Coming together

It is nice when there are more empty bag parts than full ones. I am almost able to mount the transmission to the transaxle. Then I will be able to put the whole assembly in the car and get it on its wheels. Speaking of wheels I honed all of the brake cylinders and the master cylinder and have rebuilt the front left brake cylinder. I mounted it along with the brakes and the tire and wheel for a test fit. It is going to be tricky because I put the 8 brake drums in a pile along with the 16 brake shoes and picked out the best ones. I tried to get the same thickness brake shoes mounted, but it is rubbing a bit.

The bare transaxle waiting for the transmission

Brake cylinder in the top center, the brake shoes on the left and right sides

The front left wheel mounted

Garage Night

I sent up the bat signal for people to help me put the car back on 4 wheels and they came. After a night of talking and drinking a little bit got done, but no rolling car. Everyone has volunteered to come back and help when that time comes.

What was done:  Seals were replaced in the transmission. Brake hubs were installed on the rear axles.

Micros on Route 66

A group is planning on driving their microcars (under 500cc) from the Santa Monica Pier to the World Microcar Meet in Chicago. They have set up a Facebook page so that anyone can follow them on their journey.

Final Stretch

The car still doesn't look like much. But I have been getting a lot of things done to get the Vespa 400 back on the road for the World Microcar Meet. I haven't cut any corners in the restoration, but I have put off many things at this point in hopes of having a running and driving car this summer. The biggest item is no paint or bodywork.

The engine is finished, new pistons have been installed, the generator has been rebuilt and I put new bearings and seals in the fan cover. Oddly, the bearings in the fan are lubricated by oil in the shaft and has to be checked so the bearings don't become dry and fail.

This week has also been a lot of painting little bits that I haven't even been thinking of at all. Like the metal tube that runs from the oil tank to the gas tank. I have also cleaned and painted the axle shafts and plan on replacing the bearings tomorrow.

When In Rome

A Vespa 400 looking very similar to the one in the previous post makes an appearance in the movie "When In Rome". 2:41 into the trailer you can see it being driven. I saw the movie in the theater and it wasn't too bad. Although the whole plot and some of the jokes are shown in the preview.

It was kind of weird to see the car in the movie and have to wonder how anyone involved would have known about them. It would have been much easier to find a Fiat 500 or something. A scooter has become shorthand for a scene in Italy; Just an old street, a scooter and presto, Rome.  The jokes on them because although being called a Vespa, the 400 it was made in France.

Fiat Press Office/ AP

This is an Italian FIAT Cinquecento (500)

 

Vespa 400 for Auction

Today, a Vespa 400 was auctioned at the RM Auction in Fort Lauderdale. According to the description it was built as a tribute to the car in the movie "When In Rome". I had read that it was actually built as a promotion for the movie. It is a great looking car and I would be very happy if when I am done that my car turns out as nice as this one.

Photo from the RM Auction website

Pistons

Here is a photo of the the new and the old piston side by side.  The new one is on the left. Some obvious differences is that the skirt on the new piston is open. Because of the height of the piston and wear of the cylinder the piston would rock in the cylinder and break the skirt off and it would fall into the engine and cause problems. There are two thin rings on the new piston compared to three wide rings on the old one. Because of ring technology the two will work as good or better than the three. Most importantly the new piston is forged instead of cast, making it much stronger. The square hole above the wrist pin whole is for weight savings. Dispite the bad photo everything else is dimensionally the same.

Clutch Part is Back

I dropped a part of my clutch off at Brakes and Equipment last week and got the call that it was done so I stopped over and got it. Here are a couple of photos of the driving plate Part# 11578 in the diagram below that has been redone and a spare that I have.

When I dropped it off, there was much explaining involved but they were up for it. They said it would take longer than their usual 24-48 hours because they hadn't ever seen a clutch so small. There was a finished clutch for a tugboat! on the table ready to be shipped back out.  

 The fiber plates on the clutch are a bit wider than the original but it won't affect the working of the clutch.  The fiber plate thickness is the same for the old and new driving plate so it should work well.

Al in the shop showed me how he had to cut the material on two different machines to before he could get the size to use. It sounded like an involved process that took a few tries, but they got it right. And more important were very reasonably priced. Thanks guys. I will be going back there for the brake lines and redoing the brake cylinders when I get to that point.

The weirdest coincidences happened there. After never hearing of a Vespa 400, someone mailed Brakes and Equipment their brake cylinders to find parts to rebuild them today. What are the chances that they would be working on parts for 2 Vespa 400's in the same week.  I don't know the person, but saw their name and look forward to meeting them on the road!

My Car

I thought I would write about my car restoration here, until I get the rest of my website www.vespa400car.com up and running.

I will give progress updates on the restoration, resources for parts and services and maybe some history.

My goal is to have a running and driving and stopping car in time for the World Microcar Meet in Illinois at the end of August.

Here is a picture of the car I took in September that will be on the splash page of the site.