Recent Posts

41

Aprilia, Ardennes and Ardea / Re: Engine bay rejuvenation

« Last post by simonandjuliet on 22 May, 2026, 04:19:19 PM »

Had a bit of time this week to start on the dashboard

All the levers have been cleaned and painted, everything else has been prep'ed including cleaning thread on the mounting screws so that they are easier to fit because some are fiddly !

The glove box trim took a while because it needed to be fitted onto Dumdum putty. The mounting wires are soldered to the trim and due to the solder, leave the trim a bit proud. Then I made a new cloth trim for the back

The central switch has been wired up, having first checked all the circuits again .... not done any wiring for a while, so more a refresher than anything else, checking everything goes where it should !

The horn push on this car has been damaged over the years so there is a simple push switch just above the elegant claw-type steering lock. The dynamo/light/indicator repeaters are not standard, but they've been there for eons so I'll just wire them as they were

Couple of photos of the levers showing how to set the tension so the air flap stays open

Lots of detail - all of which takes time, however good step forward this week

42

Spares for sale / Re: Fulvia bumper aperture covers - set of 4

« Last post by waterman42 on 22 May, 2026, 11:52:00 AM »

I'm sorry, they've gone now a while ago. I couldn't seem to find the way of deleting the item from the sales page. If someone knows how to do that.....

43

Spares for sale / Re: Fulvia bumper aperture covers - set of 4

« Last post by mikerowe on 22 May, 2026, 08:46:50 AM »

Hello
Possibly too late, but are these still available?

Thanks

Mikey

44

Flaminia / Re: Flaminia engine rebuild

« Last post by lancianut666 on 22 May, 2026, 07:28:05 AM »

A picture of the spare engine with oil still in the reservoir and then one of the rocker shafts again from the spare engine. I spent several hours yesterday sorting out the pillar studs as they had been replaced with some from my spare head and some were remade. Unfortunately the machine shop did not realise the studs are in different lengths as the deck height of the pillars is not uniform. The other head was not affected. The head was then blasted with brake cleaning fluid with the compressor to get all the grit and debris off of it. The next task is to get the valves back in.
Clarkey

45

Flaminia / Re: Flaminia engine rebuild

« Last post by lancianut666 on 22 May, 2026, 07:18:32 AM »

Hi all
Spent an hour or so looking into the rocker shafts lubrication. Going by the diagram in the workshop manual I have there should be an oilway running the full length of each head with a spur off to each rocker shaft. In reality on the three heads I have the oilway comes into the 'reservoir' for oil under the front rocker shaft pillar. From the first pillar there is a hole leaving here and entering the second rocker shaft pillar with another hole leaving here to go into the third rocker shaft pillar. There is no second hole in the last 'reservoir'. I assume then that the oil enters the first reservoir then is forced into the second and then the third. I had a look at the rocker shafts on my spare engine and they too have marks on their surfaces that look like they have been running dry, interestingly the 'reservoirs' still had engine oil in them as with the engine flat a proportion of the oil trapped can not drain away thus aiding start up lubrication. As an experiment I filled up the three 'reservoirs' with oil and set the head down with the rear end slightly lifted. The result was what I had expected, the rear and middle 'reservoirs' drained down to the level of the holes (these are right next to the studs and hard to see) that feed the oil through and the first 'reservoir' drained completely with the oil dripping out from the hole in the face of the cylinder head. Weakness with this system would be that if the hole leaving the first 'reservoir' is blocked then the next two will be starved of oil. I think the diagram in the workshop manual may only refer to earlier cars or is an idealised view of what is going on. I would welcome any comments on this.
Clarkey

46

Flaminia / Re: The Contessa

« Last post by frankxhv773t on 21 May, 2026, 01:38:03 PM »

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.

47

Flaminia / Re: Flaminia engine rebuild

« Last post by lancianut666 on 20 May, 2026, 06:16:37 PM »

Hi all
More progress on one head as all the valves are lapped in and the head has had a good clean. Slight problem as the oilways to the rocker pillars seems blocked on two of the pillars which backs up my suspicions as the rocker shafts looked as if they had been running dry. Had a go with the stick and the paste but it was taking forever so invested £40 in a Gunson reciprocating gizmo that fits in an electric drill. The pictures of the head show that oil is not draining out of the chamber under where the rocker pillars mount but do for the first one. Hmmm there are two screws on the head at each end of where the oilway will be so I might have to persuade them to come out to play tomorrow.
Clarkey

48

Aprilia, Ardennes and Ardea / Re: Mike Hawthorn

« Last post by frankxhv773t on 20 May, 2026, 11:10:57 AM »

First picture in a Google image search suggests EYE 606

49

Aprilia, Ardennes and Ardea / Re: Mike Hawthorn

« Last post by Richard Fridd on 20 May, 2026, 09:59:24 AM »

 Would the answers lie in 'Golden Boy'. Unfortunately my copy is not to hand.

50

Flaminia / Re: New GTL Owner

« Last post by JohnnyM on 19 May, 2026, 08:53:35 PM »

Thank you, I'd not seen that. It's a beautiful colour, very delicate metallic blue. The cream wheels set it off perfectly.