Aprilia Cabrio - here we go again

[josefewald]

Hello Simon,

there is a convertible very much like yours now offered in Italy, also marron with a black hood (see La Manovella, febbraio 2017: Tel. +39 339 708 04 07 ; maybe the vendor will send you a photo?). Personally, I prefer a hood in a lighter color since this makes the car visually lighter, and any shade of grey is the best for Aprilia in terms of '30s aesthetics.

Good luck!
j

[brian]

Herewith info which was on pdf to big to load so summarised with dual colour at end
Brian

[brian]

Sorry again - formatting lost!
Brian

[Sebastien]

Brian,
Is this what you wanted?

[brian]

Many thanks. Info now readable.

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks for the colours and comments.

Much as I love the red roof, I have bought black "double-duck" because it gives most options. I toyed with mohair (Alpaca in France) because it doesn't shrink or fade, however it is not actually mohair, but acrylique and so I have gone with original-type material. 10 m of material is on its way to France !

This afternoon I have remade/modified the first of the front seats.

The seat base was from a std Aprilia saloon and was a bit small so, rather than start from scratch, I made a frame extension for the top and bottom. They were clipped in place then Additional springs added. All tied together and covered in a base coat of hessian

The wire is incredibly tough so I bent it was using 2 screws screwed into the bench and pulling around the pivot

The photos probably say it better ....

[stanley sweet]

As ingenious as ever.

[Jaydub]

Brilliant! Is there anything you cannot do?

[davidwheeler]

Formidable!

[simonandjuliet]

Down here we don't have the same infrastructure or suppliers, so I have to have a go at everything !

Today I have started dismantling the front end, concentrating on the electrics . They have been played with in the past and are a bit of a mess so I have recorded what is there and been looking at my files for how it should be.

The Cabrio (early chassis) set up is a bit different to the 1st ser saloon and different again to S2 chassis. I have various wiring diagrams including S1 std, S2 std , 539 chassis and Ardennes , but no S1 cabrio ....... Can anyone help ? If not I will work it out and write it up !

In the meantime , a few photos

Another request - does anyone have any underbonnet photos of cabrios showing the detail between the battery box and tool box ? On mine someone had removed some elements , screwed in place an aluminium plate and fitted an isolation key. All these holes will need to be welded up !

[simonandjuliet]

More photos of wiring diagrams, plus forgot to point out the "high amps" fuse fitted to the service circuits ....

[Kari]

Hello,

When I rewired my Augusta a few years ago, I got rid of the 40 Amp fuse including the box. I did install the same fuse box as for the main and side lights at the same position. This did allow to split the services and allowed to use 10 or 15 amp fuses. Also since decades I have a cut-out switch between battery negative and chassis. Result: Peace of mind! Attached the currrent wiring diagram.

Best regards  Karl

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks Karl, I will need to modify my wiring as well to include a proper indicator system as well as the original trafficators. Not sure of the detail yet but I will come up with something ....

I was at a VERY wet and windy "Avignon Motor Festival" on Friday looking out for bits and pieces as well as chromers, rubber suppliers etc.

I spent most of my time rootling through boxes of rusty metal in the rain and came across a few interesting bits including this very nice Flaminia (?) front grill for 200 euros - I didn't buy it. But I did buy a nice pair of lozenge indicator repeaters because they reminded me of the ones I had on my B20 , if nothing else. Not sure what they are from, but may get used one day

I specifically wanted handles for the Cabrio as my car has been modified to take Citroen Traction handles at some time in its (French) life. I can buy these new so it makes sense to stay with them because to undo the mods will be difficult.

The other thing that I have been wanting for a while is a "coachliner" - a roller syringe with magnetic guide for painting coachlines. Dog will be able to use it as well, so hopefully it will not sit in a drawer !

Couple of photos of the cars in the auction, 3 Fulvias inc a 1.3 racey Zagato with an estimate of 80 - 100,000 euros (!!) . There were a couple of Betas in the car park

Lastly, just starting to clean up the engine bay and have come across another stamped number. I have the chassis and spare parts numbers in the correct places, but there is another one stamped above the steering column. I haven't seen a reference to this anywhere yet - anyone know what it is ?

[simonandjuliet]

More ....

[stanley sweet]

I thought the teardrop indicators were Fulvia/Stratos etc but in fact the Lancia ones have a flat top. The Zagato looks like a Vere Lancia special. Good idea to keep with the Traction handles. They're very stylish and in keeping with the car and hide their mass produced roots well.