Date of manufacture: 60’s
Origin: Italy
Purchased in: France/Italy
Serial number: /
Power: /
Open boiler, manual lever return
Tamper diameter: 43 mm
1 double basket

      

Translated by Armin





The problem with collecting these machines is that one also collects the troubles, the pleasant surprises and the less pleasant.

Which means that in the long run we end up with pieces of various and diverse machines.

Because one was offered a part here and given the rest along with it. Because one bought a wreck there to get one part

and one now has the rest along with it.

So after a while I found myself with enough parts to make myself a caravel. The one described on another page but with holes in

the boiler and whose heating system was not sustainable, and another bought as a wreck, truly a wreck, to obtain the heating element.

The heating element that was found to be defective. Shortly I’ll come back to that.







One day I put everything on the counter, a few pieces dispersed to a life elsewhere with people who needed them.




I gathered the Caravel pieces and got to work.

I had 2 bodies, 2 boilers, a lever, a portafilter,  2 boiler lids, one base, a few feet,
a support for the heating element and an idea in the back of my head.


Start by stripping the paint … I really don’t like this sort of product, but very effective.


Then having the machine sandblasted at a marble workshop, effective but not perfect


Then sanding. Sanding. And more sanding..


With each pass I see the progress, imperceptible but very real.





The bodies were truly attacked, but the result becomes acceptable.


















I find the result not bad at all, but now we have to find a way to heat the beast.

Even though the original manual says that you can pour hot water directly into the boiler,

it is still more pleasant to have an autonomous system, So I tested with a cooking immersion heater.




Yes it’s effective, but really not aesthetically fitting for this masterpiece that is the caravel.



I’ll start looking for a new heating element, but with fear of ending up with more stray parts
that will encourage me to refurbish another … etc.

In addition I again contacted my friend the Belgian student who kindly gave me a wooden lever handle and portafilter handle.

Totally beautiful!











But thanks to Francesco’s help,  nobody can say I can’t “normally”  revive this machine.



To be continued..