Piaggio APE E 400 (175) - South Africa

[madhatter987]

Hi Ken,

Thanks. Your white ape looks great. I want to do something very similar.
This evening I want to possibly take off the cab roof...but there are some bolts that are completely stripped and rusted solid. Yip, rust is a problem here will pay secial attention to that... Thanks for the advice.

[kjjohnson]

Gentle use of a grinding disc can help with removal of rusted bolts, otherwise use sockets and twist the smaller ones which will either give or break. As you're working on the Ape remember the rusted areas which will be a problem in the future and give them special treatment for rust control. The product in the attached photo was recommended by my local body shop, the folks who do the painting of my Ape's. Great for tight areas. Also use white lithium grease for hinges and non painted bolts. Good luck. Ken

[madhatter987]

Hi All,

Thanks Ken, I used the grinder, ever so gently and had a spare pair of helping hands(Dads).
I have taken the cab top off...It looks even smaller now...Have better access to the engine now to remove it.
I will be taking it off my little bee and then clean, service and when she is resprayed and beautiful on the outside I'll install it and she will be beautiful on the inside too... I am getting even more excited now, except when I peel off body putty by the tons
Any way, attached are some photos of last nights work...

[kjjohnson]

Great progress. How does your Dad feel about Ape restoration? A short course in panel beating (just ask Olandese Volante about his experiences) will reduce the amount of body filler required to prepare for finishing. Press on, and have a look at this tutorial from New Zealand. - Ken - http://hot-vehicles.com/video/video/LdL ... iller.html

[madhatter987]

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the link, that is amazing. An art to say the least.
I think it is a little to advanced for me at the moment, but will keep that in mind.
How goes your projects?

[kjjohnson]

I'm not a panel beater either. The boys at our local body shop do that for me, but it's necessary to understand the process and the work involved and of course the correct way of doing things. You can see in the video that by reducing that dent, finishing is relatively simple instead of just filling the hollow with body filler. We're in the middle of restoring an 1852 stone farmhouse so very busy at work and not too much time for the restoration of the P501. There should be quite a few useful tips in "Vespcar Restoration" on my website which is the process of restoring a P501 in process, have a look. - Ken

[ApeOperaiando]

greate work in progress....do you like play with lego? because reassemble the Ape it's similar!

[madhatter987]

Hello,
Yes, I played with lego and meccano alot when I was a child...
I am struggling with the engine removal though, I want to try something tonight after work and see if that works out, if not I will really need some advice. Wow Ken that house looks really cool. I'd like to see it when its done.

This weekends progress - Removed every bolt I can see holding the engine to the body.
- Labled more wiring.
- Did some light sketching of the different colour schemes to paint the Ape in.
- Asked Girlfriends opinion on colours - Still deciding.

Well, tonight we will see how the engine removal goes...
Thanks again to everyone on this forum for making it what it is...with out you it would be a harder task to restore my lil Ape.

[madhatter987]

AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH....
Guys, please I need your advice and help.
I have taken off the cover, the gear, the chain and then removed the cir-clip.
Now, How do I remove the axel to free the engine and gear box exactly???
Please help guys...
I don't know what to do at this point.

I'll put photos up tomorrow.
Thanks guys.

[mondoape]

You had to extract axels. See here: http://apepiaggio.altervista.org/apepia ... ?f=6&t=770 and here http://apepiaggio.altervista.org/apepia ... ?f=6&t=299 , but it is italian only.

[kjjohnson]

You better familiarize yourself with some of the Manuals on my website. Use " SDL Free Translation" and you'll get the gist of what's being said in Italian. - The guys will help you, I have no experience with the chain drive versions, but many on this site do. Ken

[madhatter987]

Hello my friends...

Thank you all for the help and advice.
I will do this, I must make the extractor tool this evening...
The engine doesnt want to release from the gearbox, I have loosened all the relevant bolts but it wont budge as you can see below. Have an idea involving a g-clamp will try tonight...
There are two things that are orange that seem made of soft metal and I don't want to damage them, how do you go about exxtracting them??must I remove or loosen them before pulling the axels?

[madhatter987]

Hi Guys,

is the orange and black nut looking thing a left or a right thread??

[mondoape]

Try to fix the gearbox and rotate the engine to extract it. You need the follow tool to unscrew (anticlockwise) the orange and black nut. The nuts are independent from the axels. I hope you understand my bad english.

[madhatter987]

Thank you so much... i will be looking for that tool...
I know of a very good tool shop...
Your english is way better than my Italian... thank you for the help.
So if i look at the top of the nut at the axel it goes to the left, so its a normal thread correct??
That would make it anti-clockwise correct.
Will try the g-lamp on the gearbox and loosen the motor.

Thank you.
GRAZI.