This is the second of two concurrent topic threads I'll be doing to account for the two machines that arrived today!

After two weeks in Portuguese customs I finally received my La Pavoni P67. I was specifically keeping an eye out for this model after missing one on sale a few years back, and I am very excited to learn new skills from it. It is in need of some work cosmetically and functionally, and all the bits and bobs are present except for the power switch knob. Even the original asbestos is present and even though it is in shockingly good condition the Pavoni will not come inside until it is removed properly and safely

I'll probably need to rechrome the hot water wand and steam wand but I hope to keep everything else original if possible.

Cool La Pavoni!

Is it a HX?
Dipper?
Or opened loop HX like the Lambro?

It's a dipper

That is really cool, what a nice find.

Note: Asbestos can be dangerous to work with. If in doubt consult a hazardous waste expert regarding removal and disposal.

Some delayed response as I worked on the Lambro and the wait for a nice windy day to take off the asbestos. I wore goggles, a P100 filter mask, and had ample water while removing the asbestos from the three red panels on the Pavoni. The asbestos required a paint scrapper, with the rear panel being the easiest to take off while the side panels were more difficult to chip away due to some rust. I immediately changed clothes after and showered to minimize any fibers from exposing me. The asbestos was stored in a bag then bagged a further two times along with any other materials that touched asbestos directly, and shall be disposed of as dictated by my town code.

If I keep the panels in original condition I will cover the inside surface with a clearcoat silicone sealant to trap any potential lingering fibers. For the time being they are being stored enclosed in plastic bags.



To take off these panels there is a screw on each side of the front. Taking it off allows the side panels to slip out. The rear panel requires the frame for the panels to be partially disassembled. There are two L-brackets on top securing the pieces with three screws each. There are a further six screws on the lower part of the panel frame, two per side. Unscrewing all of them allows the panel frame to be taken off the machine and further disassembled into individual pieces, but more importantly allows the rear red panel to be taken off. The scews are in poor condition but luckily I could remove them all.




The boiler and pipes appear to be in decent condition. I will have a horrible interesting time removing the heating element bolts but the boiler lid and group bolts do not look too rusty. I will need to ensure I do not break the aluminum rings as unlike Faema machines the Pavoni rings are essentially unobtanium as spares. The machine is configured without a p-stat, rather there is a high-low configuration installed for 1kW and 300W for a total of 1300W. It appeared to be primarily used as a gas powered machine. The capped off fitting on the manometer side is presumably where the p-stat pipe would connect. This means I will get to make a new pipe for the first time!






I did not see a stamp on the boiler but the heating elements are dated from April of 1967. The group has an ID of L1147 on the neck and a serial number of SC 3559 on the tag

I have been experimentally testing to see how difficult it would be to remove the fittings and bolts on the Pavoni. So far everything loosens with a light rap of a dead strike hammer. Many of the fittings and bolts are 17mm at quite a surprising percentage.

I took off the upper group. There are two chromed screws on each side of the decorative lever cap and four allen bolts securing the upper group to the lower group that need a 4mm allen wrench. The upper group slorped out with some residual water in the group and it is quite caked in grease. I would not recommend the amount the prior owner slathered on it . The sleeve inside looks really good and I will keep it as is. The shutoff valve came off without hassle as well. The piston has two holes on the bottom like my Boema and my Bosco. I will see if I can get a proper tool to unscrew it if there is difficulty removing the lever pin to fork.






The two handles come off by loosening a screw on the side of each handle and then pulling them out. The steam and hot water wands will be rechromed.

Can you show a picture of the piston surface? On the older Pavoni group, the 2-hole plate is a lid for the hollow piston and 2 hexnuts can be unscrewed inside to detach the piston from the rod.





Later on, you might find markings like this on the rod, showing the side at wich to enter the pin - I miss that little engineering everytime when working on a Faema

Good observation Holger, but it appears my piston is the newer version that unscrews the whole piston. However, since there is so much grease I do not believe there will be much resistance to unscrewing the piston.


The group comes off with four M10 chromed nuts (17mm heads). A light tap with a mallet releases the group from the gasket. It measures to be 55 x 25mm, which is wider in OD than the spare one sold by others (45 x 25mm). The dipper appears to unsrew from the back but I am hesistant to attempt taking it off after seeing another machine's dipper get sheared off. The M10 flange bolts appear to be in good condition and I plan on reusing them if possible.




All the pipes came off from the boiler afterwards along with the valves, manometer, and water level. Note the hot water valve has two thread sizes while the steam tap has a single size. Once everything is off the backsplash simply pops off.





Finally, the boiler may be removed from the frame. It is connected via two bolts to the frame and also one bracket to the boiler lid. All of the boiler nuts could be taken off, and with some tapping of the mallet the lid popped off. Looking inside there is not very much scale at all! I hope to remove as many fittings remaining on the lid and boiler as I can, and also take off the heating elements. More to come in the following week.

I've been working on getting all the bolts and fittings off the boiler and boiler lid. I was able to take off the boiler to group M10 bolts pretty easily, however when I began working on the heating element bolts I ran into my first significant roadblock. I'd been letting the bolts soak for a bit and I've been heating the bolts from the inside of the lid where their threads lie to see if I could loosen them up.

It worked for one bolt, the other five beat me. I probably should have stopped at some point but I was a little stubborn, which may cost me. The good news is the snapped bolts stick out enough from the flange I can fit a pair of vise grips. When I get the heating elements off and soak the lid in its acid bath I will see if I can coax the studs out with extra heat. If that fails I am finally faced with a drilling and tapping situation after seven projects!



The water level is pretty simple, just two elbow fittings with a circuilar nut that compresses the gasket against the sight glass. They still make the gaskets and glass since the Pavoni P90 uses this same assembly. I got it apart by fixing the round nut in the vise and using a 24mm wrench to unscrew the elbow fitting.



I ordered a face spanner tool set for the piston. I'll be working on that when it arrives but I hope it does not take much coaxing to unscrew that piston, mostly due to how well lubricated the shaft is

I got all the valves disassembled while working on the Lambro in tandem. When I loosened the 23mm nut holding the hot water and steam valve, to my surprise I discovered the internals are the old style screw cams seen on early Faema and Gaggia valves. There is a large strand of roped hemp material packed into the 23mm nut, and a 7mm nut to keep the valve gasket in place I have not measured the gasket for it but I bet I can find something for this. It is pretty cool this valve design was still in use even in the late 60's.




The water inlet yielded to me on the vise. The pipe is stuck due to scale buildup, but the inside of the inlet is pretty simple, with a spring loaded valve and one gasket.