Fanalone restoration

[ncundy]

For anyone who is interested I am currently fully restoring a 1969 Fanalone. As I have have found it very difficult to get hold of photos of the important bits of the car - that are actually useful other than as wall paper, I have taken to putting various of them on a web site for others to use if they wish. As I have been going along I have taken 100's of photos - only a selection are shown on the site so if you think I may have something of use please PM me.
Currently the bodyshell is fully stripped and about to go to have the metalwork done and be re-sprayed - so all the photos are of the stripping and cleaning process - nothing yet from inside engines or gearboxes I'm afraid, that comes later !

http://www.fanalonerestoration.com

Maybe this will be of use to someone as, as I said I have had great difficulty finding good photos that help - although there has been plenty of good advice and information on Viva-Lancia

[Neil]

Some great photos there and very thorough, how long did it take you to complete the disassembly and stripping off the paint and panels?

I wish digital cameras had been available when I helped in a partial restoration job of my S2 1300 in 1987, which took about a month and was repainted in that period, same colour and also LHD.  My car could now do with some more attention to get it back on the road.  

[ncundy]

I started in November and have spent about 15-20 hrs a week since then, so somewhere in the region of 500 hrs. The split is about 200 hrs to disassemble and 300 hrs to strip the paint - it has been re-sprayed twice during it's life. Originally silver, then red, then blue which prolonged the paint stripping a bit because of the thickness of the paint and filler.

[ncundy]

I have now got the finished bodyshell back in the garage. it looks superb, and i am extremly pleased with the results. Next job is to remove the subframe and start to get stuck into that and the suspension. Here are a couple of photos - the bodyshell work and painting was done by Wilkinsons Coachbuilders in Derby whom I can highly recommend. It shared the workshop with three Bugattis, an AM DB5 and DB4GT, so visits were very interesting !

[YKR 567J]

I've just discovered this thread and wanted to congratulate you on a fantastic set of photographs. They lay a Fulvia's complex innards bare as I've never seen them before. Very useful, and thank you. My worry now is what the unseen parts of my S2 HF are like...probably best not to go there. John S

[ncundy]

Thanks for your comments - I agree, the best thing is to protect your shell and make sure you don't have to go as far as we have !!

[Dilambdaman]

Wow! great set of pics Neil. Brings the memories flooding back of when 10 years ago, my son Jonathan, rebuilt CUC 20H, the ex Barry Waterhouse Fanalone. You're obviously doing a thorough job and it will undoubtedly be a terrific car. Good luck.

[angelorange]

Top job Neil! Well done!

[ncundy]

Stage 2 "the subframe" is complete.
List of jobs done:
Steering box stripped, thrust bearing replaced, idler box stripped
wheel bearings stipped and re-packed
all ball joints re-packed and boots replaced
brakes stripped, calipers bored out and sleeved with stainless steel
subframe components shot blasted (aluminium bead blasted) then stove enamelled
front spring stripped and re-assembled including repairing the spring retaining brace - the welds had split probably because the 4 long bolts had come loose. Compressing the spring to torque up this brace would not have won us any health and safety awards but was achieved  .
New suspension bearings made by Huib at Viva-Lancia (S1's have bearings not Metalastic bushes) - these really are super and very accurate - I asked for a variety of shims to set them up correctly but ended up needing none.
A set of Spax shock absorbers finished it off. It is worth knowing that the part numbers listed by Spax would seem to be incorrect, the difference is in the open length:

G434 Front    357 (as listed)
G3312 Front    332 (as required)
 
G677 Rear    441 (as listed)
G3318 Rear    426 (as required)

See this thread

Some pictures:





For better pictures than these ridiculus icon's (cannot change the size settings on this site) I have put them on here

Stage 3 - the rear suspension, starts next weekend !

[chris]

Dear Neil     Nice pictures as usual - i'm taking it that you have layed in your brake and fuel line runs already, (i.e. before fitting subframe assy) and that I just can't identify them in the pics?  Chris

[Dilambdaman]

Thanks for the update Neil, great progress. Looking forward very much to seeing the finished product.

A few jobs to do to my Fanalone, should be out and about this year but probably not Goodwood, planning on taking the Dilambda along but not on the track!

[ncundy]

Thanks for the comments gents ! Yes the pipes are there, you can just see the fuel pipes peeking out from under the battery tray. Actually at a later stage they will all be replaced - the subframe fitting is a dry run, but because it went well I have decided to leave it in for the time being and concentrate on the rear suspension ( I needed a change of scenery !) but it will come out again for repiping and to have the drive train installed. I was surprised at how relatively straight forward the subframe was - the biggest frustration I had was fitting the spring clips to the lower supension ball joint boots. I gave up in the end and made new retaining tab rings with a slightly smaller ID that would clamp the boot lower retaining lip (as the uppers do) and held them off the ball joint retaining plate with a washer (there is no recess for the lip to sit in on this plate, so without washers the tab rings compress the lip too much causing damage and the potential for it to pop out).
Still plenty to do but small bites will eat the elephant !!
Neil

PS: A note on the shock absorbers - whilst I know these figures ( the "as required") are correct for a 1600 (both series) I do not know if they hold true for saloons and other coupes. I would suggest that if anyone is thinking of changing that they consult the manuals and measure the extended length (and bush dim) before committing.

[angelorange]

will you be at race retro?

should have my racing fulvia there.

[chris]

Thanks for the comments gents ! Yes the pipes are there, you can just see the fuel pipes peeking out from under the battery tray. Actually at a later stage they will all be replaced - the subframe fitting is a dry run, but because it went well I have decided to leave it in for the time being and concentrate on the rear suspension ( I needed a change of scenery !) but it will come out again for repiping and to have the drive train installed. I was surprised at how relatively straight forward the subframe was - the biggest frustration I had was fitting the spring clips to the lower supension ball joint boots. I gave up in the end and made new retaining tab rings with a slightly smaller ID that would clamp the boot lower retaining lip (as the uppers do) and held them off the ball joint retaining plate with a washer (there is no recess for the lip to sit in on this plate, so without washers the tab rings compress the lip too much causing damage and the potential for it to pop out).
Still plenty to do but small bites will eat the elephant !!
Neil

PS: A note on the shock absorbers - whilst I know these figures ( the "as required") are correct for a 1600 (both series) I do not know if they hold true for saloons and other coupes. I would suggest that if anyone is thinking of changing that they consult the manuals and measure the extended length (and bush dim) before committing.

   The reason that I mentioned the pipe runs was just to let you know how much easier it is to tweak them to fit really well with the subframe removed. You mention that you may replace them later - I strongly advise you to do "it" while the subframe is next out! The good news is that, being l.h.d. you don't have the difficulty of routing said pipes past steering "column". The main fuel pipe normally being particularly critical just here. One of the other snags I have picked up on several occasions is where this same cluster of pipes pass between the subframe rear crossmember and the monocoque as they continue toward the rear of the vehicle - the clearance here can vary from vehicle to vehicle, and sometimes a chafe is visible here with subframe movement (usually on the  main fuel pipe!)     I'm assuming this is your first Fulvia restoration, you seem to be doing a good job.     On the damper front..... only my opinion here of course, but I wouldn't be too concerned about the extended length of your Spax dampers - it's the fully compressed dimension you should be worried about -             All the after-market front dampers I have come across have been "generous" with the extended dimension, the worse consequence of this being that the drive shaft makes contact with the already scolloped part of the subframe when the suspension is at full droop - so something which will happen when you jack the car up or(most commonly) when you yump the car over a bridge etc - (duration quite short!).  However, *unless Spax have revised their open/closed dimensions since I had cause to investigate some 18 years ago, their compressed/closed dimension was at least 6mm more than the equivalent Koni front damper, and even more when compared with the several std equipment dampers.   This is of no concern when fitted to an S2-on car, but becomes a potential problem on an S1 car because of its lower suspension settings - to explain :- when the front suspension goes to full bump, (something which it does far more regularly than full droop) the Spax dampers* will be very close to, or even at, full compression. Not such a terrible thing you might think, but, depending on the state of your bump stop, and not forgetting that the most compliance of this stop will happen on first contact by design, at the least the car could display quite undesirable handling traits as you encounter this more-"sturdy"-than-intended bump condition, or at worst (due to the rather inboard mounting point of the lower damper eye) a distorted/bent lower wishbone tube. Of course you would have to be driving in this style for some time before this last bit could happen, but I have come across it. Finally Neil, as far as fitment of these Spax dampers to Sedan or Zagato, apart from the aforementioned, they are (in my experience) fully interchangeable dimensionally anyway. I do remember there were a few tolerance problems with bush widths at the back on occasion, but it was nothing that couldn't be fixed with a bit of "dressing".  Of course the Sedans did have options for extension/compression resistance settings that differed from the Coupe/Zagato, but that is a whole different can of terms!  Chris

[giticus]

The Body colour is that silver or do I see more blue ?