Aurelia B20 Series 1

[chriswgawne]

Without going into all the detail (which would end up being a rant) , Brexit and Covid have conspired to significantly reduce the time we have spent behind the wheel of our various Aurelias over the last 3/4 years.
However recently I have been driving around locally in the UK in our 1st Series B20 which we have owned for 30 years now. Its been quite a long-winded process getting the car back on the road after the enforced lay-up and the various maintenance issues I have had to go through are a harsh reminder that cars need to actually be driven, even if its only occasionally. Long stationary layups do them no favours at all, particularly rear brakes on Aurelias. Whilst the car was off the ground I also took the opportunity to have a look at the clutch ( which on this car is a 3 paddle sintered clutch plate in a 4th srs B20 clutch assembly on the car so very much 'in' or 'out'), replace the front brake hoses and wheel cylinder seals (which on this car are larger 3rd series B20  as well as the master cylinder seals which were all around 30 years old and then right at what I thought was the end of my list of jobs the engine developed as issue with its water. That's a separate story for later but now we are back on the road.
Anyway the real reason for this post is to enthuse about how smooth and light the early B20s are to drive. They obviously don't have the power of the 2.5 litre cars but on todays roads with all the speed cameras and congestion does this really matter? Get away from a standing start is good and the large front brakes are well up to todays traffic.
Also the styling is so very understated and yet pleasing to the eye....and hard to believe that its a 1951 car.
Chris
PS I have the original front brakes assemblies and the original clutch assembly. The engine is absolutely standard as is the transaxle and they are both  original from when the car was built 

[impaw]

Great looking car Chris!

[impaw]

…did you decide to leave the 3 paddle clutch plate on or did you replace it with an original one?

[GG]

Had a discussion with Anthony Maclean some years ago about why we both loved the 2 liter cars. There is something about the balance of the engine willingness to rev with the lightness of the car, and the flatness of the cornering with the IRS.

The 2 liter is comparable (in cylinder size) to a 1.3 four cylinder, the 2.5L to 1.6L four cylinder. Think Fulvia 1.3 vs. 1.6, or Giulietta vs. Guilia, re: smoothness....

When you get the right road, and no one on it, the early B20 is like a beautiful violin, being played just with the right single note - it just flows along so sweetly. The later Aurelias do as well, but they aren't the same. Chapman's "add lightness".

[Berlina2c]

If I opened my garage door to see that staring out at me, I wouldn't care how many litres were under the bonnet. Truly a stunning car.

[Sebastien]

Nice Aurelia Chris!

2 questions:

1. are you running a side exhaust? I see something like that under the LH door, or am I mistaken? And no exhaust tip under the right door?
So are you joining the 2 pipes under the car?
2. You are using 15 inch aluminum wheels, with Michelin XAS - what is the tire width and does it make a big difference, compared to 165-400 Michelin X?

And a sequel: A very competent Aurelia owner here in Switzerland swears with the now available Blockley radial, in 165 HR 400 size. He says there is a night and day difference with the Michelin X. And he is a fast driver. What do you think? Is this an interesting solution, allowing one to keep the original wheels?

[Parisien]

Not heard of Blockley before Sebastien, any other alternatives lurking out there?

https://www.blockleytyre.com/product/165hr400

P

[Parisien]

Great looking car Chris!

Have to agree, never mind handling/drivability of the smaller engined B20.

P

[chriswgawne]

…did you decide to leave the 3 paddle clutch plate on or did you replace it with an original one?

Yes I did Torstein....because at the moment I had it all apart in the UK in January I didnt have a standard 4th series clutch plate available.......all I had was an new earlier smaller one.
When I bought the car, it had several slightly non-standard features such as a twin Nardi (using lovely Weber 36DC carbs which were perfect) 2.5 litre B12 engine disguised to look original, a B12 transaxle, tubular exhaust manifolds with side exhaust, later front brakes, larger clutch  etc.
I ensured I got all the original components at the time of purchase and slowly over the years I converted the car back to standard.....but I never bothered to look inside the clutch.....so I didnt know about the clutch plate other than it was a little aggressive which I assumed was because someone had riveted the linings through both sides in every hole thereby losing the slight flexing which allows for smooth take up - do you understand what I mean?
As its such a quick job to change an Aurelia clutch ( the longer 4th series B20 assembly means I have the drop the nose of the transaxle though) I popped the paddle clutch back in so I could get the car back on the road.
Chris

[chriswgawne]

Nice Aurelia Chris!

2 questions:

1. are you running a side exhaust? I see something like that under the LH door, or am I mistaken? And no exhaust tip under the right door?
So are you joining the 2 pipes under the car?
2. You are using 15 inch aluminum wheels, with Michelin XAS - what is the tire width and does it make a big difference, compared to 165-400 Michelin X?

And a sequel: A very competent Aurelia owner here in Switzerland swears with the now available Blockley radial, in 165 HR 400 size. He says there is a night and day difference with the Michelin X. And he is a fast driver. What do you think? Is this an interesting solution, allowing one to keep the original wheels?

Hi Sebastien
Yes its a nice quietish side exhaust burble with custom tubular mild steel manifolds and a 2 into 1 under the centre floor with one long silencer box. The exhaust maniolfds look ok but they are not tuned length so probably dont aid breathing.
The tyres are 185 x 15  XAS on lob=vely Tecnomagnesio magnesium alloy wheel but with different offsets on front and rear. The other 4 wheels are on my beige 4th series B20 which you know.
When Tecnomagnesio made the first version of these wheels in the early 90's they got the offset wrong and the wheels fouled the sliding pillars quite badly on some cars although they are fine on the rear where they clear the wings (just!).
I didnt know about the Blockley tyres - the next time I need to buy new 165 x 400 tyres ( which will probably be for this car as I have a set of perfect original wheels) I will try them out. I had Blockley tyres on my Proteus C tyope and they were excellent.

[impaw]

[/quote]

....but I never bothered to look inside the clutch.....so I didnt know about the clutch plate other than it was a little aggressive which I assumed was because someone had riveted the linings through both sides in every hole thereby losing the slight flexing which allows for smooth take up - do you understand what I mean?

[/quote]

Yes I understand. Perhaps the sintered plate will be slightly less on/off on an uprated 2,5 with its power.
Good to have an option when I get my car on the road. Thanks for the info Chris!