Appia furgoncino - A fettler's voyage

[DavidLaver]

How pleased are you to have a lift...

Love all the detail in the horn push.

First run off petrol in its own tank is a step.

[stanley sweet]

Love the shot of the dash and wheel. So simple and elegant. So much nicer than the big ugly wheels of today. Although the airbag must be tiny

[mikeC]

Appias don't need airbags, they have AAA.









(Active Accident Avoidance) 

[simonandjuliet]

AAA - I certainly hope so

Re lift, FANTASTIC ..... even simple jobs like today's fitting of the rear seals, I stood or sat at the back of the van and lifted or lowered the car to be at a comfortable height ! I am getting so complacent in my old age !

So today's jobs:

Fitted the door lock on the driver's side. Sprayed the inside of the door with waxoyl - I know it's aluminium, but I reckon it won't do any harm, plus it gets rid of the dust and gives an even colour
Once done I cleaned the rubber covers and glued them in place with TigerSeal. The rubbers have screw holes in them but the door doesn't - not sure why , but the originals seem to have been glued in place. I have used TigerSeal because I find it sticks better than contact adhesive, plus it gives you a short time to move things once in place. Because it takes a while to dry it does mean that you need to hold things in place with clips or masking tape.
Last jobs now are to fit the door seal , trim and handles

I also fitted the seals around the rear doors. I cannot get the exact rubber profile (although we are currently looking into this) so I have a "U" section for the lip and then a 10mm square section mouse that fits into the groove. It looks great and hopefully will work well. The mouse was also glued in using TigerSeal

A couple of small rubber patches have been glued in place to protect the paint from the wheel brace. I have seen similar on another furgoncino

Last up was to clear the inside of the van and start hoovering/cleaning it ready for "preservation" - quite how I will do this, I am not sure yet !

[stanley sweet]

What's the panel with the window(?) and bars in the back? Is it a removable division between the cab and load area?

[stanley sweet]

Answered my own question - just randomly flicked back to see how much things have changed and found the 'Fido' panel on page 6.

[simonandjuliet]

Here you are Stan, Fido-panel in place. If you went back to page 6 you saw that I was looking for the correct Philips screws - it took a long time but I eventually found a source and bought 20 year's supply !

I have always intended to preserve the inside because it is too good to paint, some would have repainted it , but my solution is to cover it all in waxoyl

The rationale for this is to treat the surface rust, use the product to clean the surface and lift the dust, it is safe on wood, once dry can be polished to give a nice satin, wax finish, is easy to remove if someone does want to paint it one day !

Between all the frames and the outer panels is (water absorbing !!!) felt, so I warmed the waxoyl and soaked these .....

I only removed the floor boards that were held in place with self-tappers (side pieces) but it looks as if they were all numbered. They are very "fitted" and must have taken a while originally. Some one told me that the wood was chestnut, but it seems too soft for that, more pitch-pine to my mind

Last job in here is to find some kind of caulking for the floor - Andy , any boating solutions ??

[stanley sweet]

Never thought of using Waxoyl like that. In my mind it is always permanently tacky, but of course, thinking about it, it's not.

[SanRemo78]

I've been reading this thread since it started and hadn't spotted the back deck was timbered!

I'm also kind of sad to see this restoration coming to an end.

Maybe the April Cabrio one will be as fun to follow!

Guy

[DavidLaver]

I think Simon will have "something" on the go a while yet.

Interesting that the lift means you don't need to bend down, or stretch up, AT ALL.

On "Shed and Buried" the other day they used "anchor wax" which was new to me.

http://www.morrislubricants.co.uk/ankor-wax-preservative-fluid.html

Looked it up and seems to be a rat-rod finish but can pick up dust and filth.

This stuff is recommended by a curator friend - with a really rough 50s Wolsley as it happens.  Works on all sorts of surfaces, his favourite example being the LRDPG truck in the Imperial War Museum.

https://www.restexpress.co.uk/acatalog/Renaissance_wax.html?gclid=CjwKEAiA_p_FBRCRi_mW5Myl4S0SJAAkezZrJ8rdslnfJV2tGkemQxr1dd8JB5CSBHrNm53B8JTVMRoCi1jw_wcB

Google threw this one up.

http://www.preservationequipment.com/Catalogue/Display-Products/Display-Identification/Museum-Wax-P615-8000



 

[DavidLaver]

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8651/16244406597_8c848396e6_b.jpg

[mikeC]

I have used Renaissance Wax for many years to protect brass and nickel silver radiators, both of which tarnish very quickly - I can recommend it; never thought of using it on paint, but I can't see why not.

[simonandjuliet]

Guy, thank you for staying with it, although for me it doesn't feel as if I am anywhere near the end, there is still is much to do !

I had never heard of "renaisssance wax" - how quickly does it dry ? I like these products that retain the finish you have worked for - I find tarnished nickel or zinc plate finishes most difficult to preserve and protect

This afternoon's job was to finish the boot floor and fit the rear lights.

My caulking solution was to cut strips of underfloor felt (rubberised black bit on top), soak them in waxoyl and then pack the gaps. I think it has worked well, you can see the results in some of the photos.

Fitting the lights took a while because the brass elbows and pipes had to be cleaned or remade before fitting. The earths were ground clean, fitted with crinkle washers and screwed in place. The LHS has a nice cover over it - too tatty to keep as it was , so it got a coat of paint and the RHS is under the hydraulic jack rubber mat

Interestingly, the rear lights are fitted sideways !

I have the original lights (but not the lenses) however they were too tarnished to refit , so have new units, with lenses. The casting references are identical to the originals and when you fit them , the Carello writing is sideways ! So unless there were other lenses that had mounting screws that were offset by 90° , they must have left the factory like this.

I could have recut the mounting holes easily enough , but am reluctant to do so

I cannot find (yet) the correct hydraulic jack , but have found something that looks OK , so it was painted an approximate blue and locked in place

Time ran out for a full test, but the lights work and some of the indicators ....... the indicator set up is interesting and if I can find the energy I will summarise how it works. The rear (red only) lights have side lights, brake lights and flashing red indicators in a single bulb. There is also a steering column cancel switch for the indicators. I am still getting my head around it all. I believe Aurelias have a similar setup
 

[mikeC]

I had never heard of "renaisssance wax" - how quickly does it dry ? I like these products that retain the finish you have worked for - I find tarnished nickel or zinc plate finishes most difficult to preserve and protect

I used Renaissance wax on the brass fittings on my Saxon; normally the brass would tarnish at the first signs of rain, but one application at the beginning of the year kept everything bright throughout the summer, even after heavy rain:



It comes as a soft wax in a tub, just apply with a cloth and gently rub off as with a furniture polish - no 'drying' involved.

[simonandjuliet]

How cute is that - Love it !