I said that I would never buy another Fulvia ....

[simonandjuliet]

Loose wheel nuts - scary !

I took the broken cable off the car today (broken where it goes through the bulkhead) and decided that since the tank was empty I would take it out and clean up the boot

As always happens, I ended up taking everything out ..... I had an irritating knock on the rear suspension which I found out was a loose and seized shackle on the nearside spring hanger.

The nearside (UK) rear shackle was a real pain to remove but it eventually gave in to my efforts. Nothing damaged apart from 1 bolt which because it was exceptionally tight, got bent in the press

I was always going to strip, check and rebuild it all, but hadn't anticipated doing it just yet. I will replace any worn bushes, fit a new exhaust and change the brake pipes because most of the unions are rounded off. Whilst it is all out I can prepare and underseal the body and strip and paint the mechanical bits

I am only going to go as far as the lip of the boot because all the paint will be coming off when Dog gets the car

[nthomas1]

Simon - I'd like to remove the rear suspension of my S2 Coupe but have done nothing like this before.  Can you tell me broadly what the main steps are?  Do the springs have to be supported when the shock absorbers are removed, or are the shocks not in compression when the wheels are removed and the suspension hangs free?

[simonandjuliet]

Hi Norm
Taking off the rear axle wasn't difficult, it took about 3 hours in total on my own, but I only had 2 seized bolts - one the cause of my problem.

Because I want to tidy it all up I decided to remove more rather than less and I think it is quicker and easier in the long run because you get better access, but roughly what was entailed is as follows:

Remove petrol tank (probably optional)
Strip out mat, disconnect wires to sender, undo bolt and drain tank, remove breather pipes (top) and outlet pipes underneath. Undo filler pipe and remove flange bolts. Lift out the tank

With the car body on stands (high as poss using rear cill mounts, front wheels blocked etc) - remove the exhaust - I split it at the 4 into 2 because it is easier, then work through all the bits - I left the handbrake cable attached to the axle because I will deal with hub removal later

Remove the brake line to the limiter, seal it so you don't get air back into the master cylindre. Remove the brake limiter and bar , take off the exhaust heat shield so the anti-roll bar can come off with the axle

Now you're ready to drop the axle, with it hanging you can remove the bottom damper bolts (lever under the bush while you pull the bolt out and let the damper extend) Same with Panhard rod
Jack and support the middle of the axle and remove the rear shackles ( easier said than done and you can waste hours here). Once the rear mounts are undone, disconnect the 8 front bolts and slide the axle backwards. Lower the jack and it is all on the floor

Let me know if you want anything more specific or photos
Good luck !

[nthomas1]

Thanks Simon - that's incredibly helpful.  I've already removed the petrol tank and exhaust system so I'm part way there.  The car is at the welding shop at the moment so the rear suspension job is on the list for when I get it back.
Cheers, Norm

[DavidLaver]

Well done on the CT - and more than that on marrying so well...hope "the price" not too severe for the rescue.

Nice press, and how much harder would it have been without that lift?

[simonandjuliet]

David, the price for the rescue was not too onerous - to Juliet it's never a huge surprise and I did break down (technical not emotional) several times during our courtship and she still said "Yes". It is her birthday this weekend so extra big pressie I think !

I've not been idle this week, despite a horrid cold. A before and after picture of the rear spring (still to separate the other one) , a picture of some of the bits cleaned and painted and then the nice new silent blocs in the spring. The larger (front) one had to be chamfered before it would push in.

As you can see from the "before" picture, it really was worth separating the springs because they had begun to deteriorate. They have been de-rusted, treated and painted. Next is to reassemble - I plan to re-use the interleaves and lubricate with a smear of coppaslip

I have gone over the under-boot floor with care and removed any loose areas of underseal, treated the surface rust and then brush painted it all with a white spirit based anti-rust paint. Next will be to spray a rust retardant underseal and probably waxoyl as well ! Can't be too careful

Finally a couple of pictures inside the boot area before it gets cleaned up and painted

[stanley sweet]

Springs, suspension etc look superb. I'm not sure I should read this thread as a Fulvia owner. It's making me nervous about my springs, bushes etc. A bit like reading a medical dictionary and coming away convinced you've only an hour to live. Happy birthday to Juliet.

[nthomas1]

Simon - looking great! 
What materials did you use to treat and paint the springs?  How do you plan to clean the interleaves?  I see from a recent Facebook post that replacement interleaves are available from Cavalito - at least for the front.  I imagine they'd cost an arm and a leg so I'm likely to follow the same path as you.
Norm

[DavidLaver]

Is the blue growing on you?  I rather like it.

[Jaydub]

Superb workmanship as always Simon. Keeping mental notes for when I restore my HF.
Is Copaslip a good idea when you have the inter leaf spacers. I thought that was the purpose of them.  Won`t it attract dirt and grit? I`m interested in your thoughts.

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks everyone
Re springs, interleaf is available from one source for 42 euros if I recall (not sure if 1 side or 2 though) I cleaned mine up by soaking in a degreaser for a while and then brass-wire-brushing to get the dust/rust off. I have always added a smear of coppaslip to leaves, maybe it could attract dust in theory, but I prefer that they slide better - again personal theory. Indeed if it moves it gets coppaslipped ......

Re paint, I stripped off the rust with a plastic paint stripping wheel on the roloc , painted the leaves with rust converting primer and then a thin satin black to look nice. I don't think any paint will add much abrasion resistance though

Most of the silentblocs were in serviceable condition ,except the problem one, and could easily have been re-used. However I had all the silentblocs on the shelf so decided to fit anyway because I am not planning on stripping it all again any time soon. The cotton reel bushes on the ARB were the worst and did need replacing though ( where ARB attaches to the vertical bar on the top spring plate)

I didn't change the square ones in the chassis legs - I didn't have any and they are are available for 34 euros each if I change my mind, but now everything is free and lubricated won't be difficult if it ever needs to be done

So Stan, I suspect your silent blocks are OK , but the ARB will be showing some wear , so no need to stay awake at night worrying !

Re Blue, yes I have come to like it, it looks good with the chrome bumpers etc. Still erring towards the original Rosso York though

[davidwheeler]

My Sport is rosso york.   It looks really well, not so lairy as alfa red.   I am glad I chose that colour.   Mr Google brings up lots of nice pictures...

[DavidLaver]

http://www.autobelle.it/annunci/vendo_lancia_fulvia_hf_biella_168675.php#photoexpand

[lancialulu]

http://www.autobelle.it/annunci/vendo_lancia_fulvia_hf_biella_168675.php#photoexpand

Thats quite cheap for an HF in Italy???

[stanley sweet]

That is cheap. Always hard to tell, but looks pretty good in the photos.