Aprilia Cabrio - here we go again

[simonandjuliet]

Hi Tim
Couple of detail pictures for you - nb S1 & S2 are very different. The S2 has a larger diametre hole on the engine side - 30mm instead of 24mm and the internal bore of the waterway is 20mm instead of 15.

But the output side is exactly the same as the S1, they are both 15mm

The manifold clamps onto the block and compresses an "O" ring - I have bought 30/20 x 5mm and 25/15 x5mm for my cars

Other recent purchases were some wavy-washers for the wheel bearing covers. The O/D is a bit big but the I/D is perfect, so if I can find 5 mins , I will put them on a spare hub and grind them down to look better ....

In the photo, the cap hasn't been fully screwed in yet because I will need to take the hubs off again to fit the shoes

I think the originals were plain flat and the cap was locked in place using a punch - not sure, but I reckon theses wavy ones should work a treat !

If anyone wants to try them I bought a load !

[tzf60]

Thank you, Simon! That is exactly what I needed - now I need to check my stash to make sure I have the correct version (S1).
I've always understood that the Aprilia was over-cooled, hence the need for the shutters. Perhaps that would only apply to using the car in colder climates.
The wavy washer looks like a good way to avoid losing the hub cover.
 
Appreciate the photos!
 
Tim F

[lancialulu]

will the wavy washers work with Aurelia too??

[simonandjuliet]

Tim, not sure but I will check the size, I think Aurelia are the same as Appia commercial (the washers are M50x60x0.5mm)

Can anyone offer advice please - I have come across a problem and I'm sure someone else will have had something similar

The brass plate on the base of the radiator is not flat (about .4mm out at worst point) , so it leaked like a sieve when I filled it up. I had hoped that the rad would be OK because it had been refurbished ......

Is there a relatively straight forward, DIY approach to making this flat ? Unfortunately it is lower than the mounting hole, so access is restricted and you can't do a large sweep across or get a large flat sanding block at it

I have run a file over it a couple of times to show the high points. Maybe it is just a question of time, but ideas appreciated.
Shame because everything else was watertight

[Dave Gee]

   Simon I think the only way would be to set it up on a milling M/C and fly cut it.

    Dave

[Dave Gee]

Simon
I've just had a thought if you haven't got access to a milling machine. When I was an apprentice at a company building woodwork machinery, we built a router that would also work on aluminium. We know that it worked because a well known motor manufacturer used it for skimming the cylinder heads. If you built a wooden jig to go around the radiator base, with a pocket for the fence on the router to sit in, you could then use a carbide cutter in the router, and by hand, then move the router over the top of the radiator. Hope this might give you another possible solution.

Dave

[davidwheeler]

You could, I suppose, use a sort of plastic metal (of which there are a number of varieties), apply it and clamp a flat plate over it protected by a thin film of plastic   This should fill the gap and when the pump is on with a suitable gasket it should seal.    The home made milling machine/router sounds a little scary!

[Dave Gee]

   Ok. Instead of scary routing, you could hand scrape it using a flat steel or cast iron plate with engineer's blue on it, rubbing this across the top of the area you want to flatten. This will then show the high spots in blue and you remove these with the hand scraper, rather like a dentist ensures a flat filling. It will probably take you a day and a lot of blisters (from experience).

[Jaydub]

Hi Simon, I have a 1/2" thick 6"x3" steel plate for jobs like this with a sheet of Emery cloth wrapped over it. Time consuming but works fine.
Good Luck.

[Mikenoangelo]

I'd also go for the plate plus emery (with a splash of paraffin as well) but an alternative would be a diamond lap which is a flat plate with embedded diamonds - I use one to sharpen chisels.

Mike

[chriswgawne]

will the wavy washers work with Aurelia too??

I knew here wouldn't be commonality!
Aurelia front wheel bearing caps require a washer with 55mm i/d and maybe 63mm o/d

[Martin9]

Hello Simon,
Your pic of the bottom of your radiator reminds me that I am looking for a coolant drain tap solution for my Aprilia. When I got the car the long handled Tee bar drain tap was hopelessly seized, corroded & useless and was replaced by a bolt in the side of the pump which stops the coolant coming out, but is unhandy to use as a drain tap.
Have either you or any other Forum-ers faced this problem & come up with an elegant solution?
My engine is presently being rebuilt so now would be a good time to get on with this job.
Keep up the splendid educational work!
Martin

[simonandjuliet]

Martin - a couple of options - drain taps do come up for sale from time to time, but take care to get the correct tap, as you can see from above , if it is too long it won't fit - It is quite tight

Or fit a nice blanking plug ..... I will drop you a line with a couple of people to try re. parts

I decided to have a change of scene having spent a while on mechanics, so I am starting to put the rest of the body bits back together

First up are the fluted panels at the side of the engine.

You often see Aprilias with dangling bonnet handles (not a euphemism) so I spent a good amount of time making sure that the handle-backplates were correctly lined up. There is a notch that should line everything up, and "stops" on the rear lever, but they get worn and the lever either points up or down instead of being horizontal. The handles on the Cabrio were chromed unlike most Aprilias

I haven't put the springs and bars on yet so I have cheated and held the handle in position for the photo

More later ....

[Dikappa]

Ok, this morning, looking at Simons -marvelous- pictures I decided what I want to be in my next life: It'l require a bit of traveling back in time but being an engineer at Lancia in those days must really heve been a joy.  You would be allowed to design every component exactly as you wanted it to be, without bookkeepers breathing in you neck and nagging about boring economics....really: that would work for me!
And knowing what I know know I'd shure be able to gain some good points with Vincenzo pointing out some -seldom- weakness here or there :-)

[Mikenoangelo]

Agreed - the bits and pieces are superb - but for amateur fettlers like me they are very tricky to make - even a small lever as in the last photo would be a challenge - but then what else would we do with our spare time!

It's interesting to compare Lancia with Bugatti. Lancia are designed to be made in a factory with dedicated tooling whereas Bugattis were made with lathes and milling machines. No doubt that is why new Bugattis have been made but no one would dream of making a new Lambda.

Mike