I was speaking with another friend today at the show. He has (had, now retired) a light engineering company. His son now runs the operation. He machines alloy based components for various companies, CNC and water jet cutting. I asked him about the rods. He said that the price Cavalitto was charging was as good as he's be able to do them for, but he was more concerned as to why it failed in the first place. He said, that if it was his car, he'd fit a complete new set regardless. What concerned him was the two little oil holes. When I had the rocket block off, I had a look at the exhaust pushrod, and I was certain I could feel an ever so gentle 'bump' just to each side of the hole, like a compression bulge. I wonder if 60 odd years of tappeting could be causing this. The oil hole must be there for a reason, yet the Fiat rod was plain, and just had a hole in the centre of each end insert, the same as the B20.
In modern Fiat engines, mostly diesels, the rockers are designed to break in the event of a timing belt failure, cheaper and easier to fix than damaged valves and pistons. I wonder are the holes the same idea, as in better for a rod to break (and so the valve stays shut), rather than run the risk of a piston hitting a stuck valve.
Has anyone ever had a timing chain fail on an Aurelia ?
