Everyday Appia

[Parisien]

Great, yet again......slowly coming together............all very useful Simon, and an ongoing inspiration to those of use doing a restoration, albeit more slowly!

P

[SanRemo78]

I used a "Rustoleum" product on exhaust manifolds - barbecue paint, it's good to 650degrees apparently and also kills rust... I think I got it from B&Q. Might be an alternative for brake parts?

Guy

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks Guy

What do other people use on brake drums - Normal or HT paint ?

[fay66]

Quote.
I replaced the bleed nipple and then stuck compressed air down the other inlet and POP out they shot !

Simon,
Like yourself, I found out how painful it can be many years ago, which is why I now use a footpump!

Brian
8227

[BlueSky]

I've used VHT Caliper Paint on the Aprilia's drums which has worked well. Mind you after baking the drums in the oven for an hour at 200 deg the following Sunday roast has a taste you won't find on Master Chef! The hottest I've ever measured on the drums is 73 deg C, well within the specs of the paint.
http://www.vhtpaint.com/products/caliperpaint/

I'm going to treat my compressor with a lot more respect from now on...

Noel

[simonandjuliet]

Did you check the temperature using one of those nice IR thermometres ? You are right about the oven - worst for me was cleaning brake shoes on the hob

Had a good garage-day today once my vineyard chores were completed. I took the other brake assembly off along with the steering arms

Having seen how the brakes work, this time I took the brake assembly off in one piece - undid the 9 (I think) bolts and locktabs holding on the back plate, cut the old brake hose and then off it comes as a unit. I think I will try doing the reverse for re-assembly. Nicer working on the bench than on the ground !

Whilst at it I took the steering to pieces to check all OK and, cogniscent of Chugga's comments about seized silentblocks, I took the whole lot off in one go, again preferring to do any repairs on the bench.

The most difficult job was removing the brackets from the suspension units, I must admit to using a hammer and was waiting for the bolt of lightening from Harry on high ......

Once off I was able to clean the suspension units and dismantle and paint the steering.

The steering is a work of art and hugely expensive to make. The drop arm from the steering box has a double rubber shock absorber built into it, 3 of the joints have delightful brass (or copper coated steel) bobbins that are spring loaded. All beautiful machined pieces that would be impossible to reproduce today. Lovely offset pins to regulate the toe-in etc etc, all completely over the top ... no wonder they went bust - amongst all of this engineering largesse it was almost surprising to see the silentblock on the double-joint

Final job before painting everything was to straighten the arms, they always seem to be bent on sliding pillar cars - I think they get used for towing !

[the.cern]

Simon, I think there are 10 bolts holding on the brake backplate. Do look after them, they are specials with a smaller head than standard! If you use standard bolts there is insufficient space to get a spanner on them!! At least, that is what I found on my car when I had to pull off the left hand assembly.

It is all looking so good and you seem to get through an incredible amount of work. Good luck and please keep posting.

                                    Andy

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks Andy, yes there are 10 of them, 8mm co-bottom thread and 11mm hex's.

The steering went back together nicely and just needs to be properly aligned once everything is together and she is back on her feet , or maybe not ..... see below !

A couple of poor pictures of the ball joints, the camera focused on the tin of grease rather than the interesting bit. Basically the bobbin is held in place by the spring and follower. The cap is not on the spring yet so there is no tension.

The short arms attached to the suspension unit are like a dowel and are very finely machined so need to be carefully pulled back into place with the 4 bolts.

As suspected, it is a nice job to reassemble the front brakes on the bench before refitting as a single unit. Even the retaining springs were simple using the sliding screwdriver method. Once cleaned up they are a work of art !

Just the other one to do now ......

BUT, I think that I may have a more serious issue, there is significant play in the bottom of the suspension unit, and I was hoping that once it had been refilled with thick oil, all would be OK - it was completely dry. However, once the oil reservoir was put back with new pipes and fresh oil, it will not refill the damper unit, nor can I get oil into the bottom cup. It seems completely bunged up. So further investigation required and maybe a suspension stripdown or replacement axle

Don has suggested a possible airlock - any other ideas ?

[DavidLaver]

So that last picture is the one you've just done on the right next to how it looks once Dog has sprayed on the stone-chip and under-seal to match the gearbox

[simonandjuliet]

Naughty !

[the.cern]

Well Simon, that should halve the unsprung weight!!!

All looking excellent as usual.

Best wishes,

                  Andy

[simonandjuliet]

Finally got 5 mins to write up the latest adventure !

Last Thurs/Fri we got around to painting the body. As always it was a nightmare ..... everything set up and organised; van booked, shed borrowed, paint bought etc etc.

The big problem was the wind. The shed was remote, isolated and as far from windproof as it is possible to find - gaps under the eaves, open windows, holes in the walls and so on. Whilst Dog was doing the final blocking off and mask, I was attempting to hang plastic sheet to create a nice clean area, but it was the proverbial urination in an upwind direction - I would have been better off flying a kite. Eventually decided to cover everything important instead and think about the positives - ie no build up of fumes !

All went well until Dog got locked into the garage with an empty compressor whilst halfway through the lacquer coat. The electricity tripped and the electric garage door was shut, the windows barred and the manual over-ride was broken. I was miles away, MOT'ing a Renault 4 so he was STUCK

Long and short of it, he ended up putting a thick dryish coat of lacquer on that he knew would then have to be flatted and polished, ie at least another day's work 

The result though is fantastic, lovely deep shine. Juliet loves the colour and actually admitted to wanting to drive her now ....... Considering the conditions it was done under, I am delighted.

Now starts the long process of putting it back together !

ps last photo is the shed-owner's new car .....thanks Julian

[DavidLaver]

Certainly photographs well - on a good step and I also like the colour.

David

[chugga boom]

looking good 

[Parisien]

Hat off again Simon and to Dog also, a lot of sweat went into the paint work.....probably literally too......

P