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5 Posts
Hi everyone. my first post here and i really hope someone can help. bit of a long story but if you cant be bothered to read, the main question is the title.
i became the owner of a rhd 1968 1750 veloce last year (round tail) and having purchased in the UK, i drove with my italian girlfriend down to puglia, where im staying for the forseeable future.. (european insurance expires in september so i have to decide wether to a) get it registered here and keep it, b) get it registered here and sell it or c) drive it back to the uk and sell it.)
i love the car but its swallowing money in a way i cant quite handle, and im not so sure its a very suitable only car for us. (my gf is scared to drive it..)
anyway.. i rather naively thought that it would be much cheaper and easier to get parts for it here than in the uk.. wrong it seems!
the differential had the wrong oil put in by a very helpful mechanic, and became extremely noisy. after getting some money together i asked around, and was advised to get a complete rear axle rather than restoring.
mechanic i was with at the time told me he could get an LSD rear axle with 30k on it for 1000 euros. i wanted the LSD as an upgrade, but the price shocked me. so i asked around further. forget the internet here its all about "someone who knows somebody" etc.
at the same time the mechanic told me i needed a new gearbox because it was making a noise and wasnt safe to drive.
now thats a hell of a shopping list so i went to another highly recommended mechanic for a second opinion.
at the same time i found a guy who had a non LSD axle and a gearbox, both in good condition.. we negotiated down to 650 euros for both. which is an excellent price.
my (new) mechanic knows his mechanic, and they spoke. his mechanic vouched for the parts, as he had tested them before.
bearing in mind all this is through my girlfriend as my italian is pretty useless so far.
my new mechanic removed my diff and fitted the new one.
its knackered.
whines a bit less than he old one. but at very low speed it "ticks" and when its warm, at a very specific low speed (1 - 2 kph) it makes the whole car shudder. my mechanic assured me (not having experienced the shudder) that its just a noise so its ok until an alternative is found.
he also replaced the rubber skirt on the gear lever and the gearbox noise went away.
yesterday on a long drive i slowed to a stop in traffic. when i tried to pull away the whole car shook violently up to about 5 kph, so i pulled over. got towed back to my garage.
so now i have 2 broken differentials and a gearbox i dont need (condition unknown)
the guy who sold me the stuff is "away on business" and his mechanic seems quite confused as he still swears the parts were fine, but agrees having driven in my car that the diff is knackered.
all i have is the (very slim) hope that when the guy returns next week ( supposedly) he will give me a refund.
which leaves my car without a rear end.
now as far as i know, the LSD one for 1000 euros is still available, but im really scared to get burned again, and if i dont get a refund on the last, this is unaffordable anyway.
so im asking about restoration prices. oh dear.
only place i found that will do it, is Afra, in Milan. they asked 1600 euros to restore my differential !?!?!?
anyone "knows anyone who knows someone"?! im going crazy here.
i became the owner of a rhd 1968 1750 veloce last year (round tail) and having purchased in the UK, i drove with my italian girlfriend down to puglia, where im staying for the forseeable future.. (european insurance expires in september so i have to decide wether to a) get it registered here and keep it, b) get it registered here and sell it or c) drive it back to the uk and sell it.)
i love the car but its swallowing money in a way i cant quite handle, and im not so sure its a very suitable only car for us. (my gf is scared to drive it..)
anyway.. i rather naively thought that it would be much cheaper and easier to get parts for it here than in the uk.. wrong it seems!
the differential had the wrong oil put in by a very helpful mechanic, and became extremely noisy. after getting some money together i asked around, and was advised to get a complete rear axle rather than restoring.
mechanic i was with at the time told me he could get an LSD rear axle with 30k on it for 1000 euros. i wanted the LSD as an upgrade, but the price shocked me. so i asked around further. forget the internet here its all about "someone who knows somebody" etc.
at the same time the mechanic told me i needed a new gearbox because it was making a noise and wasnt safe to drive.
now thats a hell of a shopping list so i went to another highly recommended mechanic for a second opinion.
at the same time i found a guy who had a non LSD axle and a gearbox, both in good condition.. we negotiated down to 650 euros for both. which is an excellent price.
my (new) mechanic knows his mechanic, and they spoke. his mechanic vouched for the parts, as he had tested them before.
bearing in mind all this is through my girlfriend as my italian is pretty useless so far.
my new mechanic removed my diff and fitted the new one.
its knackered.
whines a bit less than he old one. but at very low speed it "ticks" and when its warm, at a very specific low speed (1 - 2 kph) it makes the whole car shudder. my mechanic assured me (not having experienced the shudder) that its just a noise so its ok until an alternative is found.
he also replaced the rubber skirt on the gear lever and the gearbox noise went away.
yesterday on a long drive i slowed to a stop in traffic. when i tried to pull away the whole car shook violently up to about 5 kph, so i pulled over. got towed back to my garage.
so now i have 2 broken differentials and a gearbox i dont need (condition unknown)
the guy who sold me the stuff is "away on business" and his mechanic seems quite confused as he still swears the parts were fine, but agrees having driven in my car that the diff is knackered.
all i have is the (very slim) hope that when the guy returns next week ( supposedly) he will give me a refund.
which leaves my car without a rear end.
now as far as i know, the LSD one for 1000 euros is still available, but im really scared to get burned again, and if i dont get a refund on the last, this is unaffordable anyway.
so im asking about restoration prices. oh dear.
only place i found that will do it, is Afra, in Milan. they asked 1600 euros to restore my differential !?!?!?
anyone "knows anyone who knows someone"?! im going crazy here.