What’d ya do with your X120 today?

In mid May I picked up #1087 from Bring a Trailer. It finally arrived last week and the fun begins. I'm having trouble getting it to start, specifically no fuel. I've tested the fuel pump which works. It looks like the suction check valve is stuck shut. It is currently soaking in solvent. I'll post a few pictures later this weekend.

This is my first Lancia, but my sons and I race a 1981 X1/9, and I am (slowly) resurrecting a rusted out 1980 Spider 2000. So far everything Lancia looks reasonably familiar even if the shop manual leaves a lot to be desired.
 
We went out and played tag with some friends from Germany and Italy.

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In mid May I picked up #1087 from Bring a Trailer. It finally arrived last week and the fun begins. I'm having trouble getting it to start, specifically no fuel. I've tested the fuel pump which works. It looks like the suction check valve is stuck shut. It is currently soaking in solvent. I'll post a few pictures later this weekend.

This is my first Lancia, but my sons and I race a 1981 X1/9, and I am (slowly) resurrecting a rusted out 1980 Spider 2000. So far everything Lancia looks reasonably familiar even if the shop manual leaves a lot to be desired.
Do you have the factory shop manual?
 
In mid May I picked up #1087 from Bring a Trailer. It finally arrived last week and the fun begins. I'm having trouble getting it to start, specifically no fuel. I've tested the fuel pump which works. It looks like the suction check valve is stuck shut. It is currently soaking in solvent. I'll post a few pictures later this weekend.

This is my first Lancia, but my sons and I race a 1981 X1/9, and I am (slowly) resurrecting a rusted out 1980 Spider 2000. So far everything Lancia looks reasonably familiar even if the shop manual leaves a lot to be desired.

We had fueling issues on ours (also BAT purchased) and, likewise, found the pump to be fine. However, we had (we think it was from fuel tank corrosion) restrictions in both the inline fuel filter AND the check valves/filters in the vapor canister. Pressure up top was miniscule until we replaced both consumables.
 
When the fuel tank came out of my otherwise rust-free car last year, the inside was ugly. Definitely worth pulling the tank, stripping and recoating.
 
When the fuel tank came out of my otherwise rust-free car last year, the inside was ugly. Definitely worth pulling the tank, stripping and recoating.
That's good advice. We didn't even think about it on ours, in that Think Jedi had pretty fastidiously addressed every last bit of rust on the car.


And it ran great for about 500 miles-- but strangely at altitude (Weirdly, almost exactly 5000 feet) we had stalling issues. Bad stalling issues. And wasted a bit of time blaming the vacuum carb set-up because it was so repeatable.

In retrospect, though, the inside of the tank must be the last bit of exposed Soviet steel, rusting its little iron curtain heart away. Those never "fix themselves" so I think a tank removal-clean-strip-coat-cure is the only way. I've collected spare parts along the way. I may have a NOS tank. Will check to see if I should start there.
 
The fuel tank will be pulled eventually but it runs fine for now. This weekend's plan is to investigate why the turn signals only work when the headlights are off... I'd like to get the Texas safety inspection completed and the car street legal.

2 minutes of googling confirm my suspicions that a poor ground is the most likely cause of this issue... Bad grounds on old Italian cars are not really a surprise.
 
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The fuel tank will be pulled eventually but it runs fine for now. This weekend's plan is to investigate why the turn signals only work when the headlights are off... I'd like to get the Texas safety inspection completed and the car street legal.

2 minutes of googling confirm my suspicions that a poor ground is the most likely cause of this issue... Bad grounds on old Italian cars are not really a surprise.
We got going fine (after some hand-wringing) with a fuel filter change. But I did stock up on extra filters... because I think we'll be doing it again.

On the electrics-- yeah, the grounds are just tough to figure out. Usually it ends up being a termination screw that's corroded somewhere. The dashboard dims in a quaint way with changing the Hi-Lo Beam lever on ours, even though the beams don't actually come up. I actually find it kind of charming, but we don't have to contend with inspections... good luck!
 
Work progresses on the 037 project. Last weekend I got the front clamshell in paint, and spent the weeknights cutting and polishing it. Here's where it's at now. Not perfect but getting closer.

You know you're on to something good when even the front body section has us drooling. I can't wait to see more.
 
I searched for a water pump suction manifold after brazing up a dozen or so holes in mine only to have it leak again. I finally gave up and started fabrication on a new one. Sadly, the piece of 3/8" plate I ordered for the flange hasn't shipped yet, and I had to work today so I wasn't able to go by my local steel supplier. I'm tempted to cut the flange off the old one, but I figure the braze material will contaminate my weld. I also want to keep it as a go-by in case I ever make another.
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I drove to a cars a coffee yesterday early in Thousand Oaks. Only to have my Montecarlo dye, as I pulled into the parking lot. Some friend help push me into a parking spot. We determined the battery was dead. Which was odd, has I keep it on a tender. As luck would have it, there was a Firestone tire store, in the same parking lot.
They had to correct size battery, and I changed it out. Once I got home 10 miles away. I check the charging system. Nothing, not current coming into the battery. I am leaving for aTroumphest in San Diego early Wednesday. So My shop is letting drop it off tomorrow morning. They will check it out on Wednesday, and determine if it is the alternator, or the relay we replaced a few months ago.
 
I rebuilt the power windows as the passenger side had stopped working. I replaced the cable sheath and both sides operate smoothly now. I also had to rebuild the motor mount as the passenger door motor was just flopping around in the door without anything holding. The new mount is not pretty but is very secure and works. The Lemons 24 Rally tape finished it off :)

It is nice to have working windows now.


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I haven't opened my door panels yet but two of my cars have power windows. I assume the brackets are unobtanium?
 
Following up with more painting, I got the doors done (off the car) and then got the double bubble roof mounted and the rest of the main chassis in paint. I have been spending a lot of time figuring out the right formula for getting the paint color sanded flat and polished. I think I'm onto it now. Dual action wet sanding with 2000 grit followed by 4000 grit, then compounding. Much faster than hand sanding and it leaves a lot less visible scratches. Easy to burn through at an edge though, which I did a couple times. Oh well, I'll have the paint gun out again anyway. Here's where it's currently at.
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Just the rear clamshell left to prep and paint.
 
I have been spending a lot of time figuring out the right formula for getting the paint color sanded flat and polished. I think I'm onto it now. Dual action wet sanding with 2000 grit followed by 4000 grit, then compounding. Much faster than hand sanding and it leaves a lot less visible scratches.

That sounds like a lot of work. Have you ever tried 1 grit cinder block?

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