Everyday Appia

[DavidLaver]

Just paste the link into the text and the forum-back-stage-magic-thingy will make it clickable for you.

David

[simonandjuliet]

I think the van should have a 30mm choke and 32 is already a step up - I do not know if a 34 is too far ...... wiser heads than mine will hopefully comment

I will soon have the bits to make the comparison between 32 pump/no pump (on the furgoncino)

[Dikappa]

Thank you David!

@simon: I have a 3rd series carb in incomplete and sad looking condition here for spares if needed, just let me know. (but it has the tube that's broken/missing on yours...)

[lancianut666]

just remind me how you checked the crank before you put it all back together, did it look OK or did you do some measuring?
Clarkey

[simonandjuliet]

Re Crank, checked with micrometer for wear and oval, plus mains checked for wear-tolerance - ie gap between crank and main with feeler gauges. The mains were within limits but changed anyway !
Big ends measured with micrometer at sides and centre.
All checked visually as well ....

Amazed that the crank was still standard and within limits !

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks for the offer of carb bits. Another box of bits arrived yesterday with various carb goodies, so I should have 3 suitable carbs now. The orginal can go back on the 3rd ser and I will try the new pump/non pump on the furgoncino and see which I prefer.

[DavidLaver]

Got a date booked for colour?

David

[lancianut666]

If you have a bracket like I do on the D/S your passenger side it fouls the bigger series 2/3 carb it is OK when the engine is on it's mountings but cause a bit of cursing on installation.

[simonandjuliet]

Re colour - hopefully going to paint in 8-10 days time. Dog and I have been busy refurbishing a Citroen HY van in time for a birthday

Re engine fitting, I am not planning to fit the carb/linkage before it goes in. The LHD set up doesn't have the same bracket on the engine mount , so should be easier to fit it all afterwards ...... I think (having never refitted an Appia engine/box)

[simonandjuliet]

More prep before fitting.

The engine mounts were difficult to dismantle, I couldn't grip the central shaft to undo the top bolt. So I had to rebolt the shaft to a metal bar clamped in the vice and then shock it off with a hammer socket. Took a couple of attempts, but worked - everything cleaned and painted before re-assembly including a new earth strap on the driver's side.

I took quite a while stripping and cleaning the distributor. The bob weights were fine and no apparent wear on the shaft so they were just cleaned and not dismantled. The rest was stripped and cleaned before careful lubrication and re-assembly.

Having completely stripped the engine I wanted to make sure that the dizzy fitted correctly and didn't foul the head, inlet manifold etc.

I had initially set the drive as per the Lancia workshop manual, ie with the slot perpendicular to the block, however with everything fitted and timed, the capacitor interfered with the locating bolt for the dizzy, so I rotated the shaft one tooth back so it points towards the back of the head instead.

Sump bolted on and now the engine is ready for the box ......

Final picture for fun - the HY we have been working on produced this lovely advert under the old topcoat .... Dog has been prepping the bodywork ready for a repaint and came across it, shame , but the owner doesn't want to keep it !

[simonandjuliet]

Finding very little time at the moment, things growing like mad ..... plus difficult decisions to be made - we are obliged to treat against a little pest which is affecting European vineyards (flavescence dorée) and since we are organic, there is only one authorised product , AND IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE - think Aurelia !

Anyway back in the shed .......

I am fitting the clutch and plate to the gearbox before fitting the combined unit to the engine, I know others do this differently ... the actuator rod and fork is fitted first, then the cover is positioned with the forks fitting into the slots on the release bearing. The clutch release arm is fitted onto the spigot and the cam slotted into the stirrup.

You press gently on the front of the cover plate and it all slips home. You use a  bradawl/screwdriver to line up the fork on the rod and fit and tighten the retaining bolt. Fit the plate and it is ready to bolt onto the engine.

The advantage is that there is no clutch alignment to do since it is already mounted on the shaft. The cover is balanced (see drilled holes) and numbered - my red alignment marks may be visible

Final job was to fit the new silent block for the rear gearbox mounting - V V tight ! Not sure what the castle-ated nut is for , but I took it off anyway !

Getting closer to engine/box fitting

[the.cern]

I know about the castellated nut Simon, because I got it wrong!!!!

The nut is on the end of a clamping cotter pin, it's rather like a bolt with an arc machined out of it. When the arc is lined up with the circular hole in the cast gearbox housing the silentbloc moves readily in the housing, it is tight but not overly so. When the castellated nut is tightened, the bolt is move aft, the arc moves aft and bites into the outer steel shell of the silentbloc, clamping it and producing a small dent in the shell. To remove the silentbloc it is necessary to loosen the castellated nut and drive the bolt/cotter pin forward until it is judged the arc is correctly aligned, at which point the silentbloc may readily be removed with a suitable extractor, such as the one that Jim made!!!. If the bolt/cotter pin is driven too far forward, say as if you are trying to drive it right out, then another dent is made in the shell and, as the arc is not aligned, it still cannot be removed. Guess who eventually got his silentbloc out with TWO dents in the outer shell!!!

By the way, it was,as usual, Don who told me where I had gone wrong and the right way to do it!!!

                                             Andy

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks, I got it half right ! I undid the nut, but had to cut out the old silent block with a hacksaw and then peel it out, it was completely seized

New one was still very tight even after being in the freezer for a couple of hours. Now its in (bolt tightened) I don't think it will move

[simonandjuliet]

Getting closer - between tractor repairs, racking the carignan (taking the wine off the lees) and cherry-picking (literally) I managed to connect up the box today

With the clutch cover and plate in place, the box was offered up, 4 nuts fitted and then the box pulled into place by going around the nuts a turn at a time

Once they were coupled (9 nuts in all) then the clutch cover was bolted up via the window underneath. I get the first bolt lined up and fitted, then turn the flywheel with a screwdriver, fit the next one and go round the coverplate , 8 bolts . Once all the bolts were loosely in place then it can be tightened and torqued up. Inspection plate refitted, clean oil ( EP 90), speedo cable and exhaust in place - all ready to go.

I will try to fit the unit with the exhaust in place, but it can quickly be removed if it creates problems - I am thinking about poor Andy crawling around on the garage floor looking for lost "O" rings !

ps the Appia owners might spot the "deliberate" mistake in picture 3 if you look hard enough !!!

Anyway, back to my cherry jam, hope it sets .......

[stanley sweet]

That's such a nice looking little unit and so clean after all your hard work. You must be really pleased with it. I didn't know much about Appias until I started following the threads on here and now I've become a big fan of these little jewels. Thanks for the reminder on the cherries, I usually remember them too late. Off to check the trees.................

BTW - Leave the jam, cherry vodka is what you want!