B20 awoken after 46 years

[ncundy]

Kevin,
nice to hear things are progressing well - sounds like it'll be a great car!

[HF_Dave]

Good to see things progressing, are you keeping in touch withthe owner regardin progress.

[the.cern]

Kevin, what  fantastic project and I can just imagine the excitement/relief at getting the engine to turn over with good  oil pressure and no horrible noises !!!!  All that care and effort you put into getting oil into the system before you turned it over definitely paid off.

A little advice please, you say that you will fit modern headlamps, what make/model do you propose to use?  My car came with Lucas units and, if I can't have the right ones, then I may as well use modern halogens with all their advantages.

Good luck with it all and please keep us advised of progress.

                            Andy

[the.cern]

Kevin, I have been following your efforts with this unique car with great interest and I've just remembered that when searching for wheel cylinder kits and other brake spares I saw reservoir units offered!!! A scrabble through my scribbled notes reveals that you might like to look at www.casadelfreno.it   I'm at much the same place as you with regard to the brakes but have yet to attack the reservoir so I've not asked a price !!!!

Good luck with it and please continue to let us know how you are getting on.

Best wishes,

              Andy

[Kevin MacBride]

I used Wipac headlamps. They came as a unit, complete with plastic bowl, and chrome retainer rings. They have a 'period' look to the glass, so dont seem too out of place. They fit very neatly into the original metal bowls, and the original chrome surrounds complete the effect. I'll post a photo as soon as I find my camera. My 3 year old daughter had a habit of 'collecting' things.

[the.cern]

Hi Kevin, thanks for the tip on the Wipac headlamps, do you know which model you used, I've looked on their website and, to me, its not an obvious choice. I do want to have something appropriate so your help would be appreciated.

Today has been attack your brake reservoir day, something I had been putting off !!! Well, mine is like yours Kevin, the suspension side, nice and clean and oily, came to bits and was reassembled without any problems. The brake side, let's just say was 'a bit different' !!!!!  The plunger was seized solid in the down position and I just could not release it. After a while, in frustration, I undid the 4 screws holding the top on and gave it a light tap with a block of wood, this released the top which could then move slightly and that gave a degree of movement to the piston, which I eventually managed to rotate. Having got that far, two thin bladed scrapers under the top were enough to persuade the top to lift about 3mm. After that it was relatively easy to get the piston to move freely. The only tricky part of the dismantling process after that was to remove the top of the plunger and thus allow the top to be removed. This was achieved by grasping the shaft of the plunger, through the coils of the spring, in a pair of thin nosed pliers with a piece of 320 grit emery paper to ensure a good grip. Fortunately, the knob was then able to be unscrewed by hand  and thereafter everything came apart easily. The seal was in appalling condition, just a slimy sticky mess of rubber and brake fluid which sticks to everything nearby like the proverbial does to a blanket. Time to try to get new seals !!!!

Good luck with yours Kevin, hopefully you will have already found a way round the problem.

Regards,

             Andy

[the.cern]

Kevin, one more thing about the reservoir unit, Jim reminded me that he unscrewed the cylinder from the main body of the unit and that, he felt, definitely contributed to the the freeing of the piston.

Good luck,

               Andy

[Kevin MacBride]

The lamps I used were Wipac Quadoptic Split Beam Units. Part No. S4695, which are for RHD cars without side light aperture. They came as a kit of 2 lamps, halogen bulbs, bowls rims etc. The bowls they come with fit neatly into the original aperture. I chose these because although the original Carellos are in perfect condition, the owner wanted to keep them safe from potential damage.
I managed to get the resovoir apart, in much the same way you described. I'd dumped the complete unit into a container full of 'Jizer' so everything was well soaked. The plunger seal had been transformed into a mass of black goo. Anyway everything is now cleaned and ready for re-assembly. The only part I need is a thin enough 'o' ring to seal the plunger unit with the casing.
On my own car I'd never dismantled this unit, so it was a learning experience. It's well worth doing, if only to see how the unit works. I shudder to think how much this would cost to manufacture these days, considering the amount of component parts and the various types of metals used. Even a simple wheel cylinder has 11 seperate parts made of at least 7 different metals. A cyl from a Fiat Ducato has 6 parts, 4 of which are cheap cast iron.
So here's a query for all you Aurelia experts out there. After I fitted the engine, I noticed a neatly 'cut' mark on the steering shaft. The shaft was touching the metal spring which secures the top of the fuel pump to the base. The pump, i'm certain is original, its a Fispa unit, with a 5 screw diaphragm. No matter which way I mount the top of the pump, there is no way I can see to avoid the shaft touching the pump. The engine is properly secured, on new rubbers, and the pump can really only be fitted one way, in order for the inlet and outlet pipes to line up properly. The fuel pipes are the original yellow coloured 'spiral' type, with correct banjo and screw type end fittings. I'm at a loss as what to do. My own car has an electric pump (the original pump 'hole' is blanked off) so I've nothing to compare it to. Of the other 2 Aurelias in Ireland, one has an electric pump. The owner of the other one is on his way to South America to drive his Mustang along the Bolivian 'Death Road' for the next month or so...
Its really very odd, even as it stands, the pump seems to be very close to the shaft. To remove the pump would require undoing the shaft, which on this car, also means undoing the gear selector shaft from the steering wheel.
Any ideas would be welcome.

[Kevin MacBride]

Bit of bad news I'm afraid. The owner of this car passed away suddenly last Friday. I had a brief conversation with his son. He did say to me that the car is to be finished, but I'm certain that once the initial shock has passed, this may change.
Its a shock to me as I was only speaking to the owner the previous week, he couldn't decide between coming to see the car, or watching the rugby on telly.

[Kevin MacBride]

Well, I've some news. Charleys widow and two of his sons called to see me last weekend. She wants the car finished and the family have agreed its the best thing to do. It'll take me a while to get 'into' it again.

[HF_Dave]

Thats good news, but bad news about Charley, it's a pity he did'nt get to see it. 

[Kevin MacBride]

Finally back on track, and some progress. As I have no ramp, work was slow and tedius. Apart from the fact that I'd lost interest to a degree. It was proving difficult to impress upon the owners just how difficult, and time consuming it is to re-comission a car left standing for so long.
I moved the car to a friends workshop. He has a spare ramp, and allowed me to use it, and also agreed to help out when he could.
I fitted a new exhaust, overhauled the rear brakes (I'd done the front previously), had the fuel tank out, cleaned and sealed.
So last weekend, we finally 'turned the key', with a little coaxing it finally fired, ran for a few minutes till the carb ran dry. Fuel pump is either not working, or needs to be primed.
Now, when I got the car, it had several boxes of parts, as the owner had dismantled bits of the engine bay (why I do not know).
One vital piece is missing....the throttle linkage. This includes the bracket bolted to the manifold, plus the two adjustable links.
So the search for a new link begins....

[Kevin MacBride]

A good friend of mine let me use his workshop and ramps to work on the brakes and exhaust. I fitted a new stainless system, and regards the brakes, the only new parts were flexi hoses and seals. All cylinders were cleaned and honed. As you can see, the plunger is 'up' so no leaks.
Notice the bootlid handle, is it a period accessory, I've never seen one like it.
More to follow. For the present, the engine runs, I can select a gear, drive forward, and stop....

[Parisien]

Absolutely wonderful news Kevin.......you are an oasis of all things Aurelia on the Emerald isle.......keep us up to speed.

P

[chriswgawne]

Great progress Kevin. Well done.
I have the same after market boot lid handle on my 1st series B20 and I think you will find they were probably offered originally for the Aurelia's where the bootlid was released from inside the car. On the later cars where you rotate the RH number plate light to unlock the boot, I cant see the point of having an extra handle as well? On my car, the handle is below the number plate.
I have a similar after market handle (not fitted and chromed brass without any writing) for Jacky's B24S Convertible whose boot is also opened from inside the car.
By the way I have a number of complete fully reconditioned brake/suspension reservoirs if you still have a problem although if your plunger is up you should be OK.
Chris