Coming back home: more parts needed
(October 2017)
As I mentioned in the page about the 'Bernina Gran Turismo' event, the 403's radiator did suddenly leak some water while driving up the Bernina Pass itself. We found out later that the source of this water as the relief valve on the radiator, but we couldn't understand why it did that, as its temperature was not high at all.
The real mystery, however, is why the refrigerating liquid simply kept disappearing from the 403's radiator (I added 4 litres of the stuff in several reprises while driving at an altitude between 1900-2300 metres just to maintain it barely visible in the rad) even if there was no visible leak after that first episode and the water temperature was always around 65°C-75°C, tested also with an IR thermometer pointed at the top of the radiator. Then, when we got back to an altitude of 300-400 metres and then almost sea level for the trip back home, no liquid was necessary anymore.
I must thank J.D. Classics' very kind guys for lending me a can of radiator leak stopper, it was a great help just to have it as a safety measure as I was worried that a leak could develop and force me to stop the 403
This is how we travelled from Sankt Moritz to Bologna, at 60-70 mph the oil/water temperature and oil pressure were always perfect. Or was the water temp too low...?
I had some trouble with the starter motor in Engadin when starting the 403 in the morning. Not a good thing in Sankt Moritz, where temperatures are already below 0°C!
When I got back, we found that we were quite lucky to have been able to make it to Bologna; the starter motor was in fact worn out (it was one of the very few parts that I hadn't changed yet....) and was almost gone by now
The original, non-pre-engaged starter motor. The pinion is pushed by centrifugal force to slide out and engage the engine's flywheel
This is the pre-engaged motor that Marco Gordini fitted to the 403. It is quite difficult to notice the difference with the original one and it works much better, being also easier on the engine's flywheel
During the Sankt Moritz-Bologna return leg of the trip, in the heavy rain from Bernina to Poschiavo, I lost the LH windscreen wiper....the fixing sytem of these must be the most ineffective I've ever seen
This the complete surviving wiper arm and blade
The length is 39 cms or 15 inches
4 October 2017
4th October is San Petronio, the Saint Protector of Bologna so it's holiday in my city. I took advantage of this day off to collect the 403, repaired by Gordini after the Bernina trip.
The 403 is a joy to drive along leafy lanes near Faenza, now that she has a new starter motor, six fresh spark plugs and other detail improvements
