I said I would never buy another Aurelia.........

[chriswgawne]

A very logical set of questions Sebastien.
At the moment ( and this may change) my aim is to get the car back on the road in as close as possible to original condition and specification and then modify as and when is necessary or required.
The car has come to me with a full set of new white metal bearings and big ends ( and  pistons, liners, camshaft, timing gears etc) which match the crankshaft. Whilst the original cylinder heads were ruined under the previous owner ( hence the B12 heads) the general condition of the body, interior, transaxle gears and engine components lead me to believe the car itself has not done a huge mileage and therefore I am happy to use the original conrods.
The only difference with the B12 cylinder heads ( which had never previously been skimmed) from B21  is slightly larger inlet valves and the amount of metal removed in the block and head skimming was minimal so the compression ratio increase will be slight.
I now have a Solex 35PAAI ( in rather poor condition but probably saveable) and the only other decision is whether to use the new camshaft which came with the car or one of 'my' slightly sportier cams.
Regarding the oil pump and oil filter, I have fitted 'spin-off' full flow modern conversions to all our Aurelias so I will do the same with this engine and I will be fitting a later oil pump in good condition.

I hope that by building the engine carefully, we end up with a capable car which is perfectly happy in modern traffic including autostradas but if that isn't the case I then have the option of fitting a 2.5l engine and a B12 transaxle (and probably 4th Srs B20 front brakes at the same time).
(Our 1st series B20 has its original standard engine rated at 70 bhp but with one of 'my' camshafts and that goes along very nicely in modern traffic so I hope the B21S engine rated originally at 75 bhp will be OK with my camshaft, a larger carb and better breathing).
Bear in mind the car is effectively undergoing almost a total rebuild there is a strong argument for keeping things as original as possible, certainly to begin with, as to go away from standard would inevitably lengthen the time scale and I really want the car on the road in 2020.

Chris

[Parisien]

Those front wings look like new, great only localised issue at base of A pillar, things coming along nicely, as ever Chris sterling work.

P

[Parisien]

Found a sample with code attached, I think it was from Elvizio some years ago, cross reference with a code you have?


P

[chriswgawne]

I have a sample of that colour Frank but its beige and I am trying to get an equivalent darkish brown.
Thanks anyway.
Chris

[Parisien]

I have a sample of that colour Frank but its beige and I am trying to get an equivalent darkish brown.
Thanks anyway.
Chris

Chris, this is dark brown... honest!!

P

[frankxhv773t]

I have a 35PAAI in pieces so may be able to help with bits if you need any to repair yours. e-mail on f.tierney@btinternet.com if you do as I only get a few minutes access to the forum at any time.

[chriswgawne]

I have a 35PAAI in pieces so may be able to help with bits if you need any to repair yours. e-mail on f.tierney@btinternet.com if you do as I only get a few minutes access to the forum at any time.

Sent you a pm Frank. Thanks for your offer of help.
Chris

[chriswgawne]

I have a sample of that colour Frank but its beige and I am trying to get an equivalent darkish brown.
Thanks anyway.
Chris

Chris, this is dark brown... honest!!

P

You are correct Frank. Apologies. Each day I feel as if I am getting closer to getting the colour of wool cloth I want …….but by golly the Italian domestic Post service takes an age!
Chris

[chriswgawne]

Well, I finally received another sample of wool and matching leathercloth today ( with a note from the potential supplier telling me it isnt correct for a B21S and enclosing beige samples which they say are the correct ones!).
My initial impression was that if the car was trimmed in 'my choice' samples it might seem a little too dark and sombre...…..and then I referred to samples taken from my car which had NOT been exposed to sunlight and they are even darker.
You can see this clearly in the attached photos - one in room lighting and one under an anglepoise - but we are very happy with the colours and think it will be very period and yet quite luxurious with the black paint of the car.
By the way Frank, the colour sample you posted is not currently available with no plans to re-manufacture.
Chris

[chriswgawne]

Just a brief update on things mechanical.
The original oil pump shows no sign of wear so I will reuse that.
The car came with its original camshaft ( which shows no sign of wear) and also a brand new one from Cavalitto. On examination, whilst the lobes look very different on each cam, the 'lift' on each cam is the same @ just over 5mm and the valve timing looks the same on each camshaft. Cavalitto's cam has a more rounded lobe so the valves would open slightly earlier and for longer.
About 20 years ago I had 8 'fast road' camshafts made by what had been Holbay and these had higher lift @ 5.6mm and different valve timing. I have one left having used all the others successfully in other engines so I will use this for the B21 as ideally I want a little extra power - maybe around 7 or 8 bhp which will come from the B12 heads, the camshaft and a Solex PAAI carburettor.
I have rebuilt the B12 heads yesterday and today with new valves, springs and guides having dropped a clanger last week thinking that the valves guides I had on the shelf would fit.
B12 exhaust valve guides are unique!!! Cavalitto saved the day with an order at 7pm last Thursday which turned up yesterday morning.
One of the B12 inlet manifolds has needed external weld repairs to a frost crack so there is a little work needed on the welds to get the nuts and washers to seat. Neither inlet manifold has any corrosion I am pleased to say.
So when I next get time, I will be fitting new liners, pistons, big ends and main bearings ( all white metal)  and crank....but not for a couple of weeks or so.
Chris

[chriswgawne]

Not much work done since my last post due to last  weekend in the UK with the grandchildren staying over. We returned late Monday evening and then on the Tuesday I drove 1,000km over to Languedoc to see the progress on the car. Its now looking as sad as a car during restoration can do with no wings, doors, bonnet , bootlid or interior...……..but the good news is that it is incredibly sound and straight.
As mentioned before there is a localised repair to the bottom of the outer skin of the rh A post and the outer skin beneath the rear bumper is corroded ( but not the vertical which this panel attaches to). To be added to the welding required is a little localised rust in the floor of the rh drivers footwell and a couple of small holes in the front lh floor.
I collected various mechanical and trim bits including dials, pedal box, lights  etc which had been removed from the car for me to refurbish here and then Simon and I drove straight back here for him to collect his Fulvia GT.
I also visited the trimmer in Narbonne on the way with Simon to discuss the complete interior and agreed that he would do this when the car is painted, hopefully to complete his 4 weeks work by early March

Those of you who have tackled full restorations will know that the whole process involves a series of  highs and lows - the highs are when something doesn't need replacing/sourcing because the original can be saved and the lows are basically the opposite.
Well the aluminium top radiator manifold seems to be fine and much to my surprise the lower half of this ( which is common to many Aurelia models) which holds the thermostat and which has always been aluminium as far as I am concerned (and therefore often impossible to unscrew ) is actually brass on my car! And the thermostat works.
Jacky is in the UK till tomorrow evening so I have broken my rule as a retiree of not playing with car bits over the weekend. I have stripped, cleaned, painted and rebuilt the brake fluid and front suspension reservoir which was completely seized. Again that was slightly different to any I have previously worked on although the innards are always the same.
Regarding the engine inlet manifolds I referred to earlier, the flange on the one with the welded repair is slightly thinner than the other so I will use 2 gaskets when fitting it to the head to bring the level up slightly for the bridging manifold.
Tomorrow I have a nasty little job to do on the block carefully extracting a sheared brass water fitting on the rhs but when this is done I think I can get on with fitting the liners, crank and new white metal bearings and then the pistons.
Photos to follow.
Chris

[lancialulu]

Tomorrow I have a nasty little job to do on the block carefully extracting a sheared brass water fitting on the rhs but when this is done I think I can get on with fitting the liners, crank and new white metal bearings and then the pistons.
Photos to follow.
Chris

This brass union is a stupid idea into aluminium! I had to deal it in situ as it sheared when changing the flexi pipe on my B12. I took an age to cut out a section of the threaded remains with a mini hacksaw blade and collapse the rest. Dealing with it on an exposed block must be more pleasurable..... I had a bit of a problem sourcing the correct banjo union as these old brass banjos which I reused when re making the flexipipe are much fatter and doesn't leave much thread as a result. I did find one though in stainless but hopefully wont need to be undone  for another 50 years

[chriswgawne]

Highs and lows.....so here is the broken brass fitting after removal from the block. In the end a very easy job but of course I did have good access.
as far as the body of the car is concerned the  localised repairs to the front rh floor and inner sill have been almost completed - the bodyshell was braced just in case anything moved.
And on my bench yesterday I rebuilt several windscreen wiper gearboxes with new gears - the original Mazak ones are not terribly long lasting. I have gearboxes with 3 different output shaft lengths and whilst I know the longest ones are for B20 I have no idea what the other 2 fit. Maybe an Aurelia variant or possibly Appia/Aprilia?
And finally yesterday I started looking more closely at the external lights off the B21S. One headlamp glass was cracked on purchase but the car came with a spare and I have several myself. The inner round 200mm headlamps are complete with one being useable after some work but the reflector of the other is a mess so I need to locate a spare, maybe from a 50's FIAT.
The front sidelights looked beyond saving but on closer inspection they look to be original with the body being cast polished aluminium, not chromed Mazak as I thought. So they have cleaned up really well and the white rubber inner gaskets are in OK condition so I will fit new plastic lenses which I have. The rear lights are non original having a separate orange indicator lens. This was a common conversion done at the end of the 50's in Italy and these Carello lights also have polished aluminium bodies which have cleaned up well as have the lenses. I will therefore re-fit them.
Chris

[Parisien]

As I recall a few bolts/connections fractured or broke off during refurbishment of my engine too, good they are straightforward fixes for you.

Plus in any restoration it always looks worse before it looks better, but you're bowling along nicely.

P

[chriswgawne]

A little more progress on the project here in Italy. I have ordered and paid for a complete set of materials for the internal trim including the rear carpets and this should be delivered to the trimmer ( via Simon - thank you again) in a couple of weeks so he can get on with various bits of work until he receives the painted car in January.
I seem to be unable to find new correct chrome slotted domed head self tappers these days ( I cant remember where I bought the ones I have in the 90's) but I have a small stock of these and I have plenty of stainless screws, some of which  have a good polished finish. There are no cross head self tappers anywhere on the B21S by the way - It looks to me as if the factory started using these during the time of B12 production in 1954 round the inside windscreen trim and the chrome door kick plates although the trim screws are all slot head as the B21S
The original countersunk washers ( numbers 1 & 2)  are smaller than any I can find available today but I have some of each of 3,4 ( which I am happy to use) and 5 ( which is just too large).
Chris