Augusta special

[DavidLaver]

Am loving these long, warm, light evenings.  Its not that I get more than 20-30mins at a time but two such sessions and it feels like I've turned a corner with it.

David

[DavidLaver]

The underside of the tunnel was interesting.  There's a structure to beef up the handbrake mount and, I'm assuming, to hang the end of the gearbox. 

One mystery is up near the foot board where there's a pair of slits.  First instinct is that the factory put them in but I can't imagine what they were for.

David

[DavidLaver]

The other mystery, and rather more important to fathom, is how the rear end goes togeather.   The little castings integral with the rear spring mounts I assume take the bumpers, but they could as easily be body mounts.   The stuff on the centre line I would have assumed was to do with the spare wheel mounting if the spare wasn't mounted direct to the boot lid.

David

[chugga boom]

looking good!! keep the pics coming good to see

[JohnMillham]

The small holes each side of the propshaft tunnel are to accommodate the long bolt which holds up the rear of the gearbox. It goes through a tube which in turn is inside a Silentbloc bush which is clamped to the gearbox. Mine was completely lacking any rubber, so I modified the arrangement like others have done and now have rather fewer vibrations! I'll try to attach a drawing or photo. The little castings integral with the rear spring mounts do indeed hold the bumpers and the number plate support and the rear corners of the boot floor. It was usual for the convertibles to have their spare wheels mounted on the boot lid, but some of the special bodies, like the March, had them elsewhere. I have just noticed that my boot lid might soon need some attention, as the wheels aren't as ridgidly supported as they might be.
 Keep up the good work!
 Regards, John

[DavidLaver]

Does an Aprilia have a similar sort of internal structure in the tunnel to support the tail of the gearbox?

The open question is what these slits are...   I saw one and thought it was damage, I saw the same slit in the same position on the other side and think "there must be a reason".  They could have been put in by the factory, they could be a dealer mod, they could be a DIY thing, it could just be damage.

David

[JohnMillham]

Looks like damage to me. I can't think of any reason for needing the slits. That part of the propshaft tunnel is usually covered by a rubber mat.
 I can't remember how the Aprilia's gearbox is supported, but it's a lot shorter than the Augusta's, so you probably won't be able to use the same system.

[DavidLaver]

My hope is the same system, but in a different place.  The alternative is "more chassis" in the same way as the peddles and brake master are supported.   Yet to see where the gear lever falls.  My hope is an extension is enough and put up with a longer throw, but of course then an issue with handbrake placement and tangles with knees etc etc.  All part of the fun!!

Anyone know if the Aprilia has the same "double skin" structure inside the tunnel or does the way the Aprilia power pack is mounted demand more?

David

[DavidLaver]

Seemed strange having the identical damage each side of the tunnel.  All I could think was if the slots were for clips or a sling to support the box on a clutch change...  Would have to be sharp buckles on someone's shoes to make the slots.

Yesterday I had a go with a 40grit disk in the random orbit and a wire brush in a drill.  Nice to see a gleam in a few areas even if the majority is moonscape.   Sizing up the damage to the main rails am having to tell myself "letting in big sections is less work than strings of small repairs".

David

[fay66]

The underside of the tunnel was interesting.  There's a structure to beef up the handbrake mount and, I'm assuming, to hang the end of the gearbox. 

One mystery is up near the foot board where there's a pair of slits.  First instinct is that the factory put them in but I can't imagine what they were for.

David

Looks more like the slot that was created by a cold chisel or bolster going by how the edges are turned in, but a bit of a crude way to make a slot, and certainly doesn't look like anything that would have been created by a power press.

Brian
8227

[DavidLaver]

Handbrake came off the tunnel a couple of days ago.  After a soak the pulley and its "halter" came free which gave the clearance to get the ratchet "rack" off.  Rest of it still seized so will give it a week of soaking before inflicting more torture.  The pawl/tooth end seems to move a little, the button end nothing.  There's a screw I'm guessing clamps the lever to its shaft, am pondering drilling that screw out so I can deal with the lever/button/rod/pawl away from the casting.

Photos to follow.

David

[donw]

David

If you end up needing a "spare" hand brake unit I am sure I saw one in my spares loft on the recent search for the elusive rad shell!

Don

[DavidLaver]

Lovely to put some names to faces yesterday, and another batch of "spy photos". 

I tried the rad shell last night and the front of the chassis IS different.   Looking at the early car yesterday, peeping through the lower grill, I suspected as much and crossed my fingers its wasn't significant but it really doesn't fit.   There would be ways to make it fit given no option: the "obvious" ones are to move it an inch forwards or modify the bottom of the shell.  However I do have an option and the decision now is to use the late type shell and grill.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained - and whatever the outcome it was going to be "one on the car, one on the wall" anyway...

David

[johnturner]

I'm surprised it doesn't fit.  I have seen a number of late Augustas going around with the earlier radiator shell, and you could try David Tipper (dhtethome@waitrose.com) who has one such to see how its done.

[DavidLaver]

I'll try again with the rad shell in proper daylight before it goes on the hook.

A little progress today.  Got a fair bit of wire brushing done a week or so back, and then watched it all go bright orange.  Today I loaded my jam jars with degreaser and rust eater and brushed one side of the dash top/scuttle, degreased and scrubbed, and got the rust eater on.  It dries to quite a nice satin black so is giving me a sniff as to what it will be like painted.   Am using the bilthamber Hydrate80 after SurfexHD at 30pct. 

http://www.bilthamber.com/

After another coat of Hydrate80 it will be Electrox zinc rich primer then Dulux trade gloss black top coats. 

There will be no filling, and am painting the chassis before repairs to "stop the rot" and cheer the thing up.  Some of it will need repainting after repairs, and I will have to wire brush back paint I've applied near the areas to repair.  Its not the ideal way to do it, but its not being done in ideal circumstances and I am not, as the saying goes, in the mood "to let perfection be the enemy of the good".
   
As the only way its going to get done at all is in little nibbles I've got to compromise on quality and accept rework.   Brushes are sitting in water both to be right ready to go the next time the window of opportunity opens and to cut the clean up time from minimum time requirement for a session.  If I have a dry half hour in daylight when I'm able to make noise I can progress.

Handbrake had a couple of wallops and another soak.  The "tooth" moves easily, the button still properly stuck as is the main pivot.

David