Engine bay rejuvenation

[simonandjuliet]

The engine bay on my S2 Aprilia has been looking tired for a while, it has never been properly done, just a "slip-slap-slop" paint job in 1980 when the engine last came out, so plan is to remove the engine/box, tidy and paint it all (plus some detailing) before putting the stripped and checked engine back

I won't bore you with too much detail, but if anything interesting comes up I'll share it - or if specific photos are wanted, I can post them as well

Known issues: couple of stress cracks to weld, vent drain to clear and repair, oil pressure gauge pipe to repair, repair master cylinder (much easier to access) and re-route brake pipe which has always taken a bizarre short cut !

[tzf60]

Hi Simon,
There won't be too much detail - Aprilias are never boring 😄
 
Looking forward to your posts!
 
Best regards,
Tim
 
 

[simonandjuliet]

Engine is out and a quick "Karcher" to get rid of some of the oily film

It also revealed a screwed on and stamped, plate that I have never seen before .... I think that it is probably the spare parts ref plate and has the same number as the stamp on the bulkhead. The plate is on the passenger side under the battery box and the stamp is to the right of the box (looking from the engine)

I have never seen one of these plates before - anybody else got/seen one ?

Is it just an S2 thing ? My car is 1947 S2 berlina

[Jay]

Hi Simon, the more detail the better, I find your previous posts invaluable for my current Aprilia project, which I will post some updates soon. Keep up the good work.

[lancialulu]

Lovely patina!

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks Tim - at what point does patina become scruffy ??

A question that perplexes many of us I suspect and is tied up with "originality". 

And as Juliet said yesterday  -  "You all get too hung up with originality" .....

Discuss !!

[Hendrik]

Hi to all of you Aprilia drivers,
as my Aprilia job is still at early stage I would like to ask if the engine bay was always painted black? I thought ist was only black painted when the chassis went to the coachbuilders. You See I‘m a originality supporter .

[chriswgawne]

Just to be a little facetious if I may Simon, whilst I am not 100% obsessed with originality I am concerned about seeing the non original; philips headed screw on your lubrication plate. I would have thought that would have been replaced with a cross headed screw many moons ago!
And on a more serious note, what is the broken (?) copper pipe - oil pressure gauge?
Chris

[simonandjuliet]

Chris, not facetious at all .... I have been meaning to do something about it (and others) for years , the problem is that the thread/hole is now too coarse/big for the nice little screws ! So I will have to put a blob of weld, or similar and then re-drill before I can use the little screws again - if I can find them

The cut pipe was an "instant" solution to water pouring into the car many years ago - and I would like to point out before I was custodian !!

It is the drain from the air vent at the top of the bonnet and only on S2 cars (please correct me if it's also on S1 Lusso) I remember that we tried to use various things like coat hangers and old speedo cables , to clear it. So it's another job on the list

Re engine bay colour ..... still investigating

[Andrew Cox]

Hi Simon
              My 1938 Aprilia has a scuttle vent as all cars past body no 6181 ( around chassis no 38-100 odd) probably have.
So I guess around 30% of S1 cars would have these. The drain on my car (from memory) runs on the inside of the firewall
Lots of interesting detail in your S2 engine bay photos. The large ventilation hole in the sides of the engine bay is a major difference from the S1. I’m guessing it’s there to aid cooling?  Does your car have the row of louvres in the floor pan under the drive tunnel? Please keep the photos and info flowing, the detailed photos and comments on your interior restoration were of immense help when I did the same job on my car a couple of years ago.
Cheers
Andrew

[simonandjuliet]

Hendrick, I have spent a lot of time going over my engine bay today, removing things and cleaning down through layers of colour and I think that there is enough evidence from my car to say that the engine bay was originally body colour .....

So that presents me with a dilemma - body colour or black ?? - I think that I have a preference, so I'll sleep on it !

Engine was washed down and now sits on the bench

Couple of detail pics. First one is the cut out for the foot operated suspension oiler, and a couple of general shots. There are quite a few subtle differences between S1 & S2 and I'll try and highlight them as I go along

Andrew, yes there are the louvres on the tunnel, plus the additional floor strengtheners that I don't think you see on S1 cars

[lancialulu]

I wish a Fulvia engine was such well behaved!

[Sliding Pillar]

This is my theory on engine bay colour:- Most cars sourced from mainland Europe that I have seen have the engine bay painted in body colour. However original English cars seem to have it painted black. Could this be because cars imported by Alperton were not completely finished when imported, to be painted and upholstered in England as it kept the purchase tax lower. This is also the reason English cars had leather interiors rather than cloth. So the unfinished imported cars had their engine bay painted black, for the body to be finished in whatever colour the purchaser required.
Would this make sense??

[simonandjuliet]

Makes a lot of sense ..... so next question is what about battery cover and wire covers - would they be body coloured as well ?

A further thought on this is that the bulkhead cover is a separate piece (double glazing if you like outlined in shaky red !), it goes from the mid line of the bulkhead to the top of the engine bay - but only behind the engine. Was this black along with the covers , and the rest of the engine bay body coloured ??

This could give a nice 2-tone engine bay .....

PS has anyone got any photos/experience of removing the bulkhead shroud? I have heard of some scary findings once you take it off along with the water absorbing insulation

[simonandjuliet]

Bit more dismantling yesterday afternoon.

I have decided to remove the loom so that I can do the job properly (lots of dust and grime under the loom), which means that you have to remove most of the dashboard switches, dash etc. By doing it this way it means that you can keep the vast majority connected and thread it through the bulkhead and wrap it up out of the way

My car has the foot operated headlight switch so a significant extra section to the loom to pull through

I am tempted to rewire the front section because it is brittle and having done the Cabrio I know that it isn't too difficult, but it does risk upsetting things !

Next decision is the bulkhead cover and colour scheme ..... and a bit more dismantling