Last updated 8th December 2000
Parts to be scavanged
(Any help in finding or re-making the following would be
greatly appreciated)
Front Bumper
Prop shaft
Box that sits on the running board
Original tools to go in the toolkit.
Suitable trafficators
Appropriate wing mirrors
Questions
Can anyone let me know what the black objects are that are bolted
to the outside of each side of the bulkead? They look like
trafficators - are they? - I have had an answer saying that they
are. See parts to be scrounged!
Does anyone have a workshop manual or similar for the car? I have
a copy of an owners handbook
The Story
I bought my 1935 Lancia Augusta in 1993/4 as a chassis and a pile of bits.
and for the next 5 years....
... nothing happened except it moved house with us in the back of a removals van along with many boxes of bits and puzzled removals men. Some damage was done in transit and I think some bits were lost.
Then in 1999 with my other cars almost finished, I came across some help in the form of Louis (the preparation/paintwork wizz) and Garrick (the welding, fabrication and mechanical wizz).
Work started in July 1999 with Louis stripping everything he could find back to the bare metal:
using paint stripper, wire brush or sand blaster - whatever worked.
then coating all of the chassis in chassis black, undersealing the underside to within an inch of its life then priming the bulkhead and windscreen posts and checking that the windscreen would fit.
Our first attempt at this was a dismal failure as we were trying with the better of the two windscreen surrounds. It was only after half an hour of head scratching that we realised it was the wrong windscreen surround. (If anyone actually reads this, I have a windscreen surround in good condition that I suspect comes from a hardtop Augusta that I believe the previous owner of my car must have broken for spares).
<Photo on its way>
Next we turned our attention to the main body panels. Doors, bonnet and front and back wings were repaired where necessary by Garrick and treated and primed by Louis. During this stage Louis used to regularly disappear behind clouds of dust only to reappear completely covered in grey muttering ... I put it on then I block/sand it off... I put it on...... you get the picture.
All the main panels are now complete. Attention turned to the body tub. Welding and woodwork was required here. Fortunately not too much of either. An excellent friendly joiner (Lee) obliged with the woodwork.
2 wheels have been restored by Specialist Automobile Services. An excellent job. The other 4 will be off shortly in pairs to make sure we keep the chassis rolling.
<Photo on its way>
The engine has been looked at by Garrick. We decided not to strip the engine down as it looked like the previous owner of the car had already rebuilt it. Instead we satisfied ourselves with removing all the inspection covers and ancilliaries and giving the whole lot a thorough clean and oil. Garrick has also stripped and rebuilt most of the other bits and pieces: boot locks, water pump, etc. etc.
Next on the list for Garrick after the final welding of the body tub will be brakes:
We are all endlessly surprised by the ingenuity and craftsmanship that went into the original design and building of the car. Here are some photos of the twin bootlocks - look at the attention to detail.
At the same time, we have found that the work done by the previous owner (Timothy Barker, I think - coincidence) has given us a huge head start. Thank-you
As the millennium approaches, we are ready for a trial fitting of panels. All we know we are missing is a few bits of woodwork (over to Lee)
- now complete - and a front bumper. (If anyone has a front bumper spare....)
The engine and gearbox, brakes and running gear are all in good shape.
19/1/2000
We made it safely into the new millennium. Progress continues to be good.
When we came to look at it, the bootlid really needed to be remade. We had this done by a local specialist.
Despite the care they took it is not the right shape. They are working on fixing that. I won't release their name until we know the outcome!
The body-tub was soon ready to be fitted back on the chassis:
The next stage was to roughly fit the doors:
The next part was the part of the restoration that I was dreading most. Lining up the doors with the bulkhead and the body tub and getting the gaps right then remaking the wooden sills, sill trims and cappings.
but it all seemed to go incredibly well thanks to Garrick and Gary's (another excellent carpenter) skills.
For the next week the visible progress was incredibly rapid with the headscratching over where to fit the running boards
followed very rapidly by the exciting (for us anoraks) moment of seeing one side of the car complete for the first time.
Shortly after that Louis returned along with his refrain of "I put the primer/filler on and I take it off...". He later cheered me up by saying that most of the filler we had used so far was on the floor in the form of dust!
A note on the filler. We were intending to lead load rather than use filler. We had experienced some difficulty with welding the metal previously and when we came to lead load, Louis, with 30 odd years of experience could not get it to stick. The only assumption we can make is that the metal was coated with something (zinc?) before it was originally painted. As a result, we had to use filler but very very little of it only where the metal could not be bent, stretched or shrunk to the right profile.
Here is a picture of the gang at the end of a momentous weeks progress:
Next Page for the next exciting installment!