And So It Begins....

[SanRemo78]

Same treatment for the back box. I suspect that welding on the stainless pipe might damage this finish a little (!) but there's enough in the tin for another coat. I haven't got enough for the front pipe though. I see another trip to the local DIY shop in my not so distant future...

[SanRemo78]

And today wasn't paint stuff outside weather so time for some mechanical stuff! Replacement screw blocks fitted, the brake lever assembly slotted into place, bolt dropped in from above (if the nut loosens the bolt stays in place) and the nut tightened enough to not quite pinch the pivot and stop free movement. Retaining washer fitted to keep the pivot and servo pushrod in contact, spring washer, washer and circlip in place and checked. Then checked again. Once more for certainty. Cover and gasket cleaned and refitted with the threads tapped out so the bolts go in easy. This side of the bulkhead is almost ready to put the heater box and dash in for a dry run before I think about some modifications there.

[SanRemo78]

And finally the cover put back where it belongs with the dash bolt in place so I don't lose it! This is the only part that came off the car with original sound proofing felt that's going back on.

[SanRemo78]

And with the brake servo in place and attached to the pivot lever on the left side of the bulkhead and the steering column/pedal box in place on the right it was time to reconnect the two halves of the mechanism. The actuating rod from the pedal has been released from the ball on the engine bay lever so I could clean out any crud that had accumulated over the years, repack it with fresh grease and refit with the special end fitting adjusted to no play but allowing movement and secured with a new split pin. Next step was to retrieve the cross bulkhead adjustable length rod and fit that. Straightforward except that one of the pins had gone AWOL and it's replacement took an hours digging in spares boxes and then another 20 minutes work with a drill bit held by hand to clear excess powder coating off the inside of the lever to allow it to fit. New split pins installed as a matter of course!

[SanRemo78]

And that was it for today, next step is some disassembly to check tolerances on the brake system. I don't want the pushrod in the servo resting against the end of the socket on the master cylinder, any contact can cause the exertion of pressure on the pads, a heat build up in the calliper will cause fluid to overheat and boil but the expansion will bring the car to a halt before that can happen. So, I need to remove the master cylinder from the servo and measure the depth from the servo mounting face to the contact point of the piston rod and ensure that the servo actuating rod doesn't protrude too far. On previous Fiats the adjustment is done by slackening a locknut on the servo, adjusting domed head end nut and tightening the locknut. On a Beta this looks to be done with the cross bulkhead pull rod which has an adjustable length with left and right handed clevis rods and locknuts.

So, how to measure said gap? With a little widget I got last week from eBay! I think this was £7 well spent! Even if I only ever use it once! Maybe tomorrow will see how effective it actually is.

[Ferrit]

And finally the cover put back where it belongs with the dash bolt in place so I don't lose it! This is the only part that came off the car with original sound proofing felt that's going back on.

OMG I didnt know that was in there :-)

[lancialulu]

And that was it for today, next step is some disassembly to check tolerances on the brake system. I don't want the pushrod in the servo resting against the end of the socket on the master cylinder, any contact can cause the exertion of pressure on the pads, a heat build up in the calliper will cause fluid to overheat and boil but the expansion will bring the car to a halt before that can happen. So, I need to remove the master cylinder from the servo and measure the depth from the servo mounting face to the contact point of the piston rod and ensure that the servo actuating rod doesn't protrude too far. On previous Fiats the adjustment is done by slackening a locknut on the servo, adjusting domed head end nut and tightening the locknut. On a Beta this looks to be done with the cross bulkhead pull rod which has an adjustable length with left and right handed clevis rods and locknuts.

So, how to measure said gap? With a little widget I got last week from eBay! I think this was £7 well spent! Even if I only ever use it once! Maybe tomorrow will see how effective it actually is.

I may be wrong but the under dash adjusters on both sides determine the pedal position - at least it did on my VX coupe. But you are right to be concerned re servo / MC as also too long rod from servo will also seal off the fluid return hole leading to brakes being locked on as the fluid cannot return from deactivating the the brakes.

[SanRemo78]

Thanks Tim, I didn't get near the car yesterday and a blood test today will delay this further! I'll have another look at it but I think the pedal stop position for both brake and clutch should be set first (with the brake light switch in place. This may involve me fitting a seat temporarily to get the pedal heights right. From there it's a matter of adjusting the pull rod length such that there is no contact at the master cylinder at rest which could cause issues.

[SanRemo78]

Well that was a fun afternoon. First off, you can alter pushrod resting position by moving the brake pedal via the brake light switch but it's a plastic thread on that so I quickly discounted it. The clutch pedal was also much higher than the brake pedal but a bit of investigation found the rubber stop was worn through. I've merely replaced that with a slightly better one and set it level with the brake pedal.

[SanRemo78]

New pedal pads are in stock awaiting fitment!

Next was removing the master cylinder and reservoir which also involved unscrewing all the pipe unions, none of which are tight yet. It came out easily enough. At this point I realised there was an issue with the tool I'd bought to measure clearances. It fits the servo just fine (and a nice clunk revealed the feet were magnetic - nice touch!). But it won't fit the master cylinder as the legs aren't long enough.

So, after a bit of lateral thinking I cut down a 4 inch nail and made the end hemispherical, a small grommet to centre it in the master cylinder and made sure the head was flat. Next, a couple of bolts were fitted to the master cylinder and heights adjusted on both sides until they were identical heights, matching the nail head using a flat edge across all three against a backlight to check.

Then the tool could be fitted and the adjustable centre rod set to the correct gap -ie in contact with the nail head.

[SanRemo78]

With the tool locked off it could be transferred back to the servo and the gap checked. It was at this point I realised that the nail I'd used might not have the same curvature (and hence contact point) as the servo pushrod. Back to the previous post except this time I replaced the nail with the head of the pushrod from a scrap servo in a brass tube and repeated the steps above.

Then it was a simple matter of lengthening the pull rod to close the gap to nothing and backing it off to achieve a small (1mm) gap. Checked the pedals were still in the same relative position, reattach the master cylinder and reconnect all the pipework.

Job done, now, where did i put the box for the tool that I'll never ever need again.....

[lancialulu]

On my VX coupe the brake pedal was a bit lower than the clutch. This had been commented on in some MOT tests and the PO had asked his garage to sort which they failed to do - even wrote to PO saying so. I had a look at the system of links to get the RHD brake pedal to activate the servo on the LHS. There are a couple of ball and socket adjusters which when both were adjusted gave me pedal at the correct height......

[SanRemo78]

Hi Tim, yes the pull rod on the pedal can be adjusted to move the pedal rest position but I think you need to be really careful doing that as the switch position, being adjustable, can also affect it. You may be transferring movement down through the linkage to the servo inadvertently? Proof of concept comes when you drive the car - any contact between pushrod and master cylinder could cause the brakes to drag or worse?

[SanRemo78]

One step forward, two steps back then three forward. That's what today feels like!

First job was to install the quarterlight frame. That was simple enough and the rubber seal fitted nicely too. Next was completing the window runners, another simple job, all lined up and bolted into place. Then the new felt channels went in. They were a little bit of a struggle until I realised they were getting stuck on the stainless trim's return edge so working that side in first cured that. I decided to keep it in one piece so some careful cutting for the two corners was needed, I think factory is one section per part, five sections in all but I went for one continuous run. Very happy with the result.

Next up was the door latch mechanism and pull handle. That was easy once I'd removed the rear window channel. Then I had to take it all out again to fit the pull rod. The opening handle at the front was then connected up, stuck in place and tested and the latch works. It also opens from the outer handle aperture. At that point I was happy to adjust the catch on the B post and the door closes with a very satisfying clunk. Luckily it opens too! Then out with the inner handle again so I could rivet on the internal rubber rain shield before the handle went back in for the last time.

Drop glass next. I hate this bit. But it went in lower leading edge first with a couple of filler spreaders either side of the bracket on the bottom edge. Until I realised I needed to remove the lower channels so I could rotate it into position inside the door and lift it into the raised position. Then I could refit the channels and felt and check it dropped smoothly. Which it did.

Next, pick a window motor and manhandle that into the door cavity. Yup, off with the front channel to get the motor past it. With that in place I could refit the channel and felt, drop the glass down the tracks and attach it to the motor runner bracket loosely, connect a battery to it and lift the glass to the top of it's aperture, tighten the bolts and check it runs smoothly up and down.

It did. And pretty well too!

Not much left to finish off the drivers door now. Just a quick repaint of the outer door handle, fit that and then fit the lock from the inside (that allows the handle to be fitted much more easily - without paint damage!) and connect up the mechanism. Once that's on I need to make an internal wiring loom for the lift motor, door edge light and central locking - if I decide to fit that in the coming months. A few plastic bungs and the green "waterproofing" sheeting and i can think about the next tasks. The other door probably....

[SanRemo78]

Drivers door handle stripped down to it's base components and cleaned. I've removed the old paint as it was mostly flaked off and given it a fresh coat of matt black. Now I think it should have been satin. Ho hum. I guess I'll find out how well satin covers matt!

Can anyone confirm the correct finish?

[SanRemo78]

And I must be off my trolley. I spotted a left side Sicursiv quarterlight with holes in it on eBay complete with an incomplete mirror (no glass) and bought it for silly money. Fortunately I also need a mirror gasket set despite already having three mirrors.

This car is going to kill my bank account.

This car has already killed my bank account...

[SanRemo78]

Door handles. The set that came with the car were corroded beyond use but fortunately I managed to pick up a goodish pair from Jim in Farnborough a while back. They still needed a clean and repaint before they could go back on the car though.

 

[SanRemo78]

So, out with the circlip pliers and remove the one on the handle pivot pin and the other on the latch actuator arm. The actuator arm slips off easily enough with the spring and nylon spacer and the two pins can then be punched out with a drift and hammer ready to be overhauled. Except for the lock mechanism itself it looks like this when cleaned and painted.

[SanRemo78]

I'm only doing one door handle at a time... the handed parts are clearly marked S&D to allow differentiation but the springs aren't interchangeable. Once it's cleaned the reassembly is quite simple, especially if you have a second handle around for comparison.

[SanRemo78]

Once the door handle is assembled it can be fitted into the door itself. Don't be tempted to fit the lock itself though, this makes fitting it in the aperture without damaging paintwork impossible. Fit it once it's in the door, it's only 2 screws! (The same applies if you're removing a handle from a door - take the lock out first!

The window channel at the back had to come out again to gain access though. It's all confirming that assembly the first time round was all wrong and the lower channels should be last to be put back in.

So, with the handle and lock safely back in the door the pawl can be reattached to the latch mechanism and the door shut and openend using the door handle and, even better, locked and unlocked using the key.

The lock mechanisms were previously stripped and rebuilt to suit the key I had courtesy of a demonstration by Peter a couple of years ago. This allows you to thoroughly clean all the components and reassemble them with graphite powder and not grease for (hopefully) many more years of use!