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

[Sliding Pillar]

What colour did you paint the wheels in the end? They look great.

[Sebastien]

Chris, very nice!
One question: can you re-use the strip between wings and body?
Do you know if it is the same as the one which Simon Ingman has had remanufactured for the Aprilia? That would be nice, but I suspect Lancia had different versions....

[chriswgawne]

The strip between the wings and the body on my B21S is useable Sebastien. Not sure about Simon's Aprilia strip  - I imagine he will pick this up himself and respond.
Chris

[Parisien]

Looking very good, well done, looking forward to seeing it on the road again,

P

[chriswgawne]

Ade,
The wheels were completely stripped before painting and the wheel centres are  Ford Alpaca beige  XSC2025A.
I had sent the painter various colours which had been suggested by Forum members and others but asked him to try to match the colour from scratch
He took that on board and after cleaning up one of my  wheels (before stripping) he  spent quite some time trawling through his colour chips which have no name or manufacturer code on them -  they have only their paint reference on them. And having found a very good match, this was the exact paint reference stipulated by Ford for their Alpaca beige.
Chris

[williamcorke]

Looking great Chris.

The Al strips between wing and shell were fine to re-use on my B10. Of course you should have some insulation between them and the steel when refitted - from memory this originally was a king of waxed fabric. I probably have a piece somewhere...

[Sliding Pillar]

Chris, it's good to have confirmation that Alpaca Beige is the correct colour for Aurelia wheels.

[simonandjuliet]

I must admit to painting the wheel centres the same colour on the Cabrio - looks very good alongside the Burgundy-red rims, photos later !

Re trim, I have just compared them side by side and the Aprilia trim is very slightly narrower , approx 1mm (circa 10mm vs 9mm). It would certainly fit and look correct

[Sebastien]

Simon,
Great to know that your remanufactured Aprilia strip is also usable on the Aurelia between bodyshell and wings.
Not that I want to do that just now, but this info might help other Lancia owners to get their B12 on the road....!

[chriswgawne]

I have just ordered new front and rear screen rubbers........so we are getting close to collecting the car.
I don't have any photos just yet but the car should be back with me in early July fully trimmed and painted.
All I have to do then is renovate and reassemble all the mechanical side!
Photos to follow but I am  getting quite excited!
Chris

[chriswgawne]

Well its been a while.....but the B21S finally arrived yesterday painted and retrimmed. All I need to do now (!!!!!) is refit the mechanicals, wiring, rubber etc and off we go!
There have been  delays due primarily to Covid and Brexit and consequent difficulty of movement within Europe  but at least I have had time to rebuild the engine, transmission and clutch and refurb various brake components.....and also get loads of other motoring related jobs out of the way in the interim.
I have also been able to use patience, not a virtue of mine,  in sourcing some good OE bits for the car such as those pretty, flush mounted rear lights, headlamp reflectors and an illuminated 'I' light for the boot lid as well as a period 'Aurelia' aluminium bootlid lifting handle
From choice I wont really get stuck into re-assembly now until the autumn after our grape harvest but I feel sure I will disappear into my garage for the odd few hours each month.
I am going to persist in fitting the original engine, clutch, front brakes and transaxle all fully rebuilt hoping that it is nimble enough for todays traffic.
Unfortunately, in a way having our lovely B12 with its larger engine, longer final drive, larger clutch and larger front brakes makes it a hard act to follow but I have a full set of B12 running gear which I can fit if the need arises.
Here are a couple of poor photos - more to come when the dust has settled.
Chris

[impaw]

Wooow
Looks great Chris!!

[chriswgawne]

Thanks Torstein,
I am really very very pleased with the bodywork and trimming which took place in SW France with Simon Ingman overseeing the work - huge thanks are due to Simon.
It has been a pleasure to deal with the bodyshop and trimmer and their next project of mine is already with them in France which indicates Jacky and my  overall satisfaction.
In the end the B21S  had new front floors as the existing ones were thin and a little perforated but generally it was found to be as sound, straight and unmolested as I thought and hoped when I bought it.
Also it was virtually 100% complete which I have learned from bitter experience is very important....not just from the 'cost of project' but also the 'time taken to complete project' and the 'end result of project'..
More to follow as the rebuild progresses.
Chris

 

[chriswgawne]

I dont usually work on my projects during the Spring, summer and early autumn months due to pressure of time doing other things. We have our vines, olive tress and fruit trees here in Italy and Grandchildren in the UK!
So, a quick update on progress.
The B21S engine is in, the new wiring harness is virtually all connected and tested and the rear suspension, drive shafts, dampers and transaxle are all fitted.
I had a problem with the front brake shoes being a little oversize for the barely worn drums even after having the drums very lightly skimmed ( not my mistake but too long a story to relate) so I have just brought a set of lightly worn 280mm dia front brake shoes from the UK to fit next week. The linings are riveted and glued to the shoes and are asbestos based.
Today I have collected a complete new IMASAF exhaust system which is very nicely made. Its actually a B22 system as I wanted the larger 45mm diameter pipe system ( the only Aurelia Berlina to do so) in preparation for probably fitting a B12 engine I have one day and also to enjoy a slightly louder exhaust noise. The only problem with this is ( and I will try to be brief) is that B10, B21 and B12 use 'small' exhaust manifolds with 2 bolt flanges to the downpipe whereas B22 (and v early 3rd srs B20) use a 3 bolt flange 'larger' manifold. And then later Aurelias used the larger manifold but with a 4 bolt flange. S I need to have a couple of small spacers made up to connect the 2 bolt manifolds to the 3 bolt downpipes. Are you still with me?
Photos to follow when the exhaust is on the car.
Chris

[chriswgawne]

Following on from my last post,  the 'new' original B21S 1991cc engine is now in the car and the new ( beautifully made) IMASAF large bore B22 exhaust system (apart from the downpipes) is now loosely bolted in place. Yesterday I collected the 'manifold to downpipe ' adaptors to enable me to finish fitting the complete system to the original 2 bolt flange manifolds. 
The larger bore 3 bolt flange exhaust manifolds were fitted to B22 & 3rd srs B20  and in every aspect dimensionally they differ from the 2 bolt flange manifolds.
Whilst waiting for these adaptors, I have started rebuilding the B12 engine I have which I have in pieces - its an easy rebuild with new pistons whilst the main bearings are all re-usable being well within tolerance. There seems to be a problem with some of my original B12 conrods where the big end bolts have  been stretched by  overtightening ( later engines had larger bolts) and if this happens, the big end caps can be distorted making the rods unusable. Fortunately I have another good set of 6 OE B12 conrods.
Attached are photos showing the 2 different exhaust manifolds and the nicely made adaptors. Its all a little more complicated that it first appeared (good old Lancia) due to flange angles and lengths although the later 4 bolt flange  2.5l (4th srs B20 onwards & B24S) manifolds are the same overall dimensions as the 3 bolt flange manifolds.
There is some leeway for adjustment in the mounting holes of the adaptors and I have plenty of each type of copper faced gasket if I have to use extra gaskets as spacers to get things to line up.
Chris