![1951 bianchi stelvio lright hand engine cover](https://primary.jwwb.nl/public/t/e/o/temp-zmnoekienbonigcfbjew/82bx8f/20230630_060032jpg-1.jpg?enable-io=true&enable=upscale&crop=1918%2C1440%2Cx1%2Cy0%2Csafe&width=530&height=398)
I thought I had better start looking at the ignition system so I could understand how it hangs together as a starting point for seeing if I could get a spark. I knew where the points were and could see there was a terminal on top of what appeared to be a removable unit that held the points and advance mechanism, I was not surprised to see it had the name Magnetti Marelli emblazened upon it. It has held in place with 2 screws and a post that also supported a flip over spring retainer for the chromed cover - very pretty. Once removed I could see the condenser and a wire going to the terminal post on the top of the unit - brilliant, all I have to do is run a wire from there to the negative side of the coil, put a positive on the other coil terminal, connect the plug and I should get a spark.
While searching for a battery on a very well known auction site that I won't name but it starts with the letter e and ends in bay I was shocked that I could only buy a vintage style battery in either Italy or Germany and it would have cost 150 quid with shipping and import duties. I thought that was a hell of a lot of dosh for such a small battery, after all it only needs to power the coil during start up and the bike only has a 35 watt head light, a 5 watt tail light and 21 watt brake light, it's not like it needs to illuminate Blackpool tower.
I did a quick interweb search and found my new most favourite shop - they had the battery I needed and a replica Lucas box for it to fit in. This solution gives me the authentic look with a modern cheap and reliable battery, which can be replaced on it's own whenever needed at a price that is about 1/6th of the price of a replica battery. I ordered it and then realised that they do all sorts of other stuff that I needed - handlebars of exactly the right style, twist throttle, brake lever, clutch lever, choke lever, advance lever - proper job. They look like really nice ones in the photos, I hope the quality is good, the prices certainly were very fair. I can't believe I managed to get so many parts in one single shop, I thought it was going to take hours of walking auto jumbles, very happy at the moment. Once I have the goods I will check the quality and if it's all good I will reveal the details of the shop - stay tuned to this frequency.
In the mean time I need to sort out cables for all the controls, these will all have to be custom made, fortunately I recently purchased about 1,200 cables for my bike business so it's all good. I hope all my other bits arrive soon, I am rather eager to see if I can get it running.
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