Everyday Appia

[simonandjuliet]

As many of you already know, a 3rd series Berlina has joined the fleet. It was an inexpensive purchase, bought for my wife - well sort of....it was an Appia or an iPad !

The plan is to put it back on the road as cheaply as possible and then use it as much as we can, ideally everyday.  I currently use a 36 yr old or 40 yr old Renault 4 as everyday transport for all my local runs, vines , shops, chores etc, so it would be nice to have a Lancia to take over some/all of these runs

It means though, that I cannot go to the lengths that I have for the Aprilia or furgoncino, so a "Time Team" approach is called for. That is , reveal everything, record it, clean it , protect it and then cover it all up again ! So in the future someone else can go mad, knowing what is there.

I do not want every small hole repaired, dent knocked out or the best paint job, just a car that goes , stops and looks presentable.

It should be possible to use an Appia everyday, they were very reliable cars in their day and they are beautifully made and all the mechanical bits are available and , more importantly, cheap! Therefore it doesn't matter if you break it .......

I apologise to the purists, but here goes !

[Parisien]

Spit, polish and fingers Xed!

Yeah, why not, not you've got all that free time on your hands and idle men make partners nervous, its good to get your hands dirty again.

Keep us appraised and hoping we on the forum enjoy your travailles as much as you evidently do.


P

[simonandjuliet]

Jules has just seen the Appia for the first time - never even seen a photo .......

First reaction: "It's bigger than I thought, but very cute" and "I think she will look nice in Dark <Lancia> Blue"

Result !

[Mic]

I see it comes with a its own set of worry beads hanging from the mirror.  And you will need a period radio.  I look forward to a viewing. A sensible buy.

[DavidLaver]

...or a period blanking plate, hidden amp and ipod lead - or just enjoy the V4 music...

David

[simonandjuliet]

Been raining today so cannot do anything in the vines, so time to "get my hands dirty" ! (plus I did hide in the garage for a few hours yesterday)

I have stripped, cleaned and painted the passenger floors and the boot and readied the engine for removal. It is actually a reasonably quick process so long as nothing is seized, bent or broken

A quick "how to remove an Appia engine and 'box" :

Remove the bonnet - the hinges are held in by 2 bolts and you just remove the one nearest the hinge, slacken the other and slide the hinge sideways to release the pin, simple and effective. Don't forget to remove the bonnet stay first - split pin and pin

Remove radiator - this gives much better access to everything else, indeed I would remove the rad first to do any work on the dynamo or starter motor which are well hidden on a LHD car, because it is so quick and then you can do everything from above very easily (and I HATE crawling around on the floor)

Remove Dynamo/Starter motor - once the dynamo is unbolted, you can move it forward and then get at the wires in comfort !

Remove the gear-lever linkage bolt - bit of a fankle, I used a long socket extension on the top and a 14mm spanner around the back - I left the bolt in place and in neutral so that ....

Underneath, remove the bolt connecting the exhaust from the cross member, 3 bolts connecting the propshaft (hence leaving the 'box in neutral so you can turn the shaft) - rear wheels off the ground. Remove the speedo drive, disconnect the throttle linkage, clutch linkage (difficult on this because it was very bent)
Remove the 3 exhaust manifold nuts with a very long (2') extension, remove bottom engine mounting bolts

Then back up to the carb side of the engine, remove air filter, distributer cap and leads, choke cable, heater control cable, air inlet cable, coil leads, petrol feed , oil pressure line, water temp wire, coil wire etc - marking everything up of course

Last thing to remember is the gearbox mounting bolt - found inside the car on the prop tunnel

If nothing is seized or bent, it should take about 2 hrs to get the engine ready to take out .....in theory !

I haven't got beyond this stage because I am going to borrow an engine hoist later in the week, so hopefully I haven't omitted anything. Time will tell.

[chugga boom]

your as bad as me for loads of projects , its nice to see "normality" is in other places than north wales, keep up the good work 

[simonandjuliet]

Yes - project juggling !

20 mins this morning to do the final removal. Very straight forward, needs to come forward slightly and then very steep to miss the bonnet scuttle. Difficult to avoid scraping the tunnel, so will need to protect that area well on the furgoncino

[simonandjuliet]

Over the weekend I prepped the engine bay, sprayed a degreaser on the whole thing, left it for a while and then pressure washed it ! Pushed the car into the sunshine to dry ....... quick rub down and treat the rust with "fertan" - needed 2 coats


Today, removed most ancillaries and masked up the wiring. Quick coat of stone chip and all looks nice and clean. Same with the boot

Engine is partially seized - will do 1/4 turn - so I poured some paraffin down the bores to help get things moving ..... 

[Parisien]

Wow...thats cleaned up nicely.......looking quite decent into the bargain


P

[simonandjuliet]

P - to answer your question on the furgoncino post - I came across the 3rd series by chance.

I was missing a few bits for the van and then Alan (from whom I bought the furgoncino) put the 3rd series for sale on the forum, so I dropped him a quick line - 20 mins after he had advertised the car!  - and suggested the best thing to do was park the car outside his shed, put every Appia part he could find in it, and then I would buy the lot ! It seemed the surest way to get all the bits I needed, plus a car to copy ..... A price was agreed for car/parts and delivery and here we are !

All I had to do then was to persuade Juliet that it was the car she had always wanted .....

[Parisien]

Thank you Simon, what a delightful turn of events, having said that Alan is a great guy to deal with.

As ever being in the right place at the right time and asking the right questions is a boon!


P

[Parisien]

Coals to Newcastle Simon.........ice to the Eskimos........whatever suits best!




http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1940S-RENAULT-DAUPHINOISE-/261419652036?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3cddd353c4

P

[DavidLaver]

Just to be clear have you painted over the Fertan?

Cracking progress...  "Make hay while the sun shines", or in your case "rebuild Lancias while the rain pours".

Where is the rally trip meter going to mount

David

[the.cern]

So that is what the boot floor is supposed to look like!!!!

Mine is solid but more patches than a patchwork quilt!!!!!

Good work Simon, keep the photos coming.

                                   Andy