The story of the Austrian Aprilia
Lancianews readers will recall the Aprilia that came out of a Swiss chicken barn some years ago. This was a renovation project after years of hiding. We say renovation because the car’s condition allowed applying a preservation approach as opposed to a full restoration.
The first phase of the renovation comprised some repair to the body. The car was very sound with very little rust, rarely seen on these rust-prone cars. But the previous owners applied sufficient rust proofing. It was possible to retain most of the old paint which was probably a re-spray some time ago. The wings needed a re-spray and this was done in nitro-cellulose paint in order to match the rest of the car. Front and rear axles were completely overhauled by a specialist as well as a lot of technical components.
Thus, the car was first tested on the road in 2009 during a Fulvia meeting in Vienna. It performed well. However, there was a problem with vibrations being transferred onto the body at certain revs.
Closer inspection did not reveal the cause. So we decided to have the engine dismantled which initially we did not consider necessary. We were quite surprised to find out that the engine’s capacity was increased to almost 1500 cc from its original 1350.
At Lancia the crankshaft were balanced with the original pistons. In order to compensate for the additional weight of bigger pistons so we thought that lighter pistons for this almost 1500 cc 1st series Aprilia should be better. A set of pistons was made as well as a cylinder head gasket. The engine was reassembled again and the engine now runs smoothly.
There are still some minor jobs ahead but we hope to get it ready for some outings in 2011.
The Lancianews team, Dec. 2010
