I recently purchased a Gaggia Spagna 1952 which has never been used and I have begun the journey of recommissioning. Apparently it was a display model for a time then stored for many years. It is missing a few bits including the gauge assembly. If anyone knows where I might find one that would be great. In the meantime I've taken the top assembly out of one group and it indeed looks unused.

Looks like a longer journey than I anticipated but should be fun.





The missing gauge assembly. Pic courtesy of Ryan (IamOiman)

I'm unfamiliar with the seal assembly in the heads (third pic down). I'm assuming they are the early America type or the Spanish version? I have some of the later heads off a Tell. I might have a play and see if the assemblies are interchangeable.

I think it might be the o-ring-version.
I have a similar setup on a Swiss Mercurio with Gaggia-group:

That's the one! Makes it a lot clearer for me seeing it disassembled. There's also a seal for the cylinder at the top as well? I wonder if the head castings are the same over the years and the different assemblies are interchangeable. Thanks for posting, really appreciated.

And a correction to my missing gauge part. The bit missing is the part circled, not the entire assembly.

Incredible! I've seen Cher's (doubleOsoul) Faema Urania that was never used, now this treasure. Congratulations!

fabulous

Thanks.

I'm in the process of taking the boiler out so I can powdercoat the frame. I'm leaving the rest as original as practical. I was going to sand blast the boiler but as it was never used I only have to deal with 70 years of dust instead of gunk and scale.

Under the dust it looks like an even gray coating of some sort. You can see pin specks of copper underneath. Anyone know what this coating is? I'll not blast it I think, just leave it alone.


It really is a remarkable old machine. I now know how it feels to use a brand new gaggia lever. The movement is sublime.

May I dare to ask, why you intend to powdercoat the frame of a never used machine?

Because at 70 years paint is the most susceptible to age. There's a little surface rust in parts, mainly around the base and when I clean and polish everything else tired paint is going to annoy the bejeezes out of me.