B10*2283

[Dikappa]

1-0 for england this one!

[chriswgawne]

The earth strap can of course be bolted to anywahere on the body but there are various fittings in the pedal box area as well as further forward. And there are short and long OE earth straps.
I would try to fit 2 engine/body straps just in case you have a poor connection from one in years to come.
Chris

[williamcorke]

Thank you Chris,

As it happens, I bought one long and one short strap and the short one only is currently mounted. But to avoid future engine earth problems that's a good notion, so I'll probably fit the second at some point.

Some photos below showing some progress with cleaning and refitting the interior. The only part that I had to replace was the headlining which was remade by Elvezio in Italy. The fit and material are as near perfect as far as I can see, so very happy with that result. The interior paint (dash and screen surround) is original and hasn't been refinished.

There has been lots of long-winded cleaning and detailed patient trial fitting (a good range of self tappers is essential - to original size spec's of course - is essential and sometimes an oversize is needed to get a grip where the original hole has become enlarged), then fitting, then in some cases taking it off because I'd missed a critical path to the fitting of another part. The aluminium trim and weatherseal on the doors is especially fiddly and frustrating, probably the hardest challenge so far - up there with the door seals.

The engine isn't running quite right, and I'd appreciate any thoughts people might have on this. Main symptom is that it won't rev properly and will die on more than half-throttle. It starts and idles perfectly.

I have checked the timing of the two banks and it is matched (was off and needed correcting, which helped a bit), and the ignition timing is correct (on the light and static). Valve clearances checked. Distributor points gaps checked. If you stall the engine by fully opening the throttle and then check the float chamber, there's plenty of fuel in it (I'd wondered if the pump wasn't delivering enough fuel).

It is as if the carburettor (Solex PAAI) isn't working when on the main jets. I've had the carb fully apart (twice), soaked in an ultrasonic bath, blown through all the holes with carb cleaner and air and all seem clear.

When the engine was first started, it didn't have this problem. So something has changed...

Other things I've wondered about:
- The distributor is a Marelli S53C, which I think is correct for a B20, not a B12 engine as I have. I've been told that the advance will be slightly wrong, but on the other hand the engine ran OK to start with...
- One bank (2, 4, 6) is running hotter than the other one. You can feel it in the engine bay, and the difference in temperature is marked at the rear of the exhaust, both the gas emerging and the pipes themselves. What could cause this? My guess would be timing discrepencies, but I've checked this and can't find a problem.

Helpful suggestions and knowledge gratefully received.

[Richard Fridd]

Wonderful seats. Carburettor problems- fuel pressure?

[williamcorke]

The interior was one of the reasons I bought the car, you won't be surprised to hear.

What should the pressure be from a Fispa Sup 60 pump (feeding a Solex 40 PAAI)? I can't find any reference to this online, but will consult the workshop manual when I'm home this evening.

UPDATE - found this on GG's site: 'FUEL PUMP - Check the pressure coming off the mechanical pump - it should be between 2.5 and 4 psi.'. Thank you Geoff.
http://www.lanciaaurelia.info/tech-tips.html

I've bought a fuel pressure test kit (£15 on ebay) and will see what the story is in a few days.

[lancialulu]

Could it be a dodgy capacitor???

[williamcorke]

Could it be a dodgy capacitor???

Thanks. Interesting idea - and refreshingly easy to check! I guess the old (1950s) coil might also be failing when asked to charge/discharge more rapidly as revs rise. So I should try another coil too, if a new capacitor doesn't make any difference.

[williamcorke]

I have followed-up on the helpful suggestions from Tim and Richard.

Fuel pressure - it was straightforward, with a bit of improvisation, to hook meter to the fuel pipe (carb end), and the reading (photo below) of 2.7 is within the 2.5-4.00 psi range required. I should be pleased, though it gets me no nearer to solving the running problem. I suppose it's good to know that all's well with the pump though, and also to have a new tool on the shelf for solving future problems.

Condenser / coil. The idea that one or both of these components was failing seemed to make a lot of sense. So I had some real hope that the new coil in particular would be the answer. But sadly it was not so. The issue is exactly as before.

And there is still the weird symptom where the 2, 4, 6 bank is running much hotter than 1, 3, 5. Which might or might not be related to the engine dying whenever it is reved much about 2,500 rpm.

So I think my attention will have next to be given to the distributor and carburettor. Again, in both cases.

The dizzy hasn't been apart, just had points adjusted. Perhaps there is an issue with the advance mechanism? I think I'll have a look at that before stripping the carb again.

The bank heat question. Someone suggested that I reverse the ignition (dizzy 180 degrees out - I know how to do that having corrected it before). If, with the ignition 180 out, 1, 3, 5 was the hot bank, then it would suggest the ignition timing within the distributor is the cause. Is that right?

[Dikappa]

Love those seats!!!!!

[Parisien]

Love those seats!!!!!

Very similar to those in the B12 of The Automobile magazine. But yes agree sets off the B10's interior nicely, lots of niggley snags to work your way through William, but you'll get there in the end!


P

[Richard Fridd]

How about checking the spark plugs condition at the point of engine cutting out, if that hasn't been done already?

[williamcorke]

Love those seats!!!!!

Very similar to those in the B12 of The Automobile magazine. But yes agree sets off the B10's interior nicely, lots of niggley snags to work your way through William, but you'll get there in the end!


P

I'm sure I will, thank you Frank.

The Automobile B12 (do they still have it?) is the only other Aurelia berlina I've seen with an original leather interior. That car has individual 'bucket' seats in the front and the whole interior is really lovely. The colour of the leather is different - more a natural tan colour and paler in colour than the ones in my car. Different shape/style too.

Below is a photo I took of it as reference for seal fitting. The aluminium sill plates and steel hinge cover are fastened with cross-headed screws which I think are incorrect. There were none on my B10 when I took it apart and no references to them in the parts book. Yes. I have become a fastener geek and uber-anorak!

[williamcorke]

This morning I tracked-down my little infra-red spot temperature gauge, which thankfully was still working after a few years on a shelf.

This showed, alarmingly, that after the car was seemed to be near to running temperature after a few minutes at fast idle, the discrepancy between the banks is very considerable.

I measured the top of the cast iron manifold where it joins to the head. The reading on the 2,4,6 bank were in the region of 200 degrees C when the 1,3,5 bank was running at 80 degrees.

I can't see what would cause this other than coolant, for some reason, not circulating through the head in question. And there is no way to investigate this that I can see other than taking that head off (as a minimum - if the head is fine then more might have to come apart, I suppose).

The problem seems severe enough that I think I'd rather not run the engine again until I'm sure that doing so can't cause some damage.

[frankxhv773t]

That's not good news but you will not be confident with the car till you know what is going on. At least having the heads off to check the waterways isn't too massive a job. Good luck.

[chriswgawne]

In the dim and distant past, I had a 1600 HF Fulvia which I had done some work on the engine. I then ran the car to warm it up and the exhaust manifold glowed red hot.....due to the timing being out which was my error.
What sort of temperature is the cylinder head itself running at near a waterway?
Before doing anything dramatic I would have a close look at the distributor ( 2 sets of points, one for each bank) and maybe change it for another one and retime.
Also recheck the valve timing just to be on the safe side.
Chris