Lancia Motor Club

Hi all
 My mate Terry is a nuisance. He wanted to borrow my engine crane to repot a monkey puzzle tree so I invited him over to see what was involved in assembling and using the engine crane. Next thing I knew there was a 2.5 litre V6 engine sat on a little stool. Terry is now wondering if the engine crane (disassembled ) will fit in his girlfriend's car.
Clarkey

engine views

and the hole that is left

The engine was known to have problems with the heads being stuck. The method i tried was to suspend the engine from the exhaust manifold and the waterways of the head on the inlet side. With the head under tension some judicious clouts with a rubber mallet got the head to move about 3mm. I will need to change the fixing points on the head as it appears to be stuck in one corner.

Great to see you've managed to at least get it moving Jim, now it's moved a bit I'm sure you'll be succesful
Well done on making progress  8)

Once you have got it moving you are on the home straight! Well done.
Chris

I will be watching the resto with excitement! I’m to busy with my Berlina to have gotten that one even though I was tempted!

Hi all
Had a bit of time yesterday so tried a new method on the second head using a rocker mount (see picture) The engine and stand are suspended so all of the weight is pulling on the head. I put some engine oil down the studs and will leave it to ferment for a couple of days and see how it is looking after a couple of wallops with the rubber mallet. The other head will come up about 5mm now but only at one end so I will try method B if it proves to be successful. Failing this I think a lifting plate will work as it can be bolted across all the rocker mounts.
Clarkey

Hi all
Tried to fit a spare battery to see what electrics were on the fritz or not but none of my spare batteries (three of them) would fit. Has anyone recently replaced a battery in a coupe and do they have the make and model? They are all too deep and will not drop down onto the battery ledge.
Clarkey

Sterling head work.
 Battery in my PF.

 Richard

Thanks for the battery info will track one down...Had another look at the cylinder heads and I think a bit more progress has been made on the passenger side head as the pictures show...I thought is was going to come off but it seems to be stuck again but all four corners are off the block now. The head that was suspended is well stuck so we will give it a couple of days more.
Clarkey

Hi all
Terry insisted we had another go today so we re-hung the cylinder head from the rocker shafts and managed to loosen all four corners see pic
Clarkey

When you look at some of the engineering and machining on this engine you can see where all the money was going.

Oops wrong picture...the feeler gauge is 25 thou and WD40 and engine oil were sprayed down the end of the studs with only one not allowing the lubricant to go into the stud holes in the head

finally

Hi all
Success today in getting one of the heads off. The problem was a couple of the studs being badly corroded to the head and causing the head to only really move at one end. To get round this engine oil was trickled down the studs and this highlighted that the stud nearest to the exhaust of cylinder no 1 was causing us a problem. The solution was to first get the head parallel to the block and by keeping the head under tension by the rope fit a nut to the stud and tap it till I could see it had move down. The next thing to do was slacken off the nuts on the studs at the far end of the head a few turns and give the exhaust manifold a clout, this moved the head up at that end so returning to the no 1 cylinder end some more careful tapping on the stud with the nut on saw that end now go up. This was repeated till the head was off. The stud was very tight and it might be advisable to find a better way of dissolving the corrosion sticking the studs to the head as once revealed it was clear that several of the studs were corroded quite badly.
Clarkey

more pics

The green is most likely from the copper in the head gasket

Very impressed you've managed to get it off Jim, and shows it has been worth the effort by the looks of the contained corrosion.  8)

I think the other head will be a bit trickier as I oiled all the studs before I left tonight and a fair few were not taking the oil down so will be dry and stuck together when I have a go at removing it. I will try the ATF and kerosene? mix as well.

Acetone not kerosene

For a job like that I'd go straight to ATF/acetone mix. Anything else is just wasting time.

It is still stuck, when I get time I will make a plate to ease it off
Clarkey

Plate making time has arrived...

Hi all.
At last a bit of time to sort this engine out and move it out of the way of the Appia. I made a visit to my local steel stockists and got them to cut a piece of 5mm steel the size of the head gasket for a tenner. The next bit involved clamping the gasket to the plate and marking the position of the cylinder head studs. I will then have to carefully centre punch each of these holes and drill and tap them. see pictures
Clarkey

better view of the first hole I have centre punched.

Too busy to do any work on this...Sorry...It is nice to sit in though and look at that lovely dashboard
Clarkey

So Nice to see progress on this one!:)

House move done and I have managed to cut a path through all the debris so I can get to the engine and hopefully next week will bring some progress.
Clarkey

Will be sweet to hear that engine run again! House move and car build! Brave man

Funny how time flies...anyway the Y10 and the Appia S2 have had some attention so it is the Flaminia's turn. I will start drilling the plate today to get the tapped holes done and then get my head round how I can attach it without damaging the head. My attempts on the Appia a few years ago were very frustrating but did demonstrate the power of the screw thread in removing stubborn parts (and braking spring hanger 'U' bolts.
Clarkey
ps the reason I have more time is all the joinery nonsense is nearly done

Hi all
managed a couple of hours on the head lifting plate and the first bit is done.
Clarkey

Will be good to see how this turns out. I have had some success removing studs with the cylinder head in place. I will post on this shortly.

Hi all
Part two of the plan is to drill through the plate and fasten it to the head using the fixing studs for the rocker pillars studs. First part was to screw a nut onto all the head studs to give the bolts coming through the lifter plate a location.
Clarkey

Next a dollop of paint on the nuts on the rocker pillar mounting studs

Then position the plate on the head using the bolts sitting in the nuts on the head studs making sure contact is made between the painted nuts and the plate.

Then check the result...Hmmmm......not as expected, will have another go tomorrow.
Clarkey

Hopefully with a bit of measuring of the distances between the head studs and the pillar mount studs I can get the holes drilled tomorrow. I am gambling on the pillar studs being strong enough but my experiences with the plate I made for the Appia engine makes me think I will have to do a belt and braces job with some extra attachments to head possibly using the exhaust manifold mounting studs.
Clarkey

Decided to push through from the bottom on a spare head I have some 10mm threaded bars to support a sheet of cardboard with holes cut in it to match the cylinder head gasket. The rocker mount studs can then be made to produce an indent in the cardboard in the right place. The cardboard can be transferred to the plate located by the bolts previously fitted and the holes can be drilled through cardboard and the plate to let the rocker mount studs to poke through to enable the nuts to be put on and tightened up against the rocker mounts. Will have a go at this tomorrow...

Hi all
Good news is the plate is finished but there is some not so good news. When I picked up the plate I was undecided about 5mm or 10mm plate and could not recall what I had used for the Appia plate so I have found that 5mm plate is not strong enough and the power of the screw threads bent it quite easily. The result of this was that the bolts screwing against the problematic studs nearest to the exhaust manifold  instead of pushing down properly diverted some of the screwing force into bending the plate. How ever the good news is that the head has moved on the inlet side about 7-8mm and I am sure with a bit more work it will be off.
Clarkey

Hi all
Another problem that I will have is that if I use 10mm plate there will not be enough thread of the rocker mounting studs sticking through to get a nut on. I might be able to split the mounts to drop the height enough and pack up the plate so it does not foul the rocker cover studs. I will have to use 10mm plate and I will go to 10mm bolts, it might be possible to modify the Appia one as that is 10mm. I think welding a nut on the head studs and removing the stud as well might be the end game but I was hoping to have a reusable tool rather than shock and awe assault every time a head came off. Hmmm...
Clarkey

I think this is very encouraging!

Using a combination of double nut method (the fine pitch of the threads means these can really be tightened up and the nut faces offset if you use a 12 point socket), impact wrench, welding and a combination of all 3 (plus heat)in the worst cases , I have removed all but 4 of the studs on one head. Applying a long lever to a more stubborn one has caused it to shear (through the upper threaded section fortunately). I am very frustrated, to say the least, but the fact that you are having success has spurred me on - I will make a plate next.

No problem with the rocker mount studs/threads doing this? I have removed all of mine to get better access, so I will probably use some bolts to hold the plate down.

Can you flatten the plate so it will fit again and then weld some right angle steel to it? That ought to significantly increase it's strength.

Hi all
Made a little bit of progress today but as I feared the stress on the rocker mount studs has stripped some of the threads but I have a spare head for spares so no problem. The plate is now very twisted so I will make a 10mm one tomorrow. I have managed by getting the head to rock on the studs and using plastic wedges tapped between the head and block to get the exhaust manifold studs loosened except for a couple and there is now a gap (only a couple of mm) on the exhaust side, it seems to be stuck at one corner. I have written off the existing head studs. As mentioned previously I can take off the top of the rocker pillars and pack up the new plate to clear the rocker cover studs. I think the studs stripped because the plate bent in line with them so hopefully the 10mm plate will prove more resilient.
Clarkey

I don't think the 5mm plate is up to it. A 10mm plate with a few less bolts will only take a couple of hours to make, possible one at each corner with 4 down the exhaust side and a couple on the inlet side and centre.
Clarkey

Hi all
Bit more done today, new plate just about finished.
Clarkey

Just the threat of that plate should do the trick. It's amazing the amount of friction some gum can produce.

  Richard

I saw something today with an old seized engine and they used coca cola to free it up...

Hi Kevin
I have heard of using coke to clean tarnished metal and I had some success with vinegar to clean up a stripped thread on a thermostat housing so if you could submerse the engine in coke it would definitely get rid of some of the corrosion.
Clarkey

Hi all
Definite progress today as we have a nice gap between the head and the block all the way around and the corner that was stuck has lifted. The new plate has not deformed like the other one but it has bent some of the rocker mount studs. The good news the 8mm bolts screwed down on the exhaust side tighten up now and don't just bend the plate. This means the plate will be left under tension overnight and now it is nearly parallel with the block I am confident it will surrender soon.
Clarkey

10/10 for perseverance, and a well deserved result seems around the corner 8)

Superb!

Very interested to see photos of your studs and the holes in the head when it does come off. Would like to see how it compares to mine.

No further damage to the rocker saddle studs?

Hi Dave
I'm afraid I got carried away and failed to notice the rocker mount studs had been bent but no more stripping...I will investigate today. I think some physical fastening of the plate that seems unbendable to the exhaust manifold studs is needed to keep the plate horizontal and pull evenly. It might be worth (if I was doing this every day) to get the plate cut with tags on that side and get the steel supplier to bend it at 90 degrees and drill the holes for the exhaust manifold studs.
Clarkey

Hi all
More progress today but still not lift off. With the use of plastic wedges and a 2lb club hammer via some sturdy timber we have edged the head further up off the very corroded studs. I only had a couple of hours of playtime today so I left the head to soak with WD40 and engine oil. Very satisfied with the progress as the head is pretty square to the block and with judicious tightening of the plate bolts and a few love taps with the club hammer via a piece of 4 x 2 timber has moved it up about 5-6mm. The only studs not taking oil down are the exhaust side ones just like the other head but now I can access them from below I trust to WD40 and the oil. The rocker mount studs have been in a bit of a battle and will need a make over with a die or replaced from the spare head also a couple of rocker cover studs have took a hit.
Clarkey

Have you tried the 50/50 mix of ATF and cellulose thinners? It significantly out performed anything commercially available, including WD40, in a magazine test some years ago and I find it very effective.

Heat did the trick on my recent stubborn stud, perhaps softened what turned out to be to congealed gum as much as corrosion. Won't be long now.

  Richard

Hi all.
I put some of the mixture you mentioned Frank down the tops of all the studs but the exhaust side ones have not pulled any lubricant down till now. Had a couple of hours tinkering yesterday and was very pleased with the progress. I removed the plate to look at the rocker mount threads and they were fine but clogged up with the obviously weaker steel of the nuts I had used so I cleaned them up and replaced the plate using the original nuts but without the big spacer nuts. This meant the plate would drop closer to the head and be more secure as we got the nuts well down the stud (see pics) The screwing in of the bolts produced a nice gap and it was even all round the block and the next issue will be the tops of the head studs will disappear inside the head. I am thinking of using a short length of 10mm rod to push down on the studs under the 8mm bolts through the plate so as not to damage the head. It feels as if the head is going to fight all the way against the plate and bolts so a couple of days will probably see it done.
Clarkey

Hi all
Had a slow and frustrating day yesterday as the head has moved up nicely but has stuck on the front right corner again, at least you can see into the bores now and it looks reasonable in there.
Clarkey

Sorry about the upside down picture ?

For next time.. it could work getting some brake line, cut some teeth into it and drill out the dirt around the studs. https://youtu.be/Zu5JLv0GErM?si=6JZ_bXR_Mu5_ud5u see 22.00

I have been looking for a piece of tube for exactly this purpose but until now not found anything - probably because I had been searching for 10mm ID.

Having watched this video I had another look but for 11mm OD and -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/sourcing-map-Stainless-Thickness-Length/dp/B09BQB9WW4?th=1

The holes for the studs are smaller than 11mm, and the studs rarely sit in the centre of the holes, so I will probably need to skim a little off the outside, but worth a go.

Thanks Mitka!

Hi all
Flaminia head 1 Slow but rough 0
We have reached an impasse as the immovable object just goes up one end and down the other and vice versa to make things worse it is ripping the threads out of the nuts fastened to the rocker mount studs usually with a loud bang. The plan is to make some additional brackets and bolt these to the plate and the exhaust manifold studs. I'll use the 5mm plate from failed previous attempt. The main problem seems to be you can't wack the head direct with the club hammer and as it is on the engine stand it wobbles around as you wack it whilst hanging on to it and holding a piece of wood between the head and the club hammer.
Clarkey

Now you've got a decent gap maybe you could use some hardwood wedges to help lift the head up?
Some hardwood placed on the block face and head face then another thiny tapered wedge piece could be hammered in between to put a sperating force in the space between head and block, the hardwood protecting the faces from damage as they wouldn't actually be getting anything more than a helping hand tring to lift and seperate.
It would help take all the strain off  the plate and could be used in multiple positions to gradually and carefully prise the two apart in a controlled manor..

 
 I would use a saw to cut all the studs, then drift the studs out of the head. To aid removal, weld the nuts to the top of the studs in the block. The heat from welding would then aid in their removal.
 Dave Gee

Following on from that I had a look through my scrap box and found a piece of stainless tube with a 10.1mm (ish) ID and what looks like 1/2" OD. No idea what grade but thought I would have a go at turning the outside down. It turned out to be not nearly as hard as I thought and I have ended up with a 0.3mm wall. I will give it a go later.

Well that seems to work!

I'll add more detail on my own thread, so as not to clog up yours Clarkey.

Hi all
Got the brackets fitted and made a good bit of slow but steady progress lifting the head so fingers crossed!
Clarkey

Left overnight all tight next day had slackened off so retightened and had slackened off later that same day...I might need some longer bolts.
Clarkey

Still tightening up and inching the head off.

Update
Managed to get the head up about two inches and then it just locked up and started bending the bolts as they were screwed down. I tried the wooden wedges but the head and block have sharp edges and just shave off the wedges. I have tried to see which of the studs are the stuck the worst by filling the gap above the stud with the acetone/auto transmission oil mix, this showed 2 on the exhaust side are clear around the stud as the fluid eventually ran through. The other 4 did not let any fluid through so I left them overnight and will go down today and have a look see. I am tempted to use some more active chemicals like coca cola, vinegar or possibly a bit of electrolysis to see if I can get the gunk out. I was talking to my mate Terry about how to prevent this in the future and we discussed greasing the shafts and such like but I was reminded of some wise words from the late Don Cross who said that if you want to stop corrosion on aluminium engines use stainless steel bolts and studs so this might be an avenue to explore as I have been quoted €130 plus vat plus duty plus postage for ordinary steel ones.
Clarkey

Stainless studs may stretch???

Maybe sleeve the head with a stainless thin wall tube?

Stainless bolts won't have the same tensile strength either.

Guy

Thanks for the info on the stainless steel.
Clarkey

I'd suggest if using the timber wedge method that you need two long wedges of equal gradient driving towards each other. They should overlapped and will bear flat on the block and head, no catching of the edges. As the wedges pass over each other they will provide tremendous separating force. I used to use this method to preload some large section structural steelwork under masonry. You'll be able to use a big hammer!

Or four pieces of wood with the wedged ones in the middle of the sandwich? As wide as possible? Maybe two people acting in unison with a couple of lump hammers... You'll get it in the end!

The system of two wedges working together in opposite directions is called a "folding wedge". Using a shim between the wooden wedges and the metal, as suggested by SanRemo78, would be good practice.

Hi all
Went back to basics and levelled up the plate on the top of the head, cleaned the exposed parts of the studs of 60+ years goop and had another go with screwing the bolts down to release the head after I had dropped back down onto the block with a block of wood and a club hammer. Straight away it felt different and as you can see from the pictures the head is much further up than before and we have ran out of bolt thread apart from 'sticky corner where the bolt has bent. So tomorrow's is clean up all the exposed parts of the studs, clean the debris off the threaded portion after pushing the head back down, get some spacers ready to fit down the stud holes to compensate for the short length of the bolts and we will see....
Clarkey

Hi all
Good news the head is off as mentioned yesterday a quick clean of the studs visible between the head and block a bit of grease, tap the head down to the block and screw in the bolts, when the bolts are flush with the plate retract a few and drop into the stud hole a length of 10mm threaded bar. resuming the screwing soon had the threaded portion of the studs visible under the head so we knew it was close to coming off. With nearly all the studs clear of the head a tap with an aluminium mallet and it was off.
On reflection the key points to note was the necessity of keeping the plate parallel and firmly fixed to the head otherwise despite the plate being 10mm thick it would bend but not deform like the 5mm plate did. The two brackets on the plate fastened to the exhaust manifold stud were crucial as they kept the plate exactly were it was and ensured the screw force was directed down into the top of the studs virtually in line with them. Longer bolts would of saved a bit of improvisation with 10mm threaded bar segments dropped into the stud holes. A thought was should I have gone for 10mm bolts but they might of stuck in the stud holes and caused damage plus they would not have fitted through the head stud nuts I used to guide the 8mm bolts till the stud was flush with the top of the head.
Clarkey

Hi all
Had a look at the heads today and the faces look pretty good with no corrosion around the piston area. Any body know what the green goop is that was used back in the day? They will need a skim and a good clean along with a check of the valves.
Clarkey

Fantastic! What a great result for your perseverance, and to see the head faces in decent condition makes all the effort worthwhile.

The blue/green residue will most likely be the old style Ethylene Glycol anti-freeze, hopefully it hasn't eaten too deeply into the head faces but the areas around the fire rings looks good so all should be well with a skim.

Well done, a long journey but you got there  8)

Might not the goop just be blue hylomar?

corroded copper?

I'm with Frank.

Hi all
I would be interested if putting the goop on the surfaces was done at the factory or here in the UK as the car was UK registered and spent most of it's life in the UK I think.
Clarkey

Hi all
had a quick look under the head gaskets today...all new to me as I have never took a wet liner engine apart. Looks pretty crumbly in there any tips?
Clarkey

Hi all
Had a clean up of the block today.
Clarkey

Does this block have the brass tap to drain the water jacket? I haven't seen one until my latest block arrived.

 Richard

I think there is a pipe from the block to the bottom of the radiator...

There should be a hose from the right side of the block to the alloy housing that the bottom hose attaches to. That housing includes a drain tap with a long vertical "T" handle for draining everything. The alloy housing is attached to the bottom of the radiator with a long bolt through the centre and the whole lot is rather prone to corrosion.

The attachment to the block is a banjo coupling and the brass base of the tap should have a rubber tube to direct draining water outside the battery tray.

This is the tap from my block. Maybe from something else entirely?

 Richard

There are two different sizes of drain tap: the smaller one for the 2.5 and the larger for the 2.8. They both seal on with an O ring. I looked into this problem some time ago and had some castings made, but never got round to machining them as other things took over. Picture attached. If anyone wants to pick up on this project, let me know.

All of my three Berlinas have had the larger tap housing and all were 2.5 engines. This indicated strongly that the larger item was introduced with the 110 bhp 2.5 engine not the 2.8 engine. If this is an 813.10 or 813.11 engine it should have the larger tap housing. You will find this out, as I did, if you try to mate an early 2.5 bottom hose to a late 2.5 housing because the outside diameter of the early hose is the same the inside diameter of the late hose. It would seem that Lancia recognised the need for more cooling on the higher powered engine.

I wonder if the manufacturers of replacement hoses know this.
Clarkey

A bit of spare time today so I decided to get the sump off and start dismantling the engine...as Kevin had already started this the sump was soon off and possibly tomorrow I will get the pistons and the crank out. I took the cam followers out and I think they might need replacing as they are pitted with rust with being stood for 20 years?
Clarkey

On the issue of hose size, I did provide feedback and was readily provided with a replacement of the appropriate size but I'm not entirely sure my conclusion is accepted. Having found it on an 823.10 LHD Italian import and two 823.11 RHD UK cars I'm inclined not to think it's a coincidence.   

Couple of hours today resulting in all the pistons out and the crank just about falling out!
Bad news is all the pistons have the top ring broken, a quick look at the bores did not reveal any sign of damage but will have a better look asap, the pistons themselves don't look too bad but again a better look asap. In my experience all the top rings broken points to new pistons or rings but the bore not being honed to remove the lip and wallop all the rings hit the lip and crack. Back in the day you could buy replacement rings where the top ring had a step so it would not hit the lip...if only.
Clarkey
ps I love it how all the end caps on the con rods are stamped with the piston number and the weight on both sides

Hi all
I was expecting a bit of trouble with the studs after tales of welding nuts to get them out but in the end a bit of the two nuts locked onto the stud and a lot of spanner work saw them all out on one bank with the other more troublesome ones getting the treatment tomorrow. The studs on the other bank suffered alot more wallops so some of the threads might not be too good so might have to invest in a die to tidy a few up so I can get the locking nuts on. A strange thing occurred when some of the studs came out of the block in the form of tiny clouds of dust or bubbles of some liquid as if there was some pressure behind the stud in the block and removing the stud released it... The crank is now out and also the oil filter housing is off. I will have to get my parts washer up and running as this engine is very dirty inside and out so after we have got the liners out it can have a good clean.
Clarkey

Had a go at the second bank of studs and as expected a much tougher session with four still in situ as the lock nuts will not lock together on the stud and just turn. The good news was I managed to not have to buy a die to clean the threads up as a quick file and sand of the few flattened studs soon had the nuts on.
Clarkey

As I was down to the last four studs (I think the arc welder is limbering up for these 4) I thought I would take the water outlet off from the side of the block. I give it a little tiny turn to tighten it up and break the corrosion and got a eek noise...promising...reversed the twist and another eek, a bit more turning to release it and it dropped off onto the floor having snapped off. I found something else to do today as it was not going to be my day on the tools.
Clarkey

You have my sympathy - but it must be an age thing?

I'm a year into the restoration of a Beta Coupe. So far I've sheared two bolts. But the entire car is down to a stripped shell with no paint at all....

Guy

Hi all
Managed to secure a batch of spares yesterday to help with the rebuild and to have in reserve. The haul included a 823.02 engine the same as mine along with a transaxle and rear axle plus the front suspension hubs. I need a couple of engine parts so I have them now and possibly I will overhaul the spare set of brakes off the car and swap them with the ones on the car.
Clarkey
ps Van broke down on the way back and had to spend 5 hours on the hard shoulder of the M62. The RAC man said the Adblu injector system was on the fritz and it would drop the engine down into limp mode or just cut out as it was trying to do when I pulled it off the motorway onto the hard shoulder luckily into a SOS phone layby...Phew

More

Had a go at breaking the axle down into a bit more manageable parts so they can be stored. Boy those leaf springs are heavy...managed to get one off before I bashed a finger and retired from the field for the day.
Clarkey

Hi all
Had to resort to the grinder to get the other spring off as the bolts were turning and I couldn't get a spanner on the bolt head, got one out but the others are scrap now. The next thing to do will be remove the drive shafts from the hubs...any suggestions? Seek and ye shall find, whilst having a quick look over one of the engines I spotted there was a starter motor clinging on to the older engine an 823.00. I will have to check to see if it is salvageable and will fit my engine.
Clarkey

The outer UJ on the drive shaft is under the hub cap. Once you unbolt that I think the shaft ought to be free.

Thanks Frank...the diagram in the parts book I have shows a splined joint in the shaft but from memory there isn't one on mine.
Jim

I just checked my parts book and see the same. Before I had a parts book I had to remove the drive shaft from a Berlina with seized rear brakes and I don't recall it not being obvious how it came apart. You haven't hidden the splined joint under the peeled back CV boot by any chance?

A spare for reference

Thanks guys...Frank was right the splined joint was hidden under the rolled back boot.

had a quick go at getting the drive shaft out...looks like someone has been there before me as the bolts were out on one side but ti does not want to split so I will get the blowlamp on it tomorrow. When nthe drive shafts are off it will make it easier to hang the axle tube on the wall out of the way.
Clarkey

Hi all
The drive shafts are both off, they succumbed to some heat and a slightly heavier aluminium faced mallet. I concentrated on getting the inner joint off the shaft so I replaced the outside bolt, nipped up a bit and then warmed the splined sleeve up with the blowlamp but tried to keep the inner spider cool by wrapping it with a wet towel so it did not expand. After some wacks with the ally mallet I could see the spider was coming out of the splined sleeve so with a lot more wacks they came out. To get the drive shaft out of the hub just take out the cotter pins on the nuts next to the road wheels take the 4 nuts off and tap out the shaft from the transaxle side taking care to not lose the spider cup with all the needle bearings in.
Clarkey

Now the marking , AGM and the wiring up of a 32A socket are finished me and my mate Terry had a play with the MIG welder that has sat idle for at least 10 years. Terry was impressed it was made in England in York. Any way plug wired up, plugged in, power button pressed and we got the hum of £500 worth of welder, very satisfying. After messing about with the wire, gas and connecting up all the cables and torch we were ready. Terry had to retreat outside as he had turned up in shorts and a T shirt and I had all the kit on. After a bit of trial and error we managed to weld some nuts onto the 4 remaining studs in the block and a couple of hours of grinding and twisting saw them all out, well chuffed. Terry wants to come and do some welding but I have told him he will need some overalls at least. The picture shows what Terry called "an ugly nut"
Clarkey

the block as it is now.

Bit of good news from DVLA they have given the OK to using the original registration so I can keep those nice new number plates that came with the car. Note the different fonts.
Clarkey

Fantastic news that the registration number will be kept with it Jim, lowest ownership of a Flaminia coupe surely!
Never noticed the different font

Have purchased some new dollies to move the car around on as it is a bit big to do 3 point turns with on just 1 Clarkey power. I still think it might be a two man job to move it but it will be more manoeuvrable.
Clarkey

The Blair Witch Project

But seriously, those couplings can be a real pain to separate, one was fine the other i had to cut through on the car, as didn’t want to damage the bearings/hub/gearbox. My spare was equally seized, and had to resort to this.

Wow ...that is some serious hydraulics going on there.

I have been concerned about the safety of the bonnet as it is not attached to the car as some (4 out of 6) of the securing bolts had sheared before I got the car, I experienced a similar problem on the Appia boot lid something to do with alloy panels and steel cars? Any way I got the drills, taps and a box of bolts out and set too. Flaminia bonnet 1 Clarkey 0 the first stub I tried to drill out the pilot drill snapped when it was about 5mm in. No problem as we had plenty of others to go at so pretty soon we had one drilled and re-tapped and another two given a run through with the tap so we now have 50% done I will try and get the two that are just sheared done before I can think up a way of getting the one with the snapped drill stuck in it out.
Clarkey

some pics The one with the bigger bolt has been played with in the dim and distant past as it was an M8 x 1.0 thread the others are M6 x 1.0

Finally got round to dropping of the engine parts at my local machinists. He will pressure test the block and heads, scope the wear in the bores, measure the wear on the crank and check the pistons. If all that is OK we will decide on if new pistons and liners are needed or just some new rings and bearing shells for the crank with a skim for the heads.
Clarkey the Optimist

Had no word from the machine shop so will make a visit on Monday as I have to go and pick up my Appia seats allegedly...
Clarkey

Hi all
Went to see the engine man and he had some bad news but also some good news. The bad news was the bores are worn and need reboring, the crank is looking OK and the heads will be OK after a light skim to get all the gunk off. The cost of the new pistons will be balanced by the fact we should have all 128BHP to enjoy along with no problems for a long time engine wise.
Has any one any thoughts on reboring the liners in situ. the engine man was concerned that taking them out and putting the old ones back in was asking for problems with the sealing.
Clarkey