Lancia Motor Club Forum
Model Technical and Interest => Flaminia => Topic started by: frankxhv773t on 23 April, 2025, 08:25:48 PM
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As many will know I've been sneaking up on having a working Flaminia Berlina for 25 years now with progressively less demanding projects. At our last Herts and Beds meeting before Christmas someone said "why don't you just buy something that works or you'll never get there". I'd looked at Christo Smal's one at Brightwells a year or so ago but decided against it as it still needed considerable sorting out.
I'd been aware of Mark's one since it was advertised by Mr Speedlux in 2018 so I was fairly confident of its condition. I took a run up to Pickering to look it over and, though it had some issues including not starting for me to hear it running, I put in a cautious bid. I thought I'd lost it when I checked the auction results but the winning bidder thought he was bidding on the Volumex in the same auction and didn't want a Flaminia at all! A deal was done between out two bids and I got her delivered home to Bedfordshire.
That's where the fun started. Having done less than 300 miles since restoration and import in 2018 lots of things had decided they didn't want to work but some basic cleaning of electrical contacts got enough things working to take a cautious test drive. I was surprised how vulnerable I felt driving without seat belts or wing mirrors.
There are still instruments not working and poor running to address but a carburettor rebuild kit arrived in the post today which hopefully will begin to sort things out.
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Looking suitably magnificent Frank....it's been a long time coming! Enjoy
P
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Wonderful. What became of the Brightwells car?
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They look a big car Frank, especially awkward being LHD and no mirrors!
The PF coupe I briefly had a while back seemed huge, I can only assume the saloon is just longer still?
Looking forward to following on your progress 8)
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The Brightwells' car didn't sell, I think it only got bid up to less than £8,000 so Christo took it home and has been gradually sorting out its issues. I believe it's on the road now and he has threatened to make it two Berlinas at the AGM this year.
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I haven't been able to get the Contessa to run reliably and as there was fuel constantly running out of the accelerator pump jets and adjusting the slow running needle valves made no difference to tick-over I decided to strip the carb and do a rebuild. The needle valve in the float chamber was stuck open which I gather is a common problem.
What I cant establish is how to adjust the fuel level in the float chamber. My manuals don't show the Solex 35 PAAI. They do specify a clearance of 18mm between the top of the float chamber and fuel level but I'm at a loss to see how that can be checked during reassembly with the instrument dry on the bench.
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18mmis close to the solex sidedraght carb spec which is 19mm +/-. To measure I think you can run the car (or fuel pump) and remove the emulsion tube and use a suitably marked cable tie o measure the height of the fuel...
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Thanks for posting the updates, very interesting.
The attached might be useful. Dated June 1960 improvements to 35PAAI, gives a spec for the amount of fuel delivered by the accelerator pump.
Willo
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Thanks for the input.
Tim, I'm not sure the top of the emulsion tube holder is in register with the top face of the carburettor body but I'm sure I can adjust for that in the measurements. I presume that adjusting the level still means taking the top cover off and bending the float arm to make alterations.
Willo, I've got that in both English and Italian, thanks, but it shows the accelerator pump not the float level.
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The usual way to check the float level in all the carbs I've worked on is to revove the top and hold it upside down with the float pressing the float needle closed, just under gravity load. Measurement is usually then measured from the float to the underside of the top cover, with the needle valve closed so the height is with the float valve closed.
Looking at the picture though makes me wonder if that's a different carb to what I've seen befoe so could well be barking up the wrong tree!
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Thanks for the input.
Tim, I'm not sure the top of the emulsion tube holder is in register with the top face of the carburettor body but I'm sure I can adjust for that in the measurements. I presume that adjusting the level still means taking the top cover off and bending the float arm to make alterations.
Willo, I've got that in both English and Italian, thanks, but it shows the accelerator pump not the float level.
yes normally tweaking the float gets the fuel level to the correct level. I made a gauge for the fulvia float so used that to reference the tweak…
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I have heard that some recommend altering the position of the fuel inlet valve in relation to the float.
Some will remember that I have a fuel-level sight- glass which I find invaluable.
Richard
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So, fuel level in the carb becomes a bit academic when the fuel pump decides to cease functioning! I guess that's next for a rebuild then.
Kevin, I'm with you on the usual way of setting the float level but on the Solex the valve isn't attached to the lid, it's left behind in the body when the lid is removed. Looking more closely at the workshop manual Lancia used a special tool (gauge 8015350) which is like the sight glass Richard suggests. On the 35 PAAI does it attach where the plug is at the bottom by the accelerator pump?
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This glass shows fuel level. It shows fuel delivery function under all conditions including stuck inlet valve, float problems, blocked filter, empty tank! Very simple.
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Thanks for that Richard, I'll have a think about something similar.
In my reply to Kevin I should have said the FLOAT isn't attached to the cover where the valve is, hence the inability to set one in direct relation to the other.
I've not had much luck finding a six hole fuel pump diaphragm and replacement pumps are Ferrari prices, i.e. ten times what I would like. A five screw pump is about £25 but a six screw one for the Flaminia is £250. There's actually one listed at £3,850! Even rebuild kits seem to be in the hundreds of pounds.
I think an electric pump conversion is on the cards.
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Perhaps the inlet valve could be raised/ lowered somehow? Thin spacer? After unnecessary experimentation my glass showed that there wasn't an adjustment required. I remember the problem on one occasion was a partially blocked filter hidden near to the tank, which was of course only a problem under load. Hence the car would stop at about 3/4 mile from setting off. Then restart perfectly. Despite no visible dirt in the carburettor I would recommend a clean to a professional standard as only after a long time has the carburettor been satisfactory. The glass would have shown up the slightly blocked filter as the level would have reduced before ones eyes at a fast tickover. In hindsight I think that filter was a worsening source of problems.
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I'm off on a weeks holiday in Cornwall from tomorrow so when I get back I'll investigate all parts of the system. Fuel was flowing before the carb rebuild but that revealed that the accelerator pump diaphragm was on the point of being crispy so I anticipate the fuel pump diaphragm will be in a similar condition.
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Going off at a slight tangent, I had a problem with my Aurelia B12 when I first put it back on the road which ended up ( after checking and changing filters, fuel pumps, condensers, distributors, carburettor etc) being a plug of crud in the underfloor reserve fuel tap.
The car would idle all day and also drive slowly all day but driving briskly caused the engine to peter out. Stop and wait for 5 mins then all was well again.
So obvious in hindsight!!
Chris
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That's interesting. I have a fuel tap in the back corner of the passenger footwell which I have assumed is just a security cut off. I've not seen anything in a Flaminia handbook about a reserve tap but the only handbooks I have are for a slightly later model.
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A thought
I have just driven an Appia 2 from Holland to the UK. It performed really well but the day before leaving I experienced fuel starvation just after refueling. Without sufficient time to fully investigate i put an airline down the fuel feed pipe into the tank. This cured the blockage. I got home without refueling but when I put 5 liters in from a can it blocked again. I dropped the tank to investigate. Washing and sloshing the tank with first hot soapy water and then a water/vinegar mix I have managed to extract 1/3 of a pint of crap, mainly sand but also some rust particles. The tank drain/filter was filled with crud although the mesh had completely disintegrated.
If the Contessa has been off the road for a while it is well worth dropping the filter (14mm hex on the Appia) and reverse blowing down the feed pipe. My guess the drain/filter will be clogged. In my case I think the act of fuel going down the filler neck disturbed all the crud next to the outlet pipe. I hope my DIY cleaning efforts work OK, if not I will take it to a specialist.
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Hi Frank
Idly perusing back posts on the Flaminia I came across one on the tap and the owner found it was partially blocked with detritus. Worth a trawl through?
Clarkey
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The Contessa was restored in 2016 and has been out and about sparingly since. I started messing with the fuel system because I was getting too much fuel! One of the accelerator jet delivery pipes was constantly dripping when the engine was running and the plugs were sooting up. Once I'm home and fitting the electric fuel pump I'll check all the connections for crud and blast things out with the air line.
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One 'sooting up' occurred when my cold start device was not fully returning.
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I'm back on the job and working through the fuel system, not helped by having 25 litres of fuel in the tank.
I bought a siphon but couldn't get it into the tank through the filler pipe. Is there an anti siphon grid in the Flaminia filler neck or is it just getting hung up on the bend I wonder.
Anyway, as the fuel gauge reads three quarters full regardless of what's in the tank I gained access by removing the sender unit to investigate that. In Lancia's usual style it doesn't just have a float on an arm coming out of the sender. It has the float pivoted from the bottom of a bar that goes to the bottom of the tank then a shaft and various gears to transmit the movement up to the sender. The gear at the top wasn't engaging with the quadrant on the sender because the teeth are worn. Thankfully the over engineering means I could adjust various bits to effect better engagement.
I did try swapping over the top and bottom cogs on the shaft as they appear to be the same and the bottom one isn't worn and has better engagement with the float end quadrant at the bottom but, no, the bottom one is fractionally larger and jams on the bar if you try to fit it at the top.
I got one of the two tank drain plugs out and there was minimal crud under the pick up filter. The other plug is mashed up so I can't get a grip to remove it. I'm not sure yet why there are two plugs but possibly it's two pickups at slightly different levels with the lower one being for fuel reserve. That will need more investigating.
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Frank, I have a couple of Fulvia gauge units that have similar gearing, so if you want to see if the gears are of any use please let me know.
Brian
8227 8)
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Interesting to see the sender/float unit - I have a new one but never knew what it was for .... let me know if you are interested
I'll dig it out and take a photo just to be sure !!
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Obviously Frank has first dibs but I would be interested in your sender. As you can see mine has seen better days.
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Memory is a terrible thing ..... I have these 2 but put them together in my head !
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At least you could still remember where they were Simon...
Clarkey
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Thankyou for the offers everyone but I think I'm good.
As the worn cog at the top wouldn't reliably stay in engagement with the quadrant I reckoned I had nothing to loose by trying some modifications. The worn cog fitted OK to the quadrant at the bottom and some judicious filing allowed the bottom cog to engage properly at the top.
Putting it back together I realised the alignment of the quadrants was critical otherwise they can pivot beyond engagement with the cog and the teeth can jam on the return. The quadrant at the top stops at the full position and is still engaged with the cog so I set that first. I then fitted the bottom cog and quadrant in engagement with each other at the other end of their travel and adjusted the wire stop for the swing arm to prevent it from rotating out of engagement.
It seems to move reliably on the bench and shows varying resistance as it moves so hopefully it will work the gauge when I refit it. (Hopefully not famous last words.)
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Hi Frank
I was wondering if the quadrants could be taken off and turned over so the unworn teeth could be brought into play...from your pictures it might be a possibility?
Clarkey
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The majority of the wear is on the cog rather than the quadrant. The quadrant and cogs are all flush on one side and have a raised collar with the grub screw in it on the other side. Consequently turning the quadrant over would place its teeth about quarter of an inch away from even being able to touch the cog.
Swapping the cogs over top and bottom and trimming the bottom cog to fit at the top seems to have done the trick. I also worked the spindle coming out of the sender unit to free it up as that appears to be part of the cause of the wear in the first place.
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Now the fun starts. It came out of that hole but how the devil does it go back!
There was lots of turning the unit through right angles and moving it a bit for the removal. Putting it back all the springy bits seem to flex the other way and jam. It would be so simple if the hole was 3 1/2" wide instead of 2 1/2" wide.
I'm beginning to think the people who designed Lancias hated the people who were going to have to work on them.
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I'm back on the Flaminia after a month away playing at 17th century things.
I'd got to the point of fuel reaching the reserve switch over valve in the passenger footwell but nothing at the fuel filter/regulator in the engine bay. The obvious solution was blowing the pipe through with the air line but with solid copper fuel lines and soldered banjo fittings that's easier said than done. I eventually managed to get the switch over valve removed and blasted the relevant pipe. Getting the three pipe unions to line up for reattachment has been a full day's job because of the inflexibility of the copper pipes. In the end I had to cut one off to get the required articulation then splice it back together with a bit of rubber fuel hose.
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It's taken me a long time to admit that I no longer have the mental focus nor physical flexibility to do what is needed to get my Flaminia running so I've bitten the bullet and had Omicron take on the job. Andrew collected her yesterday. It's largely in the nature of a recommissioning job as the Contessa has done very few miles in recent years. Also the dash needs stripping out to replace all the screen wash pipes and my days of grovelling about upside down under a dash board seem to be behind me. I've also asked them to look at making seat belt mounts as the one time I took her out on the road I felt desperately vulnerable not being strapped in.
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yay! So maybe running in time for the summer?
M
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I fully understand your position Frank, it is hard to admit to ourselves that sometimes we need help to get a project moving again. But in the end it will be worth it to get the car running aagin.
Also like you the days of crawling under cars aren't so much fun once we get some miles on our own clock so again I hear you there.
Take great comfort in the knowledge of all the cars you've saved over the years and sit back and look forward to the return and at last being able to get out in the car 8)
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Yes, all being well I will have her up and running for the coming season. The following year we might have several berlinas for the Flaminia 60th.
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The Contessa is home from Omicron with rebuilt fuel system converted to electric pump, overhauled brakes, freed off gear change. rehung exhaust, replaced tachometer drive, repaired instruments and an electric washer system that doesn't fill the front footwells with water.
I can actually drive her safely now and can get stuck in to all the little cosmetic jobs.
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Great news frank!
Bet you're over the moon to have the car back and running, what an inspiration it must be now and spur you on to put the finishing touches in.
Great stuff. Be nice to meet up again somewhere this year and see the car in all its' glory.
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There's plenty to do Kevin but now the horn has decided not to work and the wiring doesn't match any of my manuals. The horn itself works but there is no power in the supply. I suppose it's one of those problems of an old car that has seen too little use in recent years.
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I have had one short outing in the Contessa to our local pub meet. Things are much better but driving without seat belts still makes me nervous.
The trip was not entirely without incident as I ground to a halt with symptoms of fuel starvation shortly before getting to the pub. Having opened the bonnet for a bit and given things a wiggle I felt the electric pump start to vibrate again and everything was fine for the rest of the trip. I suspected fuel vaporisation because the pump is to the side of the radiator.
Starting problems recurred next time I tried to start her which was dismaying after having sent her to Omicron to get sorted out. I eventually thought to check the fuel pump fuse which turned out to be blown so that was an easy fix. However the fuel pump still was intermittent but fired up if I wiggled it which turned out to be a loose earth wire that I had disturbed when installing a set of air horns inherited from a previous Berlina, the English Patient.
I decided against using the set of horns from the Birmingham Berlina because they are rather beefier and sound like they belong on a Canadian Pacific diesel locomotive!
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I'm continuing with little trips out to the local pub meet to test reliability. The problem with occasional non functioning of the fuel pump seems to have been the angle it was mounted at. The instructions for fitting said it had to be vertical but it seems rather particular about being precisely vertical.
This week I couldn't find reverse gear to back into a parking space at the pub. It did give me the opportunity to explain to people how complicated the gear linkage is from the column change to the transaxle. I shall have a delve into the workshop manual to see if there is any specification for adjusting it.
I also managed to run out of fuel on the way home whilst registering a third of a tank so the fuel gauge sender is still not doing its stuff.
On the bright side she runs very eagerly so I have to watch the speed limit carefully. My mental arithmetic is improving with constantly converting KPH into MPH. A friend at the meeting who has a fascinating 1960s Panhard showed me his dinky GPS speedometer that sits in his dash top ashtray. I might be tempted to one.
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Is the vertical plane of the fuel pump to allow air bubbles to rise to the outlet?
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Hi Frank,
Not sure about the vertical mounting as my PF Coupe has the fuel pump in the boot at a slight angle, pretty cool in there. The position yours is in looks warm from the get go. I remember building a Dutton kit car where the spare wheel was mounted in front of the radiator and the car was overheating and my wife at the time pinioned that the spare wheel was in the wrong place but I insisted the manufacturer designed it to go there. You can guess who was right!
Clarkey
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Like yours Jim the Birmingham Berlina has its fuel pump in the boot in the well opposite the spare wheel and it is a horizontally mounted one.
I had thought of adapting the Contessa to that setup until I saw how different the systems are. The Contessa is an 813-00 from June 1961 and has two fuel pick-ups at different heights then two copper fuel lines running straight forwards to a tap in the front footwell where you select main or reserve. The Birmingham Berlina is an 813-11 from November 1962 and has a single fuel pipe the immediately curls round into the boot to the fuel pump before then going forwards to the engine bay.
I do have a spare single fuel line set salvaged from the English Patient, but not the single outlet fuel tank, so a conversion may be on the cards for the future. At the moment reliable access to reverse gear seems more of a priority.
Pictures are the English Patient, Birmingham Berlina and the Contessa. My first Berlin, EJJ, can also be seen under a blue tarp next to the Birmingham Berlina.
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Some serious heavy metal there Frank!
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Frank
FWIIW my Fulvia 1600 HF has the Facet Silver top mounted in the engine bay in a warmer spot than your and over 20 years I have no problems (touching wood as I type). Indeed quite a lot of Electrically pumped Fulvias use Facet Silver top in the engine bay.
Maybe your pump struggles as there might be an air leak in the pipe work or a partial blockage? Have you air lined the supply pipe back to the tank?
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An air leak sounds possible as I timed it at four minutes to build up enough pressure for the pump to stop throbbing when I turned on the ignition.
The exhaust noise turns out to be blowing both sides where the system joins the down pipes. I'm not convinced the down pipes and the next part of the system match properly as the exhaust pipe is larger diameter than the down pipe and is crushed together to hold it in place. I wonder if a slight increase in the diameter of the exhaust pipe is another of those little tweaks brought in on the 813-11 and 813-12 compared with the 813-00 and a later system has been fitted as a replacement. A pot of Gun Gum has been deployed so we'll see how that goes.
Next up is finding reverse gear. The motion goes from the gear lever behind the steering wheel via a sliding and rotating sleeve on the steering column through the firewall to a quadrant which actuates two rods which go to another quadrant at the bottom of the firewall which moves a long rod to the transaxle so lots of places something could go wrong. I like counting how many components Lancia used for things (the radiator badge disassembles into 17 pieces) and between your hand and where the gear shaft enters the transaxle the count is over 80 parts.
Shimming a sloppy bush on the first quadrant hasn't improved things but I noticed that in reverse the quadrant is hitting the carrier for the screen wash reservoir. Shimming the washer bottle out of the way hasn't helped. The gear lever goes forwards and down for reverse so I'm not sure if it wont go down because it can't go far enough forward but the latest discovery is that the rubber gaiter where the rod goes into the selector mechanism on the side of the transaxle is rock hard and splitting up but removing the remains of that hasn't helped either.
I hope the issue isn't inside the gearbox.
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The dust cover for the gear selector input shaft has arrived. I decided to renew the vibration damper block too whilst I have it all apart.
My ex Alperton (allegedly) big axle stands have come in handy for jacking the Contessa up and the relevant bits of the gear linkage are dismantled. The good news is that once disconnected from the gearbox there is no obstruction to the movement of the gear linkage. The bad news is that it suggests the obstruction is inside the gearbox. Selecting first and third, moving the column lever upwards, has always been easy but moving it down for second and forth has always been a bit spongy and stiff. Moving it down for reverse felt obstructed which got worse till now selection of reverse is very occasional or non existent.
The metal bushes from the old vibration damper have to be swapped across and the metal plate behind is a bit buckled though I doubt that's enough to cause the problems. Trying to move the selector input shaft with everything disconnected is very hard though lack of leverage won't help.
Has anyone had problems with the gear selector in the past or have an idea of what might commonly go wrong?
In the absence of any suggestions I will just have to remove the selector assembly from the side of the gearbox and take it from there.
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Hi Frank
On one of my spare boxes (very little oil in it) forward and reverse gears can be be selected by manipulating the shaft that comes out of the gearbox by inserting a screwdriver in the yoke end. Does this suggest as you mention an internal problem? What is the oil level like?
Clarkey
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The selector shaft into the gearbox is almost impossible to move with the linkage disconnected so that does suggest an internal problem.
I hadn't thought to check the oil level so I will do that.
I have worked out that there is a plunger in the bottom of the selector housing (item 23 on Tav.43) so I shall pull that out to see if it is stuck.
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Only 2 litres of oil came out of the gearbox so I've ordered some Millers Classic EP 80 to refill it.
It strikes me that the filler may not be easily accessible so is there any special technique for refilling with the box in situ?
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These are quite useful
https://www.amazon.fr/-/en/BGS-8356-Transfer-pump/dp/B00871XO2K/ref=sr_1_12?crid=3OK19A8PAMZUV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NGIg57zY8XLIZWprJmaT5Nabc3AaEO3YrL_hb2g9TJHhhrwCkP8XD-d8hokLAdDghRzAfpv9OnjWZEeT2rTtD-3rxlT0IV-n_B2PCH5ppeYL2LeEX4f7LNeeLbn0MePzoyqAdXr7TG2dG_HaLdiVLXe_LAD0XeMih6palUhtCbFGiLppLeMbklr6hrBeEp6_T40-6dFzSzTmRTIV5_hjx3vAMqXAwb8TBFMC0D7jDpoDGdh928Q2Y0QEc1YtSJ5_syljn68sqnwZDmE-_bjlcLkiFla2hTC6zTei0C-Yo-0.qC2iXkjVS5xk6_ExC0gqoteTo4YIfbcD_Rdm1QYnCtA&dib_tag=se&keywords=oil+filler+pump&qid=1776873697&sprefix=oil+filler+pump%2Caps%2C246&sr=8-12 (https://www.amazon.fr/-/en/BGS-8356-Transfer-pump/dp/B00871XO2K/ref=sr_1_12?crid=3OK19A8PAMZUV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NGIg57zY8XLIZWprJmaT5Nabc3AaEO3YrL_hb2g9TJHhhrwCkP8XD-d8hokLAdDghRzAfpv9OnjWZEeT2rTtD-3rxlT0IV-n_B2PCH5ppeYL2LeEX4f7LNeeLbn0MePzoyqAdXr7TG2dG_HaLdiVLXe_LAD0XeMih6palUhtCbFGiLppLeMbklr6hrBeEp6_T40-6dFzSzTmRTIV5_hjx3vAMqXAwb8TBFMC0D7jDpoDGdh928Q2Y0QEc1YtSJ5_syljn68sqnwZDmE-_bjlcLkiFla2hTC6zTei0C-Yo-0.qC2iXkjVS5xk6_ExC0gqoteTo4YIfbcD_Rdm1QYnCtA&dib_tag=se&keywords=oil+filler+pump&qid=1776873697&sprefix=oil+filler+pump%2Caps%2C246&sr=8-12)
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The filler is accessible through the hatch in the boot floor (allegedly) I think it takes 4 litres or so of oil. The reverse plunger unscrews from the casting bolted to the side of the gearbox and the gearchange shaft is locked in place with a bolt so if that has suffered a failure or is corroded that might be a factor.
Clarkey
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Re Simons pump, I have a pump only with out the tank it is bright orange and black and does the business but is a bit slow but at least you do not have to stop to empty/refill the container. You might as well pour some oil over yourself from the start as my experience is it gets everywhere.
Clarkey
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcS5Hqqapc5PYFwNbfNwSgNcinmenjd-qxOtPAxgV_i4r2uP0KFEpnS2WTTy3e1SXNZLu6gH07rtmK-azvYE6qBIWE55CWK7
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Having checked my handbook the transaxle oil filler is on top of the diff casing accessible through the hatch in the boot floor.
The two litres of oil was only what came out of the reverse plunger hole which I assumed being the lowest point would be all of it. Another litre came out of the proper drain plug making three litres in all so it was only three quarters full. There was quite a bit of swarf on the magnet in the drain plug, with oil gunk it was about the size of a coffee bean, but I have no way of knowing how long it may have been accumulating. I'd have preferred there to be none.
The oil filter really is a pain to get at. Coming out the back of the differential casing it hits either the De Dion bar or the Panhard rod when it is three quarters of the way out. No combination of jacking the suspension or gearbox would give clear access to I resorted to cleaning what I could expose which will be better than nothing.
Next week when I have the oil we will see if I have solved any of the problems.
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I'm back under the Contessa after a week playing 17th century.
With the gear linkage detached from the gearbox there is a full range of movement at the gear lever so the linkage all seems to be OK.
I've removed the selector housing from the side of the gearbox and dismantled it to fit the new input shaft boot. Apart from the dexterity needed to access all the mounting bolts it was remarkably straight forward. The selector mechanism also has a full range of movement in its housing so that isn't the problem either.
The next step is to investigate movement of the selector forks through the access for the selector mechanism. First impressions are that the forks don't want to move freely so I'll see where that goes.
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One layer deeper in. Removing the gasket of the selector housing has allowed access to the selector fork detents which were pretty gummed up with solidified old oil.
Interestingly there's a piece that I can't find in my parts book. The finger on the gear selector goes through a fixed gate on the gearbox which limits its movement to that necessary to move between the three selector forks and move them back and forth to engage gears. Behind that, and seemingly not shown in my parts book, is a second gate that slides up and down between the three selector forks. That appears to be arranged such that when one fork is selected the other two are blocked from moving out of the neutral position.
My gear selection problem might be that the detents are not engaging properly to hold the selector forks in the neutral position thus blocking the sliding gate and preventing the selector fork I'm trying to engage from moving into gear. Unfortunately there is a lot of involved reassembly before I can establish if the problem is solved.
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It's all back together and I seem to have gears. On a road test there was a slight tendency to drop out of third if the lever wasn't pushed home firmly enough but apart from that she is driveable.
As is the way though, as the test drive progressed the exhaust got louder and louder so that will need attention again. I've had one go at sealing up the joint between the downpipes and the main system but a more thorough investigation seems to be called for. It's a relatively new mild steel system that was probably fitted at the restoration around 2018 but it seems a bit short to overlap the downpipes properly.
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Good work Frank...I have the boot and the oil seal to replace so will be venturing under the coupe when the engine is back together.
Clarkey
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The boot has to go on from the inside end of the input shaft which means removing the selector housing and dismantling it all. Access is restricted with the exhaust and suspension in place but it is doable. Whilst in there you can extract the three gear selector detents and clean those. Mine were quite gummed up.
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For a bit of exercise I took the Contessa for a run to Bletchley Park to join the Flavia 2000 consortium meet up. The 45 mile round trip is the furthest I've been so far. She is embarrassingly noisy, not at all ladylike. On the way home through Woburn deer park we ground to a standstill seeming to have run out of fuel but having set off with a full 58 litres in the tank that was unlikely. It turned out to be a blown fuse for the electric fuel pump. I thought I was carrying spares but must have got through them all. Thankfully I found a bit of metal I could wedge in the fuse holder till I got home, not ideal but I needed to get home to walk the dog. Five amps seems very little for a fuel pump fuse so I'll have to check up on that.
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5 amp is what is specified for Facet, but 20 amp for Bosch and I suppose anything in between
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Looking up online suggests the Facet only draws 3 amps max so why a 5 amp fuse keeps blowing is a mystery.
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And to add to my fun the handbrake has malfunctioned. The ratchet won't hold the lever in the on position. I don't anticipate it being a major problem. It's very accessible and I have a spare one if needed.
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For a week or two the handbrake would fly off if you so much as touched it till eventually it wouldn't stay on at all. The pawl didn't seem to hold on the rack of the ratchet mechanism. My spare hand brake is rather tatty so I tried swapping in the rack from that but still had the same issue. The pawl mechanism seems to be riveted into the lever so I couldn't easily swap that. Just fitting the tatty spare hand brake has worked though so she is back in action.
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After a couple of extended trips away I'm back on the job. Lots of small jobs have been done but still no more than small local trips have been achieved.
The battery has been secured with an original clamp from The English Patient and air horns installed from the Birmingham Berlina.
A Panhard owning friend introduced me to the idea of a GPS digital speedometer which at under £10 is a no brainer. I can convert from KPH but my memory and mental arithmetic aren't as quick as they used to be so this helps.
Despite much fiddling the fuel sender unit still isn't giving a reliable reading and I haven't done enough miles to work out a reliable rage on a tank of fuel. In desperation I pulled the unit from the Birmingham Berlina to see if it was any better. It's a mechanical one rather than the solid state mechanism in The Contessa but it was rusted solid. It is also quite different in the details of the mechanism. It seemed like a good opportunity to try electrolytic de-rusting. The results look good but the mechanism is still locked dolid despite much penetrating fluid.
Today I filled up the tank and tried a longer run. Things were going well so I ventured onto the motorway and established that 70 mph cruising is well within her means however after just over 60 miles she started running rough, lost power and ground to a standstill in a refuge. Heat may have been an issue as though the water temperature was normal the oil temperature had gone very high. Had there been a hard shoulder I could have tried getting up to speed again after cooling off but from a refuge on a smart motorway I wasn't going to risk pulling out and finding I had no power.
A ignominious trip home on a recovery lorry was the only solution. She's booked in on Monday morning to the garage Brian Hilton uses for Fay for a thorough looking at. Sadly I'll have to abandon plans to bring her to the AGM.
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That Motorway breakdown sounds awful Frank, I hate using them on any Classic car due to the reasons mentioned, at least on a normal road here are easier places to pull over safely. As bad as a breakdown recovery is you made the right call!
I hope the issue can be found, it's easy to lose trust in cars when these things happen.
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My trusty Y10 did duty in the Contessa's place for the AGM. My dear lady wife, who has a devastating knack of coming up with appropriate names for cars, has ruled that the Contessa's first name is Eliza. That's as in Eliza Doolittle (do little ).
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After lots of galivanting since the AGM I finally got a look at the Contessa's non starting.
No spark would do it!
I have an old remote starting switch from the 1970s and having got advice on where to connect it I was able to turn over the engine whilst poking about under the bonnet.
I had low tension power to the inside of the distributor but it wasn't reaching the points. It turns out there was an internal break in the lead taking power to the points. I know I have spare points but I'm darned if I can find them so I cut and re-soldered the wire. I consider it to have been over long anyway and I've had problems with that on another car in the past.
The proof of the pudding will be in a road test once I have time.
Prior to finding the wire break I couldn't establish continuity in the HT lead from the coil or a spark from the coil itself. A standard 12V coil from Car Builder Solutions (about a tenth of the price of a Flaminia one from a specialist) and a spare HT lead were used to get her running. I now need to consider whether I need to reinstate a ballast resister as the coil I removed seemed to have one permanently soldered in.
Now I've established a working system I'll go back and try the seemingly defective coil and lead to check they really are dead before disposing of them.
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Well done on finding such an annoying fault, fingers crossed that it's sorted out your running issues once and for all 8)
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Thanks Kevin. Given that she seems to be giving me a comprehensive experience I'm wondering what the next exciting failure will be.