And So It Begins....

[SanRemo78]

Here's a picture of the two types Peter. It wasn't until I checked the part number cast onto the inside that I looked more closely at the two "broken" ones and realised they are meant to be like that, no jagged edges on them and absolutely identical!

And yes, my headlights have the recesses for the clips but both types fit.
Guy

[peteracs]

Hi Guy

Ok, understand the difference. The one just clips on and off without the extra part to release it.

No idea why they would change it.

Peter

[SanRemo78]

Back from another trip to Gerry's for a week when nothing got done on the Beta I'm home and recovered (a little) and have a week or two to crack on with the car.

Today I did what I'd been dreading since sewing the headliner and I trimmed the edges to fit properly. There was a LOT of head scratching as I pondered how to trim the plastic covers on the A, B, and C posts with the Alcantara I've used. The B posts were simple. But there are some double compound curves on the top corners of the screens but this proved impossible to achieve so that idea has gone into the bin and they'll just go back in as Lancia designed them.

I've still got the grab handle, mirror, sun visors and interior light to fit (I am contemplating a light delete) but those will fit pretty easily. I just need to trim the sun visors. And that'll mean stripping the exisiting covers off to reverse engineer them!

The next job I'm contemplating is refitting the stainless steel trims. Lots of masking and padding needed for the gutter trim and what are the chances of the screw holes lining up? I'll probably rely on some Sikaflex instead. Side windows just need a clean and screwing in place but I'm sweating the door trims!

The two pieces of trim around the frame of the door which are a very tight fit over newly painted surfaces. So, I'm looking for advice on those that have achieved this without damaging the paintwork! Do you fit it by putting the trim over the outer edge and then forcing it over the inner edge? The vertical one has to go on first as the top one clips over it. Next, the outer door capping - should they have plastic end stops? I'll need to reattach the glass wipers as the spot welds have let go but I think I'll try Sikaflex for this.

Guy

[Nigel]

Guy,
That's quite a list....

I refitted the gutter trims after I had my roof wrapped and found them easy to do.
All the screws lined up perfectly, although mine are in 2 halves with a joining clip.

I recently retrimmed the sun visors. Stripping reveals a fairly stiff wire frame and a device to
allow tension on the swivel. This bit is prone to partially fracturing, but doesn't seem to affect
the function. I dispensed with the foam and used a cardboard inner to which I glued the leather
on one side then folded it over the frame. Difficult to describe but happy with the results.

Does the alcantara have any stretch?  Even a small amount is often sufficient to form it over
compound curves, even with compression in places, using contact adhesive in the process.

Nigel

[HFStuart]

Hopefully the holes will line up but if using sikafkex be sparing otherwise they'll be impossible to remove without damage.

[SanRemo78]

Thanks chaps! I mention the gutter hole alignment as I don't know if the gutter trim was made offsite and came in predrilled or if this was done on the production line? If you check out page 1 post 1 of this thread there's a picture of several bits of trim including the gutters and later on, the car as it arrived, guttlerless. The gutter trims I got from Bristol have never been formally introduced to the car let alone screwed together.. I also suspect, that if the holes do align, that said holes will be full of the paint from dipping which is rock hard. I know I haven't got a tap that small and I don't know if the little screws are hard enough to self tap!

The Alcantara I've got is the real deal and it has some stretch in it. There's enough to cope with the curves on a Stratos dash binnacle but not the curves on the tops of the plastic trims for the A & C pillars where they meet the plastic retaining strips across the screens. They turn 90 degrees inwards whilst having a tubular shape. I could have them flock coated but I prefer the finish to match either the headliner or the dash texture. Standard it is.

The visors I have are not a pair, they are the same material but one is noticeably thicker and one is still in the bag! Never fitted! I might leave this pair alone and see if Mark has a pair at the open day. Condition is irrelevant for this task really. Looking at them I think there is a stitched seam on three sides with the top one having the material folded back on itself to form a tube on each side that can then be stitched together to create an invisible seam once the thread is drawn tight. It may be a job that gets given to a seamstress or car trimmer if my attempt fails!

Guy

[SanRemo78]

I think the screw holes may line up! They're countersunk in the guttering that I've just spent a morning polishing minor scratches out of, removing the rubber mastic sealant and carefully removing some white over sprayed paint from. I suspect the shells were drilled on the production line once they were fitted.

A bit of research and I've ordered some Sikalastomer 710 sealant to replace what was there originally and protect the panel joints the gutter clips over. That should be here tomorrow but a trial fit shows it'll slip on without too much trouble and then I'll find out if it does line up properly. I will have another morning's work repeating the clean and polish routine on the passenger side, clipping in the NOS end trims I got from Felix in SA and fitting them both. For the rest of today I think I'll see if I can extract the rear side windows and clean them up ready to fit.

Guy

[SanRemo78]

I think I found my two original windows (because they have the screws attached to the levers... as well as another pair and an odd glass. A quick inspection of the two right side ones resulted in the original one being discarded due to a lot of scratches on the glass. The second frame had a number of small scratches in the stainless surround but they polished out satisfactorily. What I did find odd was that every frame's inner surface, where it closes against the rubber, was heavily scratched over most of the surface. I assume this is to aid sealing? Has anyone else noticed this? It took longer than expected to clean up so I haven't got round to the left side yet! Tomorrow is another day! I suspect my car is going to end up with a variety of glass manufacturers to get the best set!
Guy

[SanRemo78]

Evidence of Fiat's involvement or accountants clamping down? (sorry!)

Today I've been cleaning out the mastic on the passenger side gutter trim and rear window frame/glass and in doing so I picked the best frame with the best glass and intended to use the best window closing clamps/hinge mechanisms. I've got 3 chromed ones and two black painted ones. The black ones aren't in the best condition and could do with a respray but I prefer the chromed (more expensive) finish which matches the stainless polished surround rather than the last black frames.

What surprised me was the difference between the two types of assemblies. I know the chunky ones are from my car as there's only one of the slim type but that looks a lot cheaper than the ones I've settled on. The only clue to age I have is that the window the slim type came from had "injection" etched on the glass.

Anyone else seen this?

[smithymc]

Not sure when it started/changed but my 1976 car has the skinny ones.

Mark

[SanRemo78]

Not sure when it started/changed but my 1976 car has the skinny ones.

Mark

Do you want a spare?

[Nigel]

Not sure when it started/changed but my 1976 car has the skinny ones.

Mark

I wonder if Peter's HPE also has the skinny version. I don't recall seeing these thinner
ones before. I suspect the Coupes and HPE's had the same mechanism.

Nigel

[peteracs]

I can look when I get back from France. I have the early original windows and two sets of later stainless surround ones.

Peter

[SanRemo78]

Successful morning today. Found the end stop and clipped in place, final clean of the channel in the guttering and filled with Sikalastomer butyl rubber sealant, pushed into place and started searching for screw holes. I was a millimetre or so out of alignment but found one hole above the door using a cocktail stick and then a steel scriber which gave me the little leverage needed to ease the gutter forward. One screw in straight away followed by 7 more. The 9th went AWOL on the garage floor but I can't manage to find the relevant hole for it at the moment. I think the threads are gunged up with paint so I may have to resort to ignoring it or drilling it out...

Right side window also went in without too much trouble save for a disappearing rubber gasket on the through window bolt. It's in the goop in the sill I think.... Luckily I have a spare one! I think I'll look for the rear quarter vent trim to give that a nice "finished" look next. I may have to consider moving the car outside to do the passenger side later today. I hope that the screws on that side line up too!

Guy

[Ferrit]

The picture above looks amazing.  Close ups of newly sprayed cars with stainless trim looks so good.

[SanRemo78]

Thanks - I think I prefer the earlier polished stainless steel to the later painted stainless steel.

Passenger side went together but not as well as the drivers side. I found two screw holes aligned on the A pillar but had to re-drill the remaining 7 with a 1.5mm drill and a steady hand to stop it punching through and snapping. The screws are lubricated with Dynax and all bit nicely. The rear window dropped into place too but the quarter trim has a crack in it revealed by cleaning. It'll do for now I think but I'll find a better one in the future. Could also do with the plastic plugs to protect the paint before pushing the vent into place.

[SanRemo78]

Jobs for the coming week are to polish up the door trims and fit them along with Sikaflexing the door capping window rubber strips back on. I need to look at fixing methods as I want to avoid scratching the paint underneath them. I've had a look at the door frame trims and I seem to have acquired several sets during the build but the original ones seem to be the straightest and have a subtly different profile to the others. They have a curved profile where they fit over the frame whereas all the others have a sharp edge that looks like it just wants to bite into the paint. I hope that the curved originals will simply pop into place with a little lubrication from some rust proofing spray that I plan to apply and let partially dry first. I also seem to have a full complement of the black trims that fit on the lower ends of the trims. After that it'll be time to start building up the door mechanisms and see if I can persuade the dormant lift motors back into life! The door handles need cleaning (mask up and water bead blast probably) before they get a fresh coat of paint. I always struggled to get the handles out of the doors, the trick appears to be to remove the lock mechanism first!