Yes, Norway !

Starting to get a little clearer with a resurrection plan now, sent requests to both Paul Sage and Axel Ress to get prices for replacement engines, unfortunately not one of them could be bothered to reply.

Call me old fashioned, but if someone can't be bothered to answer an email BEFORE I've spent 4 grand with them, then it worries me how they would deal with it AFTER I'd bought one, so frankly, they can shove their motors up their ass.

Simon Auto, however answered within two hours to confirm which parts they had in stock (all), put together a quotation and say that they would be only too happy to work with me to fix it so I could collect on my way back from Blighty next summer.

At the moment, that's plan then, rebuild when I get the time.
Currently one of the garages looks like this, albeit tidied up a bit now, and the other garages and parts of the house are full of parts from it, so that needs to be cleared before I have space to start on the Alpine.

Hadn't planned to rebuild the Busso, but after the Alpine disaster, and with it having had low oil pressure at idle when hot and the odd puff of blue smoke, Busso becomes a "while I am in there" job. Enough spun bearings for now.
Plan at the moment is to pull and strip the PRV once the engine stand is free and the 155 is rolling again...

[Alpineandy]

Paul is currently homeless and workshop-less.
He still should have replied but I doubt it would heave been a helpful response.

Handy to know.

Still a bit interested in the Axel Ress option, I see he has some bodykits and stuff, not talking about a Carlos Fandango car, but he has a Fleischmann bumper and sideskirt set which looks quite nice.
Will give him a call maybe.

Unless anybody else knows another Fleischmann dealer ?

Hi Bob

there is a French bodyshop advertising fibreglass bodykits for different Alpine models , including GTA`s I think.

It could be worth giving them a call

+33 (0)6 85 76 03 40
+33 (0)4 66 45 55 87

carrosserimifsud@hotmail.fr
http://carrosserie-mifud.relaispro.com/ ... ,d,798.htm

I am putting the Lemans kit on mine and believe me it is not that simple to do any kit the rear arch is the worst, plus you have to make all the brackets up and bond them on, if you have no experience of body work and glass work think hard before spending.

I should know early next week if the moulds are still intact that make the bumpers and side skirts on RATS' Racer.Prima Racing kit.

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Tony Hart is going to check if they still exist this weekend and if so I'll be getting him to make a couple .

Were the moulds in brown plasticine ??

Aardmann_animations_with_Morth_and_Tony_Hart.jpg

Another lost legend

I don't really want to go full LeMans, just looking for something like this bumper/ sideskirt combo.
Tbh, skirts themselves might just be enough, as I say, don't want to be too radical.
Struggled to find a back bumper I like so far

Clee, once I get the engine priced up I will likely be in touch with you anyway if I have any £££ left, might change the windscreen & headlight glass when it's getting painted anyway, so might still be interested in any polycarb you have left.
Won't be in Blighty till July tho, booked in for the Silverstone classic..

That looks good but with my kit the bumpers are just plain on the back, you will see the difference when you remove the old one. It is down to you to get the brackets made and bonded in exactly the right place, the rear side ones are the worst, other wise the panel fit and gaps look bad, glee could confirm if this kit is the same, the side skirts are interesting to fit as well bottom door gap is the problem, you can't lift the door as it is to tight at the top and the grove line in the door goes out of line, it takes time and patience and you become really good at taking bumpers on and off.

Moulds located for the Prima kit.Anyone want a set or individuals?

Moulds located for the Prima kit.Anyone want a set or individuals?

Might be interested in side skirts at respray time. What sort of money are they?

Moulds located for the Prima kit.Anyone want a set or individuals?

Might be interested in side skirts at respray time. What sort of money are they?

Sort of my thoughts exactly.
Simon has the Fleischmann kit in stock, so it might all come down to cost for me

Motor is out and stripped.
Block itself looks ok, and heads look fine, but basically all the internals of the bottom end are junk.

Crank is deeply scored on the journal where the bearing spun. but every other journal has some scoring and wear, big ends and mains.. I'm not 100% but I think at least some of the big end bearings have been replaced already but on a scored crank, well, ticking bomb really.
Gonna have to look at the cams and stuff too, the oil was still nice and clean when I drained it but at some stage there's obviously been a crapola load of metal shavings circulating around there.

Pistons look useable, no carbon build up, just a bit of an oil coating, but at least 3 of the rods are goosed.
Liners, all have deep scores and scratches and 2 have deep pitting. Couldn't have been much compression in there.
Need to take them to work to have our NDT guy look at them but I'm not convinced any of them are salvageable

If this was an autopsy I'd say that at some stage in the distant past the subject skipped some oil changes and was subjected to very heavy use as well as being absolutely roasted a few times. The amount of gunk in there suggests it's seen a good few bottles of block sealer and Radweld in its time.

Pitting on the liners would suggest that it's stood for a good time with water in the bores and possibly even been seized and freed off.
Wondering if it might have been that action which started the accelerated wear on the crank.

Examining options at the moment but no matter what way I go it's going to be costly.
Certainly not going to be any RATS upgrade packages or Fleischmann body kits on it, lets put it that way. At the moment if it ever runs again, well, I'll settle for that.

Well, engine is finally rebuilt, installed and successfully fired up first turn of the key.
Just waiting for the weather to clear a bit to give it a little shakedown run to bed in the rings, then a bit of fettling
Set up the valve clearances as per book but they're quite noisy now so might close 'em up a nit.

Only real problem I have now is a stray wire. Lost all my "before" photos and the little marking tab must have got ripped off.
It comes off the starter/ alternator circuit, there's a branch of it has the wire to the fuel pump, reverse lights and this one, brown wire, about 1.0 mm with a male spade connector, length of it would suggest rear of gearbox area but can't see anything and can't remember where it came off.
Any ideas ?