21 December 2018
An upgrade I had planned since some time is the fitting of an electric fuel pump in place of the original AC (mechanical) that gave us several problems and requires to spin the starter for several seconds before sending to the Solexes the fuel needed to fire the engine. The fuel pump (on the left, blue cap) is near the fuel filter and is invisible from above; the modification is obviously reversible
The new electric pump has been fitted next to the fuel filter, but it is invisible from above, so the engine bay has not been cluttered. The original AC pump has been removed and preserved in a box if it was ever necessary to re-fit it for originality's sake. After the fitting of the electric pump, starting improved no end; now you just wait a few seconds for the familiar slowing down of the 'tick-tick' of the pump and the engine fires up at once
Turn on the volume, please...
This is the bolt holding the battery's positive clamp, corroded by acid fumes of the old-style battery
The bolt was changed with one more acid-resistant and duly greased
The vintage-style battery is excellent though it shows some microscopic leaks around the positive electrode, causing the accumulation of unsightly lumps of oxide. Marco Gordini told me that an ancient remedy for this was to put some ancient '5 Lire' coins (very cheap aluminum) on the battery; these acted as neutralyzer of the acid fumes. Being a sucker for anything like ancient cures and bush doctors' therapies, I urged him to to do it on thr 403. The 5 Lira coins are impossible to find now, so he adapted some rectangular aluminum plates....
