Portuguese Aprilia

[Mic]

I don't suppose anyone has a couple of those blue plaques, better than the ones in the photo?

[simonandjuliet]

Hi Mic
these are certainly better than mine ! (especially the bottom one) I would be tempted to clean and keep - unless of course someone has a better set ...... but they certainly seem very presentable

[Scarpia]

they are fine; it's a 70 + year old car, original features that still serve the purpose may look a bit old in my opinion.
Mechanical items need to work properly but cosmetic items with signs of age simply maintain the authenticity.(and i suspect its value.). With patience and enough resources one could manufacture the whole vehicle but i don't see the virtue in that.

[Mic]

Thanks for your useful and encouraging comments.  I stick with what I have then.

Fingers crossed for end of month.  Just that a year ago we promised the car for wedding of daughter of neighbour (an offer never to be repeated but they are rather special) hence a certain amount of pressure but it is always better to have some sort of definite date to aim for otherwise things tend to lag.  In any case the actual work only started last September and in that time one heck of a lot of work has been done.

[the.cern]

Definitely the right decision in my opinion !!

Good luck meeting your deadline and I am sure the wedding transport will be a great success. More photographs please.

                                         Andy

[simonandjuliet]

Aprilias make excellent wedding cars (as do other pillarless saloons) because the bride can get her frock in easily - just make sure the door pegs are clean and you put a towel or similar over them !

Keep the photos coming ....

[Mic]

Big news - Aprilia grill.   The one that came with the car was complete but taking it anywhere near an acid bath prior to chroming the thing, it would have dissolved.  The decision was taken to make a new one, all the interior parts as the basic frame was OK.  It might not be realised how complex the grill is.  There is a basic ‘net’ in which there are extra tiny holes.  These accept ‘pins’ from the vertical, shall we call them flutes.   There are no less than twenty-eight of these, each slightly different to the others.  A major fabrication job, beautifully done.

Battery.  I had been given a Bosch number which became a Varta number here but no longer available and the task was to find one that will fit into the battery box and not be too high.  Nothing suitable available here in Portugal so back to the web to find one to fit.  Order from U.K. late morning and early afternoon it is on its way.  As soon as it arrives a top cover will be made from the photos and dimensions that Simon provided a while back. 

Oh, and the blue plaques fitted, gearbox all sorted and about to be mounted..  Back to the electrician next Tuesday to connect lights and instruments, including flashers under the bumpers where they will not be too noticeable.

Photos.  In the ‘oficina’ it is too dark and crowded to take anything decent and I cannot use flash for the grill due to reflection, so have to get what I can and then play around to improve as far as possible.  Decent photos will follow as soon as the car is in decent light to meet kind requests.  Promise.  Meanwhile these will give the main impression.

About a week to go now, they say. 

[Sliding Pillar]

Mic, don't forget, on the grille the horizontal bars, behind the vertical ones should be painted black, this makes them less visable so you have the effect of just the vertical chromed bars.

[DavidLaver]

A lovely piece of work...

Any "in progress" or detail photos?

David

[Mic]

Thanks for comments.  More photos as soon as I can get the car into a decent position.

Grill.  I did not appreciate that the back grill should be black and possibly it is a bit late in the day now.  What think others?

Interior door pull - can anyone send a decent photo of one of these.  Not all cars seem to have them but makes sense and none available even on EBay where the gy who advertises one has just theone, not much good. So we have to make I think.

[Sliding Pillar]

Mic, it's just the small horizontal bars that should be black, easy enough to do with a small brush if somewhat time consuming!
Pic of Aurelia grill, but this is the same as the Aprilia. Here's a picture of an Aprilia too.

[Mic]

Grill - will have to wait for a while but thanks for comments.

Door pulls are, I found out from my out-of-date Italian, called Maniglie interna tiraporta.  Eventually found two sources in Italy, one guy probably has but I am fed up with waiting for his reply.  More successful with Giovanni of Vintage Italian Cars and I have found him to be reliable.  Should have gone to him first. Four  leather pulls will be in the post tomorrow he assures me.  The battery is also on its way so will be an exciting week.

[Mic]

Latest update.  I’ve been homologated.  They can’t touch you for it.  Well, actually it is the car that has been homologated of course, by the Portuguese old car club, the CPAA.  This gives exemption from MoT for eight years, renewable.  You get a small brass plaque to stick on the dashboard.  Normally one has to take the car into either Porto or Lisbon for inspection but the old boys’ act came into force, the member doing the inspection being an old friend of the restorer, so the guy came to the car.  And nattered, as they tend do here.  In fact he remembered the car from twenty years ago when it had been painted prior to its many years of rest.  He once had an Aprilia himself but this is now, he thinks, in Germany.

There is a check list of what should be checked and it is a more detailed check than I used to have to make for VSCC members’ cars for insurance.  The vital items are chassis and engine number and the latter is not easy to see once the engine is in place.  In fact we had to leave them to it but as the inspector knows and respects the restorer well the fact that a few items are not yet in place did not seem to matter.  I think they nattered on for another two hours after we left.

The 6 volt battery arrived safely from Wales, Tayna Ltd. of Abergele, and the door pulls are in the post from Italy, expected in a day or two.  Hopefully that should be the lot. 

The front number plate has been secured above the bumper and flasher lights underneath.  Same lights arrangement at the back but red rear lights as well as flashers.  This arrangement avoids penetrating the body, wisely not approved.  Looks very neat.

So, as of this Sunday, 2nd June, we are hopefully coming to the time when the car will be soon collected and enjoyed.  Watch this spaced for photos as these are also required for the club ‘passport’ for the car and will be taken as soon as we have the car out and in a reasonably photogenic place.

[simonandjuliet]

Well done on the homologation - a major hurdle overcome ....

The Portuguese bureaucracy seems worse than that of the French - here, so long as we can "acquire" the correct (and significant number of) pieces of paperwork, then everyone is happy and they can tick the boxes.

Seems bizarre that you have to get a 6v battery from Wales !

[Mic]

On the road!  Just for a couple of days and only because much more than a year ago we had promised our neighbour an old car for their daughter’s wedding.  When the 1925 Sunbeam was sold we had to think again.  But we have made it with the Aprilia with a day to spare, well, less than a day, fifteen hours actually.  Just for the occasion.  Only in the last few days has the Aprilia been ready to run on its wheels and so on to road testing to find out what needs still to be done.  Hence this was an opportunity for me to drive her before handing back to the experts.

Last week saw the last predicted jobs, most of them small but including the cutting down to size of the bump stops on the advice of Aprilia experts here on the Forum.  I mentioned before that the battery sent out from Wales is perfect and I can give the details to anyone who wants as it sits perfectly in the locker and now has a cover, made here thanks to excellent photos and dimensions from Simon.

So it was really a week of minor assembly of external items but with the odd hitch such as key for the boot lock.  Local locksmiths could not help but the lock is of the type lockable with a screwdriver, as were many ignition keys for pre-war cars.  So Serafim found a piece of metal, in five minutes had it in some sort of shape and smartened it up so we now have a boot key as good as the original.

A real last minute saga came up when on reflection, they were not happy with a slight noise from the valve gear and thought they could do better.  So the rocker shafts were rapidly removed and taken over for regrinding and heat treatment of the tappet faces.  The revised pieces were due back later on Thursday and re-assembled after dinner!  They worked until well gone 1.30 a.m. and the motor, hardly noisy before, is now really quiet. 

At last came the time to really run the engine and get the car moving to show any problems not able to be noticed when stationary in the workshop.  The fettler in chief is most impressed with the way she pulls, even when not totally warm.

Initial problem - oil pressure is a bit odd, although fine when run in the workshop.  On start up needle goes almost to max and then settles down to centre of the gauge but when on the road it gradually drops too far towards the left.  This is now being investigated along with a few other problems, not least of which is a replacement water pump as the original proved somewhat leaky.  Ordered from Enrico in Torino on Friday after lunch, posted same day and arrived today, Wednesday morning.

Wheels now show their time standing stationary for twenty years so will be taken for sorting as at the moment there is a slight thump thump. Sounds rather like a wheel bearing gone but it is the wheels.

Look at the photos.  I hope the arrangements for the small front and rear lights meet with approval.  Here it is important not to make extra holes in the wings.  Not much choice of where to put the number plate.  Anyone requiring a better size photo needs only to ask and I can email individually.

Meantime more news as soon as there is more to report but where is it recommended to fix a fire extinguisher in an Aprilia?  Polite answers only, please.