Recent Posts

The Hare & Hounds is booked up now. I've booked the Crown & Anchor just down the road from Peter.

I'm told that the major leak at the top of the rear screen wasn't because of rust as I suspected, but because the mastic on the top half of the screen had completely failed. Add the the rust on the bottom half and the screen came out in less than a minute....

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Well, this thread has been much quieter than I planned.

The one job that I did was to strip down and rebuild the rear light clusters. The rubber seals on those on the car were perished and letting in water. A pair of black framed units came with the car for reasons unknown so the seals were swapped over (it involved punching some extra holes in the newer seals for the different screw alignments) and the broken silver frame was replaced courtesy of Guy M.

Classic Car Lab initially (and literally) tore into the car; cutting out the rust I knew about and inevitably finding lots that I didn't as per the pictures below. A particularly good job has been done of rebuilding the badly rusted strip below the rear window.

Unfortunately things ground to a halt after that when for reasons unknown to me the workshop manager and painter were sacked. The new manager promised that the Coupe was next in the paint booth 2 weeks ago but we will see.....

More likely the 2 central exhaust studs need thread sealant to stop the oil seeping past. It is a common issue they go straight to the oil bath below the cams.

Eric
The hole need to be CLEAN before thread sealant is used.

It seems after much investigation and after two cam - carrier gaskets finding that I still have an oil leak, we're looking at a fine crack in the casting as the cause. Possibly within the recessed bolt holes. The oil drips down on to the rear water rail and exhaust manifold, hence burning oil smell. I'll eventually need to replace it, does anyone out there know where/how I can get hold of one, decent used one will be out there somewhere... Jono

Sorted, Thanks fall or the glass info clarity!!

The Retro Rides Goodwood Weekender is happening over the weekend of May 11th/12th.

I have booked a Sunday Club stand (Viva Italia) open to all pre 2000 Italian cars.
We have space for 20 cars, if you would like to display your Italian can, please PM me or email: tony@tonyharrison.co.uk and I'll add you to the list, entry fee still applies, discount tickets available till 14th April.
For more information see the Retro Rides page: https://retroridesevents.com/weekender/

Tony

Nigel,
I’ve had my fair share of bloodied knuckles and swearing with those Lancia hinge screws.
Only recently have I come to an agreement with them. This involves a Makita impact gun and hardened bits from my impact driver. Lots of downward pressure and eventually they all seem to come undone. Unfortunately I’ve dented panels in the past by clumping the impact driver too hard.
I have used the stainless replacements on my coupe but personally I’ve never been 100% sure this is a perfect solution. My reasoning is that stainless is much softer and easy to round out. I think you can do them tight enough for the bonnet but I’m not so sure on the door hinges. So on the current HPE restoration I think I will try high tensile bolts and put them in with grease to try and prevent corrosion.
Only time will tell I guess.

Cheers
Ian