BB the Birmingham Berlina

[Sliding Pillar]

Grille badge.

[ColinMarr]

The logo on the badge, 'KCA' looks like the logo used by Giancarlo Cappa, who ran a well known Lancia restoration business in the 1980s and possibly later.

Colin

[Charles Frodsham]

It had a ' Kelham and Thornley' sticker in the rear window, so they may have more information.

[Sliding Pillar]

It has been in at Thornley Kelham for some work.
I do know who owns it, but I am not at liberty to say.

[frankxhv773t]

Thank you for the replies on the badge. Given how immaculate the exterior of the car is the Thornley Kelham connection figures.

[frankxhv773t]

As the alloy housing at the bottom of the radiator is not even fit for scrap I abandoned the penetrating oil and got out the dremel. I wanted to salvage the brass banjo bolt so cut that portion out first then carefully cut away the remains of the aluminium. As you can see in the pictures the aluminium housing is in a truly horrible state. Next job is to extract the radiator to see what work is needed on that side of the bottom hose connection as the end of the sheared off mounting bolt is still embedded in it.

[frankxhv773t]

The radiator is out but unfortunately one of the brass pipes which provide the return flows from the two heater radiators has become detached from the bottom tank. As a result I have put that radiator on one side and borrowed the radiator from my other car. That in turn has a seized drain tap and the mounting bolts are trapped behind the brass heater pipe. Thankfully the aluminium hose housing unbolted without difficulty and it is all getting cleaned up.

I ordered some new radiator hoses from Classic Silicone Hoses. Being Lancia people they are a pleasure to deal with and having placed my order at 3:30 pm yesterday I was delighted that the postman turned up with them at 11:30 am today!

The banjo bolt was, as expected, clogged with gunk.

[frankxhv773t]

The struggle to gain access to the crumpled inner wing to try to remove the dents continues slowly via many inaccessible and seized nuts and bolts. I have the same issue with the radiator grille which needs to come out so I can de-rust the battery tray and front valance. However I have progressed slightly with the cooling system. My spare radiator drain tap cleaned up nicely and is in working order. Although it is designed on the same principle as the Appia it isn't quite the same as the first and second photographs show. The radiator itself has revealed a problem too. I have investigated the loose heater return pipe in the radiator as I will need it eventually.The separate heater systems for driver and front passenger have their respective return pipes attached at either side of the radiator bottom tank. Interestingly the loose pipe runs all the way through the bottom tank so the water is discharged at the same point as the engine bottom hose. Another nice detail is that a separate little brass shroud is soldered over the pipe where it enters the radiator.

[frankxhv773t]

I now have the radiator grille removed and can make some more progress. Sometimes I don't love Lancia over engineering. Does it really take fifteen inaccessible bolts and twelve spring clips to hold a grille and it's surround in place. Just to make sure they added mastic to make sure the surround didn't rattle. With the grille out I have been able to extract the ventilation trunking from inside the bent wing. The next step will be to remove the soundproofing quilt from inside the wing.

[frankxhv773t]

I have found that BB is not registered at DVLA so I am applying to retain the registration number on a non transferable basis. To do this, as many will know, I have to get certification from the club that it is a genuine complete car. Barbara Longlands has commissioned Brian Hilton to do the report and he suggested it would be best to put all the bits together for the necessary photographs. Having sorted out lights and front bumper to replace the missing parts BB looks quite smart so I thought I would share a couple of pictures. It all has to come apart again but it's encouraging to have a vision of the intended end result.

[frankxhv773t]

Inspired by the AGM I have cracked on with BB. The battery tray is now a bit less dented and has a coat of hammerite, the spare radiator is repainted and installation has begun with new heater hose. I think the original clamps can be reused though it remains to be seen if this theory will hold water. Interestingly after Simon fabricated a special drive  socket for tightening I have found a 3/8th socket does the job reasonably well.

[frankxhv773t]

Hmm..there should have been more pictures than that.

[frankxhv773t]

The radiator has gone back in, come out again, gone back in and the hoses connected. I found that once the radiator is in situ it's impossible to connect the cylinder block end of the flexible drain pipe hence the removal and refitting. I have cleaned and painted the components to refit the battery and am toying with the idea of trying to remake little rubber buffers for the thermostatic shutters on the radiator.

[frankxhv773t]

It does indeed hold water, well it does when static so I am hopeful for it once it is under pressure. I realised the only hose I hadn't removed was the little bypass hose that goes from a banjo connection on the top of the water pump into the thermostat housing. When I tried undoing the steel bolt on the banjo connector it promptly sheared. The passage inside the remains of the bolt was completely solid with rust which I had to drill out. Thankfully the remaining stump is large enough to fasten a hose in place so a jury rigged system will have to do for the time being. Flushed with success I fitted the battery. The threaded part of the clamping bolts is far too short for the modern battery I have so I had to cut some tubular spacers to hold everything in place. The engine turned over with the plugs out and a little oil pressure began to show. However when I put the plugs in and tried to turn it over the electrics completely died. The next task therefore will be to clean up all the electrical connections and components that I can find.

[simonandjuliet]

I am enjoying all the detail and photos - thanks

Let us know how you get on with the shutter rubbers, some Appia owners will be interested !