Aprilia Diary

[davidwheeler]

Rally prep delayed slightly due to co-organiser illness. More anon

However, the pedal assembly is in place as is the new fuel line. Whilst replacing the floor we also made new 'fold-over' tags for the fuel line and exhaust shield

Is it design or wear ?

If you look at the pedals, the brake pedal is slightly angled towards the throttle. I always "toe&heal" , or more accurately pivot the foot, when changing down on the Aprilia and it seems to be made easier with the brake pedal angled such. The pedal is very well made, and so I do not think that it is 70 years of braking that has bent it. More likely, subtle design details that you come to expect with Lancias ....

Not sure how clear it is with the pedalbox cover pulled to one side, but you can just see the non-original brake light switch. It now works on a spring when the pedal is depressed. I cannot remember the last time I saw an original functioning switch (would be very keen to acquire one if available !!!)

 

A 2CV switch is of the right type.

[simonandjuliet]

The poor old Aprilia has been a bit overlooked in the final finishing phase of the Appia, so today I took her out of the barn and gave her a good wash and polish, followed by a nice gentle "get everything moving again" run out

Usual first time out problems, sticky rear brakes, slightly lumpy running, handbrake slow to release, but after a few miles , she already beginning to feel like "my Aprilia" again ! The brake lights were being lazy as well, so maybe need to order the 2CV switch

If I have time tomorrow, I will do the tappets, plugs, oil etc etc

Nice treat was coming across this lovely Alfa Nuovo Guilia 1.3 on holiday from Germany. One of the very last , hence the different grill and interior.

[DavidLaver]

How many miles how often do you think it needs?   I used to think of three miles all in one go every other week as a minimum for a car I could then rely on as transport or for events.

David

[stanley sweet]

I once read it should be long enough to get everything to full temperature, partly to burn off the water and acids that collect in the exhaust after a cold start to prolong exhaust life. I usually do about 10 miles when I do go out. What I never do is start it and just let it run in the garage for a few minutes for the above reason. If I start it, I take it out.

[fay66]

I once read it should be long enough to get everything to full temperature, partly to burn off the water and acids that collect in the exhaust after a cold start to prolong exhaust life. I usually do about 10 miles when I do go out. What I never do is start it and just let it run in the garage for a few minutes for the above reason. If I start it, I take it out.

I usually make sure I take "Fay" for about 30 miles which gives time me time to get nice and hot work the clutch and brakes enough to make sure they're ok, at least 10 miles,  the rest is just for pleasure

Brian
8227

[simonandjuliet]

Been using the Aprilia over the last few days and she is definitely "my Aprilia" again. So I think that the answer to David's question is "as much as you can" !

Oil changed, suspension guides refilled, tappets done, everything greased, brakes adjusted, steering box emptied and re-filled with semi-grease (Penrite product that someone else has talked about) to reduce the stains on the floor etc etc.

Ever since I have had the Aprilia , I have been trying to cure a niggly leak on the top radiator hose, just a seep, but it drips onto the fan and then sprays onto everything else and makes it messy ! I have made new gaskets, glued them on with
Hermatite but nothing has quite stopped it. Finally I came across a batch of original gaskets which are much, much thicker and more compliant and it seems to have done the job. It still leaked at first , but then a couple of tweaks and now all seems well.

Been interesting to compare the driving experiences between the Aprilia and Appia - still cogitating and will share later !

[simonandjuliet]

It was nice to meet Xavier, a fellow guest-forumiste,  this week. He came to collect one of Chugga's stainless exhausts that had been delivered to me with some other bits. He is restoring an Ardennes that is now nearing completion and does look very good indeed. It was his first opportunity to drive an Aprilia/Ardennes so, we took her on my favourite circuit, got her good and warm and then gave her some stick !

He drove her as well and enjoyed the experience , I think !

It is finally time for me to start building a new engine for the Aprilia because I have had piston slap on one cylindre ever since I have owned the car and although there is no loss of power or oil use, the tap irritates me ! (Paul had over-heated her on the motorway 20 years ago ....)

The plan is to build a spare, temporary, 1350 engine/box unit , do a quick exchange and then rebuild my 1500 engine before swapping back. That way, the car is off the road for the minimum time and I get a rebuilt and tested spare engine & box

A couple of years ago I bought a load of spares and there was an engine amongst the bits. It had been badly stored in the corner of a damp garage so I was expecting the worst. There was a lot of surface corrosion , as you can see in the photos and it didn't turn.

However upon closer inspection it wasn't as bad as feared. Everything has come to pieces with care and WD40 - the only difficulty was the dog-nut that needed heat.

It looks like the engine had picked up 2 big-ends badly , which is why it was removed. Otherwise, mains look sane, pistons and bores OK , some wear on the top ring groove etc. It will all need to be measured properly to see what is within tolerances before I decide what needs to be done. To that end, it has been carefully boxed and was delivered to "Serdi UK" in Uxbridge last week along with some original Lancia technical data from the 1940's (available from the LMC Library - thanks Chris)  

I await news !!

Aprilia engines are a work of art, everything is numbered and stamped. The caps clearly numbered, the nuts and even the washers that go with each cap are marked as well.

The vane filter is absolutely filthy with what looks like aluminium shavings  .......

All happened very quickly so not many photos - sorry, will do better next time !

PS - anyone know where I can get a timing chain ?

[BlueSky]

It looks like the engine has a later 2nd series timing chain? If so Cavalitto had them for 50 euros last time I checked.

Good luck with the rebuild, hopefully the corrosion in the block is minimal.

Noel

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks Noel
On timing chains, and perhaps you have already gone through this, but I appear to have 3 systems.

The one you identified, middle one , in the first picture.
A second one , the same length but with more pointed teeth and a solid cam-wheel
A third one with a "triplex" chain, which is slightly longer

And I haven't even checked my 2nd series engine !

They all appear to have the same ratio, ie 20 teeth on the small wheel and 40 on the large wheel - as you would expect. However, I also have another small wheel with 21 teeth ...... now, that would cause problems ! It fits the crank, same pitch as the second one and is definitely Lancia - any ideas as to what it is for ??

Which set to use ?

The second,solid wheel system, has a new timing chain, but more delicate teeth ? The first one, I will need to buy a new chain and it has more wear on the wheels, or the triplex system - difficult to find a new chain I suspect !

A further complication comes with the width (thickness) of the bottom wheel. Although the systems appear to be interchangeable, the duplex sets are wider (21.7 mm cf 20 mm) and would need a thinner shim/washer between the toothed wheel and the distributor drive otherwise the drive will be badly lined up etc ......

Now to the top end, I have several cams and cam-boxes, and again they are not the same. I haven't checked profiles yet but one has a key at the back end. I have never come across this before and maybe it's for a take-off of some sort ?

Finally, proof that the cranks were balanced 

Anyway enough engine-porn - although David will be happy !

[DavidLaver]

Yum!!!

So new information to me in there as well.

David

[BlueSky]

Andrew and I went through the whole timing chain thing a while back when he was rebuilding the Stainless Stephen Aprilia engine/engines. You can read his tales of woe here:

http://narrywoolan.com.au/lancia-aprilia/stainless-stephen/stainless-stephen-8.html

As you say the middle timing chain and gears are 2nd series, the second with the solid gear is a bit of a mystery. We had one the same fitted to an engine that turned out to be slightly bent, but as we couldn’t find a Lancia stamp I would guess they’re an aftermarket part. And the third set with the “triplex chain is 1st series. The chains will stretch hence you have ones of different lengths. No idea what the 21 tooth wheel is off, perhaps Augusta or Ardea?

As well as the timing chain Cavalitto have complete 2nd series timing gear sets, which can be set up to fit a 1st series crank. Both of Andrew’s engines and mine have them. I don’t know if you can get 1st series bits though, but if it was me I get a complete new set.

I would guess the camshaft with the key at the end is an adaptor to fit a rev counter drive?

Interestingly the crankshaft in my engine has a 1951 Lancia date stamp, shows they were still making parts after production had ceased.

Noel

[the.cern]

 Simon, you seem to have a better prospect with that engine than I do with that from the B20. I have always thought with things like engines, nothing is insurmountable, but you do need enough money. I will be putting that to the test over the next weeks!!! Good luck with yours and thank you for the Serdi tip.

Picking up on Noel's comment about the date of his crankshaft, I pulled a half shaft from my Gussie to find a 1955 stamp on it. Quite unbelievable!!! Still, I presume demand was there and maybe they made a little money on them ..

Sorry to go off topic.

                          Andy

[DavidLaver]

Noel,

I was thinking "at last Simon has a new camera" before I realised it was you.  Really lovely images. 

Lots of useful information there, and nice to see all the split pins instead of nylocks and the also the lockwire which of course can't be replaced with modern alternatives.  Having said that maybe threadlock fluids have replaced that type of work now?

David

[BlueSky]

I think Simon's photos are just fine!

Noel

[simonandjuliet]

Thank you for that vote of confidence - I was beginning to get a complex ! - David already knows that I am no David Bailey ......

For reference, Cavalitto have timing chain wheels and chains - around the 300 euro mark for the lot.
David, I plan to split-pin everything as well.

Initial discussions with Serdi suggest that we are at the wear limits on the engine, nothing drastic, so it will probably involve new pistons, shell the big ends and white metal the crank. More than I was hoping for , but probably for the best if I want a perfect spare engine.

First step is to crack-test everything

The corrosion is all superficial, so that's good news