Aprilia Diary

[Parisien]

Simon, please reassure Jules that everything will be fine, Aprilias were designed and built to cope with the heat .......


                              Andy

....and cold and snow........ ........the Aprilia took 6 of the top 10 places in the recent Monte Carlo historique rally....1st, 2nd places too



P

[simonandjuliet]

Great day out on Saturday, a lunch for local Lancisti near Carcassonne.

Gerard Cassagnes is not organising the Rally de Roussillon for the first time in years , so there will be instead a couple of lunches - very French ! So at the weekend, 25 of us went to Chateau de Pennautier for a catch up. Very convivial ! A small turn out of machinery, weather a bit dodgy, but lunch was excellent - especially the veal tagine .....

2 integrales (both white), a pretty white Fulvia, a 4speed 2000 , a Belna and the Aprilia

Slight problem with the Aprilia, one of the front suspension units threw out all of its oil, so need to investigate

[DavidLaver]

You'll soon have an Appia as an alternative...

David

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks David, but I think it will be a while yet .....

Anyway, I found a definite reason for the oil loss. A rubber joint at the top of the suspension unit had disintegrated and the union and aluminium sleeve had come loose. So the oil I was pumping in , wasn't and the oil already there was coming out as well. At least the underside of the wing isn't going to rust

A couple of detail pictures showing the area concerned. First one shows it stripped with the damper adjusting rod poking out , the second shows it nearly back together with a new copper washer replacing the rubber one. The top bolt has 2 sprung ball bearings fitted into the sides of the hex so you get a nice ratchet feel when you adjust the damper setting !

3rd picture is with it all back together and final one the back of the wheel cleaned up, because it was very dirty !

[simonandjuliet]

A lunch invite from Tim and Sarah Heath gave us a great excuse to take the Aprilia out and see their new house. We had a lovely lunch with aperos in the sunshine, 4 courses and then the village "Countries of the World" carnival that they had laid on, just for us !

I forgot my camera so hopefully Tim can upload a photo of the Aprilia, but we did get a picture of Mathilda on the "GB" float - between the Goth drummers and the "Leaning tower of Pizza" float. There was also Opel Kaddett based type 35 Bugatti (replica !)

Thanks Tim and Sarah !

[lancialulu]

It was a pleasure to host the Aprilia. Shame the drive couldn't be driven on due to setting concrete finish. Photos when I return from the Mega Gamma meet at Speyer. Time to fettle the gamma now....

[simonandjuliet]

I am pretty sure that I have a cracked leaf on the Aprilia rear spring so I am prepping another. The spring compressor is on its way (Thank you Ben) and the new spring is in bits

For the record, there are 9 leaves, released length is 745 mm (hanger-bolt centres) and the silent blocks are 18x34x36 mm. I have one spare silent block , but need another, if anyone can help !!

Spring being degreased ready for painting and re-assembly .......

[the.cern]

Hi Simon, good old Robush Ltd!!!!

Silentblock  18 34 36 32, that is  ID, OD, IL, OL   They have 7 in stock at £4.60+VAT each. I am not sure about postage, especially to France.

I hope that is some help. Their number is 01473 738569.

They have always been very helpful and very quick and I would recommend them.

                                    Andy

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks Andy
They still have the note on the table following your call ! 4 on their way to France as we speak ...... (I only need 2 but I like to have spares on the shelf)

[simonandjuliet]

Spring ready for the silentblocs (power of the Forum) and then re-assembly

Leaves de-greased, de-rusted,and cleaned before a light etch and satin black. Very thin coats so as not to add any thickness to the leaves.

What is the best thing to use between the leaves when putting it back together ? My inclination is copperslip .......

On the top leaf there is a maker's mark which I cannot quite make out - "Lemoni" or "Temoin(i)" - Temoin in French is "witness" - is it a control mark ??

Also of interest is the damage caused by the spring covered bolts that help keep it together, wonder if this is a potential weak spot ?

[DavidLaver]

There's an argument for the leaves to be dry and to rub as additional damping - however if it was me I'd copper slip.  Paint should be ok but I've heard of plating (on over restored vintage cars) making them brittle.

Some cars have interleaving. Phosphor bronze?  Aurelias?

http://www.triple-mregister.org/forums/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=6812&whichpage=1
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Leaf-Spring-Liner-with-Lip-1-3-4-Inch,2079.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf_spring
http://www.suspensionspecialists.com/tech0003.html
http://www.heystee-automotive.com/parts/springs/what.htm
http://www.eatonsprings.com/techquestions/leaflinereffectonspringrate.htm

David

[chugga boom]

we've always used ordinary grease , seems to work well and doesn't really dry out, I have also used black waxoil on the outside as paint generally cracks on spring leaves with movement, also (not trying to make you suck eggs) but if there is any wear on the spring leaves from the next smaller leave , grind it out with a sanding disk as this becomes a weak point for the spring to break, if ground even though essentially the spring is thinner there is no sudden variation in thickness which causes failure

[davidwheeler]

I would also suggest wrapping up the greased spring - perhaps with something like duct tape (cheaper than tailor made leather gaiters).

[the.cern]

Simon, do not forget, as I did when reassembling the B20 rear springs, that the through bolt, which clamps on the inner steel part of the bush should not be tightened unloaded, ie whilst the car is jacked up. Don recommended for the Appia that it be done with part dead load on it whilst Clive Beattie, in his book '55 Years of Dirty Hands' suggests full dead load. Jim went with the latter stating that the live load and driving loads would be  additional loading meaning that at rest the bush is hopefully somewhere around mid range for stress on the rubber.

I hope that makes sense.

                                   Andy

[lancialulu]

Similar to clamping the silent blocks of a fulvia.