rat or restore

[stanley sweet]

That's all it will take - an MOT exempt classic up on the pavement with brake failure and the Daily Mail won't let up until all cars over 5 years old are scrapped.

[chugga boom]

busy weekend again, 1st job was to replace the worn / slipping clutch, this took all of yesterday as the car had had a few dubious mechanical quirks that need rectifying whilst the box was out ie bodged speedo cable , bodged clutch release mechanism , various stripped threads , gearbox came out a total of 3 times to sort out these issues however now I can say that it ALLLLLLLLLL GOOD 
next job was to change the silent blocks in the steering arms as there was play detected but didn't seem too bad for the mot however I decided to change them, damn good job I did as they were actually pretty knackered when inspected properly , removing them and refitting new ones (bear in mind there is only 3 on this car) took a whoping 4 hrs!!! most of that was getting the o/s to bits which had totally seized ,gas was the only option as even a puller wouldn't shift it,
next job when it was all back together was the wheel alignment and final job was to fit a tail pipe trim as the exhaust was staining the rear panel

[simonandjuliet]

Any tips for taking the gearbox out without the engine ? Remove prop - for sure, select a specified gear ? Tip front of engine ?

Test drive in the morning ?

[chugga boom]

remove top hose and drain coolant
remove air cleaner
remove oil pressure gauge pipe ( may not need to i used it as an excuse to replace mine)
turn cooling fan so that blades are horizontal (if vertical the blades hit radiator)
disconnect gear linkage from box
remove speedo cable from box end
disconnect clutch release push rod from pedal box
remove front pipe and support bracket
remove propshaft
remove bell housing inspection plate
undo all pressure plate bolts through inspection hole in gearbox bell housing
support front of engine (I use a jack and rubber block under leading edge of sump, engine tries to tilt forward when box is removed)
remove rear gearbox bolt out of tunnel with gearbox supported
tilt gearbox
remove all the gearbox bolts/nuts
remove box (will take a bit of effort to separate )
I think that was it ,pretty easy takes about an hour on a ramp with 2 people, refitting is just a reverse of above just remember to shorten the clutch release push rod otherwise the clutch will not disengage, drove it today and it feels fine, valet in the morning  

[simonandjuliet]

Only problem is -  it is now too good to use !!!!!

[chugga boom]

I'm dying to use it just waiting on DVLA 

[DavidLaver]

Trade plates?

[lancialulu]

Only problem is -  it is now too good to use !!!!!

A Lancia is never to good to use in my opinion.....

[peteracs]

Hi James

Having followed this from the start including the discussion on how far to go with the refurb, I felt a need to make the following observations.....

1) Awesome job, your capacity for work is to be applauded as well as attention to the details.

2) Given the amount of new parts and what had to be taken off and refurb'd, would it have been that much more to go for a respray etc? (Sorry if a naive question, I am not into cars which the paintwork 'looks' tat, but are good underneath)

I realise we would then be back to deciding a colour.........

Peter

[chugga boom]

to repaint it would be a major strip down and the car (after looking closely) is beyond a quick repaint , my intension is to do a rolling restoration , I will start with the rear wings and scuttle as I get time and bare metal them , repair and prep them properly , once in prima put a light coat of base coat on to match the rest of the car , if I keep working around it like that it will still be a rat but being restored , eventually it will be ready for a proper paint job , love the car and really want to do it properly but just no time to do it at the moment , I think i'll run it this summer and hopefully (if theres room here) put it in a corner and chip away at it through the winter 

[DavidLaver]

I guess the alternative would have been "the blow over" to look good at 30ft & 30mph - which is as I did early on then getting Bernie to bare metal and paint properly bits at a time as he remade the front fog lights, fitted correct rear lights, sealed the front screen, rear screen, repaired the rear valance etc.  My "blow over" motivation was a friends wedding.  You have Warby who DOESN'T want it painted before his wedding.

At AutoItalia there was a 1600HF in matt laquer.  Alas not on their stock page.  The sheet in the window was trying to have it both ways as a "preserve" as its so original and restore "as it needs it" which made me smile.  I'd go between for "lived in" and get the rusty bits painted but leave the rest.  For sure the edges would show and the colour not quite match but with a shine on it not so much I'd care.  Interior was livable, perhaps with a couple of seams re-stitched.

http://www.dtrsports.com/carsforsale.asp

David

[DavidLaver]

.

[DavidLaver]

.

[Neil]

David, an interesting car we has a good look on Saturday, the doors closed nicely!  But we reckon it need a subframe or box repair or even both, seemed pretty original and complete.  What puzzled many of us why it was parked in the inner sanctum, usually reserved for exotica and rare vehicles?  I know it was put there by a dealer who wanted to maximise his chance of a sale as there is the maximum footfall in that location, but it did look a bit sorry against the other three Lancias parked there, may be a little further out would have been better, we don't want do discuss the R word here...

[DavidLaver]

I'd say "faded charm" but in need of a bit of TLC rather than artful "hold that rust just as it is".  In terms of r*t-look a friend selotaped bits of wire wool to a car and left it in the rain to get just the right rust streaking - to give him an excuse it was set dressing for a video.  William was telling me what the rust-u-quick recipe was with coke and salt or something which he'd seen on a kids art show.  I'd rather an obvious bit of "silver" over those scabs...and a lot of wax.

David