# Pimp a funky 1970's Aplimont aka (gaggia mini)



## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Sooo the last of the pre kitchen/bathroom pimps is a quick pimp of what is often known as a Gaggia mini









Its an open top squarish boiler with a central piston and spring lever , single 800w element with a thermostat

and in pretty good condition, so an easy pimp in theory

date wise its not marked but was launched in 1972 so im taking a liberty with the pimping music for the bunker and going with

The Temptations Papa was a rolling stone as a soundtrack










 Damn that's funky


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

and on with the teardown


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

You had better leave no stone un turned on this one


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)




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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

coffeechap said:


> You had better leave no stone un turned on this one


ouch


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

jimbojohn55 said:


> ouch


Indeed, this will be the star of the lever day show!


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

push fit shower screen


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

coffeechap said:


> Indeed, this will be the star of the lever day show!


in theory it should prove to be a thermally stable spring lever


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

a quick hone of the cylinder and its good as new - this machine has had minimal use over the last 45 or so years







remove the leg brackets with four bolts


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

the only sign of any corrosion is the lower end of these 2 brackets







half and hour in Rustolium should sort them out


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

It looks so fresh!

Do we know how much they charged back in the day?


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## martinierius (Sep 28, 2014)

After repainting those brackets, descaling and replacing seals mine was as good as new.

You simply put a thermometer in the boiler to know your brew temperature.

To avoid sucking coffee grinds in the boiler when returning the lever you could put an aeropress paper filter on the coffee bed.

A bowl is handy to flush the douche screen of empty the boiler when you're done as the tray underneath is really tiny.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Hasi said:


> It looks so fresh!
> 
> Do we know how much they charged back in the day?


Yes it cost exactly the same as a pink jumpsuit and 5 pairs of platform wedge shoes


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

jimbojohn55 said:


> Yes it cost exactly the same as a pink jumpsuit and 5 pairs of platform wedge shoes


Thanks Jim.

How come I get the feeling that this is quite a frantic guess... but it makes sense, somehow.

You wearing these now? Where's the workshop tie gone to?


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Hasi said:


> Thanks Jim.
> 
> How come I get the feeling that this is quite a frantic guess... but it makes sense, somehow.
> 
> You wearing these now? Where's the workshop tie gone to?


my bunker now looks like this


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Ahahhaaa, I see... Jim performing the Lever Dance


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

A few more stripdown pics







single seal brass piston







a quality touch - bronze bearing in the lever mechanism







again a quality SS spring







LIVELLO ACQUA - this is stamped onto the fill level indicator LIVELO stands for Live Life Less Ordinary I think and ACQUO - I think was a charity heavy metal single that ACDC and Status Quo did...&#8230;.







Chassis legs sorted with a matching red primer


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## jj-x-ray (Dec 31, 2017)

These threads are my heroin


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

As is now a tradition -super buffed piston


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

jj-x-ray said:


> These threads are my heroin


 @jj-x-ray getbyour name on the forum day at rave to get a dose in person


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## jj-x-ray (Dec 31, 2017)

coffeechap said:


> @jj-x-ray getbyour name on the forum day at rave to get a dose in person


True, I am very close would be a shame to miss it.....I'll try and keep it free and provisionally put my name down


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

seal arrived for the piston after support from espresso solutions who raided their parts bins and came up with a twin lip piston seal - better than the original


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

The case is a one piece plastic casting that has quite a bit of surface scratching and abrasion, Its problematic to remove every scratch as some are quite deep so I settled for an honest clean but used look

the right area has been buffed









there was a rust stain in the case under the feet that came out with some fine wire wool


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## martinierius (Sep 28, 2014)

It's great to see how you give these a proper resurrection!


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

jimbojohn55 said:


> The case is a one piece plastic casting that has quite a bit of surface scratching and abrasion, Its problematic to remove every scratch as some are quite deep so I settled for an honest clean but used look
> 
> the right area has been buffed
> 
> ...


Obviously you needed to buff something...

btw: haha, your signature


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

So the only thing on this machine that is really knackered is the large bolt/screw that holds the portafilter handle on, the problem is that at some point the handle has become wonky and the bolt that holds it on has seized with it in that position. Evidently over the years a number of people have tried to remove it and failed damaging the slot in the head more and more, it had to come out so drastic measures were called for - drum roll please

'the double ended stud extractor' &#8230;&#8230;.sounds like a 70s film









After soaking the bolt in penetrating oil overnight you drill a small pilot hole in the centre of the nut then swop ends of the extractor and put you drill in reverse and it locks the extractor into the hole and bingo.









Next problem is you have a hole in the middle of your bolt , so you tap it with an m5 then tighten anouther bolt into it , cut it off and file the groove out







Christ on a bike - they look like my grandads hands &#8230;.. oh yeah I am a grandad, fair cop


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Nothing goes to waste, can't wait to see your next project


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

coffeechap said:


> Nothing goes to waste, can't wait to see your next project


just sent a little side project that may use up some waste


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Hasi said:


> just sent a little side project that may use up some waste


But perhaps that will help him focus on the prize


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## jj-x-ray (Dec 31, 2017)

jimbojohn55 said:


> So the only thing on this machine that is really knackered is the large bolt/screw that holds the portafilter handle on, the problem is that at some point the handle has become wonky and the bolt that holds it on has seized with it in that position. Evidently over the years a number of people have tried to remove it and failed damaging the slot in the head more and more, it had to come out so drastic measures were called for - drum roll please
> 
> 'the double ended stud extractor' &#8230;&#8230;.sounds like a 70s film
> 
> ...


Wouldn't it have been easier to get a replacement bolt of the same size....

Waste not want not I guess, nice job


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

jj-x-ray said:


> Wouldn't it have been easier to get a replacement bolt of the same size....
> 
> Waste not want not I guess, nice job


Where is the fun in that?


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## jj-x-ray (Dec 31, 2017)

coffeechap said:


> Where is the fun in that?


No fun at all, I was just being pragmatic and boring


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

jj-x-ray said:


> No fun at all, I was just being pragmatic and boring


Roll over so that I can punch you.*

*Hoagie in 'Day of the Tentacle'


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## jj-x-ray (Dec 31, 2017)

Hasi said:


> Roll over so that I can punch you.*
> 
> *Hoagie in 'Day of the Tentacle'


One of my favourite point n click games of all time...... That and monkey Island 2


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

jj-x-ray said:


> No fun at all, I was just being pragmatic and boring


Haha I suppose if I had an m8 bolt with a screw head and a 1.5 pitch i would have

But a) I'm tight b) I get a shiggle from making it harder  and c) I didn't have one


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

jj-x-ray said:


> No fun at all, I was just being pragmatic and boring


Plus lessening the likelihood of seeing more pragmatic ways of fixing things


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

All back together, its actually quite tricky to get the case to fit properly, but you get there in the end. well I needed to get it done as 8 meters of solid oak kitchen worktop lands on Tues









not tested yet as the seal on the boiler will take 24hrs to dry


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

A beautiful addition to the forum day


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## Nopapercup (Nov 6, 2016)

I was looking at getting one of these a while back but couldn't find one and then another Pavoni popped up. These Gaggia's have a cool retro look. Let us know what the coffee is like once you start pulling shots Jim.


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Nopapercup said:


> I was looking at getting one of these a while back but couldn't find one and then another Pavoni popped up. These Gaggia's have a cool retro look. Let us know what the coffee is like once you start pulling shots Jim.


will do, the actual quality of the components is very high, stainless bolts and an adjustable thermostat on the side of a chrome plated water tank cast from brass. - ive got a new shower screen on order ( same as a stegra lever) in theory, but apart from that and a new piston seal its an easy and cheap machine to repair, with great promise - will report back once its tested with a video


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Bench test - takes about 5mins to get up to temp with 1Ltr of water - evidently the grind needs adjusting but you get the idea


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

Final touch was to switch out the shower screen for a replacement to the same spec, the original was fine but after being on and off a few times had started to get loose as the springy lugs stretched a bit, fortunately its the same part as the screen on a Astoria


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

jimbojohn55 said:


> Final touch was to switch out the shower screen for a replacement to the same spec, the original was fine but after being on and off a few times had started to get loose as the springy lugs stretched a bit, fortunately its the same part as the screen on a Astoria
> 
> View attachment 39301
> View attachment 39302
> View attachment 39303


It's a shame the replacement isn't brass.


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## Claudio Buffardi (Jul 15, 2020)

Hi,

I have a Mini Gaggia and the piston is dripping water, by any chance do you have the piston seal size? I need the internal, external diameter and the width of the seal to try find a cross reference.

Regards,

Claudio Buffardi


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