunity for car work.
They departed yesterday and Emilia ( age 2) didn't seem too upset that 'her blue Fulvia GT ' had gone to France to its new owner. Mind you Jacky did tell her that her replacement car. the 'new B21S ' was being worked on in France and that when she next visits in July for 3 weeks she should be able to ride in it around the hills here. No pressure then!
Special mention for Simon and Juliet's  excellent  Domaine La Tasque 2015 Syrah which graced our dinner table on Christmas Day - it was delightful. (We started the day off with Franciacorta which is a methode champenoise dry Italian wine from an area S of Brescia and which is usually very good. I am not sure I have ever seen it in the UK?)
So today, even though its Sunday I have sneaked into the garage to have a little fiddle with the B21S instruments. I haven't finished them yet - I need to find a stable transparent material to allow the instrument lighting to permeate through into the instruments. I will most likely use something from a clear PET water bottle but I am just having a little think about it.
So today I  have fitted the inner painted classes from the other set of instruments provided by William Corke - thank you. It looks to me as if I wont need to get any glasses redone now by the guy I found near  Monza.
Chris

Hi Chris
Just been admiring your new gauges and noticed what seems to be an oil pressure warning light...would be interested in how this is made to work as I have not got one on the Appia just a gauge.
Clarkey

headlamp and charging light?

From memory Tim, I think its dynamo charging light on the lhs and indicator tell tale on the rhs of the instrument, both red.
I am away at the moment but if its any different I will advise.
Chris

Today I am trying to finish off my work on the instruments and prepare a little for the rewiring.  I am off to the supermarket to find a large diameter (for the speedo in partic) transparent aerated drinks bottle made from  unembossed PET to use for the slots in the edge of the instruments to allow the (external) instrument lights to filter through.
And to confirm Tim, here is a wiring diagram for (amongst others) cars after B21S-1091 (ours is 1178).
Number 16 is 'warning light - direction indicators' and Number 3 is 'dynamo warning light'.
The fog lamps (46) were only fitted to B20 models covered by this general diagram and the dotted lines around (17), the direction indicator switch are for lhd 'S' cars.
It should be a nice easy car to rewire as I have the original loom which hadn't been messed with but I wont actually start any work on this until the car is back here, hopefully in early March.
Chris
 

So is there also a headlamp warning light on the other dial?

No warning lights in the other dials ( clock and speedo) Tim and no headlamp warning tell-tale is mentioned on the legend for the B21S wiring diagrams.
Chris

We are back in Italy now ( post Brexit and with corona virus all around apparently) after our SE Asia wanderings and its a lovely clear but cold day.
Interesting flight back here yesterday – one of the cabin crew collapsed during the flight and was stretchered off on arrival at Venice, there was a prisoner on the flight so the captain had his passport and he was taken off the flight on arrival by Italian police and army with lots of guns and we had our temperatures taken on arrival. That has only happened to us twice before, both connected with ebola. Once at Nairobi and the other at Kuala Lumpur.

The B21S body is close to be being painted having had the underfloor, engine bay and interior stripped and painted black so hopefully the car will get to the trimmer in the next couple of weeks. In the end a section of floor was replaced as on close inspection it was very thin and the rest of the body has come out well so it seemed daft not to replace that.
I now have a set of rocker gear studs for the B12 heads ( thank you Jan)  so I can fit all that and time the engine ( and also fits the brakes to the transaxle) next week while Jacky is away.
In the interim I have also acquired a complete B12 engine for rebuild and I want to quickly have a good look inside that as it might be a very straightforward rebuild because of spare parts I already hold. The heads are loose and there are only a couple of broken studs to deal with.
You may remember that I have a small concern about the long-leggedness and speed of this B21S compared to our B12 but as I now  have a B12 engine and rebuilt B12  transaxle I have the option of dropping these in to solve the problem.
Chris

Everything has pretty much come to a halt with this project.
I was in Italy until February 25th when we returned to the UK ay short notice. There was 1 death in our local town  of 3,300 inhabitants , Vo Euganeo some 5kn from our house  during the previous week and then the town was locked down on Saturday 23rd Feb.
The town is of course still locked down (as is the whole of Italy of course ) but there were articles in last weeks FT and Times about Vo because there are now no cases of CV 19 there. On lockdown the whole of the town was tested and approx. 9% of inhabitants were found to be infected, 50% of whom were asymptomatic. Tests were conducted on everyone again 2 weeks later and today as I say the town is virus free having had just the one death very early on.
We came back to the UK thinking we would be here till March 17th ( how stupid does that sound now!) but of course we will be here till June at least.
So no progress on the B21S on my mechanical side as everything is in Italy.
However the body of the car is painted inside and out ( and looks lovely) and is in SW France just waiting to be transported to the trimmers just down the road. The wings and wheels are not painted yet but this should happen this week. Then after trimming, wings and wheels with new tyres on and a polish then I can think about getting it back to our house in Italy for me to refit etc.
I will try to put some photos up later.
My Lancia time in the UK as you will have seen is given over to trying to pass on surplus spare parts at advantageous  prices to LMC Club members in an effort to make space and tidy my garages up. Its going well but things I thought would sell quickly and easily haven't and vice versa.
An example is tinted glass for 4th series B20 which I have never seen for sale elsewhere.. No takers much to my surprise.

This is where ebay as a last resort can help. The prices achieved on ebay are usually higher than I would have accepted through the LMC Forum.
Chris 

Here are a couple of photos of the outside of the car and 2 of the doors.
The wheels are in primer so Simon has kindly lent me a set of wheels to move the car around.
Chris

Looks lovely!!😍

Progress indeed Chris, still in limbo here, but we all live in hope!


P

Just a brief updated report on progress.
The car is painted and now at the trimmers as of 2 weeks ago. There were various conversations about wheel colour and I am very pleased with the results.
Having been trimmed it will return to the bodyshop to have the wings fitted and a good polish....and then hopefully I will be in position to transport the car to Italy where I can finish the re-assembly.
Sadly my promise to Jacky of the B21S being on the road by the time the family visit in late July will have slipped.......and we will be returning to a lot of work on our vines, olives and fruit trees never mind getting our cars there up and running so it will probably end up being an Autumn/Winter finish date  but that's life.
Chris

What colour did you paint the wheels in the end? They look great.

Chris, very nice!
One question: can you re-use the strip between wings and body?
Do you know if it is the same as the one which Simon Ingman has had remanufactured for the Aprilia? That would be nice, but I suspect Lancia had different versions....

The strip between the wings and the body on my B21S is useable Sebastien. Not sure about Simon's Aprilia strip  - I imagine he will pick this up himself and respond.
Chris

Looking very good, well done, looking forward to seeing it on the road again,

P

Ade,
The wheels were completely stripped before painting and the wheel centres are  Ford Alpaca beige  XSC2025A.
I had sent the painter various colours which had been suggested by Forum members and others but asked him to try to match the colour from scratch
He took that on board and after cleaning up one of my  wheels (before stripping) he  spent quite some time trawling through his colour chips which have no name or manufacturer code on them -  they have only their paint reference on them. And having found a very good match, this was the exact paint reference stipulated by Ford for their Alpaca beige.
Chris

Looking great Chris.

The Al strips between wing and shell were fine to re-use on my B10. Of course you should have some insulation between them and the steel when refitted - from memory this originally was a king of waxed fabric. I probably have a piece somewhere...

Chris, it's good to have confirmation that Alpaca Beige is the correct colour for Aurelia wheels.

I must admit to painting the wheel centres the same colour on the Cabrio - looks very good alongside the Burgundy-red rims, photos later !

Re trim, I have just compared them side by side and the Aprilia trim is very slightly narrower , approx 1mm (circa 10mm vs 9mm). It would certainly fit and look correct

Simon,
Great to know that your remanufactured Aprilia strip is also usable on the Aurelia between bodyshell and wings.
Not that I want to do that just now, but this info might help other Lancia owners to get their B12 on the road....! ;)

I have just ordered new front and rear screen rubbers........so we are getting close to collecting the car.
I don't have any photos just yet but the car should be back with me in early July fully trimmed and painted.
All I have to do then is renovate and reassemble all the mechanical side!
Photos to follow but I am  getting quite excited!
Chris

Well its been a while.....but the B21S finally arrived yesterday painted and retrimmed. All I need to do now (!!!!!) is refit the mechanicals, wiring, rubber etc and off we go!
There have been  delays due primarily to Covid and Brexit and consequent difficulty of movement within Europe  but at least I have had time to rebuild the engine, transmission and clutch and refurb various brake components.....and also get loads of other motoring related jobs out of the way in the interim.
I have also been able to use patience, not a virtue of mine,  in sourcing some good OE bits for the car such as those pretty, flush mounted rear lights, headlamp reflectors and an illuminated 'I' light for the boot lid as well as a period 'Aurelia' aluminium bootlid lifting handle
From choice I wont really get stuck into re-assembly now until the autumn after our grape harvest but I feel sure I will disappear into my garage for the odd few hours each month.
I am going to persist in fitting the original engine, clutch, front brakes and transaxle all fully rebuilt hoping that it is nimble enough for todays traffic.
Unfortunately, in a way having our lovely B12 with its larger engine, longer final drive, larger clutch and larger front brakes makes it a hard act to follow but I have a full set of B12 running gear which I can fit if the need arises.
Here are a couple of poor photos - more to come when the dust has settled.
Chris

Wooow :)
Looks great Chris!!

Thanks Torstein,
I am really very very pleased with the bodywork and trimming which took place in SW France with Simon Ingman overseeing the work - huge thanks are due to Simon.
It has been a pleasure to deal with the bodyshop and trimmer and their next project of mine is already with them in France which indicates Jacky and my  overall satisfaction.
In the end the B21S  had new front floors as the existing ones were thin and a little perforated but generally it was found to be as sound, straight and unmolested as I thought and hoped when I bought it.
Also it was virtually 100% complete which I have learned from bitter experience is very important....not just from the 'cost of project' but also the 'time taken to complete project' and the 'end result of project'..
More to follow as the rebuild progresses.
Chris

 

I dont usually work on my projects during the Spring, summer and early autumn months due to pressure of time doing other things. We have our vines, olive tress and fruit trees here in Italy and Grandchildren in the UK!
So, a quick update on progress.
The B21S engine is in, the new wiring harness is virtually all connected and tested and the rear suspension, drive shafts, dampers and transaxle are all fitted.
I had a problem with the front brake shoes being a little oversize for the barely worn drums even after having the drums very lightly skimmed ( not my mistake but too long a story to relate) so I have just brought a set of lightly worn 280mm dia front brake shoes from the UK to fit next week. The linings are riveted and glued to the shoes and are asbestos based.
Today I have collected a complete new IMASAF exhaust system which is very nicely made. Its actually a B22 system as I wanted the larger 45mm diameter pipe system ( the only Aurelia Berlina to do so) in preparation for probably fitting a B12 engine I have one day and also to enjoy a slightly louder exhaust noise. The only problem with this is ( and I will try to be brief) is that B10, B21 and B12 use 'small' exhaust manifolds with 2 bolt flanges to the downpipe whereas B22 (and v early 3rd srs B20) use a 3 bolt flange 'larger' manifold. And then later Aurelias used the larger manifold but with a 4 bolt flange. S I need to have a couple of small spacers made up to connect the 2 bolt manifolds to the 3 bolt downpipes. Are you still with me?
Photos to follow when the exhaust is on the car.
Chris

Following on from my last post,  the 'new' original B21S 1991cc engine is now in the car and the new ( beautifully made) IMASAF large bore B22 exhaust system (apart from the downpipes) is now loosely bolted in place. Yesterday I collected the 'manifold to downpipe ' adaptors to enable me to finish fitting the complete system to the original 2 bolt flange manifolds. 
The larger bore 3 bolt flange exhaust manifolds were fitted to B22 & 3rd srs B20  and in every aspect dimensionally they differ from the 2 bolt flange manifolds.
Whilst waiting for these adaptors, I have started rebuilding the B12 engine I have which I have in pieces - its an easy rebuild with new pistons whilst the main bearings are all re-usable being well within tolerance. There seems to be a problem with some of my original B12 conrods where the big end bolts have  been stretched by  overtightening ( later engines had larger bolts) and if this happens, the big end caps can be distorted making the rods unusable. Fortunately I have another good set of 6 OE B12 conrods.
Attached are photos showing the 2 different exhaust manifolds and the nicely made adaptors. Its all a little more complicated that it first appeared (good old Lancia) due to flange angles and lengths although the later 4 bolt flange  2.5l (4th srs B20 onwards & B24S) manifolds are the same overall dimensions as the 3 bolt flange manifolds.
There is some leeway for adjustment in the mounting holes of the adaptors and I have plenty of each type of copper faced gasket if I have to use extra gaskets as spacers to get things to line up.
Chris

Looks good Chris!
That’s a beefy manifold!
When will the car be on the road you think?

I fitted the complete exhaust system yesterday and everything lined up very well although I did have t0 shorten the IMASAF straight pipes (under the passenger compartment floor) by about 20mm.
I havent tightened everything up properly just yet but I am very pleased so far.
As to a date for the car being on the road Torstein perhaps you should ask Jacky!!!!  When we bought the car the plan was to have this project finished in 2021!!!! That was the deal with my wife at the time.
Lots of things have conspired to push this back including Covid, Brexit rules and most recently my ' THB holiday' in the Royal Brompton Hospital in February!
Once good weather appears I tend to not want to work on any garage based project as I would rather be outside to be honest.....and we have a couple of thousand vines + many fruit trees to look after
Today I would say that this autumn is a realistic target - all i have to buy now are some new door and bumper rubbers from Cicognani.
Today my plan is to finish cleaning the B12 block and then hopefully refit the crank, rods and new pistons before returning to the UK tomorrow for a few weeks of cardiac rehab exercise.
Chris

Sounds good Chris!
No need to rush things , enjoy the journey etc:)