Lancia Motor Club

after drawing a blank with my search for an augusta pick up i bought this instead ;D plenty of work.......my kinda project

looks interesting!whats the plan?

un decided yet ??? got a few idea's to sort it out, its a cut down van and the back of the cab and pickup back is all wrong, not sure weather to chop it all off and start again or try to do something with existing back.......decision's decisions

hey hey a nice new addition to the family.im such a proud uncle of the 'BEAST'  ;D

hmmmm best thank a few people, FIRSTLY david laver for telling me about it otherwise i'd still be pulling my hair out!
thanks to ade for putting me in touch with edd, thanks edd for telling me some of its history and for egging me on to buy it ;D thanks to ron for selling it to me and most importanly thanks dad for putting up with me and my wild idea's and helping me restore it.............. oops have i mentioned that too him yet ??? :D anyway matty are you getting sunday off to help me move "THE BEAST" to its new home? ;)

i will give my best puppy dog eyes to the boss and see what happens im off the saturday if thats any use. ::)

just read back through your last post and that is a very good acceptance speech for your new found award(the beast) you forgot to thank your understanding mrs though ;)

SHE DOESN'T LIKE IT! :( well worth buying ......gonna look great on the drive hehe;D

please tell about any history!

she will love it once its tarted up and running and she realises how much stuff you can get in the back!

its origionally a furgoncino  ardea van that unfortunatly some vandall chopped the back off to make into a pickup, the cab has been made too short as its chopped right on th b post and flat sheet steel welded in from 1 side to the other making it impossible for the seats to go back far enough for a driver over 5ft tall . i've just bought it from ron francis who had it from edd rudler, edd bought it from italy i believe about 10 yrs ago, he had all the structural welding done (nicely) and the wings /running boards shot blasted then sold to ron. i'm undecided what too do with it yet as i need to look at it properly 1st, i have the rear section of a morris minor cab which looks as though it will modify to fit and replace the flat steel thats been put in "and allow the seats to go back!" at the moment i'm thinking of scrapping whats left of the van body " real shame" repairing the cab and building a replica pickup body that looks as it would of had if it were origionally a pickup, ron has a genuine ardea pickup thats not forsale but the rear body is fairly simple to reproduce and looks so much better

I thought it looked familiar I had a look at it at Ed & Ades premises about 9 years ago & had thoughts of buying it, that lasted about 30 seconds ;D
"You're a better man than I am Gunga Din" and I certainly didn't/don't have the skills to make it look half decent :'(

Brian
8227 8)

What a result !!  You've now got a PROPER job on your hands and so won't have to strip and repaint/rebuild perfectly good Integrales to keep those hands busy  ::)

The bad news is in the background to the second picture - looks like Ron's yet to find a home for the A*fa that - in insane moments - has been something of a temptation.  As if I haven't got a lifetime's worth of stuff queued up already...

David

I know what your saying, wish i hadn't started the grale in one sence as i have tooooooooo much work on!! thanks again for mensioning it to me i'm absolutly made up ........ got real itchy fingers to get started on it

Regular updates/pictures then please :)

I'll put some photo's on when i pick it up next week, may even give it a wash first  :D

Strange name Mrs Though. ;) ;D

I don't know who the young spectator in the second photo is but the facial expression says more than most of this thread put together...Is that admiration or disbelief.?.. ;D

I would make an opening hatch in the bulkhead and add an elavating canvas roof to make the first ardea based campervan.. ideal for attending events for the vertically challenged... ;).

wish i'd had a camcorder! owen (my apprentice in photo) and my gilfriend fell about laughing when they saw THE BEAST and really ripped me to death  saying "your not serious are you" anyway the photo was taken just after i'd handed over the deposit ! a small price to pay even if it were only for the look on both their faces..........absolutly priceless ;D probably the highlight of the day!

Good to see the Ardea might actually get finished! Best of luck with it.
Ade.

Here's a pic of Ron's other Ardea pick-up

pretty confident it will get finished............  my dad is very enthusiastic ;D , we've pretty much decided what we're doing with it, probably a change of power plant as its engine is siezed and we feel 30bhp in a pickup is a little poor, also fairly sure what we are going to do with the back end too, going to finish my augusta 1st while i gather all the bits that i want for it, new powerplant is still lancia and still v4 as not much else will fit, i was drooling over ron's other ardea and would have loved to have bought it , then again i'm more than happy with what i've got :)

The 16OOHF engine would be fun.... 8)

Be a shame to lose the original engine - and I assume also the five speed box (says the two faced he who is fitting an Aprilia engine into an Augusta) - BUT how about an AMR300 blower?  They're tiny.  Link below.

The other random thought - with the van's gearing would it make a classic (MCC) trials car?   It must be pretty capable given the hills in Italy and the state of their roads post war.  I bet its a proper little mountain goat.  No trouble with getting ballast over the rear wheels either!!  I'm not 100pct sure of the regs, but I think that keeping standard gives you the easier routes and less severe stop-starts etc.

Then again - if the motivation is something for the business - I can see that being able to get somewhere and back, in short order, outside of a major city, with a reasonable load, you'd want a bit more straightforward reliable power as an Aprilia would give you...or is it Appia power you have earmarked??

David

http://www.autospeed.com/A_110294/cms/article.html
http://www.adelaidejap.com.au/Turbos%20&%20SChargers.htm

I think this guy has one - it was on his stall at Prescot and very tempting for an Austin 7.

http://www.7ca.co.uk/index.htm

To quote from the autospeed link:  "Fitted to upmarket versions of the Japanese-market Subaru Vivio/Pleo, this blower is lightweight and can be squeezed in very tight engine bays. It measures approximately 18.5cm in length (including the pulley) and the main body is around 15cm wide and 10.5cm tall. Although fitted by Subaru, the blower is manufactured by Aisin and is coded AMR300. This code suggests it displaces 300cc of induction air per revolution.

The 660cc supercharged Vivio engine is rated at the class regulation 47kW and has 84Nm of torque, so the AMR300 blower is suitable for only low power applications. This makes sense when you look at the small 45mm OD blower outlet pipe.

We’d be reluctant to push the AMR300 supercharger past 70kW - which means it’s good for only sub 1.0-litre engines."

Hi James, you know you can rely on me to come up with something silly. ;) So how about calling it an Interardea, that would be a challenge. ;D ;D Regards Roger

ARDULVIA?...APRILEA?...APPEA.....NOW A FULVIA 1600HF COMPLETE SUBFRAME MOUNTED IN THE BACK SO ITS MID ENGINED NOW THATS FUN!!!

got the beast back, what a trip!!! only 80 miles each way but severe flooding in some of the villages we had to go through made the trip interesting, at 1 point if you can imagine it the water was over 1.5ft deep covering the car trailer completely, looked hilarious as the dicovery was obviously half way up its wheels in water yet the ardea appeared to be floating/driving on top of the flood! wish i could have got out to take a picture but forgot my wayders, engine appears to be siezed solid, anyone know of a spare motor condition unimportant, seriously concidering supercharging as its easier than completely changing the running gear, any suggestions? ron francis has nothing for sale

Do not give up on the engine just yet.  Fill the bores with diesel - or even put the whole engine in a taknk of central heating oil and leave it for a few weeks and you may be pleasantly surprised.  Seized engines are usually so because of rust on the rings and sometimes, if soaking and rocking with a long lever on the flywheel does not work then taking off the head and tapping the pistons with a suitable shaped block of wood can free things up.  It is unlikely that the bottom end is seriously stuck.  I admit to boring out my Aprilia engine but it is still a first series engine in a first series car, just invisibly enhanced. 

got it soacking with wurth rostoff ice so fingers crossed

Well worth persevering with the Wurth and a big hammer.  I remember that John Maltby once acquired a comprehensively seized Augusta that, after filling with diesel, some levering on the flywheel and towing up and down Watford Way for a couple of days was one of the nicest and quickest I have ever driven.  John put this down to the rust having provided the kind of microcellular finish on the bores that was otherwise only available in a very expensive, then new, Porsche 928.   

bit more progress made today, i've bought a morris 1000 pickup rear cab section......before i bought the ardea........in anticipation ::), anyway the ardea is at my parrents and the rear section was at my unit, anyway as we were quiet in work today i sent the rear panel up with 1 of my employees, by the time i got home my dad had tried it into place, after i looked at it i have to admit amazingly its going to fit!!! it needs 3>4 inches chopping out of the center first andabout 2 inches welding allong the bottom edge but its very close, even the roof line is similar, when fitted this will give me about 6 inches more cab space allowing the seats to go far enough back to get in!, i am very shocked how enthusiastic my dad is about the whole project as its a bit modern for him :D, i will try to post some photo's over the weekend

getting fired up about starting on the beast nxt month, grale is now finished and ready for sale, got a few jobs to do on my fulvia so i can say its finished then work will commence, stroke of luck tonight i've managed to buy a supercharger which should hopefully arrive next week, will keep you all posted

WORK HAS COMENCED!!!!!! i've started on the beast, took a grinder to the back of the cab an cut out all the mess that someone had welded in in italy, could have done it with a screw driver or if i'd pushed from the inside i think it would have fell out!!!, must say though the standard of welding thats been done to the floors and sills is very good and i'm really pleased that "so far" its proving to be in excellent shape and a fairly straight forward project. Making the back of the cab is a challange but i'm really enjoying it, the morris back that i've bought is too wide but is a damn good basis to start with, its had its first fit this afternoon and i'm amazed at how different its starting to look and its nice to finally be able to move the seat back and sit in it!!!, will try to post some photo's over the weekend ;D

That's the difference between an Italian work and English work!  The cab was welded in Italy........ the floors amd sills were done by Colin Batholomew in England.

id kinda figured the cab was done in italy as i dont know any brit with legs short enough to get in it haha ;D, who made the sills and inner wings? good shape to them

Colin made and fitted them

As promised some pics of progress

and more.....

Looking real good, wish my Dad had taught me about Lancia's etc! in no way is this meant to denigrate your own excellent skills.

Brian
8227 8)

BRILLIANT!!

I was a bit confused thinking it had a sunroof until I realised the photo was on its side and I was looking at the drivers door.

What tool(s) do you use for cutting?

David

 

It's looking promising. What about the supercharger? What make and model are you going to use? I had a couple of days driving my Augusta with the Arnott fitted. It went quite well, but was obviously not working as it should, so I have reverted to the SU while the blower is mended. It'll be great when it's working properly. Good luck with your project.
I attach a photo of the supercharger as first fitted to my Augusta.
 Regards, John

i use a small air saw for cutting and the little square clamps are from frost, billiant idea for butt welding panels, the supercharger is obviously modern but very small and compact which is what i need, there is no make on it but it was brand new and £205 + p&p, will take some pics this week and post them, and of progress too, thanks for your interest all its nice to have encouragement  ;D

It's looking good!  What you really ought to do though is get rid of that big rear window and replace it with a pair of Aprilia rear windows, but upside down. This is what Lancia used as the back windows on the Ardea van, it would give it that vintage look........ and with your welding skills it wouldn't be that much extra work.........

John,

supercharger looks really nice.I've no idea how much extra power it might give but it will be interesting I'm sure.

had a stroke of luck today, i have tried for a couple of months to free the engine off with no succes at all other than tightening the crank nut even more, i gave up incase something broke and decided to loosen the crank nut off while the engine was in situe,anyway after i mild crack the engine suddenly decided it was free!!!!!, cant loosen the damn nut off now but with a little back n to the engine turns over freely!!! ;D, The pickup is pretty much stripped now and most panels have gone for shotblasting, i'm getting the chrome together next and sending that off and hopefully while its all away i can finish the bodywork off, i'm aiming 4 months and into paint, ambitious but do-able..........i hope , keep you all posted and will put some more pics on soon

Chrome??? there's hardly any on the Ardea save for the grille and headlamp rims, oh and hubcaps, most of the other bits are polished alloy, and the bumpers should be painted body colour. You wouldn't want to see the chroming bills for the Aurelia Cabriolet!

ah, i'm changing the bumpers as i only have half a front bumper and no rear so i'm fitting british aprilia bumpers (modding rear to fit to body), grill should be painted but i want it chromed, so this is list:
front bumper
rear bumper
radiator shell
hub caps
bonnet handle/mascot
oil filler cap
wiper arms
instrument rims
gear lever
handbrake lever
headlamp rims + tell tail strips

i also need bits done for the augusta, bumpers radiator shell etc, got a good contact local to us that we used to do my dads augusta parts, most importantly THEY'RE CHEAP!!!!!!, and ade your right i wouldn't want your bill for chrome!!

Hi James, just looked at the pics of my old Ardea Furgoncino..............looks fantastic, you're doing a great job. Ed

thanks, cant wait to get it finished, engine out tomorrow and off to ron's AGAIN on sunday for more bits, i love going there but i see toomany projects that i wanna take home!!!! ;D

more picks of progress

will i be ok with just hand signals??

removed the rear decking and engine and box, getting ready to finish the truck sides off next

sent the wings off for shot blasting and they have returned, still waiting for bonnet and running boards and radiator grill (mesh part), started to raise the sides on the rear end so that it follows the line of the bonnet and doors, also started to strip the paint off and started refitting the wings ready for repair, its not a project where any 1 thing can actually be finished i've got to work my way round it chipping away to make everything fit propperly before prepping for paint, here's some more pics see what you think :)

a few more...................

i'm hoping to get the other side of the back end spot welded in over the weekend, then i need to finish the back of the cab (bottom to floor) and and the tops that i'm putting in in photo's arn't wide enough side to side yet so i need to make up a few more panels yet, i'll give my dad the credit for making the side pieces so far, fantastic job as usual and fitted really well, i couldn't do this project without his expertease help so a big THANKYOU to him for his time and enthusiasm ;D

Great stuff ! Keep the updates coming
Neil

will do, should be more after the weekend, wings have been welded up and gone into 1st skim of filler today, got loads of fiddley jobs next like emoving dash and handbake next to get the last few bits of chome together, hopefully will see some progess on body too tho

FOUND ANOTHER PROJECT!!!!! 2500 EURO ::)

ME THINKS YOU NEED TO VISIT WARBYS WORK PLACE  ;D ;D

What a good idea, where do we sign our names ;D

Brian
8227 8)

thanks guys!!!!! aslong as i get an (en-garage) instead of en-suite hehe, anyway while i was dreaming of a fleet of ardea comercials i did some more work on it, few more pics.......

atleast i havent said i want a lancia truck or bus yet........hang on lads......i got an idea ::) i could get the others in the back of a truck ;D

Coming on very well,  a good couple of weeks of prep, till near for primer i should imagine 8) keep up the good work both.

still a load to do on the body before i think about preparing the main shell, need to make a tailgate yet and finish the back of the cab and floor area, also the sides that have already been welded in need making wider to look right, the doors are also too tight in the door apartures and the bonnet is VERY out of shape, so plenty to do yet, wings are coming along nicely, sending wheels off for blasting this week ang hopefully i will get running boards and bonnet back, i will keep you all posted  ;D

think i'm gonna take a break on the beast and get my augusta wings finished and fitted as they have sat around for toooooooo long now, was hoping to get the truck on the road this summer but too many irons in the fire etc at the mo so i'll do a little more on the gussy 1st i think........JOHN TURNERS FAULT....... HONEST  :D

how cool is this!!!! ;D

http://www.massimoscottinelweb.com/Immagini%20ridotte%20per%20SITO%20web/Modelli%20varie/Lancia%20Ardea%20furgone%20800%201945-53.jpg

You got as far as colours yet?  The two tone works well on that model.

David

i'm thinking lancia blue all over and or possibly cream sides, still unsure though ??? ???

BARGAIN!!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.it/LANCIA-ARDEA-FURGONATA_W0QQitemZ330331643109QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobile_IT?hash=item330331643109&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1396%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Uh oh - there Chugga goes again...   

Anyone know the emoticon for a dog with two of them?

All the same - FETCH !!

David

If you need company on the collection trip tp Brindisi Iam game.

Don

Just looked it up and Brindisi is a LONG way for most Italians to go - so it might be a bargain for the English nutter prepared to "go the extra mile"...

Then again - how many of these things do you really need ??   But what has logic to do with any of this anyway  :-\

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brindisi

David

I'LL SEND THE RUDDLERS!!!!!!!  :D

just did a route planner ( for curiosity! ) its only 1597.8 miles and as long as the roads are clear and i dont stop for breaks it should only take me 25hr 13 mins to get there  :D not exactly a day trip is it!!

I know the Boy-Friday is too young to drive - do you have a Boy-Thursday or do you just pull the wool over Warby's eyes and send him?

David

PS - Collected your wings from John Turner today and they're fantastic.

i have a boy monday > saturday but couldnt do with out him  ;D, glad you are pleased with the wings are you going to try them on???

Of course I tried them on!!   Its a BIG step forward.

See http://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1033.30

David

not much to show yet but work is in progress, owen has now finished his gcse's and is working full time for me now , he is hopefully starting an in house nvq as no colleges seem to teach the art of restoring rusty lancia's  :D, seriously he is starting an nvq with us but this is now giving us (the team) more time to spend on my projects .......RESULT!!!!, anyway he's still keen as mustard and has hammered into the filler work on the wings again, the whole of the truck will need skimming as its in a pretty sorry shape as you would expect with 60 yr old comercial, its a little more than a few weeks work and ready for paint, this is probably the most ambitious body work i have ever done and i'm sure it will try my patience, however i cant wait to get stuck back in and get it finished, my next aim is to finish the back of the cab off but there are rpairs to do to the A posts 1st, i'm trying to keep owen going on the filler work while i weld and create whats NOT THERE, when the wings are finished i want owen to start at the front and catch me up as such, by the time he's done the bonnet and front qtr's i should have finished the cab, so then he can do roof and doors allowing me to finish the rear, i do have to finish the filler work myself as owen is still learning, the ardea is a very complex shape and nothing is flat on it which makes is very hard to get to look right, will keep you all posted, i was hoping to trailer it to the AGM  in paint unfinished but as you probably no jumped back onto the augusta therefore shelving the ardea until now, gutted in one sence as i cant wait to get the ardea finished but really chuffed to have the augusta more presentable than before, anyway will keep you posted on progress as it happens and pictures when worth while  ;)

 a few more pics of progress.............

The metal round the cab and load area looks like its always been there...  Its a work of art and I keep going back to that "cut and shut" sequence.

At the front is that body file the key to getting the contours right?

David

thanks!! the body file isnt actually a body file its a rubbing down block for filler work, its got velcro backing on it and the sand paper and is ideal for HUGE REPAIRS!! , getting the curves right was more luck, i never imagined it would look so right as such, my aim is when in paint the untrained eye would think "factory" we will see, thanks for the good comments gives you a little more confidence when others think it looks good , hoping to get more done this week but disaster has struck, owen has been working for me full time for just over a week and this morning he is in A&E  having his hand X-RAYED after a camping accident over the weekend, if he's off no progress, so fingers crossed

Don't let them look at his head too closely, or let on he enjoys patching up Lancias, or they'll have him in for a transplant.

With the rubbing down block do you adjust it to contours?  What's the most efficient sucession of grits?

David

What are you going to do about the tailgate/rear doors??  Ade.

yipeee he's ok  ;D, did alittle more today n/s door bottom is repaired and into 2nd skim of filler, i use 80 grt to ruff out , 120 grt to finish on filler, then the hole truck will be painted in 2k polyester spray filler, this will be blocked by hand again with 240 grit, then it will be painted in 2k high build prima, this will be flatted dry with 400 grt, and finished with 800 grit dry again, then paint  ;), the block is flat and not adjustable for curve , its not briliant on the wings as they are so curved but brilliant on doors and the sides bonnet etc big areas if you gatch my drift, ade the tail gate is still in the thinking process, definatly getting rid of back doors as it looks odd , think it will look far better with a drop down tailgate, i think we will make a small tailgate for the spare wheel and a larger tailgate for the load area, also thinking of putting slightly wider rims on it as the tyres have in the past rubbed on the rear inner arches and also increadibly close to the sliding pillars on the front, the rims are 4.5j at the mo was thinking about 5.5>6j 16 , same offset just stretch the tyres more towards the outside anyone got any spare aprilia wheels?? condition unimportant

I was trawling back through my old Viva Lancia's yesterday looking for something else, when I came across the article that Chugga mentioned about Ade & Ed Rudler bringing his pickup back from Italy about 10 years ago; in fact it was 14 years ago :o and is in the August 1995 issue No 327 if anyone wishes to look it up, or alternatively I can scan and post on here.

Brian
8227 8)

Another idea for the wheels is to seperate the rims from the centres then reweld with a larger offset.   When I saw Jason and Louise Kennedy with my old car at Silverstone they'd had to adjust one of the sets of 15in wheels inwards as they'd been picked up for having too wide a track.  More than likely it was Tim Burret who did that work.

If the rims aren't too clever would 2cv tyres suit?   With Aurelias going down to 15in rims clearance to the drums is a big issue - I doubt that's a problem with an Ardea.  If you were looking for a track day tyre for it ( :o ) Firestone F560s always used to be the choice for 2cv racers and also for Austin 7s on 15in wheels, however I expect the big tall Michelins would be more the ticket.  You're the last person to be telling about tyres, but isn't there a mud and snow in that size as well?

David

please post as i havent seen it  ;)

well progress report: not much done! :D filler is going on and its slowely taking shape, both front doors, front qtrs and bonnet are near finished, i'm hoping to carry on welding the cab and finish to load area floor off this week (possibly tomorrow if allowed) then crack on with filler on the cab, i need to buy a new tool to help fabricate the next panels for the rear end , its on ebay so fingers crossed i'll get it, its called a shrinker stretcher for curving metal, hopefully i will have some more pics for those interested this week ;D oh yeah i stripped the dash too! memory isn't what it was  ::)

Your wish is my command :D
Sorry about the quality, it didn't seem to want to clean up easily.

Brian
8227 8)

BRILLIANT!!!! thanks was very interesting,

Interesting article.

Back to tyres - Is the hope that Aprilia wheels bolt straight on - look like Ardea - and take Ardea tyres?   Would spacers give you the extra clearance?   Is it bolts or studs?

David

the truck actually has aprilia 2nd series axles on it standard not ardea, back axle is live type as fitted to some of the floorpan models, pretty sure i'll be fitting a 3rd series appia unit to "up the gearing" as its rediculasly low geared, hence it has basically aprilia wheels on it but 16" rather than 400mm, the tyres in the past have rubbed on the rear inner arches and are rediculasly (i like that word) close to the sliding pillars on the front, i am going to fit 6j 16 rims to aprilia wheel centers to stretch the taxi tyres i've bought and pull them away from the inner wings and pillars, i intend on using this as an everyday vehicle, 550 16 michelin are £120 +vat each to me, taxi tyres are £40 +vat kinda makes sence to use them , purists will winge no doubt but i want it safe and usable and feel radials are better for everyday use, this is also why i'm looking for scrap aprilia wheels to convert so that the origional wheels are still there to go back on, won my shrinker stretcher off ebay last night so hopefully i will be able to crack on again soon, i really need to retire! another 30yrs yet till i'm pensionable tho  >:(

...but you've at least got the option of butchering the wheels you have and welding them to what I presume are taxi rims...

Is this the machine?  If so its the first time I've seen the small size with a foot peddle which is rather a nice combination.  Until seeing that one it hadn't occured to me to convert mine to a peddle...  What I have also seen is a long reach conversion - pretty much have to make the machine from scratch but able to use the same jaws.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shrinker-Stretcher-Garage-Body-Shop-Workshop-Metal-Set_W0QQitemZ250450994997

Of course had a little browse when on ebay and this one was new to me.   Would take twenty times as long as the streatcher, won't do the shrink, but gives a better finish from the tool.   Of course can clean up after the streatcher so unless loss of material thickness was critical no benefit.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AIRCRAFT-MODEL-MAKERS-TOOL-SHEET-METAL-ENGLISH-WHEEL_W0QQitemZ370221170633

Its the swagers I struggle to resist...  Have told myself I must have a serious go hammer forming the floors (make a wooden mould to hammer into, sandwich clamp the surrounding floor flat)  before spending money on one more large heavy lump to store.   All the same for interest:-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Deep-Bead-Roller-Joggler-Floor-pan-swager-8-rolls_W0QQitemZ110406161141

David

These seem such a lovely idea relative to the cast monsters.  Anyone had a go on one at a show?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=260433897486

http://www.justinbaker.co.uk/

To avoid itchy ebay finger I look as his rental price - aside from the pure logic of may never need one, not got the space, better things to do with the money, and the argument that home made stumps, mallets, and slappers could skin the same cat albeit waking the dead at the same time.

But SUCH a lovely idea...

David

heres a good 1 for you, my dad decided to make his own english wheel, yes thats right he made his own (THE WELSH WHEEL :D) gets better! guess what he used for the top roller..............fulvia wheel bearing!!!!, used another bearing (profiled) for the bottom roller and bobs ya uncle , worked that well that he made his entire astura body on it , various panels for me for the appia etc works really well, anyway talking about panels more progress has been made on the ardea today, its taking a huge amount of filler to straighten it out, didnt realise howmany origional welds there are too, there are 6 on the roof alone without what ive done!!

more...........

and more  :D...............

Out of interest do you buy filler on price or quality?

David

qaulity comes first, cheap filler is generaly like iron to sand down, doesnt flex well so can crack, and doesnt always adhease to the metal well, i usually use U-POL EASYSAND, and U-POL TOPSTOP to finish, used both for about 12yrs and never a problem, its a bit like the spay filler , i always use U-POL REFACE, cracking stuff, doesnt shrink when set and very easy to use, i've used more expensive and cheaper products but always found the best results with these products, paint is a different thing alltogether, different painters have there own preferences, my friend owns a major bodyshop in wrexham, he hates dupont i love it, he likes ici i dont, but we both agree that ppg used to be the best BLOODY EXPENSIVE BUT THE BEST!!! unfortunatly unipart have stopped selling paint my dads augusta and my appia are both painted in PPG DELTRON but my augusta fulvia and integrale are painted in dupont

Hi James,
Is that a footwell you've just plated over? with van variants I know that manufacturers often left out the rear seats & extended the load floor forward to cover the footwell,  but it just doesn't look deep enough to have been a footwell ???  will the space still be accessible from the inside when your finished, as it looks like it would make a great hidden compartment.

Brian
8227 8)

hmmmm interesting this 1, the pickup was in fact an estate variant with rear seats, if you look at my earlier pisc you will see the mess that i had to remove to reveal the foot well, yes its now going to be storage accesable from behind the seats, i intend on making new ribs to extend the existing ones and a few other trick ideas have come to mind to make it look a little more authentic around this area, theres a hell of alot of work left to finish this area off and to actually make it look right, i also need to make a rain channel to go across the cab back for the tonoue cover to attatch and drain to so that the bed of the truck doesnt get wet, the next major fabrication will be the dreaded tailgate, father and i discussed this only yesterday and we think we're pretty sur how we're going to do it, got a few weeks work left yet before i think about spray filler, anyway well spotted  ;D

bit more progress today...........

Hi Chugga,

you didn't use to make patchwork quilts for a hobby did you :D

Brian
8227 8)

as it happens...........................NO! alot of welding aint there  ::), and theres alot more to come! its suprised me how well its actually fitting and that (in my eyes anyway) its starting to look as if it should be there, i think by the time i've finished it will have cost me more in mig wire and gas than what it cost to buy the truck in the 1st place  :D

Before its painted would be nice to have a photo showing ALL the welding.  I can remember seeing an Aurelia B20 in bare metal at Tanc Barrats and they'd gone over it with a black marker pen showing the edge of each "panel" in the roof and so on.   Looked like those pictures in the butchers showing the different cuts of meat.  

Once its painted nobody will believe its a bit of this and that and dozens of bridging pieces.

Have you got any photos of the Appia front end before paint?  If this easier or harder than that one?

David

yes ive got some pics of the appia front end before paint, before the days of digital so i will have to scan or take a photo of the photo to show you, it wasnt as bad as the cab to do but its basically 3 different cars front ends welded together and we had to do alot of repairs to them to, i will see what i can do though about posting them, will prob put it on appia  section though

....in time...

More important to do "real stuff" than search through the shoe boxes of old photos.

Got my admin done so off to get some splinters!!

David

Something I've been meaning to ask - I can see the little patches are shaped prior to fitting, my guess is you bend them with gloved hands against a solid bench or something.  Is there any hammer and dolly type stuff going on after they are welded in or is it grinder then straight to filler?

David

simple panels like that are easy to make as they dont really have any compound curvature in them, those 2 panels i actually beat around the gas bottle on my welder  ;D when tacked in used a hammer and dolly to tidy them up, shrinker stretcher turned up today so absolutly landed now i can crack on with the back end, wont be doing much to it this weekend as saturday i'm hoping to be picking up an air dryer for my compressor and sunday going to pick up parts for a future project, on the plus side i have odd headlamp glasses for the truck and just won another on ebay

having a serious change of heart and rethink about the pickup.......NO I'M NOT GIVING IN!!!.....i want to use this everyday for back and to to work , i'm seriously worried about lack of power though, 28bhp is erm...... useless! especially concidering its weight, supercharging would probably give me another 15bhp ish so that would take me to 43 bhp, respectable but i feel probably putting the engine to its limit, as between myself and father we have approximatly 5 spare aprilia engines and boxes 48bhp in standard reliable tune is looking more likely, going to measure up both enginebays and see if it will shoehorn in, keep you posted  ;)

Is it that you've just worked out how many kilos of filler and welding wire have gone into a "very light" truck since you pushed it through the door ;)   

Am keeping my fingers crossed you squeeze it all in...otherwise the next sequence of photos will be "take the front end of an Aprilia, cut here, weld to the rear 2/3rds of an Ardea pickup that was cut down from a van that's now been split lengthwise and widened to match the Aprilia bulkhead".

The only other combo I can think of is a Gamma engine under the rear deck  :o

David

...or keep the Ardea with its standard engine for local service, and convert the Evo to a pickup for the express deliveries...

David

Now There's a good idea!!!

Brian
8227 8)

pity i've just sold the EVO  :'(

Just to say that I've seen it in the metal! 8) and a fine job it is too.

They'll have to resurrect the 'Odd Ball Trophy' at next year's AGM - sure fire winner this.

Robin

P.S. I'VE SEEN THE INFAMOUSE TROUSERS TOO!     Scary or what!  :o

thanks robin  ;D, quick update, been busy with other things (moving house and work ) so haven't had much time for the beast the last few weeks, anyway started again today making the panels to finish the sides off (boxing them in) shrinker stretcher works a treat, my aim is to get all the fabrication done by the weekend and spend saturday afternoon and sunday welding, fingers crossed shouldn't be long before i'm ready for the next major problem TAILGATE!!!, will post photo's when i've got enough significant progress to show

Glad to hear you're back on it...and if you could put in a picture of the shrinker/streatcher as well that would be great...

David

PICTURES............

It LOOKS like that tool worked like a charm.  Any problems or tricks?

David

No problems at all worked a treat  ;D, amazingly every panel fitted 1st time , really pleased worthits weight in gold!!!

bit more...

You're making this look too easy...   Try as I might I can't see you breaking a sweat on the tailgate.  Maybe the Aprilia engine will be a squeeze and demand some thinking but again I can't imagine you struggling with it.   What you need NOW is a PROPER challange.   How about turning a pile of Aprilia spares into one of these?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21688809@N02/2963004407

http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z11720/Lancia-Aprilia-Pagani-Barchetta-Corsa.aspx

http://www.velocetoday.com/cars/cars_94.php

David

Went looking for more pictures and stumbled on this story below.  You'd be in good company...

http://www.eurocarblog.com/post/722/an-original-car-lancia-develops-the-aprilia-sport-zagato

I know there were a number of special bodied Aprilias - but that Pagani is my favourite.

That particular car also has a cris-cross flow head .

http://www.lancia-historie.de/images/spezialmotoren/aprilia_pagani/high_res/Aprilia_Pagani_01.jpg

David

beyond my capabilities i'm afraid, but if ever an aprillia chassis with no body were to turn up then maybe, i was looking at buying an aprillia chassis earlier this year but unfortunatly it sold while i was trying to do a deal, never mind, aprilia engine, well we've done alot of measuring between the truck and 1 of our aprilias, the width isn't a problem + the ardea enginebay is actually taller than the aprilia! length wise its alot shorter , we are going to try a bare crank case head and rocker cover in situe to see if we stand a chance without serious modifications to the body, will keep you posted

tailgate and appeture is next to do, we've been thinking about how to do it and come up with an idea that we're both happy with, if you look at the photo on the previous page you can see how curved the back end is!!!, its going to be a bit of a challenge especially to make it hinge propperly as well, i know how i'm making the fram and skin , its just the hinging thats goin to cause head aches ???

wwwelcometomyfirstpost.com ...

There's something similar here - a bare shell for €200 in Turin. An Appia I know but it may be of interest to Lancia Ute lovers nonetheless ..... or maybe they are as common as muck?

http://www.citymotors.comm.it/
 (http://www.citymotors.comm.it/)
http://www.citymotors.comm.it/Foto%20Macchine%20Europee/Lancia%20Appia%20Cammioncino.htm (http://www.citymotors.comm.it/Foto%20Macchine%20Europee/Lancia%20Appia%20Cammioncino.htm)

...alongside this "raro" classic...

http://www.citymotors.comm.it/Aggiornamenti/Marzo%202009/leyland_sherpa.htm

The formula Panda was a new one on me.  But there must be something about 1950s Italy as the one that jumped out at me was this one:-

http://www.citymotors.comm.it/Aggiornamenti/Ottobre%202005/nuova_pagina_12.htm

Anyone been there?   The "group shots" half way down this page (link below) show the scale.

http://www.citymotors.comm.it/noleggioautovetture_home.htm

...as does the header shot on the home page...

http://www.citymotors.comm.it/homepage.htm

David

I WANT I WANT I WANT !!!!! ;D, what a bargain!!!!, just to let you all know , i have been chipping away at the truck but nothing really of interest to show you all yet, hopefully more pics after weekend

and might i also say WHAT A CLASS 1ST POST!!!! .......... i like you  ;D

<< bowing deeply >>

In fact my first post was a bit longer than that but not relevant to this thread  .... so I cut it to my clipboard before posting and then forgot to paste it somewhere else .... but but I have now

few more pics of progress...

more......

and a little more of filler work on 1st skim.............PLENTY MORE TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::)

Hi Superchugga,

It's looking great, Jacks going to have to reserve at least 3 issues of "Viva Lancia" alone for you, when you get around to doing your write up with photos ;D

But being serious for a moment, how could you have ever imparted all that you've done on this project alone, in VL ??? perhaps a taster needs to go in VL a with a direct link to this this subject.

Brian
8227 8)

What I like about the photos is that it makes my Augusta chassis repairs look like NOTHING.  As I come to the end of the painting I look and think about a big patch and a long weld, or little patches, or replace whole sections and just have to weld the ends.  Looking at my project this morning - stepping back - ANY of the solutions are a walk in the park next to what you're achieving on this project - ANY of them are workable - ANY way I tackle it shouldn't take all that much time - the key is to just keep "chugging" on at it.

Great to see - learning loads - and an inspiration...

David

...as for Viva Lancia any of us could report on this in the same way as might write up a visit to Jim Stokes workshop...   To me (as a reader) its as valid and interesting to report a spectators view of the restoration as for Chugga to tell the story himself.

However I'm going not going to write it as I'd rather spend that time pushing my own project forwards.

Another thought - could a Viva article be a "visitors book" for the project?  Would something like my last posting sit right in Viva Lancia as one of a dozen or so different reactions to the project?  We'd each write from a few words to a paragraph.  Jack could pick his favorite photos and include a note that these are six of the sixty or whatever it is now.

Just trying the think of the middle ground between the way a forum grows and how a traditional article gets written.  Thinking about it sometimes an event like the Sliding Pillar or the AGM gets that "visitors book" write up.

David

thankyou both  :), glad to see your enjoying this thread, as for an article where the hell would i start :D!!!, really pleased with how its taking shape now, i've done alot more fiddly jobs, the channel across the back of the cab is actually curved both ways and we had to put it through the swage to press a gutter channel into it, this gutter now continues all the way to the edges of the sides to drain water off cab back, making the sides of the cab was tricky, big thanks once again to my dad "he made the gutters", its nice to see fellow enthusiasts taking an interest in "MY CREATION!"  :D, as i always say....will keep you posted lol

FYI all - I've started a new thread "How to bridge between the forum ann Viva Lancia" in the "members", "articles in Viva Lancia" section.

http://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2281.0

Chugga - fingers crossed you only have to write it up once, little and often, and here...

David

few more pics.......these show the ends of the gutter rail and my sander "OWEN" :D

"as for an article where the hell would i start !!!, "

T'was but a jest, it was never intended to be taken seriously ::)

Brian
8227 8)

getting back to a serious note, i think putting your work on here is good not only for others to see but to remind "myself" what i've actually done, if i go back to the start and see the pictures of what it was like (shape and size wise) i can see the change is quiet dramatic, however seeing it everyday in the corner of my unit it "always looks the same!" if you get my drift, my memory is terrible and i'd forgotton loads of detail work that i've done , so i think its a good reason for everyone to put their stuff on here, bit like your own personal resto diary  ;D

dear lancialan, please please please dont find anymore lancia comercials , if you do then please please please dont show me, the appia in turin...........looks like i may have bought it  :D, its still in negotiation but looks about 85% that its coming to wales!!!,

You're Mad ::)

Brian
8227 8)

isnt that all part of owning a lancia  ???

been pulling out dents amongst other things and getting the sides into filler, put a second skim on the cab too...

more...

Very True, but some are madder than others ;D

Ardea is looking good.
Brian
8227 8)

Strange..... but true...... the Ardea Camionchino came from City Motors in Torino!!!
Ade.

how strange!!!!

Well I'm delighted for you that a new toy is on the way - and the current looks pretty good in its two tone grey over cream - can't be long now and its just the "oily bits".  Am looking forward to seeing how the engine conversion goes - if you do take that route - and also how the tailgate takes shape.  Much to do on the interior?  Solve the wheel/tyre riddle?

David

well been busy again today, tried the aprilia engine and to put it blunt NO CHANCE!!!, david i've still along way to go on the body work yet before "oiley bits" but hoping to have it in atleast spray filler by christmas,

unfortunatly the engine is a tad too long, the sump sits on the front axle and bell housing up against the bulk head, next plan is to strip the ardea engine and see if bigger linors could be fitted as well as the blower, another alternative would be to fit a tuned appia engine, main problem with this is that the appia is columb change "floor change box is like looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow" and to fit to an ardea box would be difficult as the starter motor is on the opposite side of the engine, so back to planning again folks  ??? anyway i think i've found some more suitable bumpers, i know what they are off do you?? see what you think ;)

Surely modifying the bulkhead a little to fit the Aprilia engine would not be a problem for someone so deft with the welding torch as yourself??

i did think about it but it needs about 4 inches extra room to clear the front axle and drop to the right height, this then gives the problem of the fuel tank, gear lever, will it clear the pedal box etc, with all this in mind i think i'll knock it on the head and have a look at the origional engine next  :-\

Ardea with a power bulge ::) That would be different ;D

Brian
8227 8)

Moving the firewall sounds obvious - until you remember that there was so little space he's only just streatched the cab backwards a similar amount.  Carry on too far along such lines and it will look like an E-Type Jag and have a pickup bed with space for little more than a 5 litre can of petrol.

With the Appia engine could you graft an Aprilia box on?  If not what would it take to add the column change?

David

3RD picture from the bottom on the previous page give a good indication of how much too long the aprilia engin is, bear in mind the bell housing studs were hard up against the bulkhead at the same time, biggest problem with using an appia engine with either the ardea or aprilia box is the starter motor is on the wrong side so would take a lot of modding to fit  ???, havent given up yet so "will keep you all posted!!"

Have you tried an Appia engine for size yet?  Could an Appia column change box be converted to a floor change?  Perhaps with a remote like a later Fulvia.

Otherwise there's always the "obvious" solution of an Aurelia transaxle  ::)

How bad would it be modifying a gearbox to cope with the starter being the other side?   On Scrapheap Challange they'd carve out the clearance and bolt a bit of folded tin over the hole.

David

Congratulations! Thats great news and I am pleased to have been instrumental in a small way. Sounds like a great roadtrip - somebody really needs to go down there and see what else they have lying around - but perhaps you will just have it collected? Wales will be the richer for it when it arrives anyhow...

well folks, i've just bought the appia pickup from turin  ;D, i'll be bringing it back to wales in about a month, another huge project, even the itailians cant believe i've bought it and that its going all the way to the uk  :D

Is it just a shell?  I'm sure you will have plenty of Appia bits, but did you know that the Appia Camionchinos had Aurelia front axles!

Good-on-ya !!

David

yeah i knew the axle was aurelia, apparently B24  ??? it is just a bare shell, already sourced bonnet bumper and grill, going to modify s3 appia doors "make new skins etc" as no one seems to have s1 or s2 doors to sell, may have to mod the dash aslo as no one has s1 instruments, but like the ardea i'm not bothered about origionality more about just having it  ;D, will start another thread when i've got it but if anyone knows of s1 appia bits or aurelia front axle or wheels LET ME KNOW!!!, once again alan thanks but please  NO MORE !!!

jaysus ted

yeah i've had that kinda reaction before  :D, but yours made me laugh , cant wait to get it now gettin itchy fingers, brains working overtime planning my next venture ;)

Like this one?

http://www.lancia-club.nl/jml/images/stories/Algemeen/Elefantino/appia%20camioncino%20wow%20sv4000%2024.jpg%20aangepast.jpg

David

you know as much as me david, i've only seen the photo posted on here  :D, pretty sure its the same thing though

I'm waiting for the day when you really do convert an Integrale into a pickup...  "I know they rust along the rear edge of the roof, but that one really is gone".

ANYWAY - what of the project in hand?   Started on the tailgate yet?

David

tailgate is in the making, we've started making a dummy tailgaite to get the rough shape and dimesions, if this is succesfull then we will make a propper finished item, we've had a few ideas and i'm keeping them to myself at the moment, their a bit "TRICK" if you know what i meen but should make it look convincing that its genuine  ;D, both the Parry brains are working overtime at the moment  ::)

Bit more progress, welded in the top hat sections in the floor over the origional rear footwell area, finished base of cab off, ground it all off, another 2 skims of filler on the sides, final skim applied to roof, re-profiled rear corners as i didn't like the 1st job that i'd done on them, started making new running board brackets and gave them a first fitting after knocking all the dents out of them but before i weld them up, so all in all busy busy busy, probably wont look much different on the photo's but its coming along nicely

more...........

I can tell you're not married  ::) ;)

started making a tailgate , this is just a 1st fitting and mockup, hinges arn't going to be anything like what we've used so far, this is just to find the best position for the hinge to pivot from so that the tail gate clears the rear panel and ends up at the same level as the rear deck , real head ache  ???, still its getting there, need to extend the deck floor and fit propper hinges next .......i think!

couple more....

Ever thought of filling it with water and having the first Lancia mobile hot tub. ::) ::)  looking good

With Chugga, Warby and the feather duster sharing, during a demonstration ;D

Brian
8227 8)

DOESNT EVEN BARE THINKING ABOUT!!!!! :o

If this tie up with Chrysler is serious maybe we should think about a merger with the UK Muscle Association (http://www.moparuk.com/) which seems to be the only Chrysler club over here.  Then you could solve the engine problem by sticking in 413 cu.in Hemi Head Sonoramic (see below) and, whoosh, colour you gone.

John

...and on the drag strip no worries about steering lock...

Then again maybe even to keep it straight with that lump in it!!

Perhaps "just" the supercharger as planned eh?

David

well we'll see what happens with the appia pickup, its definatly having a dare i say it......FORD back axle  :-[ , looks like i have a b20 front axle, as it happens a fulvia engine fits straight onto an appia box  ;D, i've already said though if its biodegraded beyond restoration SPACE FRAME and huge engine, happen to have a spare dedra turbo engine  ;D

updates on progress, very little to show as mostly cracking on with filler work..........

more...........

on a slightly less serious note, anyone got any suggestions on how to fit these new inlet valves  ??? slightly larger than origionals but should help it breath a little easier  ;D

You've had some value out of the shrinker - the "bumper" looks great and the top edge has come out well.  Just the dreaded tail gate to go...

As for the item on the desk did it used to be Warby's BS valve?  If not should it be?

David

the "bumper" is actually a replacement rear valance that i'm making, the shrinker stretcher actually broke!! :o HOWEVER..... dad to the rescue again , the top lever had cracked through the pivot because of the pressure used to operate the jaws "poor design and cheap casting" anyway dad made a new top lever of his own design which is working far better than before, the valve is actually out of a ship!

Chance of a photo of the shrinker mod?

David

Do you think that the shrinker could possibly be the answer to the valve problem?  ;D

I have just been looking through some old photos and came up with these of when Ed bought the Ardea in 1995

...and a couple more from when the wings had been shot blasted and primed

didnt look that bad did it, but i can see you had a hell of alot of welding done too it!!, the last pictures you posted are presumably after sills and floors were done as thats pretty much how i had it with the yellow prima on the sills etc, thanks for taking the time to post them its interesting for me to see some of its history

bit more done today, rear panel now fitted, n/s corner was badly bent from some sort of knock and badly repaired so i cut it out and renewed it

a few more.........

Its shaping up nicely!!

What are you going to do for rust prevention in the spare wheel well etc?

David

4.5 inch grinder + sanding disks "lots of them!" shot blast any bits i cant sand, etch prima, anti stonechip paint and colour, the main secret with rust is to make sure no moisture can get to it, if its air tight / sealed it cant get anyworse, its best obviously to remove what you can 1st ,  the spare wheel well isnt as bad as what the floor/ deck area was and thats cleaned up fine , i will post as and when i get to that area  ::) , got alot on the next month, possibly bought another appia as a doner for the appia pickup, then i have to collect the new pickup, i'm also having to go and collect some other parts this weekend for another project (top secret hush hush ) so "THING"  is taking a back seat at the moment

Hi Chugga,

Your excellent work serves as an inspiration to anyone who's brave enough to tackle this kind of thing, particularly now as I'm trying to straighten out some old front-end accident damage on my Appia coupe'.  ::)

What kind of welder are you using please?  Make, model, & pricing might help me make decision about which one to buy.

Kindest regards,

hi the welder is quite old now , i was bought it by my parents for my 18th birthday and i'm now 35!! its called a MINI RAGE 142, its 160amp, i think aslong as you go for a reputable make with a high ish power you should get good results, 160 amp is about right as it will go low enough to weld thin metal and high enough for fairly heavy steel, huge welders ie 160 amp+ tend to blow holes in thin panels and smaller sets temd not to give good penitration, to be fair this welder has had some hammer over the years but still works perfectly as it was pretty exspensive in its day, hope this helps, good luck with your resto and how about some photo's on hear so we can see your work  :)

On the topic of MIG this is a very full site - with its own forum.

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

From a quick scan the shortlist might include the Clarke 160TM and Butters 170c.

http://www.toolsbypost.com/product_pp.php?category=1003&id=4377
http://www.rotecweldingequipment.co.uk/acatalog/Butters-150-170c-MIG-Welder.html

...and the advice seems to be to contact this guy...

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/weldequip/

David

Hi James - I've just come across the picture of your pick-up in Viva Lancia - August 1995 - when Ed had just bought it!

mess wasn't it!!!!!!!!! :D

Hi David & Chugga,

Many thanks for all the welding equipment info.  This is what this forum's really about!  :)

make sure you buy 1 with a (euro connecter) on the weling gun, makes replacement alot easier in the future as they are available from most good welding supliers or motor factors  ;)

a little more work done today........

and for those who haven't seen the shear size of the rear springs, all 16 leafs!!!

Bloody Hell :o what is it's payload ???

Brian
8227 8)

a little more done today, stripped out the dash, steering columb, wiring loom, steering box, brake pipes + master cylinder , wiper motor, chassis plates , engine mounts and various other odds an sods, only bizzare thing ( to me anyway) was the brake pedal switch, it fits under the pedal box on a small metal plate where its collected 60yrs of water and rubbish  ::) and needless to say its in a hell of a state!! , anyone recognise it , is it used on any other models??

i also cracked on with the front inner wings and getting them into etch prima, i use aerosol etch as its nice and thin and it shows up any cracks which aprilias suffer with........ guess what.......i found some!!! couldn't be seen clearly with the naked eye  but the etch soon showed them up, if i'd used a heavy prima it would simply have filled over the cracks which obviously isn't the best  ::) i also made some bumper mountings and fitted them as they were missing on the n/s

brushable seam sealer was applied over any previous repairs on top of the etch prima, next step will be to get the engine bay to the same stage then apply some colour  ;D theres a bit of welding to do in the back of the glovebox / bulkhead area first, looks like the screen has leaked into the glovebox over the yrs and its made its own drainage system ( about a 7 inch slot!!) at the bottom  of the glovebox

Hi Chugga, looking better already ;D what are the 2 black knobs on the right in the last picture for?

Brian
8227 8)

hi brian , there are 5 levers in total  :o ithink they are for

fresh air vent
starter
fuel tap
choke
hand throttle

if you look carefully you will see a silver lever between the two black ones, pretty sure thats the fuel tap and the other 2 are hand throttle and choke, middle of dash lever is air vent and next along to the right is the starter lever, its a bit like a signal box behind there lol

Great to see it progressing. 

I loved all those levers as well.

What specific etch and seam sealer do you use?

David

Another thing about those levers - levers just like that with black spherical blobs on are familiar to me from the Aprilia. For the Aprilia they hang below the dash – one for the starter and the other for the hand-throttle. And then 30 years later a similar lever and knob is used on the Fulvia for the choke control.

It pleased me to find such continuity of detail.

Keep up the good work Chugga!

Colin

i use a variety of etch primas, usually upol in a can for small areas or mipa through the gun, seam sealer i just buy from a man in a van lol, great guy called kieth from mopul products (1 man company local to me), great quality stuff though, engine bay is underway so hopefully more photo's to come soon, aiming to get under the arches in the engine bay in the cab and spare wheel carrier painted very soon

abit more done today, finished degreasing and bare metaling engine bay, welded up the rot at the bottom of the glove box and a few more stress cracks!!!, found a few numbers stamped into the shell, 1 is obviously the chassis number but i'm unsure at the moment what the others are unless like an augusta they had a "build number" ??

more...........

here's the number if you can see them , middle photo is chassis number

a little more work done today, whilst matty and owen were stripping the appia camioncino down , myself and father set to making an extension for the rear floor of the ardea, basically because it origionally had rear doors the floor finished short of the rear end with the doors closing to it, because i'm fitting a tailgate and seperate spare wheel compartment the floor needed extending to divide the 2, we started by making the strip in 2 pieces and welding them together, then we clamped it at 1 end to the rear bumper (vw beetle front bumper), heated it up and slowely bent it to shape, then the fun began, it took me and father approx an hr and a half this morning to get it somewhere near fitting then me the rest of the day to finish it and weld it in, all in all there was approx 10hrs work just on this piece!!! :o, have to say its 1 of the trickiest parts to make so far

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been pottering again today, to me anyway this is where its starting to get interesting, the ardea is well under powered and followers of this thread will have seen my previous FAILED attempt to put an aprilia engine so i've bought a floor change conversion off don cross for an appia gearbox and decided to try an appia engine and box for size, i'm also going to use an appia back axle as its a far higher ratio and (with enough power) should cruise at 70mph instead of screaming at 50!!, anyway after a couple of hours work today this is where i ended up  ;D

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so there we have it, there's still plenty more to do though, i need to chop out more of the tunnel to allow the gearbox to move up approx anothe 1.5 inches, chop off the origional engine mounts so i can raise the front of the engine more (rhs fowels oil filter housing) and finally make some new mounting points to weld into the engine bay, on the plus side when rebuilt with zagato pistons and a twin choke weber it will be double the power or more than the 28bhp ardea engine , its a shame to loose the 5speed box off the ardea  but atleast the engine box and back axle will all be matched ,

Bingo!!   

David

not quite! still plenty more to do, started by cutting off the o/s engine mounting off the body to clear the oil filter housing, i chopped more out of the tunnel/bulkhead to clear the top of the box propperly, i put a straight bar through the stating handle holes to line up withe the center of the hole in the timing case , this gets the front of the engine at the correct height, then i bolted the propshaft onto the gearbox without the coupling so its solid, this meens i can get the rear height correct, the prop was a couple of inches above the axle but the flanges were parralell to each other,
its important to get the line through the crank>gearbox>prop>& rear axle pinion all in a straight line, if any are out of line the this will cause terrible vibration and possibly knacker up either the gearbox / axle or couplings
i'm happy with the way it all fits now just need to make up the mountings ( good job i had the appia there to take measurements off )

.......... after this we decided to remove the rear axle and try an appia item to up the gearing, all well and good having extra power but pointless if it will still only do 55mph flat out!! anyway to be blunt IT DOESN'T FIT  >:(  its approx 4inches narrower, so where do i go from here?? an overdrive is a no no, simply not enough room under the floor at the back of the gearbox to fit 1, a 5 speed appia box would be ideal as would the euro millions and in fairness i think i have a better chance of winning the latter than finding a 5 speed box
we checked out the idea of putting either an ardea or appia diff into my axle but again this is a no go as the trucks diff is far deeper and if either of the other diffs were put into the origional axle case the half shafts would be behind the holes their supposed to fit in,
looking in the parts book most of the parts in the axle have aprilia part numbers, we think its a none irs floorpan type axle, the only parts without aprilia part numbers seem to be the crown wheel and pinion, the diff is standard aprilia, so next plan is to strip an aprilia diff and the trucks axle, hopefully the crown wheel and pinion will swap over and then problem solved

.......... whilst all this was going on we started to fill up the rest of the rear end , starting to take shape slowely

A bit extreme - but what would it take to widen the axle?

Also I'm going to use that tip for prop to rear axle alignment!!

David

if all else fails i'll get a crown wheel and pinion made, my dad recons about a thousand pounds to have them made as a 1 off, i cant really see any demand for a batch to be made  :D, i would prefere if i didn't have to spend that kind of money on an axle so fingers crossed the aprilia bits will fit  ::)

To make replicas of the Austin 7 single seaters its common practice (as much as such things ever can be) to chop an axle up and remake with an offset such that the prop runs down the side rather than under the seat.   The short half shaft is easy enough, and the long half shaft is cut and the extra length put in with sleeve joints.   

It sounds drastic, is going to depend on the exact shape and weldability of the case, maybe you'd make up the longer half shafts from scratch or find the Appia ones fitted...

Something to ponder before writing a cheque for a grand.

David

hmmm maybe, i'll bare it in mind, axle is being cleaned at the moment ready to strip, i'm really hoping the aprilia crownwheel etc will fit

work has commenced on striping the rear axle, we had to make a puller to remove the half shafts but everything else was straight forward enough, my dad now has the diff and is currently dismantling a standard irs type aprilia diff to hopefully swap the crown wheel and pinion over, we powerwashed the axle complete after a good soaking with alloy wheel cleaner ( works a treat on rust grime and alloy diffs and drums) dismantled all the brakes which (1st impressions) look in really good condition, all the nuts and bolts are soaking in neat alloy wheel cleaner over night to make them like new again,

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....fingers crossed....

Looking good, hope everything swaps over ok ;D I take it the oil needed changing ;)

Brian
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the oil was suprisingly clean, i've re-used it, recycled been green whatever you want to call it........... it provided about 10 mins worth of heating in the unit  :D

James. if you are using old engine oil for heating I have about 10, 25Litre drums of old engine oil that you are welcome to. There used to be a local garage I gave it to, but that is now a housing estate! and the local recycling center get a bit funny if you try to recycle more than 5l at a time!  Ade.

Thanks ade i always collect it though the year and burn it this time of year so if its a problem for you to get rid of send it my way  ;D we will have to sort something out for when your either up hear or i'm down near you to collect it , 10x25lr drums is about a weeks heating so well worth me having, thanks for the offer and i'll definatly take you up on it , james

done a little more this weekend, rubbed down the rear inner wings , spray sealed them, re etched them, then colour (atlast !!), also finished cleaning the rear axle casing ready for paint and then painted it into colour, the plan is to refit the diff then fit the axle to the car, then fit the shafts brakes etc so i can tighten everything propperly as it goes together, anyway here's some pics and of the products i use

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Whats the black paint you're using on the axle and do you use anything under it?

In the past I've just rotary wire-brushed various bits of suspension hardware like this and put Hammerite on but it always seems to rust through in service, even when I apply 2 coats with a brush.

its good old black 2pack, i used a di grinder with sanding attachement to clean it up 1st, then etch prima, then 2k prima then gloss, i do it in a way thats called "wet on wet" which meens as the 1st paint is just dry "to touch" you put the second paint on without rubbing down between then the same again when the prima is just about dry or skinned over straight on with the black, as the paints haven't fully cured the adhease to each other with no need to rub down between coats, this method is no use whatsoever on body work but works a treat on things like the axle and under the arches also saves alot of time and effort, i've also had excellent results with dulux bare metal prima >undercoat >gloss on chassis and axles in the past and the rust doesn't seem to come back, 2k has a slightly better shine to it and stays shiney longer however the dulux is more durable and less likely to chip off as it doesn't cure hard like 2k, hammerite if i'm honest i've never really liked , never found it to last as well as the other 2 ways that i've mentioned , hope this helps  ;D

Thanks Chugga

2 pack is beyond my technical reach but I do agree with you on how underwhelmed I have been with the properties of Hammer5hite  - probably one of those products that is deliberately targeted only at DIY people like me 'cos the trade has a better answer that is either cheaper, better or, as in your case, more dangerous. I will revert to good old Dulux type stuff in future.

I have been generally restraining myself on your pickup threads of late because I feel a bit responsible for the latest affliction .... even the added humor of the photos from the "Where's Warby?" thread cannot adequately compensate for how shocked and horrified I felt when I saw the first pictures of it over Christmas. So far I have really just been trying to figure out how to deal with these emotions and my heavy guilt before venturing any opinion as such on the whole situation.

In the meantime however, I will leave you with the words "broderie" and "gruyere" and the following images and a sincere apology.

Alan

So James ,when is the British Lancia Museum in Wrexham going to be stocked and open to the public 8), after all you seem to have most of the stock between you and your dad. ::)

alan i'm truely gratefull that you put the link to the appia pickup on here, absolutly landed that i've got 1, yes its a mess but be honest what do you expect for 200 euro's  ::), i meen i've just paid 205 euro's for a door for it (including postage) so as far as i'm concerned BARGAIN !!!   ;D
roger ,as for our collection, i feel it will be a shlumph collection rather than a national 1  ;D , yes its grown over the last few yrs but i have sold a few to, admittedly selling my s3 fulvia and replacing it with 2 augustas and 2 aprilias wasn't my initial plan but it just happened , however i did sell my 1600hf.............and then bought the ardea  ::) , then i sold the quattro ............ and bought ALAN (appia truck) oh yes i sold another s3 fulvia a couple of months ago for restoration as i was running out of space, yes i know i bought another s3 appia but that doesn't count as its a doner for the pickup,

A little inspiration for you http://www.flickr.com/photos/mauboi/4314403008/

i've seen it before , i was drooling though when i first saw it  :P

just to keep those interested updated, after stripping the rear axle we found the cw&p was basically aprilia, crown wheel went straight in  however pinion needed modifying ( i'll let my father explain that as he did the work ) just recieved new bearings for it and my dad is busy rebuilding and shimming it all back together, hopefully by the weekend the axle will be going back together, i've decided to have a short break from the pickup and finish my fulvia off as it needs so little amount to finish it and i quite fancy using it this summer, so i'll put some pics up as and when i start on it again,

Good Man!
All work and no play will make Chugga a dull boy, about you had a break :D
Brian
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Brian i have kept myself busy whilst waiting for bearings and oil seals etc, last weekend i went to ron francises to pick up some more parts for both pickups, front bumper for the ardea and a side lamp steeringbox and headlamp rims for the appia ( all aurelia parts!) whilst i was there though i forgot i needed the trackrod and droplink/steering arm off an aurelia for the front axle , i would have thought it used an appia steering box but the parts book clearly shows its b10 soluckily ron had 1 available for me, , this weekend i'm down south hording more sliding pillar parts for my resto's so i'm always busy  ;D  you'll never see me sitting on a beach thats for sure!! to much risk of being harpooned lol  :D, hopefully the rear axle will be going on in the next week but i'm waiting for brake seals and hoses at the mo before i can finish it , next job will be fabricating the engine mountings for the appia unit into the ardea, once this is done i can think about painting the front inner wings and engine bay etc, how this will fit around finishing the fulvia heaven only knows  ::)

a little more work done today, back axle refitted, diff fitted , halfshafts in, brake pipes cleaned and fitted, shox cleaned but need new silent blocks, my dad is busy repairing the wheel bearing retaining nuts and making a spanner to suite , as with most lancia nuts like this they are in a hell of a state as people rarely have the correct tools available to dismantle, hopefuly the axle will be finished this week and it will be back on all four wheels again

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and finally...........

Looking great James,
they say the "Devil makes work for idle hands", never any chance of him finding work for you to do for him then ;)

Brian
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How will this fit in round the Fulvia?   My vote is press on with this one!!!   Isn't the finish line in sight now?

David

david there's still a hell of alot to do to the ardea yet, my plan now is when the ardea goes into prima i'm going to leave it for a few weeks to harden through propperly, even though i use 2k prima without an oven it still takes time to cure propperly, in this period i'll finish the fulvia off and hopefully get it on the road, who knows i'll have probably changed my mind again by then  :D

My mistake - I forget how much you get done in such short elapsed periods of time...

"Progress" for me is pushing the car up the drive to roll back to be tight to the right hand side so I can complete the wall started eight years ago. 

David

Thought you might like this picture of me when I first went to look at the Ardea in 1995.

thanks edd, the more i can get on it the better  ;D  , have you and your brother thought about a seperate thread on hear of pictures of cars you've moved over the yrs?? just been looking at the aurelias and stratos pics etc very interesting and would be good to see more,

I love the luggage rack ;D

Brian
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O.K. James, here's another one: Mont Cenis, having a rest while the brakes cool!

Is that a standard Aprilia?   It looks sooo much sleeker from that angle.


David

a bit more done today after augusta fettling, finally got the rear brakes on, my dad had rebuilt the wheel cylinders half shafts needed repair, hub nuts were in a hell of a state so he repaired them and made a spanner to fit them, he also fitted new oil seals and i re-assembled, so its what to next do i carry on with body work or engine conversion  ???

Things back  ;D get cracking on it again and finish it this time

I Can't Wait ;D

Brian
8227 :(

http://image.off-roadweb.com/f/8311130/0609or_08_z%2Bmojave_250%2Bbaja_bug_side_view.jpg

a little more done

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Excellent James,
Doesn't look like you'll have much seat adjustment room though!
What is the little bracket with the hole in for, at the top of the door aperture in the last photo ??? I can't believe it's a courtesy light switch, or could I be wrong?

Brian
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brian it has one top and bottom , a pin bolts to this and its the door latch, identical to an appia system

Ah, now I see, a throwover from the clamshell doors, must make for good location.

Brian
8227 8)

yes brian they work very well and simple to adjust, not a huge amount to show , been cracking on with the filler , one louver was badly out of shape so i had to repair that, also i cut the tunnel out of the scrap s3 appia to put into the ardea, by no meens a simple task as i'm using a floor change box and the tunnel is totally different but closer than the ardea tunnel, i've started making the front engine mounts up and getting the engine and box at the correct height and angle, plenty more to do yet, looks like i'm going to have to make a special exhaust manifold to clear the bulkhead and modify the rhs inner wing to clear the weber manifold

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James coming on great but Glutton & Punishment Spring to mind ;)

Brian
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ARHHHHHHHHHHHH always a problem with a conversion!!!, steering columb goes straight through the inlet manifold!!, think i have a solution for it, going to get the front mounts located first, i've gone this far (a bit too far to turn back) with it so its going in regardless

Lovely job on the transmission tunnel.  Any problems linking the clutch peddle to the box?

You're going to have to come up with a bigger problem than the steering column and inlet manifold needing the same space to get me worried - I've every faith in you - but please don't spoil the surprise as to what the solution is.

I'm trying to remember - have you a "good" engine ready to go in or will that be a project of itself at some point?

David

Convert it to left hand drive?? ::)

nope , lhd is not an option i'm afraid, its a load more work just to make the columb hit the exhaust manifold, after a little thought the 2 parry brains have come up with a solution, i'll post about that though as i do it  ::) , anyway i've been fabricating engine mounts, welding up stress cracks and strengthening the front end

now before anyone shouts at me for "not origional" hardly anything about this truck is origional and please please please bear in mind that i own a tyre shop and this is going to advertise my business, they are kind of period late fifties early sixties made by BRM, anyway see what you think

Interesting wheels.  It's your car, business, etc. etc.  Run it on what you like... but... they are too small for the wheel arches.  Certainly with those tyres.  The custom / rod look might quite suit the truck, but you gotta get the stance right to make it work.

Great project.  Though the word project seems a bit inadaquate  :)

Hi James,
Great work as ever, can you dirty the wheels up a bit, as they do look a bit "Bling", a set of minilites would look better I feel.

Brian
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What is the intended colour for the pickup ?
I was wondering if you were going to put two V4s inline and make a nice V8 ? :)
But as an advertisment for the business it's hard to beat !

Explanation time, the wheels are 15inch with 165 80 15 tyres, they are brand new and need all the bare alloy areas painting yet so hopefully this will make them look a little less bling!!, i have gone for 15 inch for 2 reasons , reason 1 "readilly available " reason 2 as we have changed the cw&p and gearbox i felt it would be over geared with 175 80 16's on it which might i add also rubbed the inner rear wings and top edge of the front wings, also bear in mind that the shell is bare at the moment so its ride height should drop making the wheels sit up in the arches more, i intend to either remove a few leafs or find more suitable rear springs as i think they will be far too stiff for just normal road use again this should drop the rear end to a more suitable ride height but im not aiming for a low rider  ;D , colour will be the mid "airforce blue under the rear wings, i had thought about 2 tone but feel it may look a little odd given how narrow the bodywork is above the moulding on the rear end, well so far so good , thanks for the comments its a far  better reaction than i was expecting  ;D this is what the wheels should look like when painted, this is the 5 stud version mine are 4 stud

Those wheels look lost in the arches, and I expect any that "fit" visually will give zero load capacity in the back and rub on every bump and take away any steering lock at the front...  Doesn't do it for me on any level I'm affraid.  

To be construction as another idea what could you do with painted, maybe banded, steel wheels?  I'm told "the look" used to be a colour different rim from centre.  Those colours could match a two tone job on the body.

As for tyres I'm more fond of the look of tall tyres on, say, a Ferrari Boxer as the "rubber bands" seen on the chavtastic rubbish that struggled on the ice last week.

White walls are another option - or paint in the logo like on a 70s F1 car.

David

We crossed in the post - I can see these solve a bunch of problems rather than causing more - and the "paint" option is already in your head - and two tone has already been considered - and that you're not planning to cart spuds to market in the thing so the spring rate and clearance can be fiddled with to make it work...

I'll print a picture in black and white and ponder !!

David

Another option is to do as Tim Burret does with Aurelia wheels and weld 15in rims onto a centres from wheels with knackered rims.  You've then got control over the offsets.  Maybe weld 16in rims on with the required offset?

What could the other options be...

Reduce the wheel arch size to match the wheel tyre combo?

David

david your missing my point about the 16inch wheels and tyres they were too big and im trying to drop the gearing slightly, just checked the rolling radious of the wheels and they are as near as damn it the same as 165-400, if you look at these 2 pics side by side one is with 400mm wheels and the other is with the 15's, like i said it will come down a load when there is weight in it, at the moment its a bare shell with 2 axles so suspension is on maximimum up at the moment , last photo shows on the rear inner arch where the origional tyres fitted rubbed the inner arches, there is conciderably more ofset on the alloy wheels to the outside so gives me more clearance,

The middle picture is the one I'm puzzled by - is that a 16in wheel on the back but with a different tyre?   The wheel/tyre on the front looks like it belongs, the one on the back like a space saver.   

I'm going to have to look at "normal" ones a little harder to get my head round it.

While I accept its a promotional vehicle, and I'm not your target customer, I'm thinking of those "vintage" vans with tiny wheels that just look wrong and if anything put me off rather than encourage me to look out a business.  Almost as bad as those vintage wedding cars based on a transit.  I'd look up some pictures but I've only just had breakfast.

In contrast something like an ex-GPO Moggie van on correct crossplies looks a treat and would have me following it and working out where it called home.  Whatever wheels and tyres this WILL be an eyecatcher.  If it was an Astra then a bit of bling and something special paint-wise would be essential to make it stick out but this will draw the eye whatever.

Thinking about it - if the idea is to pull in the "aftermarket alloy" customers really you should put your current stock on it.  The van then becomes the catwalk model and if people like what they see you can sell them the same.

I've printed a B&W photo now.  See if it grows on me...
David

Thanks James,
the de -blinged wheels work ok for me. ;D

Brian
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...something else that occured to me today is that I'm a big fan of steel wheels so there's a knee jerk reaction at the thought let alone actually looking.  For example I prefer an early Fulvia on steel wheels.  I don't like Aurelias on alloy wheels.  At the 2009 AGM I enjoyed seeing a W123 Mercedes estate still on steel wheels with its body colour hubcaps, I can picture it still.

These days everything, modern and classic, seems to have alloy wheels.   Steel has become the unusual choice rather than the austerity option.

So I'm predudiced  :P

David

Know what you mean David as I generally prefer Steel wheels, but I think we have to give Chugga a bit of leeway on this, as it's going to be like no Ardea that ever left the Lancia Factory :D

Brian
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James,
Just spotted these and wodered if they were of interest.
Bit pricy but if I remember correctly they are of the rocking horse doo doo variety.


http://cgi.ebay.it/4-Cerchi-Fergat-Lancia-Augusta-Aprilia-Ardea-Wheels-nw-/280450345054?pt=Ricambi_automobili&hash=item414c24a85e

Brian
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thanks brian, they look like standard 400mm ardea rims, they would be way too skinny as i think they are under a 4inch rim + the price  :o , take into concideration that i paid £148 for the set of alloys!!!! and approx £100 worth of machining to fit ........BARGAIN!! i've always got the origional wheels that i can use however i want this too really stand out as an advert, so i think its gonna be bling for wrexham and steelies for the agm  :D , even my dad has grown to like them now, he's of the same opinion that he preferes steelies but atleast the brm/speedwells are period , however he did say i'd been watching a little too much Boyd Coddington lately ::) ,anyway back to important stuff, hoping to finish off the tunnel and engine bay this weekend, dummy engine is now out and i'm going to fit a propper (correct weight) engine this weekend and start making sure everything else around it ie columb + manifolds fit, wish me luck

I'd love them. It's just the price which is putting me off! Thanks for pointing them out.
 Regards, John

My next defence of steel wheels was going to be "what about using it to promote your business at classic car shows" but it sounds as if you've got that option covered...unless the car is modified in such a way to prevent that.

Now what about the paint - purple with a sparkle that shifts to green as you walk round it?

David

hmmmmm now theres a thought  :D , flames too , what about flames and spinners for the wheels, i wonder if sliding pillar can convert to air bags  ???, i think i'll stick to the colour i've chosen lol,be fair its not like i'm pimping my ride (keeping that for another project i have , full blown hotrod),  biggest problem with the 16's is its going to be "over geared" and id end up going everywhere in 3rd!! 15inch appia wheels would be better but try and get some!! as rare as aurelia wheels if not rarer, my s2 appia onbly came with 3x15" wheels and trying to get 2 more was a nightmare only s1/2 appias had them and most were rolled rim

Back to serious stuff again, i've spent my time getting the engine and mounts to fit propperly and used a full weight engine this time to make the engine mounts compress so that i could gain as much room as possible for the inlet manifold and distributer, anyway i succeeded!!! by moving the engine another 25mm forward and moving the rad it all goes in and clears, next i made up brackets and welded them into place for the floor change as the tunnel i had was for a columb shift and very different to a floor change tunnel, i've also had to move the handbrake back and cant understand why it was origionally fitted so far forward, next was to start making a dummy tunnel/cover to cover up the gear linkage etc before trimming, i'm waiting for a new tool to arrive this week to finish the job off, i've bought an air planisher which shoud get more curvature into the panel and make it a better fit, i've welded the piece i chopped out of the inner wing for carb clearance back in and been cleaning up the extra welds that it now has and most of the bulk head is now seem welded, last job tonight was fitting the doors propperly and sorting out the knackered theads in the A posts for the hinges , moving the door striker pin brackets so the doors would latch correctly, sort out the latches out in the doors so that they work and finally go from top to bottom on the B posts with a cutting disk in the grinder (whilst doors were shut) to get a reasonable door gap, so slowely and surely its coming along but still a long way off!!!

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more

Snug !!

David

WORK HAS RECOMMENCED!!  basically i'm cutting out the front axle mounts at the moment, both are heavilly stress cracked and bent! the truck has had a hell of a smack at some point and the mounts have moved and broken up, i'm also moving the axle mounts up an inch to in affect lower the car to standard aprilia height,and then i will be altering the amount of leafs in the rear springs to lower the back down to match , bodywork is also in progress with my apprentice making a start on the filler work once again, i aim to have it back on its wheels , straight and in prima in the next 6 weeks ....... we shall see ::)

Some photo's of chassis leg work that i'm doing at the moment and the spacers my dad has made to move the axle mount up, its alittle more substansial than the origional but i never want to do this repair again!!

more........... the welding in isnt finished yet, i need to measure up and make sure its all square 1st before finally welding into position, the n/s of the car is pretty straight this side had twisted anti clockwise and had been welded up whilst bent, i've honestly spent approx 10hrs cutting all the layers of rubbish off that had been welded on over the yrs, however atleast i know it'll be strong when finished  ;D

More progress made, spent the weekend measuring up and making sure the car is square and that the mountings are going to be in the correct place (too late once its welded!!) finished off the o/s mount and happy that its as good as i'm going to get (within 3 mm side to side) a new car off the production line is allowed up to 8mm of set back side to side an old car up to 15mm is acceptable according to most body shops and alignment specialists, so end result concidering the smack its had is pretty good, i've just finished welding the axle mount to the frame and will be removing to ark weld it up solid tomorrow then refit and weld the frame to the body tomorrow evening , so whats next  ??? oh yes........THE OTHER SIDE!!! , also on the plus side i put the truck on 4 axle stands and made sure the chassis legs at the rear were level so that the front axle would be parallel to it, after making sure the rear end was dead level using an 8ft spirit level across it i checked the rest of the body too, suprisingly the rear sides that i made are level to the chassis, as are the seat mounts, the front inner wings and engine bay and most importantly the front axle!  

another busy afternoon, the frame has been welded up and boxed to give maximum strength, finally fitted and measured up to make sure that its all still square, finally its been welded in however i've left it open sided for the time being until the otherside is at the same stage, when it was tacked into place we whipped the axle off and checked that the mounts were level so that the axle didnt lean side to side, its more accurate with the axle off and to use a big spirit level accross the axle mounts rather than rely on the axle beam itself, whilst the axle was off i finished the welding and commenced to chopping the other side out, i'd already pre cut the frame parts out ready for fitting and i'm part way through 1st fitting now, hopefully by tomorrow the n/s will be at the same stage as the o/s ready for me to make new inner wing panels, on 1 of the photo's attatched you can see how many layers of steel have been put in over the years and why i'm chopping it all out

the n/s...

Work of art that Chugga ;D

Brian
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thanks brian, took some figuring out how to make it strong  ??? think i got there in the end though, anyway with beckie in work and a baby sitter to hand i decided to stay back late tonight and make new inner wings for inside the engine bay to tidy it up a little, i'm hoping that i can finish welding in the n/s axle mount tomorrow evening and get most of the inner wings boxed off by next weekend so i can crack on with the rear end and finish the tailgait and spare wheel cover, theres still an awefull  lot of work finishing off the front end and making it look tidy before prep work but i'm on fire to get it finished again  ;D

I think you should stick it on a trailer and bring it to the AGM  ;D

Robin

Nice strong looking piece of welding. Well done Chugga.  :)

ha ha robin , it wont be attending the agm this yr and neither will i this , i've got a wedding to do with the augusta on the saturday afternoon and the night do to attend afterwards, sunday i think i'll need to recover from the saturday night and then i'll get back on the pickup late morning, welding is a little messy on the o/s as i'm trying to make the best of the mess someone else has made, n/s will be alot more "tidy" but it hasn't had the wallop that the o/s has had , when the inner wing panels are fitted none of the repairs will be seen  so aslong as its super strong underneath i'm not too worried if its not really tidy

There's strong, and nobody's going to argue that this is Super-Strong...

Great to see the progress.

David

yes pretty sure it will be as strong or maybe even stronger than origional, another late night tonight , girlfriends friend came around to see her, just nipping to the unit luv ;) anyway i've managed to refit the n/s axle support back in, re-measure , weld in and re-measure again, 1mm difference side to side from the front of the rear spring to the bottom of the sliding pillar  ;D good enough for me ;) hoping it will be back on its wheels with new inner wings by the end of the weekend ......fingers crossed

load more welding and fabricating this weekend, my aim is to have the trucks front finished tomorrow evening so that it can be turned around on tuesday evening to start on the rear end again. this weekend has been finishing off the engine bay sides and making new tops for it, welding up stress cracks, making new inner wing panels for under the wings and fitting, new chassis leg bottoms etc, pleased with the end result just got to finish the engine mountings for the second time  :o

looking Good ;D

Brian

You are getting the hang of this welding lark now ;) ;) so will i soon, as the NEW mot tester has killed my HF, and brought my bodywork plan forward by 2 years :'(   heres hoping his legs get better soon ;D

Well ,josh is off to the cinema with owen and bex is in work so hmmm what could i do this evening........... WELDING! yes thats what i'll do, i'm finding it all very therapeutic except for all the burns ;D , roger sorry to hear about the HF, i'm sure you'll sort it quickly, put the misses on a night shift somewhere.....works a treat , more wages for anti social hours and more free time for hobbies, win win really  ;) still on target for turning the truck around tomorrow evening in preparation for this weekends welding! i'd like to say that i'm on the home straight but somehow doubt it , however i think this is the most ambitious project that i've taken on and can hand on heart say i'm totally enjoying it,

...so the lesson is....next time even MORE ambitious????

got it in 1 david, i have got a really ambitious project in the pipeline, well 2 actually , got the welding finished on the front end last night at 11.45pm, shattered this morning but atleast i met my target  ;D

bolted the front back together and pushed it out for a look before turning it around to start on the tailgate , definatly lower, itsgot no weight in it yet its still a bare shell but measures the same hieght as an aprilia now , well the front does!!

 :o Front wings look Ginormous :o
But looking good.

Brian
8227 8)

James, will you slow down a little please, you are making me feel exhausted and guilty about my slow progress just reading about it all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But what a brilliant project, I hope to pop in to see it again soon, I doubt I'll recognise it !!! 

I might have missed the explanation, but why has it proved necessary to do that impressive strengthening work on the front wheel arches? Is this a weak point on the car or is it due to you transforming it into the THING? Some Fulvias also appear to have needed similar work in the same area' are they just the racing/rallying cars?

Keep going and look forward to seeing you soon,

                       Andy

andy aprilias are weak around the front end and do suffer with stress cracks and ardea's seem to be the same, however this looked like it had had a really big whallop on the front which was then badly repaired (i'm guessing when it was still a van), this then amplified the stress cracking problem and i found there was very little holding the axle mounts to the body, also the O/S mount was twisted in the chassis so with a straight axle on it the bolt holes didn't line up by nearly 10mm  :o , so i chopped it all out and started afresh using the n/s as a guide as it was basically straight, also i lowered it as its having 15" wheels instead of 400mm or 16" as it will now be too high geared to run standard 650x16 tyres or 400mm, its now been dropped just over an inch which is standard aprilia height, its now turned around to start on the back again, wont be any more progress this week as i have to clean the augusta and appia to use them for a wedding on saturday, but sunday onwards .....WATCH OUT, SHRINKER STRETCHER IS OUT  ;)

I've still been chipping away at the truck, theres been a few modifications done to the o/s engine mount as an error of judgement on my part made it virtually impossible to fit the master cylender  ::) however that is now solved and i'm glad i checked before painting it!! i decided that the front inner wings looked to scruffy to be painted body colour so they have now been filled up and straightened out more, the engine bay was the next target and that is underway making it look tidy before paint, unsure of colour for under the bonnet, origionally it should be satin black but i prefere body colour, to me the satin black (even though origional) looks as if its hiding something or as if its not been painted propperly, my dad and owen are both saying stick with the black , i'm 50/50 not really sure yet  ???, whilst all this was going on i've finished the gear box tunnel cover that hides the floor change linkage off, its taken me months to decide how to do it so that it will look factory when covered with carpet, fairly happy with the end result, my dad came down today to help asses the tailgait hinges, we know where were going with that now however i think i'm going to be modifying the lower hatch  by making it smaller (side to side) to clear the hinges, the hinges have to drop down nearly 5 inches from the floor height to make the tail gate level with the deck floor when its down, this would make it impossible to remove the lower spare wheel cover when the hinges are in situe, we have a plan that we shall try to execute this week and hopefully next weekend i will have a hinged frame on the back

My vote is body colour.  Both as a personal preferance and as its so far off standard, and as you'll never please everyone, just please yourself...

Loving the progress !!

David

Being as its not going to be original, why go for original ???

so far we have been working on the tailgate and hinges, probably one of the toughest jobs so far, its very simple to make it hinge downwards but to get it at the same level as the deck floor when down and to clear the rear floor as its coming down was a nightmare, due to the size of the hinges now i've decided to make the rear hatch for the spare wheel smaller, there was no hatch origionally it would have been hidden by the rear doors, the hinges are heavily modified origional rear door hinges so atleast some of it is period

finally....

What about the spring that j-u-s-t balances the weight at each point?   Then again it would keep popping up again if you parked on a hill...

Well done - that's a BIG step forwards.

David

started to make the lower tailgate, thinking of leaving it with a recess for the number plate ,

a little more progress this afternoon, masked up the inner wings, etch primed then antis stone chip painted them, de masked and the 2k primed the inner wings inside the cab and the engine bay, after this was done i painted the inner wings in body colour wet on wet then used what was left in the gun as a guide coat on the engine bay before flatting back, next job is to flat it all back and spray seal the seams and welds in the cab and engine bay then hopefully they can go into colour in the next week or so, back on the tail gate tomorrow  ;D

more..........

the colour is actually darker in real life than in the photo's, i think it must be the lighting in the booth making it look the colour you can see, its more like what you can see under the bonnet but again for some reason that looks a little dark  ???

bit more done today, prima was hard enough to rub down locally around the welded areas so that i could spray seal over them, engine bay was a nightmare as i had to mask up all the edges to make it look pretty when painted over, anyway its taken me from 9.30 am until 3 pm to do it , little jobs always seem to take the longest  ::)

with moving the axle up over an inch and chopping out the engine mountings yet again and putting new inner wings etc in i thought it would be really stupid not to check that the engine still fits in lines up and still clears the axle, anyway heypresto it still fits 100% and clears the axle by approx 10mm ;D

Are the hoses going to match that paint  ;)

Good to know it still all fits, and lovely to see the progress.

David

James, that is so impressive.

What is so great is that you really seem to be enjoying every minute of this (well, I guess there have been maybe a couple of not so good times) and now completion does seem to be in sight.

Do keep up the good work and keep us posted as well.

                     Andy

thankyou both, yes andy i'm really enjoying this project especially all its quirks and problems, anyway next problem is a fuel tank, i think its far safer to put a tank in the spare wheel well than over my legs , anyone know if tanks are made for spare wheel wells?? i can find lpg tanks readily but not really for petrol, my spare wheel area is approx 28inch diameter 6 inches height , any help appriciated

There's this one..... (bit pricey)

http://www.alfaholics.com/2010/07/25-litre-sprint-race-fuel-tank-149/

I'm sure demon tweaks will have something similar or check with alloy fuel tank suppliers.

Geoff

well after stressfull couple of months, a fuel tank has been sourced out of a tvr, finally moved house and almost straight there ( garages are sorted  ;D ) hopefully going to make a start back on the truck between christmas and new yr , my aim is to get it into paint by march now which i think is possible as long as nothing else takes me off it  ::)

I feel a New Years Reselution in the offing ;)
Keep up the good work, we all await the final result with bated breath and much anticipation!

Brian
8227 8)

front end fitted up , straightened , lead loaded, filled, petrol tank moved to rear bulkhead and rear scuttle extended to cover it, filler work nearly finished , hopefully prima this week  :)

Thing is really starting to take shape, doors wings and bonnet hopefully into prima this afternoon and late night tonight so the shell can be into prima in the morning, next decision is colour, after much argueing with Lee the painter next door I hate to say this to purists on here but its going to be far from standard in colour, my case is that the vehicle was more or less scrap and is now FAR from origional, Its main purpose is as an advert for both of my businesses , I need something that people notice and dont want something that people say "look at that" I want something that people say WOW LOOK AT THAT!!!!! and then say to their friends "have you seen Minera tyres pickup?? , one thing i hated about my grale when i owned it was all the attention it got, i felt like a goldfish in a bowl , however this is not being built for posing its being built as a genuine advert, colour is going to be an Aprilia motorbike colour which is a candy red (pearlecent), so i apologise to those who will hate it

is it going to the only Lancia company vehicle in GB ? :)

certainly looks that way! ;D made good progress again today, stayed late last night (11pm) and managed to get the insides of both front doors primered and all the edges and pin holes in the filler sorted, started again at 8am this morning and re hung the doors, finished the outside of the doors , pushed it into the oven masked it up and let Dave and Lee leather it with prima, this prima is mearly a high build sealer which will be blocked back by hand and all imperfections rectified then re-primered again before colour, because of the HUGE repairs this process needs to be carried out to make sure there is no shrinkage or sinkage of the paint leaving filler marks or rubbing down marks, even though its been baked it will now stand for atleast a few weeks to cure through propperly before being blocked

finally......

Looking forward to the the final 'Cerise fondante' colour !

Absolutely brilliant James, you have really pushed on with this and, in due course, you will reap your rewards !!

Best wishes,

                  Andy

Great progress James.......hoping to see it in the flesh shortly,

P

Wonderful James. Is the rear opening to accomodate a spare wheel/tyre? Richard

.......or a slim line customised picnic basket!!!!!


P

Thankyou all for the compliments, I can actually say i'm pleased with the way its starting to look, if you look back at earlier photo's on this thread you can see why i made the lower hatch, truck was origionally a van so when i bought it it had chopped down van doors instead of a tailgate, lower hach is just for a spare wheel, Frank when you come over allow a bit of time and i'll give you a tour of mine and my dads collection, pickup is coming to my house tomorrow to make room for a 1600hf thats being dropped off this week for repair

Noooooo....has James put it up for sale already......;)


http://www.autoscout24.it/Details.aspx?id=182523571&cd=634903178720000000

P

Hmmm thats how "rediculasly" short my cab was, yet another chopped van must be a craze  ??? doubt they'll sell it for the same reasons mine was so cheap..........NO ONE COULD GET IN IT!!! my mum who as you know is just under 5ft tall was the only person who could actually get behind the wheel of it and it was even snug on her, in a sence i wish mine hadn't been chopped but then again i probably wouldn't have had it if it weren't such a problem project

Don't worry about the cab size James...will bring a human sized shoe horn and some duck fat next time I'm over!

Onwards and inwards.....;)


P