Everyday Appia

[DavidLaver]

Three rows of seats in the Disco and seven seat belts - but short of legroom in row three.

[mikeC]

Three rows of seats in the Disco...

Ahh, sorry! Didn't realise it was a minibus 

[DavidLaver]

The caption should have been along the lines of "one of these machines is a nightmare to maintain", and the answer would be not either of the cars but (if I've recognised it correctly) the device far right.

David

[simonandjuliet]

Correct David - that is the evil device - 2 stroke, SOLO , motorised 2 speed wheelbarrow with turbine attached (used for spraying the vines).

I was thinking about getting all Mathilda's friends around and seeing how many we can get in the Disco/Appia ......

[simonandjuliet]

Is this a triple ester oil. Millers 10-60 fully synthetic is and helps reduces oil consumption through burning but not genuine oil leaks...

I don't think so, it is a high zinc oil made for hot climates. I have used these oils for a while now and am very happy with them in terms of oil pressure, oil use etc.

As for improving wear, how can we check that without taking the engines to bits. Certainly the Aprilia engine is beautifully clean when you take the rocker cover off !

I have tended to steer clear of fully synthetic oils for old engines, not sure why, but I feel that they run at lower oil pressure with it.

Does it matter ? ......... Discuss !

[lancialulu]

I have tended to steer clear of fully synthetic oils for old engines, not sure why, but I feel that they run at lower oil pressure with it.

Does it matter ? ......... Discuss !

If the Viscocity range is the same then the oil will not be any thinner. Modern engines with tight tolerances can accept a thinner oil which reduces friction, with economy and emissions upside. These are 10-30 or 5 -40 etc - much thinner than the old 20 -50. On the other hand fully synthetic oil has the benefit of long life and does not easily break down liek a mineral oil which has to be changed regularly. Now I am not advocating using fully synthetic and running for 15,000 miles in a classic car as this would mean most classic cars would have one oil change a decade!! However fully synthetic can allow a little licence to forget once or twice, especially if one has a few cars to juggle. Anyway that's my 5p's worth.

[stanley sweet]

Somewhere, a long time ago I read that fully synthetics shouldn't be used in older engines because the tolerances weren't as tight as today and being thinner it would be easier to get past the rings. I do know that my brother-in-law who was an ex-Rob Walker mechanic, then worked on all kinds of exotica once told me there wasn't much point putting fully synthetic into an old engine (I had a TVR Vixen at the time). He said it only makes sense to put it into a clean, newly built engine. Not sure what the truth is. I've always run semi-synthetics in the Fulvia, changed every 3000 miles. I've never used any of the Millers 'historic' for instance and I can say, touch wood, that after all these years there isn't a wisp of blue smoke.

[simonandjuliet]

Back to door trims - it was too hot to work outside this afternoon and the garage was nice and cool .....

Apologies for all the pics, but they tell the story better

In aprox order:

1)As it was
2,3,4) Taking the old card to pieces
5) removing the long tacks holding the pocket in
6) Water damaged & warped card
7) Tacking in the pocket using long tacks and a metal bar underneath to peen then
The extra strip to make the fabric flush with the vinyl
9) New wadding, lightly stapled in place
10) Separate card for the vinyl, vinyl tacked in first then stretched over the card (pinned in as above)
11) Edge cord cleaned and refitted
12) from the back
13) In situ with handles fitted

One casualty is the use of screws to hold it on. The panels had already been screwed in place, so I just re-used and hid the holes - if it good enough for an Aprilia ......

Just 3 more to go !

[simonandjuliet]

the rest !

[DavidLaver]

Very smart - I'm envious of that hammer.

I always like seeing the elastic on the back to close the pocket.  Others might feel it spoils the magic to see the trick.

[simonandjuliet]

The hammer is very nice, another "vide grenier" acquisition. Part-ex for an ice making machine .....

[simonandjuliet]

A couple of little jobs this week

I noticed that I have used a bit of brake fluid since putting everything together - a bit more than you would expect for the shoes bedding in, so on closer inspection I found that one of the rears had a seep. It had leaked onto the shoes so it meant that it all had to come off again, but it only took a couple of hours all in.

One interesting point was how to clean the shoes. On the recommendation of one of our esteemed forumistes (but I won't mention him by name but he lives in darkest London and has a work of art on the drive), I bought an ultrasonic washer. I have been trying it on various things with degrees of success. However , for cleaning the shoes of every trace of brake fluid it was excellent. I used a bath of windscreen washer fluid and a dishwasher tablet !

Second was to seal a screen leak. I found a product on eBay that I used years ago with great results (on a particularly problematic Fulvia Sport screen). Comma's "Seek 'n' Seal" if you remember it. Seems to have worked throughout the storms we've had this week.

Leaving the window open during last night's storm didn't help though .......

[simonandjuliet]

Couple of recent visitors. Firstly Mic dropped in last week on his annual trip to France and we went out in the Appia followed by a long lunch ... He enjoyed the Appia, but I think he probably prefers the Aprilia !!

He is a very welcome guest especially when he brings a bottle of lovely Ferreira Tawny port. Unfortunately, he was not able to leave with any of our wine, more below.

Second visitor is a Citroen HY van, here for brakes and starter motor problem. Dog has done the bodywork and she is beautiful , but the quantity of paint used to do the inside and outside is eye-watering, lots of corrugated sheet !

Back to the wine, we have had to change the name of our Domaine due to some uniquely French "perspectives" which I won't bore you with, however we are on the verge of re-launching our domaine-name with our next vintage, which is due to be bottled in early July.

We are 90% sure that the new name will be "Clos Aurelia" using Mathilda's middle name along with the French for "enclosed or walled vineyard" - it is not intended to be car-related, however as Mathilda Aurelia was named after one of my favourite cars, there is an indirect link !!

Next is a label design ........

[lancialulu]

the new name will be "Clos Aurelia" using Mathilda's middle name along with the French for "enclosed or walled vineyard" - it is not intended to be car-related ........

Aspirational ;-) Although you are a bit along the way with the Furgoncino.....

[simonandjuliet]

Not strictly Lancia ...... but

Our "Membership Secretary" taking time off from her onerous LMC responsibilities ..... Sarah Heath-Brook seen here helping bottle the 2014 vintage of "Clos Aurelia"

1801 bottles of Caringan and 1291 bottles of Syrah

Thanks Sarah !

ps bottles need to stand up for a week or so for corks to settle