Yes. Calling them is the plan. That raised rim on the new group can also be trimmed off on a lathe, plus as you say, the disc "could" be made. At the moment the plan is to replace the worn out PF, and install a silcone gasket in either 8 or 8.5mm, both of which have a flat face where the PF seals, vs. the ramped face that the OEM gasket has. If that cures the problem, I'll leave it as-is, because it will be plenty good enough for an occasional shot here at home.

I'm waiting for a few parts from Pasquini, but otherwise, the machine is up and running, and works great. It's a lot of fun to use, and I love the size of it.

austinado16 wrote:image

I stumbled across what appeared to be a nice, one-owner, 90S a couple weeks ago. It was being sold because it no longer controlled it's pressure, and an attempt at repair, had failed. It's arrived and I'm looking forward to learning about it, repairing it, and of course, making some espresso. While waiting for it to arrive, I found a non-working Salvatore "Italia" SES grinder that I think will look nice along side the Livia. I laughed when it arrived, because it's literally the guts of an ASCASO 54mm flat burrs grinder that this guy (a boutique shop in the tourist community of Solvang, CA) has very crudely "reboxed" into an internal fame of his own making, and a stainless metal skin that he bends up.
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Thanks for sharing your rebuild - I really like the Livia 90. I have a very nice badged portafilter that needs a home (DM me if interested). I repaired and sold one of these a while back.

Thanks gentlemen.

Hankbates: I just emailed espresso-underground, and asked them if their bell is flat on top, if they'll ship to the US. I have a friend in London, if they don't. If it's flat, I'll definitely buy it, because I would actually like for this machine to be "really nice" when I'm done with it.

Flint: thanks for the offer on the PF. At the moment, I'm thinking that I'd like to have a traditional looking one that just has the round, stepped, black handle. I've seen the ergonomic shaped one on the Pasquini site, that has the badge on it, but I think I like the old school version better.

I wonder if Pasquini sells a brew switch, and if so, if you could easily convert yours, just buy changing the wiring a little, and removing the flow sensor unit that's down by the water pump. Or is it a completely different Giemme/Gicar controller?

Pasquini has finally shipped the parts order that I placed last week, so I'm hoping to have those parts in 2 days, and then button the machine back up. Once I have a bell and PF coming, I can pop the top plate off in seconds, swap the bell, and the machine will be done.

I was eyeing the PF installed in the Group last night, and it clearly sits at an angle. I think some of that will go away with a gasket surface that's flat, but ultimately, I'd like to replace the bell and PF(as I've already said).

I picked up a Quick Mill Andreja Pro form a thrift store and am working on that right now. The size difference between the two is ridiculous. It really makes me like the Livia even more.

Parts arrived today. I replaced the new "beveled" OEM style Group gasket with an orange Bezzera 8mm flat version and that has cured the massive leak between the top of the PF basket, and the Group gasket. I've ordered an OE style PF from Pasquini, so with the new gasket and a PF that has new ears, that'll resolve the issue. The green light is replaced and works. I added an electronic filter to the pstat, to keep it's contacts from being fried by the current being switched off and on to the heating element. I also replaced the missing "Steam" badge in the steam wand knob. I wrapped the boiler, re-mounted the controller and power relay, and put the body panels on.

I really appreciate everyone's help. It was a fun project, and I learned so much! Couldn't have accomplished this without all the help from you all, and from the library of Livia repair threads stored here.

First real use of it today. Made a nice Americano, via a double shot (13g of coffee) and using the hot water wand to fill the cup. No leaking from the group, and for a non-dialed in shot, with the wrong coffee, it was actually decent. I took the suggestion of discharging a few seconds of over heated water from the heat exchanger.

Here are a few glam shots (albeit still in it's testing location on the sink drain board)...