My Lancia Delta Integrale 8V restoration project

[samo]

Started the front bumper assembly yesterday. But I didn't manage to finish. The only thing I managed to finish was the prep work.

I finally found on an internet auction site the LHD oil cooler mouniting. I received it last week so I had it sand blasted and e-coated. So now everything in place for the bumper.

[samo]

Lost 2 days preparing the front bumper for installation...

It is still not mounted as it should be. I still have to move it around a bit. But it looks like a car now.

[Brit01]

Looking very very nice. Good air intakes for the radiators.

That is one big water radiator too. Double the size of my Alfa 1.7 rad. I had to modify mine and put 2 fans on it to cope with the 40 degree summers we've been having recently just for road driving.

Is the oil cooler positioned so air is drawn through it when the fan is on?

[samo]

Hi,

@Brit01 - as far as I can see the oil cooler is cooled by the fan also.

Before my mini 1st of May mini brake I finished adjusting the bumper and I installed the blinkers. I also installed the sunroof but it wouldn't close properly. Today I went back to the garage and I tore apart the sunroof disassembled and assembled the sunroof 10 times to find that I turned a small piece of plastic 180 degrees wrong way. Now it closes as it should but I do think I will have to polish the sunroof now...

[samo]

Installed and adjusted the hood for 6 hours today and it still isn't perfect...

[Brit01]

Good attention to detail but I'd be inclined to get the car out and running then fiddle with the bodywork details etc after.

What's missing in regards to getting it out and running so far?

[WhizzMan]

Good attention to detail but I'd be inclined to get the car out and running then fiddle with the bodywork details etc after.

I can see by the way Samo works, that this project is at least as much about the build as it is about driving the car once it's finished. This isn't just working on a transportation device, it's a form of meditation. Rushing your work when you're near the finish line will make you regret things later. All the attention to detail you spend on bits nobody will ever see once the car is finished is wasted when the first thing someone sees is a bonnet that is not aligned properly. Hang in there Samo, you'll get it right eventually.

[samo]

I am really anxious to get the car running as soon as possible TRUST ME on that one... After all I started this restoration after only driving the car for a 100km ONCE! So I am really looking forward to my second drive :)

But as WhizzMan said if you rush in the end all the effort is wasted as nobody will see that I took care to use the same bolts for bolting stuff together. For instance the oil cooler is secured to the holders with 3 bolts and the 2 holders are bolted to the water cooler and I carefully chose the bolts so they are all marked FA 5.8 and that all the washers are the same size. Nobody will notice that but it gives me peace of mind I guess, but if the bonnet just looks like somebody threw it on everybody will notice and it will be just another Italian rust bucket...

Discovered today that part of my problem with the bonnet is that it was bumped on the front left corner and the guy doing the tin work didn't get the curve right or maybe I bumped it somewhere doing transport. That sucks as you can't use any tools on the painted surface that meant trying to bend the bonnet back into submission by bare hands. Almost tore my wrist ligaments doing that but the situation has improved drastically!

Also installed the bonnet vents today and cleaned up the upper shock brace to have it e-coated. Tried also to straighten the chrome mask surround but it is made from chromed stainless steele to thin to repair properly. It is back in shape but I cannot get the dents out completely so I sanded so it is now more or less smooth and I will have it powder coated to see how it looks...

[WhizzMan]

You may want to try and get a new "chrome mask", or get some jewelry smith (I don't know the proper English word for it) to take a look at it. Not having a chromed one on the car will be a shame.

[samo]

I discovered the surrounds are not chromed but in fact polished stainless steel. I have 2 of them I will have one of them powder coated black as it has been knocked too many times to try and fix and the second one I hope can be rescued. If nothing else I will buy a new one of course. I just want to try the black look as I think the shiny grill was a mistake on the integrale. The standard 1,5 delta had chromed grill, window surrounds, door handles, window seal and a few other things so it kinda made sense but on the integrale they painted all of those bits black and left only the grill :/

As I said this is only for my curiosity as I am trying to keep it close to original.

I washed the car today first time since i had it from November 2006!

[tricky]

It is indeed stainless, I like black over shiney too :-)

(sorry for the massive picture) Keep up the good work, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy it once the effort of getting it right in the first place is long forgotten.

[samo]

Hi guys,

I am still sorting out the details...

[samo]

When working on the car I spotted that one of the washers under the head bolt had cracked! The bolts are 12.9 grade non stretch type and the washers were reused Fiat OE items.

I will buy new washers now for sure. The only question is should I replace them now or wait for the 800km when I have to re-tighten the headbolts anyways?

[WhizzMan]

I wouldn't want to risk the ring splitting and suddenly losing all torque on that one bolt myself. However, just unbolting this one without unbolting the others, what will happen to the torque in the other bolts and how will the head react? Unbolting all the bolts would mean having to take the coolant out and replace the head gasket. This is a tricky situation you've gotten yourself into. Lets hope others can advise on how much torque to take off the other bolts, so you can safely replace this ring without having to worry about your gasket seal or bending the head. When the engine is cool, you'll probably have nothing to worry about, but I'd wait for the guru's to give their opinion on this one.

[samo]

I am already in process of obtaining new washers.

I don't think unbolting a bolt will be a problem as I have to re tighten all the head bolts after 800km as I am using non stretch bolts! And the procedure is to actually loosen each bolt and re-tighten it back one by one!