Hi All,

I just purchased a 16 cup 'La Cara' lever espresso machine from E-bay. It appears similar to the professional models, but does not have a pressure gauge. I googled around the net for a while and found that it may or may not have been produced by La Pavoni, but is mostly identical in design. Also, it most certainly came through Thomas Cara ltd. in San Francisco. Does anybody know the precise story on these machines? I'm looking for the following info:

How do I tell the date of manufacture?
What gasket set do I need?
Was it manufactured in italy by pavoni, and re-labeled for import to the US?
How is it different from the pavonis of the era?

Any information will be appreciated! I'll give Thomas Cara ltd. a call on monday to see what information i can dig up there.

cheers,
dan r.

An update:

I e-mailed a la cara owner who was very kind in giving me some good advice. He says that the La Cara was manufactured by 'a spanish branch of la pavoni' and imported through T. Cara in SF until the early 80s. The gaskets for the grouphead are identical to pavoni, but the disassembly of the grouphead is very different. He also sent directions along, and i'll likely post pictures on the process when i get my gasket set. The bad news is that the heating elements are not interchangeable with pavoni, and no longer available! Happily, i seem to have dodged that bullet for the time being.

This CG post seems to verify the heating element issue.

I'm currently taking the machine apart for a cleaning, and hope to have pictures soon. My current problem is that there are three fasteners between the boiler and the base that are of a type i've never seen before. They are like flat, round nuts with a slot cut in the top. I imagine i need a two-pronged flat-head screw driver to take them off, and might not be able to fabricate such an item until this weekend. Does anybody know what these guys are called, or where i could get a tool for removing them? If I can source a digital camera, i'll add pictures.

cheers,
dan r.

Those nuts require a spanner type socket or screw driver- Use that term and search some tool sites like Harbor Freight Tools or similar. That should get you closer than using a pair of needle nose pliers

That should get you closer than using a pair of needle nose pliers Wink

You know my style Mo

Seriously though, I took a good long look at the base and decided the tin worm was probably going to be fatal anyhow. With that in mind, I broke out the cold chisel and did some persuading. As it turns out, I was more than right about the base, its a lost cause, and was BARELY holding up the boiler anyhow. If nothing comes to mind, i'll break out the welder this weekend and fabricate something up...I'm thinking sort of a war-of-the worlds motif. I know something like that was posted here somewhere!

I also spoke to Chris Cara earlier today-he was very helpful, yet simultaneously condescending (asked how old I was at one point?). Maybe its a SF thing? Anyhow, his first words were 'You need to get your money back' and the second set was 'parts are no longer available.' When pressed, he admitted that the pavoni piston gaskets will work fine, yet the gasket that goes between the portafilter and the group will not. Also, the brass sleeve that screws into the grouphead is also no longer made, and frequently needs to be replaced.

He said this about the history of the machine: His father had them produced in spain from sometime after 1946 up to 25 years ago when he (thomas) was sued by pavoni. There are at least two series of machines, one with a sloping boiler top, and one with a stepped top. Mine is a slopped top, and is of the first series, perhaps from the mid/early 60s. If I was to speculate, i'd say the change from series one to two was caused by pressure from pavoni-the changes seem to try differentiate the machine from the pavoni brand/look. They all had grey bases and white cords, and there is no way to narrow the date down beyond that. I closed the conversation by asking him to post the history of the machine on the internet, but he just chuckled-perhaps he thought I was kidding?

Anyway, I've taken a liking to this orphaned machine (No longer loved! Cast out by the son of his creator!) and will probably see the restoration/modification through. Hope to install some camera software tomorrow so you guys will believe me when i say how much scale build-up there is!

cheers,
dan rotigel

Dan Rotigel wrote:
You know my style Mo

Seriously though, I took a good long look at the base and decided the tin worm was probably going to be fatal anyhow. With that in mind, I broke out the cold chisel and did some persuading. As it turns out, I was more than right about the base, its a lost cause, and was BARELY holding up the boiler anyhow. If nothing comes to mind, i'll break out the welder this weekend and fabricate something up...I'm thinking sort of a war-of-the worlds motif. I know something like that was posted here somewhere!
....................................
cheers,
dan rotigel

You might give Will a email / call at http://www.espressorepair.com ( Home Espresso Repair) in Seattle- He is as friendly as can be and might have a spare base. He services alot of lever machines and would not be too greedy about a used base. He is highly recommended!!! I know you want to fire up the torch, but make a alter for you machine to sit on instead

P.S. on the scale- go to a home-brewing store and buy yourself some citric acid -cheap - mix it up strong - maybe three or four tbls with a full boiler and fire that puppy up! If you can't fire it up- Boil some water and fill her up. It may take a few times but get her up to temp and then turn off. Let her sit and keep at it. We'll use our imagination till you get upto speed on the digital software How old are you----Cara told me to ask

Ha! I'm 23 for pete's sake! Obviously too young to operate one of T. Cara's bespoke machines...

I rustled up some citric acid from a pharmacy (we get our beer from pabst cans here in applachia...) and the heating element is getting a bath on the stove as i type. I'm cycling it up to about 140F and letting it cool off; seems to be cutting the stuff well.

Also picked up iLife 04 (yeah baby!). The machine is stripped down to the grouphead:

Ugly boiler-



Dead Base-



To be or not to be?



La Cara-



Also waiting for a response from will on the base-i'm willing to keep this thing stock if possible. I should have a jig made up this weekend to unscrew the brass sleeve from the grouphead. I was actually thinking that a Portafilter with two pins drilled through it would make an excellent tool to remove the brass sleeve-you can see one of the holes and the sleeve itself in this picture- the whole thing apparently unscrews.



Nobody local is replying to e-mails about gasket questions, so i'm going to pull the trigger on a 13 gasket set for a pavoni tonight and see what lines up and what doesn't for myself. There is a hole in the back of the la cara for a h20 line-is this standard for the pavoni professional? Also, were the early professionals done with welded pieces to hold the sight glass, or were they always bolt-on items?

Probably no updates till the weekend.

cheers,
dan rotigel

I'm told if you google the news groups, you'll find info in the alt.coffee archive. Use "La Cara" "mini-marcfi" and "la graziella" which are the names under which the machine was sold.

As far as Will at Home Espresso repair- you might spend the money on a phone call as well, he is busy with people in the door and they are a small operation. You can get lost on email sometimes. You most likely can ask him about the best way to go on the gasket kit- He is the man!!

luck to ya

The restoration rolls on, albeit after a move to Florida. The grouphead was disassembled with a super-specialty tool made with a steel pipe and a grinding wheel, i'll toss some pics in a bit. Anybody who isn't interested in the nitty-gritty of a la-cara can skip the next paragraph. The piston gaskets are straight Pavoni, and the same instructions apply after you remove the piston from the copper insert. DO NOT follow the pavoni instructions of pressing the piston out the bottom of the grouphead, use the method below or you will ruin the shower screen. There are two gaskets in the grouphead that don't appear to have pavoni equivalents, one at the top and bottom of the screw-in copper insert. Both are square gaskets, the first one (on the top of the copper insert) appears to be 2mm high, 4mm thick and 5.0cm id. The second (on the bottom of the screw, the PF rests on it) is 6mm high 5mm wide and 4.8cm id. I have them on order from 123seals.com and should hear back next week. The copper insert can be unscrewed from the grouphead like this:

1. Turn the grouphead upside down on the boiler so the latter serves as a work stand.
2. Take a pipe that is the approximate size of the PF and grind everything down except for two nipples on opposite sides of the pipe diameter.
3. After taking out the gasket that the PF seals against, you should see two holes in the copper insert that the pipe will fit into.
4. Stick it in there and un-screw it.

Now, for the question. There are two seals between the boiler and the boilerplate that holds the heating element. What sort of sealant goes between these seals? The material looks like headgasket material, but I'm a little leery of using automotive sealant on something that i drink out of. Any ideas?

cheers,
dan r.

Almost forgot-my father broke out his trusty fiberglass fender kit and went nuts with the base. Appropriately, its currently primer grey, but the repairs are strong and even waterproof! I'm thinking of going with a Ferrari motif and using crinkle paint on the base.