aprilia project

[Lapsed Cesare Ferrari]

On page 5 of the thread "Aprilia diary", David Wheeler's blue interior is a good example of Alperton series 1 Lusso trim, to my eyes. The semicircular recesses for the window winders are not on every car though. I am not sure if they are an earlier feature. My interior came from a 1939 Alperton car, and does not have them.

Cesare

[davidwheeler]

My door panels are original but the seats are a copy, but a pretty good one of what was there before.

[chugga boom]

finally!!!!! I drove an aprilia under its own steam today, granted it has no doors no glass no wings etc but even up the road to the mot station to test the brakes on the rollers was a fantastic experience, cant wait to try 3rd and 4th gear

[the.cern]

Excellent work James and so glad you enjoyed the driving experience after all that hard work. The first question is, how were the brakes? Second question, was it your Aprilia or a customers that you were driving? Third questions, where are the photographs of this momentous occasion?

Glad it is all going well and hope progress continues apace,

                                                       Andy

[chugga boom]

brakes were really good, concidering they have just been rebuilt and the car is probably only half its normal weight it was still pulling over 200kg per corner which is madness as the readings should go up as the vehicle becomes heavier, it was brains car , I decided to get that part of the mot out of the way as the car is still stripped and easy to work on in its present state, no photos im afraid as it doesn't look its best as its flatted off for its final painting on sunday, amazed at how different it is too an augusta, just totally different as all these lancias are from each other

[ben]

As you have nearly finished Brians how about trying your hand at a roof transplant?

Getting it on and off the trailer was an interesting challenge!

I find it quite strange to think that these two cars followed each other down the same production line 76 years ago in Turin,may-be came to the UK on the same ship (or would they have come by road?) and now they are together again in my back yard.

[JohnMillham]

Whatever happened to "TL"?

[sparehead3]

Tree'd I believe ...

[chugga boom]

now its been collected I can show you the end result 

[simonandjuliet]

Beautiful !

love the coach lines and the boot lid fit looks perfect ..... what did you use for the wing seams (bits between wing and body) ? The ally always rots !

Now , just needs using !

[chugga boom]

Brians car is a berlina not a lusso so should have a rubber piping not the aluminium so I stuck to origionality and bought the nearest match from woollies , the car travelled 100 miles back to Derby this afternoon and I believe its being used tonight to go to a vscc meeting , knowing Brian it will get regular use, bootlid was a nightmare as I made approximately 80% of it so a lot of hours went into making it fit properly, pleased with the end result

[simonandjuliet]

I thought all the seams were ally - you live and learn ....

[Parisien]

A work of perfection James, very well done. Am sure he's delighted with all your efforts and great craftsmanship, a real credit to you


P

[DavidLaver]

Shame about the wheels...

...on that van in the background.

The Aprilia looks fantastic - shut lines, the quality of the reflections, every detail.

David

[chugga boom]

thanks guys, theres still work to be done on it interior and rear bumper mouldings etc however Brian is more than capable of "finishing" the car, overall result was really nice and many of my customers made comments on what a good looking car it was, most of the time spent on it was getting all the panel gaps right, no point having a good paint finish if the basic prep and panel lines aren't up to scratch, enjoyed having it here and was sad to see it go , moved onto a 1600hf now(not mine) so will keep you all posted as it progresses