Lancia Motor Club

I've owned my Vignale for 2 or 3 years.  Bought as a runner, very original, but with horrible cream paint and wonky door gaps, a hood designed by Vivienne Westwood in her Kings Road days and several dozen other more minor issues to correct.

So I've been working my way down the list.  The body/paint were completed a year ago, and the hood done last Autumn.  So this spring I've been using it a lot.

One of the things I sorted out last summer was a 'sticky' throttle, which turned out to be mechanical friction between the pedal's pin and the nylon bush that it rotates in.  It seemed that the nylon (or whatever similar material Lancia used) had expanded, so some gentle reaming was required to leave a snug but not obstructive fit.

It took a long time and a lot of money to get the braking system working effectively.  But it seems the job isn't quite finished...

Since the servo and master cylinder were rebuilt for the second time (don't ask), the braking performance has been excellent, but the pedal doesn't always fully return.  This bad behaviour usually builds up over time, so everything is fine when you first set out, but after a few miles have to resort to hooking your foot under the pedal to pull it up after use.

Initially I suspected the infernal hydraulic/air system, but a niggle in my head made me wonder if perhaps the problem might be the same as the throttle linkage.  So...

Have any of you ever tried to remove a Flavia (presumably the same for an S1 Fulvia?) brake pedal?  The parts book only has lhd tavola which is a limited assistance, as the rhd assembly is, unsurprisingly, rather different.  Suffice to say it was a pig of a job just to get the pin that operates the M/C removed from the pedal shaft. Having done this though, it is clear that there is considerable mechanical resistance in the pedal's operation.

There are two bushes that the brake pedal shaft passes through, and access is very poor, so while I've identified the problem (thereby rendering the car unusable in the finest spring weather England's seen in a decade) I'm not sure what's to be done about it.

Lubrication with the pin still in place has no effect.  It seems I will have to remove the heater matrix (a job attempted unsuccessfully a year ago) to get enough clearance to fully remove the pedal (cross shaft / pin is about 8-9 cm long).

Do any of you have any bright ideas?  Has anyone else encountered and solved this problem?

Somehow it seems a rather Lancia problem, where bushings avoid sloppiness after decades of use.  Just a shame they've gone too far in the other direction.

I took the peddles out of my car (which I think is the same arrangement), however I did it on the bench. I suspect you will find it much easier if you take the column out completely. In the scheme of things it's not a big job (couple of electric connections, peddle cables and about a dozen bolts) and you can get clean access then, much quicker than removing the heater.

Mine was ok but I can't remember what the bushes are, if they are bronze then you can get sintered oillite bearings from pretty anywhere now.

Thanks for the suggestion Neil,

I think the bushes are some kind of nylon/delrin (or whatever the '60s equivalent might be), based on poking their ends.  I doubt bronze ones would have tightened.

The reason to take the 'remove the heater' route, is that I really should take it out to back-flush it anyway, as it is a very poor heat exchanger at the moment.   This is the reason I started an attempt on its cross-head screws last year.

William,
I had a lot of problems with my Fulvia 2c with the throttle pedal sticking, eventually this turned out to be the 2 plastic rollers under the Fulvia throttle pedal, I don't know if you have the same arrangement on your Flavia, I changed mine for small roller bearings and the problem went away, might be worth your while looking to see if it's possible to change the nylon bearings on your brake pedal shaft for steel roller bearings.
Brian
8227 8)

Have just had an exploratory session with the Flavia brake pedal.  Drove the pivot pin out as far as it would go (leftwards, towards the centre of the car) and sure enough, the heater box in in the way, so complete removal of the pedal with the steering column still attached to the car will require the the heater's extraction.

Not all bad news though, as the pedal/shaft moves smoothly and without any significant resistance when it is running in the left-hand bush only.  It seems, having experimented with the shaft in various positions (that doesn't sound right, I know), that it is the right-hand bush that's causing the problem.

I think it should be possible to - with some delicate sandpaper on dowel work - ream the bush without further dis-assembly.

Wish me luck.

Some relieving of the offending - tight - bush using a circular file, and the brake pedal is now returning properly.  Also, the brake feel is better, presumably because of the lessening of mechanical friction in the mechanism.

On to the next items in the bug list...

Let me know if your hood frame goes wrong, ;) as i have one here, soon to be scrapped if no one wants to collect it, Roger

Kind offer, but mine was restored last year and should be good for the next 40.  Sad to think of one being scrapped though.  Couldn't the Consortium find a home for it?  Someone will need it at some stage...