goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,880
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May 28, 2013 11:13:16 GMT
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Bad times, I may have made a fairly costly cock up. The tyres on the car were the ones I bought it with. The fronts were newish, but had obviously been left flat and were cracked quite a lot. The rears looked like they dated from the 70s. I'd kept putting off replacing them as I needed to spend my money elsewhere on the car and they had legal tread. But I had to bite the bullet sooner or later. So today I had 4 new tyres fitted and took a minor gamble on the sizing and I think it's wrong Standard fitment is 165r14, so 165/80/14 in modern talk. Not much available in that size aside from costly classic reproduction tyres and really nasty budget stuff. The car was running 175/70/14, 3.6% smaller rolling radius than stock, which is quite common. I also looked at 175/80/14, 2.3% bigger than standard and used on some of the 1600cc Fulvias. I went for the 175/80/14s because I could get Uniroyals, which I like, at a good price. But now I've had them fitted I'm worried it just looks too monster truck Before: After: Before: After: They also scrub the arches worse, not the end of the world as I'll probably lightly roll the arches when I do the bodywork anyway but I dunno, just feel I made the wrong choice and it's too late to change my mind now without loosing ££££
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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May 28, 2013 11:51:30 GMT
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Ouch. I'm afraid they do look ugly.
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,880
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May 28, 2013 14:25:11 GMT
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Poor but happy. 70 profile definitely better, lesson learnt. Lesson also learnt about where to go in Malvern for tyres. Only the once place had any 175/70/14s in a brand I was happy with in stock, and they turned out to be really good guys. Way more respectful of the wheels and car that the other guys, cleaned up the rim surfaces where the other guys hadn't bothered, really took their time doing a good job. And they even offered to buy the 80 profile tyres off me for about what I'd have got on eBay. If you need tyres in Malvern, I'd goto Millers every time.
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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May 28, 2013 15:00:10 GMT
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Your signature does say 'Soon to bankrupt me', I guess it vexed the car and she's making you pay for it She looks a lot nicer now, could you pm me what tyres you used? The car I want uses the same size. Frankly on that last pic I'd be tempted to lose maybe a inch of ride height, although I'm not sure whether this is sensible or not.
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,880
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May 28, 2013 16:10:15 GMT
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I think the car was grumpy at me for threatening it to sell it recently while it's not working right, lol.
Ride height, aesthetically I whole heartedly agree. I'd like it down an inch inch and half all round and bumpers off for that rally look. But I want to make sure I do it in a way that doesn't compromise the handling and delicate feel of the car. First things first though, bodywork issues ......
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May 28, 2013 17:03:25 GMT
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Looks good on the new rubber.
You got enough left to but the new mount now? :-)
Just had a small thought - I don't suppose that the mid exhaust clamp is touching on the body when the engine moves under load is it?
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Koos
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May 29, 2013 20:13:02 GMT
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I think the car was grumpy at me for threatening it to sell it recently while it's not working right, lol. Ride height, aesthetically I whole heartedly agree. I'd like it down an inch inch and half all round and bumpers off for that rally look. But I want to make sure I do it in a way that doesn't compromise the handling and delicate feel of the car. First things first though, bodywork issues ...... If you can sell the tires, try Vredstein Sprint Classic in the original size, they are less than $100 each here in the USA and look like the XAS original. These cars on skinny tires are FUN, I am restoring a 71 now alongside a AR Spider Veloce. Your log is an inspiration to us all. No despair , no selling ! Will post pics anon.
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,538
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May 29, 2013 20:52:16 GMT
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Its amazing what a small difference in tyre profile has on the look of that car. I don't think you'd notice it on a bigger saloons but the shape of the Lancia really shows it up. Looks so much happier on the 70s. Look on the bright side - finding a tyre place you are happy with is definitely a boon and might save you more money in the future than this experience cost you!
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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May 29, 2013 21:45:54 GMT
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Its amazing what a small difference in tyre profile has on the look of that car. I don't think you'd notice it on a bigger saloons but the shape of the Lancia really shows it up. Looks so much happier on the 70s. Look on the bright side - finding a tyre place you are happy with is definitely a boon and might save you more money in the future than this experience cost you! Here is a 71 restored wheel with correct size Michelin XAS, don't ask how much but the Vreds look very similar at 33% the cost. Well I tried but forum has exceeded space limits ! Will post for goldnrust in Lancisti forum
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May 29, 2013 23:28:28 GMT
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But now I've had them fitted I'm worried it just looks too monster truck Just bolt on some rally bars and lights and you're set....no actually I'm sorry that happened. I would try to sell them and get the proper size. I run 175/70/13 and I like the look but other Lancisti will say the steering feel is better with the original size.
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Last Edit: May 29, 2013 23:31:07 GMT by nmretro
1987 Alfa Milano/75 1979 Alfetta Mille Miglia 1976 Alfetta GT race car 1970 Lancia Fulvia 1.3 Rallye S 1968 Fiat 850 spider
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,880
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May 31, 2013 20:23:42 GMT
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Cheers for backing me up with the choice to pay up for the 70 profiles! Mark, money is a bit tight now, but I'm fairly sure it's not the gearbox mount now. I made a little extra clearance between the gearbox and the subframe and it's definitely not hitting now. I'm also sure it's not the exhaust clamp, checked that out a couple of days ago. Cheers Arezzo, the Verdesteins are nice and I did look them up but over here they're still £95 + fitting per corner. The Uniroyals for about half that, and so far are much much grippier than the tyres I took off as well as being much quieter. So generally I'm pretty happy with them. There are the pics Arezzo tried to post... Seth, I think you're right there, finding good local services is well worth it NMretro, yeah I've read about the skinnier tyres making the steering feel nicer and I did look for 165/80s but as I said above I'm really happy with these 175/70s now Also I think I may have bigger fish to fry when it comes to steering feel.....
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,880
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May 31, 2013 20:42:13 GMT
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Anyway, tomorrow I'm getting the spanners back out and I need to sort this crank seal. Since replacing it last week it's now leaking worse than before I can only presume I didn't get the new seal seated right so I'm gonna whip the engine out and see what I can see. I'm hoping that by taking the engine out I'll also be able to tackle a bunch of other bits where it weeps oil which are inaccessible otherwise I think I can probably do the engine out in pretty quick time really, no wiring loom to worry about, the cooling system empties and fills easily (unlike my rx7 did!) Wish me luck! And I have good news! I think I've found the source of my mystery rhythmic clonky noise Over the past few days I've swapped wheels around left and right, no change in noise. Then I thought I'd double check it wasn't a nise coming from the rear and resonating through the floor. So I swapped the rear hubs left to right incase it was a rear wheels bearing or disk causing the noise. I felt I could feel some of the vibration through the handbrake, so I had the hand brake system completely apart and off the car. Still not different, though my handbrake works better now and is nice and adjusted. Then I started back on the front of the car and quick;y found an issue. The right hand front wheel had some play in the steering, investigating further it was play in the steering idler. The bushes wear in these causing common Fulvia issues so the steering idler box was one of the first things I checked when I first bought the car. It was loose then but tightened up well and made no difference to the noise. My mistake was not to re-check it..... I just presumed that seeing as it adjusted up well on the driveway and didn't make any difference to noise in the test drive it wasn't the issue. Presumption the mother of all mess ups and all that! So yesterday when I found the play I again adjusted the steering idler till there was no play and went out on a drive, noise was exactly the same, but when I got home after 2-3 miles the slop had returned. So I think the bushes have just died in there. A sloppy right hand front wheel would make more noise on right hand bends as it gets unweighted, and with the steering box bolted direct to the subframe if the arm was clonking around the feeling would come up through the floor. This all matches the noise symptoms all match my problem. Sounds promising doesn't it! In other good news I'm now sure that while the gearbox was a bit of a red herring, the new box is noticeably smoother than the old box and was a swap worth doing
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May 31, 2013 21:36:34 GMT
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Thanks for putting the photos in. If you have not already done so drop the sump and clean the base and filter mesh. I would also put in new mounts and since you have to remove the anti roll bar new bushings and rubber end pieces I am also restoring a 71 S2 and its a one owner from Italy which I shipped to the States. Trying to do a preservation class resto, original paint Lancia Blu is amazing when wet sanded These were quality cars !
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Thanks for putting the photos in. If you have not already done so drop the sump and clean the base and filter mesh. I would also put in new mounts and since you have to remove the anti roll bar new bushings and rubber end pieces I am also restoring a 71 S2 and its a one owner from Italy which I shipped to the States. Trying to do a preservation class resto, original paint Lancia Blu is amazing when wet sanded These were quality cars ! And the build thread is where?? RR needs more Fulvia content!
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Koos
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,880
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Ok update time. First off last weeks gearbox swap and crank seal change, had in fact made the oil leak worse.... So with some more help from Mark, we got the engine out to check the crank seal and while it was out I could try make make it more continent by getting to various seams and gaskets that I couldn't attack with it in the car. With leaks from the oil filter pedestal, oil pump and fuel pump sorted and the crank seal removed, inspected and refitted, as it looked fine, the engine went back into the car without too much drama. Oil leakage has reduced, but I'd gained a new leak from the oil filter itself. Today I whipped the filter off and cleaned it's mounting face and that leak has stopped too. Only time will tell if that's all of them dealt with. I was slightly concerned that the input shaft seal on my replacement gearbox might be leaking, but that's only a maybe at this stage. If it is then it can wait a few weeks till I've got the enthusiasm to take the engine out again! Next on the to do list was the steering idler box. This morning I pulled it out and dismantled it. The castle nut and stupid huge over the top 36mm nut holding the idler arm on were both defeated with the help of the vice and some made made tools fairly easily. There are two types of idler box, plastic or bronze bushing. Mine is bronze bushings and they're definitely past their best. The photo doesn't show it but with my hand i can feel it's worn/flared at the ends and with the grease removed theres noticeable play so it's looking like a good possible cause of the knocking noise. Omicron are currently having a rummage around ( well they probably were this afternoon rather than at 9pm) for me to see if they have any bronze bushings to fit. Otherwise I'll have to try and get some made. With the car off the road for a day or two while I sort the steering idler box, I thought I'd be very very brave and start on the bodywork. The front wings and wheel arches are in a bit of a sad state, cracking filler is falling out to reveal cracking metal. But going over the rest of the car with a magnet I was pleased to find only one other filler spot which was on the left rear arch lip. So with trepidation I broke out the wire wheel to find out just how bad it really was in the front wings. I thought I'd start with the right hand side as the car was already jacked up and facing that way. I mention breaking out the wire wheel with trepidation as the last two times I've done so it's been painful. On my k11 micra after I'd taken the paint off to clean up a couple of small rust bubbles i realised it was so rotten and full of filler i ended up just weighing it in, and on my mums mx5 fixing just a couple of spots on the arch lip turned into replacing both rear quarters, both sills and various sections of floor over 6 months... Arrrgghghh! No wonder the front arches are cracking, they weren't attached to the arch lips by metal. Lots of filler, not much arch lip, chicken wire, fibre glass. All I was missing was some period 80s newspaper..... Still to be fair it's really not that bad. The outer sill is made of metal and looks fresh and whilst the inner sill is pretty poor it is still there! The subframe mount boxes look good and sturdy too from inside the wing. Even the inner arch is OK most of the way round. So basically the plan is to repair the wing and outer arch. I'll make the arch lip repair out of slightly thicker than Lancia steel, and instead of trying to repair the inner arch and ending up with a double lip, I'll just weld the inner arch to my thicker outer lip. I made up some templates and I think I'll do it in 3 stages, the lower wing, then the outer arch, then the arch lip as a separate piece. This worked well on the rx7. I really need a shrinker stretcher to make arch lips easier though! So best go get some steel in to make the panels from! I'm low on work this week and the sun's shining so I'm gonna make the most of it. If I can have the metal done on both front arches by the weekend I'll be a happy boy.
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Nah, just put some JDM arches on top and be done with it
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Click picture for more
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Ok update time. Oh heck!! I didn't think it was gonna be that bad!
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Koos
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Clement
Europe
ambitious but rubbish
Posts: 2,095
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Good luck with the rust repairs! Captivating thread for sure
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eurogranada
Europe
To tinker or not to tinker, that is the question...
Posts: 2,552
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If it's contained to that on both sides, you're still pretty lucky... You make fast work of it though! I love keeping up with this thread...
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village
Part of things
Always carries a toolbox. Because Volkswagen.......
Posts: 567
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It shows how long it was since I last bought any tyre in the 'Vern, Millers was on Edith Walk, and there was a car aprts place where they are now (Panels and Paint?).
I used to use ETB around the corner (next the the LightHouse, am I showing my age yet?) and they were always great, but that was at least 10 years ago......
Loving the car and playing "spot the location" on some of your photos.
Cheers
Pete
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"The White Van is strong with this one...."
Chris "Chesney" Allen 1976-2005 RIP
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