1300 Coupes

[rossocorsa]

Naughty me!  I don't much like the plain black grille on a pre facelift 1300, although I realise that to the cognoscenti it signals the uber rarity of the car.  I am going to fit one of the grilles with the chrome bars at the bottom.  I will take some photos tomorrow so you can all boo or cheer.  I like originality, but I am not a fascist about it.

A dude tried to buy YAJ from me in the Co-op car park earlier this evening.  He offered me good money, but I said no.  I have had some pretty cool classic cars before, including some that were v powerful and luxurious, but for some reason this shabby and beat up old miniBeta, with its shonky steering, porno seats and smoky engine (knackered gaskets, nothing serious) is making me smile the most.

Very much down to personal taste but I find the 5 bar grille boring and a bit odd. I think the best grilles are the very first followed by the very last

[rossocorsa]

In 31 years running Italian cars I have only had to be recovered twice I don't think that is bad really.

[thecolonel]

Since 1989 I have had multiple hpe. and since 2002 gammas
and in all that time three breakdowns, one of which I caused
Yup Italian cars are really unreliable and should be avoided..

 

[Ammy]

Can beat that, once in 38 years, in seven different varieties of Lancia

In 31 years running Italian cars I have only had to be recovered twice I don't think that is bad really.

[Neil-yaj396]

It's a big boo from me about the grille. The chrome grille is one of the few things I dislike from my 'YAJ to FNC' swap!

BTW I didn't put 10/40 in YAJ. Unless Medhi changed it the last oil change was 20/50. This was before I changed the sender unit, and as discussed it read low after that. Great if it's back up to normal though.

[GerardJPC]

Thanks, Neil.  Mehdi had been putting 10/40 in the wagon, he told me, and there was a big can of it in the boot. 

Re: grilles, I  could have put the more fancy Series 1 Grille on, but there were no Series 1 1300s, IIRC, so that would feel wrong.    The late shield shaped grille a la Volumex is too 80s, so a no no.

I have swapped for the chrome bar grille (soz!) and will see how I feel about it for a bit.

Photos later.

[rossocorsa]

Really 10w40 should have been ok certainly within lancia a recommendations

[GerardJPC]

My HPE VX runs fine on 10w40, but I am seeing a much better pressure reading in YAJ with 20w50.  I had a load of it left over from my old Jensen, so glug glug glug.

The car is in London today and despite hot and trafficky conditions the temp needle has not passed half way, so that's good.  A very lovely 1974 Rover P6 V8 in that delicious Rover blue followed me down the Aldwych.  The driver was photographing the Lancia at traffic lights, so perhaps YAJ is due a guest appearance on a Rover P6 forum somewhere near here.

Caption:  "Italian car in 'not broken down' SHOCKA."

[rossocorsa]

Two recoveries in 31 years with Italian cars, two recoveries in  about 5 years running mg rover.....

[rossocorsa]

My HPE VX runs fine on 10w40, but I am seeing a much better pressure reading in YAJ with 20w50.  I had a load of it left over from my old Jensen, so glug glug glug.

The car is in London today and despite hot and trafficky conditions the temp needle has not passed half way, so that's good.  A very lovely 1974 Rover P6 V8 in that delicious Rover blue followed me down the Aldwych.  The driver was photographing the Lancia at traffic lights, so perhaps YAJ is due a guest appearance on a Rover P6 forum somewhere near here.

Caption:  "Italian car in 'not broken down' SHOCKA."

Maybe more a case of the oil change refreshing the system and removing any debris? In any case the pressure gauges are only rough and ready not very accurate and worse with age

[GerardJPC]

The Aldwych was the place to be today for ye olde heapes, as on the way back home from my office I bowled along with a lovely Citroen Traction Avant with a rusty rear bumper, driven by a very cool dude.  We exchanged compliments at the lights before parting.

I should not have mentioned the temperature gauge, as YAJ threw its alternator belt on the M40, but I limped home with frequent cooling stops.

[GerardJPC]

Grille -

[GerardJPC]

Grille again -

[Neil-yaj396]

Makes it look facelift, and it's big strong point is that it isn't? I'm with Rosso in that if you don't like the black grille (it was meant to look cheap, along with the chrome trim that they actually painted Matt black), I'd go retro and fit a mesh grille. They come up on eBay fairly regularly.

Did the fan belt actually break? It was pre my ownership (2007).

[rossocorsa]

Perhaps going for the distressed look you should make a grille from chicken wire?

[GerardJPC]

It's not really a fan belt, as the fan is electric, of course, but it does of course drive the water pump and alternator.  What has happened is that the bolts securing the water pump pulley have fallen out and the pulley is hanging loose.   Ouch.     I haven't yet been able to check if the pulley is damaged.

I might perhaps go retro grille, as I have seen them for sale, or  might go back to the original.  I know that the plain grille is supposed to look boggo cheap, and that's fine  (my fave bit of the car is the 1300 badge*), but the basic grille is just a bit foogly, I think.


 * oh, and the 1300 engine.

[rossocorsa]

I think the 1300 grille is quite cool, the 5 bar grille rather a case of bad over design........

[Neil-yaj396]

It's not really a fan belt, as the fan is electric, of course, but it does of course drive the water pump and alternator.  What has happened is that the bolts securing the water pump pulley have fallen out and the pulley is hanging loose.   Ouch.     I haven't yet been able to check if the pulley is damaged.

This has happened once before a couple of years ago, though the bolts only came loose and I didn't loose them (I fitted that water pump in December 2009). After the last incident I Loctited the bolts. Makes me wonder whether the bolts & thread are a proper match?

[GerardJPC]

The pulley may be worn.  There is one for sale on eBay in the US.    Betaboyz sales website is showing a message saying that it is closed dating from August 2012.

[GerardJPC]

The YAJster roars and rorts once more! 
 
Shown below is what happened to the water pump pulley wheel on the M40 the other week. Fooka dook, it exploded!    There was a right crash bang wallop when it happened,and I had to limp home minus water pump and alternator.  New pulley wheel fitted today, along with new alternator/water pump belt, and head gasket tested and found to be unborked.   Compression good on all cylinders.
 
Steering update:  great improvement thanks to fitting of new bearing at column base.  It's not yet 100%, as there is a suspected collapsed bearing inside the rack, but that's a bigger job. The steering no longer seems like it is about to lock at low speed, and is generally much better than it was.
 
The Handbrake is a bigger deal, as it needs a refurb of the calipers.  My mobile mech dude Roy will take them home and spiff them up after his next visit, but I want at least one working Lancia, so that can wait until Roy has located the wiring fault in my Volumex's fuel pump electrics .    Hill starts with a dodgy handbrake are eased by the presence of a hand throttle.