And So It Begins....

[SanRemo78]

Thanks to Peter there’s a top mount on the way. Hero!
Head scratching today, so much to do and I didn’t fancy more drill work so I thought I’d have a go at the rubber steering rack inner arm shrouds. One down one to go. Scraped the worst of the crud off, washed with a scrubbing brush then a mixture of solvents (petrol and WD40) and some rubber treatment.
I’ll do the other one tomorrow. It’s come up quite soft after all that work and should last a while!
Guy

[peteracs]

Yes, the rubber items can be brought back well so long as they are not ripped. One thing is the rubber fixings, I used the plastic fir tree fixings on the Spider, but if you can find them use rubber ones, much more pliable and less chance of damaging the metalwork.

Peter

[SanRemo78]

Thanks for the tip Peter - I've got a full set of 8 of the correct rubber clips! Really pleased with the way the first one turned out. I'll do the other one tomorrow and then think about tearing down the steering rack if I can clear the table! I've got the overhaul kit from Mark.

[Nigel]

Another alternative fixing method is to
use plastic number plate screws and nuts which we
used to do when we couldn't get the rubber things.

A bit fiddly though!

Nigel

[peteracs]

Nice idea Nigel, did not think of that.

Peter

[SanRemo78]

If I were going with Nigel's suggestion I'd modify it slightly by fitting a rivnut with a suitable plastic screw. I had a look at the two cleaned up boots and noted that two of the rubber trees are down to single barbs. They ought to hold but may not be so easy to pull through. I'll have a look through the box of spares to see if I picked any odd ones on my travels...

[chrisc]

Steering arm inner shrouds eh.. so that explains what these mystery bits of rubber are amongst the box of bits I got back. I presume they are meant to be somewhere suitably awkward to access at the back of the engine?

[peteracs]

Hi Chris

You install them from the wheel wells but need te steering ball joints disconnected to fit them

Peter

[SanRemo78]

Lights.

Rear lights. Aaargh. I got a car with a mixed bag of Altissimo and Siem units and guess what, the parts aren't interchangeable! But I guess you already knew that. So, best left frame is an Altissimo but the best body is Siem and the best backing is Altissimo. There's a decent right Altissimo body with a good frame but the lenses are badly scratched. One of the frames uses fixing screws and comes apart fairly easily (Altissimo) and the other has proper bolts and they are a fine thread that seems reluctant to undo. So, I think I'm going to go with the best pair of Altissimo frames and bases with a little repair work where needed for the fixing studs. I should be able to cobble a pair together but may have to source a couple of clean, unscratched/uncracked lenses.

Front lights. AAAAARGH. Car came with the Carello lights with the nice housings/covers. One further, careful inspection they're crap. No, not that good. And one headlight is for a LHD car. I seem to have a variety of spares so I think I'll end up with a set of Siem lights on the front. I've got a set of fair condition inners (12300) and one good outer and one outer with corrosion in the reflector (12270) that will probably do for now. There's one brand new 12300 inner light in my spares (and that's easily available new as it's an Alfa Sud part). If anyone has a source for the outer RHD Siem headlights can you point me in that direction please?

Trim rings - the Siem ones look like they're stainless steel but the Carello ones are chromed steel. I'm not sure I could put together a good set of those which is a shame as the backing plates require little/no work bar cleaning.

The boxes of spares/refurbed parts continues to grow and extra spares are now being consigned to the garden shed for future cleaning/refurb. That's making space on the shelves for more stuff! The list grows!

And, on other news, the date for the return of the bare steel shell is set - Thursday 20th July, we'll know what we're fixing then!

Guy

[chrisc]

Lights.

Rear lights. Aaargh. I got a car with a mixed bag of Altissimo and Siem units and guess what, the parts aren't interchangeable! But I guess you already knew that. So, best left frame is an Altissimo but the best body is Siem and the best backing is Altissimo. There's a decent right Altissimo body with a good frame but the lenses are badly scratched. One of the frames uses fixing screws and comes apart fairly easily (Altissimo) and the other has proper bolts and they are a fine thread that seems reluctant to undo. So, I think I'm going to go with the best pair of Altissimo frames and bases with a little repair work where needed for the fixing studs. I should be able to cobble a pair together but may have to source a couple of clean, unscratched/uncracked lenses.

To answer your question on the thread on making a mix and match 'am i going to be the next poor sod to discover this', it looks like the answer is yes

http://www.betaboyz.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=872.msg35286#msg35286

[peteracs]

Hi

When I get back from France in August, will have a look on the Coupe to see if any are useable.

Peter

[SanRemo78]

Thanks Peter, an afternoon tinkering I have managed to clean overspray and crud off a full set of Siem lenses, and some polishing has resulted is a set great condition. I also have two Siem frames in very very usable condition (one has a very slight dent) and all screw holes free.

There are two Siem bodies too, well four. Two had heavily corroded fixing bolts button splits so I decided to remove all the studs with a drill. The other pair have damage to the plastic in a few places so are consigned to the spares box. The circuit boards/backing plates will probably need a new fixing method as I don't think I've got a pair with clips. I'm thinking a simple rubber strap will sort that out. I'll deal with the electrical connections when I get to the wiring!

The Altissimo lights are all not consigned to the emergency spares and/or give away to anyone who needs them pile.

The quality of the Siem lights seems much better than the Altissimo ones, the frames especially appear to corrode and bubble much more easily!

Final tasks for the rear lights will be a thorough degrease, clean and some new silver paint on the reflectors, a pair of BAY15D bulb holder for the reversing lights to fit a set of LED red/white bulbs so I have brighter reversing lights and twin foglights with nothing ugly below the bumper! And a set of stainless steel studs. Then box until re-assembly starts.

Guy

[SanRemo78]

A lot of work has gone into the rear lights over the last week or so. And is still ongoing with the casing for the right one but the left is fully assembled now.
The casing has been stripped down completely, you can see the faded finish on the first picture. This was rubbed down, etch primed, gloss black (second photo per paint instructions) and then chrome painted per the last picture with an original for comparison.
All the corroded mounting studs were drilled out carefully and replaced with stainless steel bolts/nuts.

[SanRemo78]

Next step was to cut an aluminium plate out of some 2.5mm stock I had to fit the back of the light.. I’ve decided not to fit the standard back panels carrying the circuit board and bulbs. Once the plate was cut to a rough shape it was trimmed to an interference fit with a power file. This allowed me to drop a socket through the housing to determine the bulb centres, mark them and cut with a step drill. Next, some twist lock bulb holders wire dropped in, tags marked and hand filed. Grommet holes then drilled to route the wiring back into the housing. It’ll be wired internally and either exit in the usual spot or via a separate socket in the backplate or lamp body. To be finalised when I deal with the wiring later.

[SanRemo78]

Painted the back of the plate so it looks a bit tidier. And less scratched after a bit of sanding! Fitted the grommets, bulb holders and LED bulbs.

[SanRemo78]

Coat of paint on the rubber seal per factory and reassemble, all screws having a coating of copper grease! We’ll pleased with the result. Just a slight shame about the small dent in the frame but there was nothing I could do about that. Maybe I’ll find a better condition Siem frame one day?

[SanRemo78]

And, in anticipation of the why?

Standard Beta Coupe rear lights have four single filament bulbs. I’ve ended up with three double contact BAY15D and one single holder. Instead of one sidelight in the outer position and one brake light on the inner position I’ll have a pair in each position either side of the reflector. The indicators are single function and the reverse light now doubles up as a fog light. So nothing hanging off the bumper looking out of place.

Plus the chrome paint should be a little more reflective and the LEDs a little brighter.

Guy

[WestonE]

Hi Guy

Beautiful work.

I was just wondering if a white fog light to the rear is legal? I thought the rules dictate this must be red to the rear? Obviously with historic status MOTs are optional but I have ended up putting my historic status Montecarlo through an MOT for proof of roadworthy status and so AA European recovery would not refuse to recover the car on my recent trip to Classic Le Mans.

Eric

[SanRemo78]

Dual colour LEDs Eric. White for reverse and red for fog. The red light takes precedence over the white. Ti be 100% legal I need a latching relay so I can’t leave the fogs on the next time I get into the car. Only question is whether the fog light is too close to a brake light…. I’ll leave that to the MOT man!

[JohnFol]

I just had my MOT and on a 79 plate it was unclear if fog lights were required or not as that's when the law changed. So I did a quick VOSA check and spotted there might be another condition for your switching ...

"A rear fog lamp must: only illuminate when dip, main or front fog lamps are lit"