Lancia Motor Club Forum
Model Technical and Interest => Augusta => Topic started by: cbudden on 16 August, 2026, 10:53:01 AM
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Hello All,
I have almost finished re-wiring my car and my thoughts are turning to putting the engine/gearbox back into the car......before doing so it would make sense (with the ease of access) to change all the fluids.
I have the owners handbook but have failed to find modern equivalents of the Gargoyle/Veedol oils mentioned. Therefore I was wondering if anyone has a table of, or recommendations for, the most suitable Grade/Type, Brand and required quantity for the following fluids:
- Engine oil
- Gearbox oil
- Differential oil
- Sliding pillar oil
- for the coolant I am assuming that old fashioned Glycol based (blue) products are applicable?
Finally, in the attached picture I have indicated a chrome, two position toggle switch on the right hand side of the dashboard. Does anyone know what this is for? It appears to be a Bowden type cable which runs in a solid metal tube all the way to the back of the car and stops (on my car) at the rear offside wheel arch. I am wondering if it might have some connection to the fuel system as the tank and fuel pump are located nearby, behind the axle and under the boot floor (currently there is neither tank nor pump installed on my car). I have seen the same switch, in the same place on the dash in an Augusta Cabriolet currently for sale in Turin, so think it is original.
Any help gratefully received.
Chris
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opening a can of worms as there has been much discussion on this over the years with various sliding pillar cars and Augustas , i have always used and my dad did too for decades with no issues
20/50 engine oil (premium brand castrol classic usually with zinc content) sae 30 is also a recommended engine oil
ep 80/90 gear oil in the gearbox and the diff ,
20/50 in the dampers and lower guides in the front axle
yes blue antifreeze works fine
the dash lever i don't think is standard ( happy to be corrected) , our belna had all sorts of "add ons" on the dashboard and the car, generally fitted after the war to modernise older cars , is your car a belna or italian platform chassis , looks belna from the photo (jaeger speedo) , if so it should have a small electric fuel gauge and large time clock, if its italian it has a mechanical gauge which i think runs on a bowden cable too the rear , small clock and large fuel gauge, hope this helps, James
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Thanks James. Didn’t mean to open any cans of worms!! Just keen to get recommendations from people who have had positive experiences with the products they used.
My car is (as far as I know) an Italian chassis (34-1827) and as you say has large mechanical fuel gauge and small clock. The Bowden cable for the fuel gauge is in place and runs underneath the car on the near side.
There were numerous extra fittings for heater and ammeter and rear oil pressure? But they are now decommissioned and removed.
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haha , theres always been alot of debate with these things but they have honestly worked fine for me , without telling you how to suck eggs do you know how to fill the sliding pillars , the lower guides ?
any pictures of the outside ? looks very interesting , would be interested to see any pics of the fuel gauge set up too , j
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Hi James,
I would welcome any advice on how to check/fill the sliding pillars and lower guides - it’s all new to me.
Do you know the quantity of gearbox oil required, if not I will measure what comes out and replace with a similar quantity.
I attach a few pictures….. you have touched a nerve regarding the fuel gauge mechanism…… it’s hard to believe that it will ever work.
The first picture shows the mechanism which has been removed from the brass boss through which the float is attached by string. The lever arm moves according to the level of the float and the Bowden cable pushes on an arm inside the Azimut fuel gauge to move the needle. I shall be amazed if the movement of the float can overcome the friction of the Bowden cable.
The reason I said you touched a nerve is that after several days of trying to dig the float out of 30+ years of gummy varnish deposits, it let go! The other pictures show the float as salvaged (the bottom half parted company) and I now need to source a replacement or try and fabricate something.
Last picture shows current state of the car - wheels refurbished and new tyres. The wings and running boards are away to be sprayed.
Regards
Chris
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have you got the augusta news letters?? i can send most of them too you if not , filling the sliding pillars is straight forward, on the very top of the pillar there is an oiler, looks like a grease nipple, if you dont have a suitable oil gun remove the oiler and alloy dust cover if fitted and use a conventional oiling can , put the end of it into the shock absorber rod where the nipple has come out and pump away until the oil comes out from around the side of the rod ( still at the top under the alloy dust cap) once full put the cover and nipple back in, if you have a suitable oil gun you just connect too the nipple and pump oil until oil runs down between the alloy dust cover and the steel of the sliding pillar
lower guide, remove the drain plug from the very bottom of the sliding pillar in the bottom of the spring cup , oil will usually run out so put a suitable tray underneath to catch it , wait for the oil to run out and stop , just above the axle tube level you will see a small filling plug or another greaser/ oiler , again if you don't have a suitable oil gun unscrew the oiler / plug and use a conventional oil can again and fill the guide until oil starts to run out of the bottom again, once the oil has started to run out put the drain plug/ cap back on the lower guide and the oiler / filler back in , very easy , if you need any help / advice give me a call or a whatsapp 07961713441
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Just to end this thread, a quick update;
I went back to basics regarding the mystery lever on the dash and consulted the original handbook which came with the car (its fairly delicate so I don't refer to it often and purchased the electronic version from Holland) and I found at the back of the book a couple of 'Tavola' dedicated to the chassis version of the car, one of which shows the fuel tank and system. It seems the lever is original and appears to have something to do with switching to a reserve level in the tank. I attach a picture of the Tavola and its description. How this works I have no idea as I don't see any fitting on the tank that might be involved in accessing a reserve fuel level.
Anyway, mystery partially solved and I shall leave it all in place even though it will have no function.
Many thanks to James and others who have assisted.
Chris
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The cable goes to "Pozzetto per vasce benzina" which google translate says is a "Gas tank sump" so I'd suspect that inside the tank it switches a valve between two pickups at different heights. Normal running would use the higher pickup and switching allows you to draw fuel right from the bottom of the tank.
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everydays a school day, french built cars definitely don't have this feature , j