Aprilia Cabrio - here we go again

[ColinMarr]

As ever I am profoundly impressed by the thoroughness of all of this, and somewhat envious! Those Italian original drive-shafts are so impressive. In Britain in the 1960s it was rare to see such things as most Aprilias were running with Hardy-Spicer shafts, which were crude in comparison and shorter. The whole rear suspension is so ingenious. Although I had a beam on which to clamp a flat spring, the only way to relax a rear spring and then replace it was using trolly-jacks, and sometimes having to load up the rear of the car to keep it on the ground. Happy and innocent days!

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks Colin, I have spent another afternoon cleaning and prepping stuff. I have included a photo of my bench during the cleaning process - it shows the mess it causes !!

You can also see some of the tools used. The magnifying glass is for searching casting marks, the Roloc airgun is probably the most useful thing. You just keep changing the disks for larger/smaller/polishing/paint-stripping etc etc.
The only problem is that it takes a lot out of the compressor, hence the wire brush (old school) because I use it in between and it allows the compressor to recharge
I always have a couple of pots of petrol/white spirit/acetone on the go as well so things can be dipped and cleaned as I go along

The next photos is of bits ready to go to Dog tomorrow and the other photos show parts in various stages of readiness ! Hopefully I will have everything ready to refit next week

Re driveshafts, the Italian ones are lovely, work well but are quite complex and expensive to repair. The bearings cost 120 euros each and there are 16 of them ... fortunately mine just needed cleaning and re-packing with grease

Re rear spring, I remember doing one in Stotfold with Anthony and Mary Smallhorn sitting on the back seat to get the damn thing compressed !! The tool is considerably easier

[lancialulu]

Nice work!

Just to remind all Aprilia owners the club has a rear spring compression tool for  hire....(Too heavy to post however). see back of VL for details of special tools.

[simonandjuliet]

A couple of detailed photos of the "damper" rod with the various springs and valves. This is a spare rod and is quite worn, but a useful reference for the bits I have in stock

The white key is just a size ref, the springs are tiny - smaller than a biro spring !

I have lots of the springs/shims/nuts & valves on the shelf (all the small bits) so if anyone needs a set , let me know. They came from a Lancia garage in Orange that closed down years ago, but I have only now been able to identify them

The big bits have gone to Dog for painting and I have dealt with the small stuff, so back together this week ??

[simonandjuliet]

Still waiting for the painted bits to come back so I've had a varied afternoon today

First up was to finish a little project I started a while ago - the tank sender unit. It is a ridiculously complicated device that Aprilia owners know well because they are notoriously fragile, having been made of horrible mazak. It warps, splits , corrodes and usually a combination of all 3
They are not cheap to buy, I think some were made a few years ago and were eye-wateringly expensive ....

I have a box of bits and managed to find a few serviceable parts, which still needed fettling and now, hopefully, I have a working unit

It required a lot of strengthening and re-molding, using a combination of chemical metal and fibreglass and once ground flat again seems to work. I have lots of photos which I am happy to share if anyone is interested

Second was something else that I have been meaning to do for a while - start the engine !!

I decided to keep it VERY simple, no wiring, no petrol supply, no starter motor, water or dynamo - I didn't even fit the rocker cover

Aprilias are easy to start on the handle, so after turning the engine over by hand for a minute or so to circulate the oil, I fitted plugs and leads, connected the battery directly to the coil, earthed the engine, poured a cap-full of petrol down the carb and then then turned the handle ...... fired and ran first time !!

Only for 3 or 4 seconds, but long enough to hear firing on all 4 cylindres and to know that the timing isn't a mile out

Now I can start connecting things , checking each time that the engine will start. It was always an unknown because this engine has never run. It has new pistons/liners/bearings/timing chain & wheels/valves etc etc etc so I was very happy to hear it run

I will start with the wiring and then probably the fuel, before moving onto cooling and charging

[Dikappa]

Well done Simon!  Always a thrill that first startup.  Is that an 'original' Lancia coil?  I have one exactly like that one here, it was in the superjolly!

Keep the pics coming!

[tzf60]

Hi Simon!
Agreed, it must have been so satisfying to hear the engine run for the first time, in your ownership.
 
Regards,
Tim

[DavidLaver]

I think you might be getting the knack with Lancia engine building now    What joy for a "first turn OF THE HANDLE" start.  Impressive...

As ever detail pics appreciated, in this case the tank sender.  I think the coach built Augusta's have a cable, like a bicycle brake cable, from the mechanical sender (tank hung out the back on coach built chassis, in the scuttle on factory bodies) to the dial on the dash so its interesting how much of a leap forward the Aprilia was in that regard AS WELL as all the others.  (Thinking about the Augusta maybe its like a speedometer cable).

[simonandjuliet]

More detail for David !

Started off today rebuilding a petrol pump including making a new diaphragm (s). I bought the material from Omicron a while back and it a bit thinner than the original so not sure how many layers to make so I have made 3, I think 1 is too thin and maybe 3 too thick, but let's see

A small detail of the inlet valve and its carrier. The valves are thin pieces of bakelite and the springs very fine copper or brass springs

A while ago I remade the pump/carb pipe with new unions and banjos and testing today with an electric pump to put it all under pressure shows no leaks , well not anymore , some of the joints needed a tweak

After that it was fitting the rocker cover and plug extenders. The plugs on an Aprilia sit well below the cover and a variety of extenders have been used, but they are often a cause of ignition problems.

They crack and break, short out (especially if there is any humidity in the oil - eg head gasket etc), or have poor connections

I chose some later ones and stripped and cleaned them first. A couple of things I learned - there is a spring that connects the central pin to the cap touching the plug. On a couple of these I found that the connection was very poor so the springs were cleaned and degreased before refitting. Plus I used a small wire brush on the dremel to clean the pin and lead holes.

I had bought some seals for the rocker cover/extender joint , but can't find them, so I made some from cork sheet

Penultimate photo shows an alternative system using a metal extension rod threaded to the plug and fitting into a lead holder. The Omicron replacement plug connectors use this principle. I run those on the berlina

Last photo shows the "lid" on

[DavidLaver]

Cork under the "HT lead fittings" looks lovely, and I'd forgotten the "screws" for the rocker cover.  Great looking engine in general, and that one in particular.

A memory from 25 years ago, and not sure if it actually fits or not, but there was a suggestion that Daimler V8 "plug extensions" would be an answer. 

[simonandjuliet]

David, I can't see the Daimler extenders working because of the top seal. If you don't have anything the Omicron option works well - I will try and take a photo at some point

Short note to say that the axle parts came back from painting so safest place for the axle is back on the car .... plus, right or wrong, I think it is important not to leave the axle off to too long - risk of body movement ??

I cut a couple of bolts down and cut slots in them to act as guides, because the threads are superfine (M10 x 1.00) and there is very little tolerance around fitting, if the axle is not fully seated the threads are nigh on impossible to start, however if it is properly lined up the threads are finger tight

If anyone has torque settings , please share ! I torqued them all equally to 70 ft/lb - it felt right using Harry principles

[simonandjuliet]

Just seeing if this works .....

Engine start : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feuy-7SF2pE

[davidwheeler]

I have also made up some solid exposed plug connectors though they are less tidy than Simon's.   On a long run, when the engine is hot they give rise to the occasional PHUT, tinkle, cabin-fills-with-smoke as they ignite a small explosion in the cam box.   Harmless, and the tinkle is the filler cap which I now have attatched by a length of wire.    No need for an emergency stop as it all soon clears and the cap can be replaced at leisure.

[Dikappa]

What a sound!  I could'nt quite follow the sparkplug connector discussion, but after a peek in the basement I now understand!  Would'nt it be possible to cut a tread in the camcover plug holes and turn up alu pipe that in turn seals on the head?  Or is that a bridge too far?

[lancialulu]

Just seeing if this works .....

Engine start : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feuy-7SF2pE

Bravo