Our Cars: 1988 Lancia Delta Integrale 8V
26 August 2012: Disaster at the first service...
It was supposed to be a straightforward plan: service the Integrale with my mate Mike Humble, bleed the brrakes, adjust the handbrake, and clutch cable, tighten down the loose driver's seat, and change all the fluids. And it all did start swimmingly - as these things always do.
First to sort some niggles which had been annoying me since I bought and started driving the car back in May. The brakes were okay, but the pedal quite low and soft, so it was clear I could do with dumping the fluid, and getting them all bled out. Also, the obstructive gearchange wasn't being helped by the misadjusted clucth pedal, which was far too low for its own - and my - good.
Mike tinkered under the bonnet to get the clutch cable sorted, while I randomly pumped at the pedal. Rather worryingly, the cable seems to have stretched slightly, meaning the only way to get it within tolerances was to pack the gearbox end with a couple of spacers. Time to order a new cable. No problems - these things are apparently like service items on Integrales, and so many owners actually have a spare packed in the boot for the moment when theirs goes twang. I will do the same.
The driver's seat needed some fettling too. There were a few bolts and spacers missing, which we managed to sort out from odds and sods I have in the garage.
Then to the brakes. Because the car has rebuilt calipers (below), all the bleed nipples released without hitch - and so the process began. Me, pumping the pedal, and Mike bleeding out the air from the system. It all seemed to be going so well, with the pedal firming up nicely, when I Mike shouts 'bugger'.
And just as suddenly, the pedal sinks to the floor. The 'pop' that I thought I'd imagined was real alright. The brake line, just below the cylinder had ruptured through corrosion, and fluid was leaking out, all pressure gone. A quick looked proved the worst - the pipe was irrepairable, and without a brake line flaring tool, I was screwed anyway. Game over. Mike looked almost as gutted as I did!
So I now have an unstoppable Integrale - and I'm not going anywhere now without a game-plan.
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