Report on (slow) S2 Coupe rebuild progress

[lancialulu]

my69S1 - I'll send you a pm ref the cage nuts

Could you share the source of m5 cage nuts in a smaller cage that is required in Fulvia doors etc?

[nthomas1]

Tim - I never found a source for new M4 or M5 cage nuts.  The few spares that I have were obtained by buying used parts on Ebay that included cage nuts with them.  I bought a complete door in poor condition, so that yielded some of each, and I bought a pair of good quarter light assemblies that freed up a few M4 ones from my own poor condition quarter lights - but only 3 of 6 were salvageable.

[davidwheeler]

ebay.co.uk   search for M5 cage nuts.  There are many suppliers including ones in stainless steel..

[nthomas1]

The only ones I found online were in larger cages than Lancia used for the same bolt size. Majority seem to be designed for server racks.  I should add that I was only trying to find M4 size, as I had enough original M5.

[Keithver]

my69S1 - I'll send you a pm ref the cage nuts

Could you share the source of m5 cage nuts in a smaller cage that is required in Fulvia doors etc?

I bought a variety of cage nut sizes, including M4, from a supplier here in Cape Town called TopFast     http://topfast.co.za. I'm sure they would courier them to you if requested. Make up a bulk order for everyone to make it more worthwhile

[fay66]

The new radiator arrived and looks to be very well made. 

I decided to buy a new thermo-switch as well, so first job was to fit that, with some plumber’s tape around the thread.  I noticed that the earth wire from the thermo-switch was badly frayed where it connects to one of the sump bolts so I fitted a new ring terminal.  I fitted M5 cage nuts in the side and bottom fan mounting brackets and test fitted the fan to the radiator.  The bottom fitting is not that accessible so it is as well to know in advance that the mounting bolt threads freely in the cage nut.  I took Dave’s advice and shortened the second of the long lower mounting bolts that pass through the subframe so that the two bolts now match. 

Now that the radiator and fan are in place, tomorrow’s job is connecting the remaining hoses and filling the system with antifreeze mix. I hope it will be more successful than when I tried last week and discovered the leak!

Norman,
Are you fitting silicone hoses obtainable from Dave Gee, once fitted you can forget them.
I've fitted them to my 2c, although the Berlina is a lot harder to get to than coupe, but still worth fitting, and they look no different as they come in black.
A worthwhile fit for anyone contemplating having the radiator out.
Brian
8227

[Lightweight_911]

.

On the subject of silicone hoses - if (like me) you hate the 'glossy' exterior finish, a trick is to 'de-glaze' them using fine wire wool & talcum powder ... gives them a more authentic satin finish (I've not fitted silicone hoses to my Fulvia but it's what I did on my '59 Giulietta Sprint).

.

[andyps]

Just to add a point in relation to silicone hoses, it is important to only use blue anti-freeze with them because they don't like the red one. I made that mistake in a different car as I was unaware of the issue, the hoses (good quality) became brittle and I had to replace them all again!

[lancialulu]

Norman,
Are you fitting silicone hoses obtainable from Dave Gee, once fitted you can forget them.

[/quote]

Unfortunately Dave has moved this business on but it still exists but the service level is far from satisfactory. The web site is  https://classicsiliconehoses.uk/

[nthomas1]

Well I had planned on filling the cooling system today but all this talk about hoses and antifreeze colour has made me uneasy.

I bought all the hoses three years ago from Omicron.  There’s nothing on the invoice that says what they are made of, and no warnings about antifreeze.  I’ll go back to them and ask.  There’s a picture of my top hose below.

My antifreeze is red, all 10 gallons of concentrate as I bought in bulk.  Should my hoses turn out to be silicone, how real is the danger from using red instead of blue?  And over what  time period do silicone hoses go brittle?

So the only job I ended up doing today was to fit the Fispa decal to the air filter box.  It should really be painted using a stencil, but the description of how to apply it sounded like something I could easily mess up.  So I will live with the lack of authenticity!

[lancialulu]

Norman

Dont use the red a/f!!!!! It is not suited to the Fulvia Engine. Get some standard glycol based blue from Wilco (comma brand is good and cheap). All Lancias of the vintage and before list para flu which is the glycol blue formulation.  I run c50% concentrate not for freezing but to control the internal corrosion. Save the red for your moderns (not that you will be servicing them!!!

BTW that hose is a standard rad hose of rubber/fabric which will take anything and last for at least 20 years....

[nthomas1]

Well, in a choice of two - red or blue - I guess I was always going to make the wrong decision.  So off to buy some blue antifreeze tomorrow. Thanks for putting me straight Tim.

[lancialulu]

Well, in a choice of two - red or blue - I guess I was always going to make the wrong decision.  So off to buy some blue antifreeze tomorrow. Thanks for putting me straight Tim.

At least you can stay with the hoses!

[nthomas1]

So back to the car after decorating……

I flushed out the red antifreeze that I had mistakenly used, and filled the system with blue.  I did this by first removing the drain plug and filling  the heater portion of the system first, via the hose that leads to the header rail.  Once fluid started to appear from the drain plug hole I replaced the drain plug, applying some plumber’s white tape on the thread, and reconnected the heater pipe to the header rail. I then filled the rest of the system via the top water pump hose.   There are thankfully no signs of leaks after a few days.  I had taken the precaution of wrapping some paper towel around the connections in the passenger footwell so that leaks would be easy to spot - but all look fine so far.

I reinstalled the cam cover, now that it and the six retaining bolts have been vapour blasted to good effect.  New spark plugs should arrive in the next couple of days so I will be ready to start up the engine soon after the holiday.

I wish everybody a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, albeit a somewhat different one to years past given the virus restrictions.  It’s been a difficult year for everybody but at least we Lancisti have had our cars to occupy us.  I attach what I think is a suitably festive scene, courtesy of the talented Michael Turner!

[peteracs]

Hi

I had not realised that silicone hoses had an issue with OAT anti freeze, however it appears not all silicone hoses are created equal, turns out there are different linings, see

https://www.lhss.co.uk/hose-type/oat/

Also an article on anti freeze colour, though from reading between the lines, blue will normally be ye old standard to use.

https://www.holtsauto.com/prestone/news/why-is-coolant-different-colours/

Peter