Looking into the bolts and fittings, I am doing a mixed solution where some are new stainless steel parts while some will be original, with preference for using the latter if possible. One thing to note is there are quite a few pieces that are M4, but do not use the standard coarse pitch of 0.7. Rather it's 0.75, and I had to measure this a few times to confirm. This affects the pieces attaching the grille pieces to the frame mostly, but the M4 bolts that sheared off are ok because they can be replaced with modern M4 bolts with the corresponding nuts.

I decided to just throw them in the magnetic tumbler to see what would happen. It actually did a decent job considering the pieces mostly clumped towards the center of the bowl, and they came out mostly clean with some lingering crud in the threads. A few non ferrous pieces where cleaned up too. The bigger bolts use modern coarse pitches so I could use my die to clean some of the gunked M6 threaded bolts.








I intend to reuse all of the bolts that go to the upper part of the frame. The front flat headed bolts that connect the boiler to the upper frame will be modern stainless steel replacements because the original were really knackered and I was not comfortable with reusing them. I also noted the number on the group flange is not 5651 but rather 3651.





I also disassembled the cup tray. The plexi is attached via six chromed acorn hex bolts. Four of these bolts also secure a metal support piece against the plexi. This metal piece is a little tensioned, so take care not to allow it to press against the bolts while loosening them. The plexi has two cracks but they were already present when I purchased the machine and are not a result of damages while in transit.






There is a front decorative piece secured by two small brass bolts. Finally, the square pieces containing the threads for the acorn hex bolts can be taken off to fully take apart the cup tray. I think at this point I am over halfway through this project. I commissioned my metal guy to make a replica radiator fitting in brass as well to replace the ferrous original. Most of the remaining work is cleaning up/hand polishing the exterior panels and making sure I can acquire the needed gaskets.

the cleaned-up boiler looks fantastic in the frame

I got two small shipments in today for parts. The first one was a set of o rings I guestimated for the group sleeve and the upper group. Based off the measurements I see that 60x4mm (silicone) for the group sleeve and 62x3mm (viton) for the upper group are promising. They fit really well I thought but it will only be verified under testing conditions. They did not have silicone for the latter, hence it being viton. There was a third o ring order just in case the other two did not fit right. I also realized an IMS shower screen fits near perfectly on the group sleeve, so I am very much considering using it over the original one that relies on the partially damaged lip to secure itself.








The other order was some nuts, screws, and washers for the lower frame, which I could start mating with the chrome skirt. I also purchased replacement bearings for the originals as they were really crunchy and dry. The measurements are 35x15x11mm, so I ordered a set of 6202-2RS bearings. Other parts are in process from eevad and TSE, and the only remaining parts I am trying to source still are the boiler gasket and the v-gasket for the group piston rod. I am also considering installing a ceramic terminal block where I can fit an M5 screw/bolt on the frame, we'll see how it fits when I am ready for final assembly.

I finally managed to pop out the old gasket on the top part of the lower group casting to seal the piston assembly in this saturated group. It was just as dried out and disgusting as the identical gasket seen on the group sleeve (68x58x3mm). It needed to come out since penetrating oil was absorbed by it, and it required heating the gasket up to help coax it out. In the end it came out in pieces with the aid of my little picks. After cleaning it up I needed a thicker o-ring to fit the 2mm slot where the gasket seats, 58mm x 3.5mm.








The primary parts order for this machine came in from Eevad that contained a new heating element and a few other seals that I did not have on hand. It was made in 2005, which tells me these are not ordered very often! It was hella cheap at just under €18 https://www.eevad.com/en/heater-element ... 06235.html.

The boiler gasket was kindly made by Pascal, who also provided a v seal for the piston rod and the new thicker o rings. In the future I hope to make my own gaskets, and I purchased a cutting tool for the task that should arrive soon. I am waiting for a parts order from TSE (that contains 53mm piston seals) and a replacement radiator fitting to be made by my metal guy. Then I can proceed with full assembly and testing.

NICE!

You may be able to glue the cracks in the plexi using some chloroform or plexiglass glue and drilling a small hole to stop the crack, but DO try on a piece you do not need first.

I will simply observe and see if the cracks will enlarge before taking action

I also forgot to show here the cleaned up panels and cup tray. It will look great when it all comes together I think!

I'm sure it'll look superb!

I am still waiting for the TSE order, it was shipped about a week ago but it usually takes a few weeks to arrive. Unfortunately the machinist tasked with remaking the radiator fitting suffered a family member death and will not be working for a bit, so this project will be pushed back for a while. The manometer was cleaned up today to pass the time. It comes apart like most other Faema manometers, two tiny flathead screws (M2 threads I guestimated) that allow the bezel and glass to pop out. I did not touch much inside outside of some gentle cleaning as the bourbon tube and the internal mechanism was in good shape. The most work done was taking off the old nasty hemp thread sealant, followed by polishing the bezel with Sidol and glass with Windex.








A few lingering pieces were cleaned in the tumbler. I intend to use the old heating element terminal bars on the new element, and surprisingly they are plated brass.


While I am in this sluggish period I have been cleaning up the work area in preparation for the arrival of my next projects. The boxes on the top of the rivet shelving are the original bits of various machines for myself or on the off chance I ever let go of them for the new owner so they have everything on hand. I am also starting to organize my parts into little bins since I often forget I have certain parts and order the same part again.

I received my last parts order needed for the Marte from TSE (the 53mm piston seals), and I could assemble the group.


I first wet sanded the group sleeve bore where the piston seals will rest against with 1000 1500 2000 and 3000 grit. Afterwards I screwed the sleeve with the 60x4mm silicone o ring using the piston tool to as tight as I could by hand only.


I then focused on the upper group/piston assembly. The piston seals can be installed by hand after warming them up in hot water. The lever fork had new bearings pressed in the lever fork without too much trouble, and even though the bearings are now sealed, I still reinstalled the little washers that covered the original exposed bearings with the c rings to stop them from falling off. I checked afterwards if there was any play from wear, and did not note much at all to be a concern. I lubricated the fork area with my Kynetx grease. However, for the piston rod I used DOW 111 after talking with a few people because the design of the saturated group results in the piston rod to be in contact with brew water, and did not want to have health risks even if my Kynetx grease is food safe. With the piston rod inserted with Dow 111 the piston rod gasket and its cap could go on next. Finally, the original spring was pre-compressed by 1 inch to allow me to start hand threading the piston on the rod followed by a pin c wrench.






The upper group now can be installed into the lower group housing. After lubing the group sleeve with more Dow and installing the upper o-ring I could insert the upper group into the group bore and tighten the M6 slotted bolts. There will be a little gap between the upper group and lower group by design. The very bottom of the group sleeve does not interact with the piston seals, but there is not too much headspace between the piston and showerscreen. I am using an IMS 200 screen and a Cafelat pf gasket. They fit wonderfully without issue.





The last step was installing the bearing retainers. I need to lock the group in the down position so I can thread them in, which is the purpose of the little notches in the lever fork. Besides that I just need to find my knife to trim the lower rubber stopper (the same ones on the zodiac group) and install the shutoff valve to complete assembly. I held off installing the shutoff valve because the rod would be supporting the group's weight since it sticks out lower than the bottom of the group casting.

All this work is impressive, good stuff Ryan.