Appia furgoncino - A fettler's voyage

[St Volumex]

Last night's efforts !

Not sure yet where all the bits go , but they will look nice when they are there !

Two are the louvred splash plates which fit on either side of the engine - studs go through the front cross member. (Wished I had a correct set for my coupé!    )

[Parisien]

Don't suppose you'd like a back up Furgoncino or maybe start a small fleet....


http://www.autoscout24.it/Details.aspx?id=234364593&cd=635074880030000000&asrc=st|fs

P

[simonandjuliet]

Guy, i am sure you could recreate a set ....

Frank, the word "divorce" springs to mind

Couple of hours this morning cleaning up the air vents. They were pretty dirty but not rusty, so I plan to keep them as they are, just touch up the odd chip. The RHS vent is painted body colour on top and not just overspray. The rubber pipes I wire brushed before a coat of the rubber/vinyl cleaner to protect them. The rest is protected with a resin polish (same as bodywork). Indeed I give pretty much everything a coat of the resin polish once it is clean, makes it easier for next time !

The dash is cleaning up nicely, but the fabric inside the glove box has suffered so will need to be replaced. Fortunately the fabric is nigh on identical to the Aprilia fabric I bought .....

This evening we took the Aprilia for a drive to the opening of a new wine shop a couple of villages away, very french - poetry reading, live music and excellent "snacks" , wine wasn't bad either !

[St Volumex]

Guy, i am sure you could recreate a set ....

True, I have already begun, but would rather spend my 'spare' time reading poetry, listening to music, and enjoying the wine instead! 

[simonandjuliet]

Guy - fair comment !

Mixed week , this week. Started on the bodywork, did a bit more prep on the engine bay and dismantled a few more bits.

The bodywork has been the most frustrating, Dog and I tried to get the front wing to fit nicely - it was too proud where it lined up with the bottom corner of the door. The door fits perfectly so did not want to touch that and there had already been a repair to the wing, so that was the obvious place to start. However we couldn't redress the wing because although the repair was strong, the back edge it was welded to was just too thin and brittle to be able to shape. So we wasted several hours and I finally decided to take a different approach - I "phoned a friend" !

Chugga has agreed to lend his wing to Bill Lewis , who in turn has agreed to make the back 3 inches of the wing . Hopefully, once welded in place we can sort the fit !

Good news is that the rest of the sill is perfect, I have rubbed it all down, along with the floor join underneath and not a spot of rust. You can still see the spot welds for the inner membrane. I had to remove the rear brake pipe and live cable from the battery to get at it properly. Whilst at it I took off the handbrake mechanism and gave it a fettle ....

Finally, the bottom, sill bolt holding the wing on had sheared, so that has been drilled out and re-tapped

[Parisien]

Great work Simon, nice to have a friend like James, onwards and upwards!

P

[simonandjuliet]

PS why the long hex on the forward bolt ? I cannot see why ....

[simonandjuliet]

Bit of a hiatus due to work and family commitments ( school hols started on the 5th July and M. is back on the 5th Sept ......)

Dog has been doing a bit of archaeology - sanding down looking for the original lines. There is a very subtle flat section just above the curve of the sill that had been lost during previous repairs. It was visible below the door so we followed it back to the rear wing. Photos don't really show it but you can definitely feel it . I think this must have been a panel join because there is a lot of lead about

You can also see some other vertical panel joins just behind the inset panel.

Once the wing was off I have been able to clean up the inner wheel arch, all sound, just some surface rust where the original underseal was too thin ........

It was 36 degrees here today, so using a heat gun and scraper was probably not the most sensible thing to do. Oh well !

[simonandjuliet]

Moving around the bodywork, working on the detail. Dog spent a lot of time today getting the recesses for the rear lights right, redressing the rear door so that the door handles sit flush (I think someone must have tried to lift the door handle instead of turning it !) and making the "bumper" fit.

The bumper is just a piece of aluminium section that is bolted to the body , pretty but even more useless than an Aprilia bumper ! More like a rubbing strake on a boat

Nearside (UK !) is ready, rear panels not far off and plans to to the O/S next week - hopefully primer at the end of next week .....

[simonandjuliet]

Perfect painting day, so we put a coat of etch primer on the side that we have done in order to 1) protect the bare metal 2) highlight any major imperfections.

Sounds like the UK has had plenty of perfect spraying days recently (..... David W ?)

I don't have enough space to do the whole body in one go, so we are doing sections at a time. Preparing them, protecting them and then moving the car around to do the next bit. Once the first fix has been done then we can do a filler/primer over the whole car in one go

First picture reminds me of the cars you used to see on the M6/M42 when they drove round trying to hide the identity of a new model !

Second is 'Marvin' checking we are doing it right

3rd and 4th Dog spraying - 4th picture I not sure what he is spraying with ......

Final one ,  just before we push her back into the garage for the weekend !

[Parisien]

Motoring along very rapidly.........magnificent.


P

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks Frank - seems to be taking an age at the moment, but trying to do something each week ......

Today's fettling was the propshaft and handbrake cables. The propshaft has never been removed - you can tell because the threads are still clean, you remove the split pin, crack the nut and it is finger tight (sorry David L, I suspect the Flavia is not so forthcoming).

The remainder of the handbrake pivots and mountings have been removed and cleaned. The guides are brass, I presume to self-lubricate and prevent seizing. The aluminium wheel appears to have been polished originally and the frame that goes around it looks to have a silver paint on it - so no painting required here !

The prop has various markings on it. It has C10 casting marks on the spiders, but a C80 stamp and number as well. These marks are found on the gearbox end and there is a K mark at the diff end. I have not spotted a corresponding K mark on the diff spider yet, but suspect there is something. In any case, I have added my own marks to ensure it goes back in the same place ....

Another fiddle was the back door handle which had been sheared. I think that someone must have tried to open/break in the back door because the square shaft had been snapped and the back door mounting distorted. Dog has sorted out the door panel so it left me to remake the shaft. I drilled and tapped the old handle and new square section, screwed them together and then welded them up. All fits nicely now.

The other handle has a cross cut and threaded hole to take a tapered screw, presumably to make it tight in the square hole, but I do not know if this handle should have this as well ........ answers on a postcard to .....

Finally, does anyone have an idea as to how I can recreate the woven, fabric cable cover for the +ve lead ? It has rotted and cannot be preserved.

ps New pipe flaring tool, bending pliers and 1/4" pipe arrived today, so pipework here we come ........

[DavidLaver]

One thought is to preserve that cable covering under transparent heat shrink.

David

[St Volumex]

Finally, does anyone have an idea as to how I can recreate the woven, fabric cable cover for the +ve lead ? It has rotted and cannot be preserved.

Cotton-reel knitting?  (I've been wondering about this myself for some time...  )

[simonandjuliet]

Photos added - apparently the server was full ! Thanks Steve