Appia furgoncino - A fettler's voyage

[lancianut666]

Where did the broken off bit go?

[simonandjuliet]

There isn't a broken off bit .... as far as I can see !

I will however need a spare - can you drop one off with Mike next time you are in Hartlepool - or join us for a pint w/e 22nd June ?

Sorry to take over the forum for organising my social life

[lancianut666]

I like the sound of a pint on the 22nd
Clarkey

[simonandjuliet]

I took the furgoncino for a run last week including a trip into the vines along a very bumpy road ......

When I come home, I always do a quick check under/around the car and this time noticed that the bottom spring cover on the front suspension had come adrift and become blocked in the upper part.

I tried to release it but it was stuck solid. So with my new found "knowledge" of sliding pillars I decided that it would be easier to dismantle the spring unit

It is the same as Aurelia (indeed I believe it is B24 ??) and the same Appia 72mm spanner is used to undo the bottom guide.

Fortunately everything is unworn (58,000 kms from new) and it is interesting (to those anoraks amongst us) to note some subtle differences with normal Appia suspension. It is all a bit more "costaud" or solid and the spring has a lower bearing as well, although it is more of a slider than bearing. It has a RIV number, is chamfered to allow oil past and sits under the spring and moves on the guide

The upper bearing is thicker as is the spring. For interest the spring characteristics are as follows:

Unloaded length = 272-274 mm
Spring diametre = 74.3 mm
Wire diametre = 9.5 mm

There are no marks except red paint on the top, I presume to show which way up

Everything has been cleaned ready for soldering the sleeve back onto the lower guide and reassembly. If anyone wants other measurements please let me know before tomorrow !

[DavidLaver]

Lovely stuff.

Now you have the tools (and experience...) how long did that take?

[chriswgawne]

It sounds like you didn't have too much trouble undoing the bottom nut....and the threads look nice and clean and oily. It isn't always like that and certainly once we had to use a lot of heat and a very long scaffold pole due to light corrosion!
Or maybe you are just so used to doing this sort of job, you have found a quick and reliable routine?
Whichever it is I am envious.
Chris

[simonandjuliet]

I was lucky that it was not rusty and it came apart very easily, it probably took 10-15 minutes once it was on the ramp. I lowered the car down to about 18" off the floor and supported the bottom of the suspension with a jack - but it it still needed a 5' long bar

[DavidLaver]

I'd expect a 5 ft long bar to pull a car off the ramp...shows what confidence experience brings...STRAIGHT to the "tool for the job" rather than messing about with "is it stuck?  will I break it?" 

Similar to having confidence to use a large enough hammer to hit something "big and once" to get it apart.

[simonandjuliet]

Fortunately I've not had to use the hammer yet

Anyway, I re-soldered the sleeve (normal solder as per original) then painted, greased and now it's back together. A couple of things that I learnt:

Unlike standard Appias where the top sleeve doesn't slide out of the lower guide hole, I found it much easier to drop the top sleeve as well, assemble it as a single unit and then slide it up and into position

Interestingly, the top bearing was fitted below the carrier and not above as on std Appia and the early Aurelia drawings

The lower guide bearing is 44mm and it takes about 120ml oil to fill the lower guide

Refitting was done by gently lifting the unit into place with a jack until the threads just touch , then tighten by hand as far as poss, I got a couple of turns as far as the groove (photo) after that it was ongoing support from the jack and using the 72mm spanner. In order to reduce friction on the guide I used an old cambelt pulley bearing on top of the jack (last photo)

Now I can free up the ramp for the camioncino which is due anytime .......

[simonandjuliet]

Not strictly Appia, more Aurelia, but next for delivery is our new Rosé ..... Domaine La Tasque "Aurelia Rosé 2018"

So I suppose the next one is "Aprilia Cab(rio) Shiraz" ?? - It's been a long day, sorry

[simonandjuliet]

Not posted on here for a while, but to give an idea what goes on in small villages around the world ....

Our village has an annual festival for the pumpkin/squash - very bizarre

There is a squash recipe competition, a walk around the village and its environs (including looking at people's pumpkins) , a painting competition (that includes pumpkins), an animation for the village children (that involves squash and pumpkins) and then displays of local produce - including wines, jams, patés , jewelry and pumpkins

I was asked to show a couple of cars, so the Everyday Appia , HF Fulvia and the furgoncino came out of the garage - the furgoncino is our mobile wine display and tasting venue as well as delivery van

I bought some delicious fresh ceps/porcini mushrooms and a jar of rabbit rillettes - rillettes sounds so much better than rabbit meat cooked in duck fat!

Our Carignan was delicious with the porcini and Chris Gawne's Pinello was brilliant with the rabbit !

Anyway, the pumpkin quiche won the prize !

[chriswgawne]

You have made my mouth water Simon reading this .........for the rabbit rillettes as we have plenty of our Pinello! Thanks for the kind words.
Your village is so French and appealing.
Chris

[Jaydub]

Hi Simon, I`m with Chris. So envious of your lifestyle, quaint French villages, Cheeses, Wine, etc. I know it`s a lot of hard work as well but rewarding at the same time?

[simonandjuliet]

Back to reality .... I have had another leak on a front cylindre, same one as last time. It's been a pain because I have had this cyl redone by past parts, but it must be beyond limits, so I have fitted my only spare - fingers crossed

At least it gave me a chance to wash all the suspension because I whipped the drum off the other side whilst it was on the lift

The brakes on the furgoncino are the same as Aurelia , indeed the axle is apparently B24 ! This means that the seals are 28mm and very expensive, even so it looks like the cylinders will need to be sleeved or honed to a slightly larger diametre. Apparently there is no sleeving material available in 28 mm (please let me know if you know differently !) so I am contemplating another solution ......

If anyone has a good ,spare LH 28mm wheel cyl, I would be interested because I am now one short for the camioncino !

photo shows the method I use for refitting the spring - large woodworking clamp on the shoes and a long screwdriver on the spring. I usually fit a small screwdriver into the peg-hole and then reposition before fitting the peg

[Dikappa]

Simon,

Amadei has new ones 28mm if of interest.  I sort of stopped refurbishing as I feel the smallest imperfection in the bore will quickly ruin the cups.