Hi all,
Just a quick introduction as I'm new to this BB. My name is Steven and thanks to my mother I have a caffeine dependency from 'in utero'

Well this has led me down the obvious restoration path which bites us from time to time. My heritage is Italian and I was always fascinated with 60's Italian design. I sourced this Gaggia and it was one of the first machines I bought about 6 years ago. I always wanted a lever but ended up restoring 6 Faema E61s, 1 Faema President and now this is my last machine. Boy did I save the best piece of scrap iron (ferro vecchio) till last

I have pretty much stripped the machine to pieces. It was nice and original with all its bits, but had been sitting for a very long time. Hence the usual galvanic corrosion destroying steel bolts and studs. The boiler looked like it had been used it's whole life without a water filter, and had a small quarry full of lime and calcium sitting in it. The boiler has spent a year and a half in decalcifying solution to remove the last of the deposits. Literally it was like concrete. I just finished cleaning it last weekend.

In the meantime I have had the machine parts polished and rechromed back to it's former glory. The panels were straight and have come up beautifully (before and after pics still to come )

I have been reading through Lyndons Orione thread and wanted to create my own too. I found it very hard to find info on these classics when I first started a few years back, so the more info floating around the better for others attempting this task.

I'll try to get photos up this weekend. In the meantime I'll ask questions as they cone to mind.

Regards,
Steven

Ok, first question. The groups all came apart without too much drama. However the piston/shaft assy is the last of it all to come apart. They are well seized. One piston still has the spring seized into it and simply won't come out.

Before I render it all useless by applying blunt force trauma is there a method others have used to coax them apart?

Also, Doug from Orphan Espresso has shown me a pic of group parts still available for the Gaggia Lever group. Just in case the worst happens, are there many people who still have 2nd hand parts for these groups as well?

Thanks,
Steven.

Hi, Steven, i posted a few pic's on Lyndons thread showing the piston assembly.If the spring is that badly seized to piston, is either going to be re-usable? How much corrosion? You might be surprised at the low cost of replacement parts from OE - i was.From memory it was around $40-$50 for a piston, around the same for shafts.These come with new shower screens, one way valves etc, so are very good value.
Another alternative is a member on here called Heckie, he has some surplus Gaggia lever parts he bought when one of the distributors sold up.If you search on here for Heckie you'll find him , and send him a PM.

Good luck, Mike

Hi Mike,
thanks for the heads up. Buying new pistons and shafts seems like a good option. The pistons are not that bad, and the springs I never intended to reuse. I would like to reuse the shafts though if I can get them apart - Im not sure but do you know if the pinion grooves at the top of the shaft is the same pitch. Someone mentioned the pistons use a different pitch thread, so the piston and threaded sleeve would need to be replaced as a pair. Id have no hesitation in buying a new shaft too if I know for sure the pinion grooves are the same pitch.

Ill get some pictures up and Ill PM Doug tonight with a parts order. Its all pretty much ready to go back together now....

Thanks,
Steven.

Here are some of the before pics - overt your eyes if you have a squeamish demeanour....

Some shots of the dismantled group, still with the original asbestos gaskets...

The boiler needed some serious help....

Wow Steven! That poor guy looks like it's seen better days - thank god you came around to help him see some more!

Hi Steven, great pic's! Although i used new pistons and lower shafts, my upper shafts were in ok condition, so were re-used.The pinion grooves at the top of the shaft were the same on my machine.Your piston actually looks ok to be re-used, can't see the shaft, so not sure on that one.My lower shaft and pistons had a lot of corrosion, so replacement was the only option.
Interesting that your gasket stack already has one of the rubber V gaskets at the bottom.I've seen so many different versions of the gasket stack order, no wonder there is so much confusion about it.

kitt wrote:I've seen so many different versions of the gasket stack order, no wonder there is so much confusion about it.

Tell me about! I'm going to go with the way it is illustrated and fix (if need be) from there I guess.