Everyday Appia

[simonandjuliet]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch .....

Bottom end finished today, final 2 pistons/conrods cleaned up and fitted. They must have taken at least an hour each to strip, clean and refit.

NB number 4 conrod is 180° different to the other 3 , otherwise it fouls the cam. Apparently a well known Appia idiosyncrasy that can often catch people out !

All turns over nicely. The distributor drive and oil pump refitted. Hopefully I read the cam-followers correctly and fitted the drive properly ie on the firing stroke for number 1.  It should be fitted with the slot at right angles to the block with the small "half" towards the front. (Appia workshop manual). This means that with the dizzy fitted, the rotor points at #1 without the condenser fouling the block or anything else

The engine was very sticky and messy , so it has all taken a while to clean and re-assemble and now everything is clean, but I have not gone mad. The oil filter body has not been repainted for example - ratting ? Still not sure I really understand what ratting is !

[St Volumex]

Tank resin-sealed and ready to go back in and the new exhaust arrived today. Slightly different to the old one, so we'll see how well it fits. Very good price and arrived from Turin in less than a week from ordering.

I really like the original look of that exhaust!  Who supplied it please?

I need a decent exhaust system for my Appia coupé, but am wary after buying a new stainless 'Fulvia' rear silencer that is nothing like the original item from a UK supplier I once considered very reliable...

[simonandjuliet]

The exhaust came from Turin - advertises on eBay : http://stores.ebay.co.uk/marmitte-catalizzatori?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

Delivered in under a week for 30 euros (whole system)

I have not fitted it yet so cannot vouch for the fit. Have a look at the furgoncino page for a picture of the downpipe  fitted to the manifold

[simonandjuliet]

Cleaned the head and refitted the valves. Maybe not for the purists, but the sucker on a flexible drive fitted to the electric drill (slowest speed and variable) was very effective. I found a suitable spring to hold the valves off their seats and ground forwards and backwards. Very staged photo !

The inlets just needed the fine grinding paste, but the exhausts had cobottom and then fine. The grinding paste is like the OLD Colman's mustard, a pot seems to last forever, pretty sure I have had this one for 20 years . I bet that's why they made the mustard milder so you use more !

The collets were remarkably easy, the head was firm on the bench and I was able to push hard enough on the tube to depress the springs and drop the collets in. Once they were all done, I gave them a good tap with a rubber mallet to check they were seated.

Dog had a few minutes to prep the back of the bonnet - don't worry it was well protected on the underside !

Gearbox is filthy and will take time ......

[lancialulu]

Its that cobottom again!

[simonandjuliet]

No cobottoms tonight

Challenging afternoon doing the valve timing, just as it was all going so well !

The head went on easily enough, torqued down in order, the valve gear was stripped and cleaned (no excuses for the extras pictures, it is a work of art !) Now I know why there are 3 washers per bolt, the head has been repaired and reground making it quite thin ! All the tappets are at the bottom of their threads and there are a couple of weld repairs in 2 combustion chambers.

The difficulty came when I was following the workshop manual notes. I set the timing up as explained and even with the other tappets backed off, the exhaust cam kept slipping after it had been set.

The idea is that you set the tappet gaps on #1 cyl 1mm oversize, rotate the crank to close them up, take the dowel out - first the inlet then move to the exhaust cam and do the same. However I found the cams kept moving, probably because the head was thin and I couldn't back the followers off far enough leaving pressure on adjacent valves . So finally I took the cam wheels off , set and jammed the cams and then refitted the wheels once the cams had been positioned manually and marked

Checking afterwards and I think I am less than 1/2 tooth out. Even with verniers on the cam wheels, they move when you fit the dowel.

Whilst I had the head off, I checked TDC with a dial gauge to check the "O" mark and it is spot on

Lastly , a really useful little tool that came from Farnham Garages many moons ago. It enables you to set the tappets very easily, fits snuggly onto the top and the knurled edge means that you can hold it in place whilst you tighten up the nut, much neater than pliers !

[DavidLaver]

Wonderful stuff - and what a lovely little tool.

Turns smoothly?

David

[simonandjuliet]

Before and after for the gearbox - couldn't decide which side to show, so added both !

Grotty, dirty job and the last of the really horrible jobs ....... Pressure wash, scrape, degrease, pressure wash, scrape, clean with white spirit, degrease and pressure wash ...... shampoo and blow dry

[lancialulu]

That is a true perfectionist. I am just going to load my spare HF box into the van for my trip south.....

[stanley sweet]

Ha! Just thinking the same thing, but I'll drive the whole car. Great work by you and another Lancia work of art.

[the.cern]

That gearbox looks so good and in my view there is no point in not cleaning parts, it save transferring the dirt around everywhere. I suggest you check the silenbloc in the gearbox support, mine was totally shot. Robush should have them in stock!!

Good luck with it all, you are doing a brilliant job.

                                              Andy

[simonandjuliet]

Thank you for your comments

I agree about cleaning parts, they are so much nicer to work on when they are clean. The silent block is cream-crackered and Don was able to supply one along with the myriad of other bits. Any other tips before it goes back together ?

You know how it is, like buses, you wait for one Appia engine to come along and then .........

Trying to work out how to couple them up and create the fastest go-kart in the west !

[stanley sweet]

Appia Bimotore...........

[DavidLaver]

What a pair...

Would the more patinated oil filter housing (that I prefer) transfer to the van engine?

David

[simonandjuliet]

Always controversial, but I have added an electric pump and filter to the fuel line. The filter in the tank had had it so the pump pre-filter should be effective , however since the tank has been thoroughly cleaned and resin-lined, there shouldn't be any muck !
The pump is a Facet, ultra-low pressure unit (1.5-4 psi) and similar to one I have been using on the Aprilia for a couple of years. I also bought a Filter-King filter/pressure regulator to fit at the front. Not decided yet whether to bypass the original pump or keep it in the system .....

A bit of vandalism though , has been to remove the copper line and replace it with rubber. The original had been badly squashed in places and the fuel line was so dirty, I felt this was the most sensible option.

The new pump fits behind the passenger-side, rear wheel arch and is attached to the aluminium baffle plate. The new pipes pass behind the rear suspension mounting , over the tank and where the feed attaches to tank and the outlet follows the original route. More photos when I can get under the car properly and everything is nicely undersealed !

Another little job was to dismantle the handbrake lever because the ratchet was not working. Typical Lancia over-engineered elegance, and would cost a fortune to make. The Renault 4 has essentially the same system but a quarter of the parts and non of them machined !

All cleaned and painted, ready to refit along with the repainted exhaust manifold