Report on (slow) S2 Coupe rebuild progress

[nthomas1]

Thanks Tim.

[nthomas1]

I fitted the new front and rear trim cards.  Three of them needed a bit of trimming to fit properly, peeling back the vinyl cover, trimming the hardboard, and refitting the cover, but all seem ok now.

Did some more work on the dashboard - tidying up and bundling wires.  There’s quite a bit of dust inside the instrument panel so I’ll remove the perspex to clean it.  A spare instrument panel came with the car so I have a spare perspex panel if I damage the original removing it.
 
I could do with some advice on the panel.  Firstly, are there any checks that should be done on the instruments before I start fitting the dash top and shrouds?   Secondly, the rev counter operated jerkily when I last drove the car.  Can anybody suggest what the cause might be?  I’ll check the two connections on the back, and the green wire to the coil.  If these are all secure is there anything else I should check?

An option would be to remove the rev counter from the spare panel, but I have no idea whether the instruments in the spare panel are working or not.

[lancialulu]

Norman I would change your rev counters over as the existing looks like it has broken its stop. A crude check of the instruments (and associated wiring) is while in situ and with the battery connected earth out the individual sender leads and the respective gauge should go full scale (you may need your co-pilot to assist with this).

[nthomas1]

Thanks Tim - I’ll take a stab at removing the rev counter from the spare panel. With regard to the three small dials, where should the needles be with ignition off? You can see that all three are different between my installed and my spare panels.

[fay66]

Change all the bulbs!
Brian
8227 

[lancialulu]

Thanks Tim - I’ll take a stab at removing the rev counter from the spare panel. With regard to the three small dials, where should the needles be with ignition off? You can see that all three are different between my installed and my spare panels.

Always check the static needle position with the gauge as mounted (ie vertical-ish). They should all rest to the left. Mounted Temp gauge looks suspect....

[nthomas1]

Brian, all wedge bulbs have been replaced with tested new ones.

Tim, thanks for the tip.  Both sets of dials look similar when held vertically, except the faulty rev counter of course.  Both temperature gauges seem to settle mid dial - is that not correct?

The rev counter came out fairly easily from the spare unit. I've cleaned the dust from the original panel and will now replace the rev counter.  The black grid that sits just under the perspex is marked on both units so I'll treat them to some black paint before reassembling.   

I thought I'd provide a mid day update to stimulate any thoughts from you experts about anything else that it's worth doing while I've got the panel out of the car. 

One tip for removing the perspex for anybody doing it for the first time is that the little retention tabs should be levered from the rear of the panel to free them.  Levering via the tempting slots on the front of the panel is a recipe for cracking the perspex!

[lancialulu]

Norman

on basis of probability the temp gauge should be ok. I have only had one Fulvia with Jaeger instruments and cannot remember what it does with no power. It may change once on side has 12v applied....

[SanRemo78]

Lovely to see the car this afternoon, back seat and side panels are in and it looks like Norman is on the home straight.

Guy

[nistri]

The temp gauge needle should be midway when everything is off, Andrea

[nthomas1]

Interesting morning, if not the one I had planned!

Fitted the rev counter from my spare panel and reassembled the panel ready to refit to the car.  Hooked up the earth and then tested the various contacts only to find that just two bulbs plus the temperature gauge were working.   I tested the spare panel and found a similar result, with just one bulb working.  I suspected corrosion on the printed circuit board.

I removed the circuit board from the spare panel and sure enough found heavy corrosion.  Doing continuity checks directly on the board showed that most pathways were not conducting.  So a couple of hours with emery paper and elbow grease and all pathways are working correctly now and bulbs are coming on when they should. 

I was a bit puzzled at first as four of the bulbs would not light, but looking closely at the routing on the circuit board I could see that all four of those bulbs do not earth through the same earth contact as the rest. They are Fuel Level Warning, Handbrake, Alternator and Choke. 

So now to fit the cleaned up board to my original panel and get back to the jobs I’d planned to do today!

[lancialulu]

Would there be any benefit to tinning the contact areas of the copper to reduce future corrosion at contact point?

[nthomas1]

Tim - I had reassembled the instrument panel before I saw your suggestion, not that I'd feel competent to do it anyway.  I think the cleaned up circuit board should be good for quite a few years.

[nthomas1]

I started preparing the bumpers for fitment.  I've got the original set that came with the car, but unfitted, and a better set that I bought to replace them.  Both suffer from what I would guess to be a common problem: rusting of the steel mounting brackets that are welded inside the bumper. As my first picture shows, the more central brackets are in quite good condition, but the outer brackets have broken away completely. You can see what's left of the bracket to the left of the picture.  I've ground off the residual weld material from the broken ones, and have wire brushed, Kurusted and Hammerited all residual metal.  I've also de-rusted and Hammerited the removable brackets that attach the bumper to the car.

I'm not sure what to do about the missing mounting brackets.  I could have some made up and welded into place. I'm not sure if welding mild steel to stainless is a specialist task - seem to recall my own welder saying he wouldn't be able to do it.  Or I could make brackets myself that wedge inside the bumper and prevent any rotation of  the mounting brackets.  Or, I could do what the owner of my replacement bumpers did and shorten the mounting brackets and connect one end only.  Anybody got suggestions?

I also looked at the number plate lights.  I was hoping to make up two good ones from the four that I've got.  It seems that I'm missing the lamp holders that slot into them.  Would they be an off-the-shelf item, or something specific to the car, or to Lancia?  

[SanRemo78]

Norm - a request! Once you've finished with the bumper fitting can I have what's leftover of the number plate lights? They are used on the front (!) of Gp4 Stratos! Also, next time I'm there, please remind me to look at the windscreen washer jet! We're looking for a couple but no luck so far! Keep up the excellent work!
Cheers
Guy