First driving impressions

One year and two weeks after buying the car, the Alfa is ready for a test drive.

First impressions: the driving position and view is excellent. Nice exhaust note. The car feels nimble and has plenty of power.

I drove it around the block about eight times (~2 miles), smiling ear to ear. This is going to be a fun car.

Hood back on

The hood is back on. With one person supporting each side, and another putting the bolts in, the job goes easy.

Thanks to Martyn Harvey for giving us a hand with the hood.

Small jobs done

A bunch of small items complete:

• Set the timing and adjusted the carbs.
• Installed the new windshield washer bag.
• Battery strap back on.
• Fixed an oil leak around the new fuel pump blanking plate.

New shift knob

The Alfa came with a nice leather shift knob. Unfortunately, it fell apart (a victim of time) when we started moving the car around.

The good news is I had a spare wood Momo knob. It went on easy, but it is taller and makes the shifting position awkward. It will have to do until I can find a replacement.

New interior mirror

Installed the new rear-view mirror (from Classic Alfa). It looks similar to the original, but weighs a bit more.

The condition of the old mirror is better than I thought. The frame was broken, which I have already repaired with epoxy, and the glass is discoloured. A future project perhaps.

Electric fuel pump wired up

The electric fuel pump has been a nice upgrade, but the wiring job was quick and ugly. We ran a line from the coil, over the roof of the car, to the trunk.

Our friend Bob Smith pitched in and ran a new line from the fuse block (under the dash) through the interior. He found that a previous owner had upgraded the system, which was a pleasant surprise. And, as usual, he did a fantastic job.

Another project done.

Bleeding the clutch

New clutch master & slave cylinder installed.

We had some challenges with the slave cylinder. The retaining clips were reversed (see below) and the bleed screw needs to be at the top. Once these were sorted out, the peddle firmed up when we started pumping the air out of the system.

We also used a braided steel line on the clutch (thanks Alfaholics).

Another job done.

Bleeding the brakes

Silly brake fluid saga.

Like every other Alfa newbie, I glean as much information as I can from the AlfaBB. Several of the members recommend using Prestone Dot 4 brake fluid in 105 cars.

I used to see this stuff at every gas station and auto parts store, but it was recently pulled from the shelves for some unknown reason. This is Canada, so high taxes and global warming are probably involved. 

My other options were so gruesome that I'm surprised they didn't come in mason jars with handwritten names. I pinched my nose and selected the Canadian Tire "Premium European Car Dot 4" brand.

Snobbery aside, the reality is the lines are full of stale fluid (25+ years) and this job will probably have to be repeated once the car has some miles on it. So, how bad was it?

The rear lines contained a mixture of brownish fluid, air bubbles and flecks of crud. Yuck. But the biggest shock was the front brakes, everything coming out of those looked like a infectious disease.

We did go through a lot of fluid, so my brand choice is irrelevant. And after working from the back to the front, the brake pedal has an excellent feel to it.

I'm getting close to driving the car.

New brake master cylinder on

The original master cylinder was weeping and dripping fluid from every fitting, so I ordered a new one from Alfaholics. Barry installed it a few weeks ago.

Fuel pump blanking plate

A quick and easy project: installing a fuel pump blanking plate.

Remove the nuts, pump, spacer, rod and gaskets.

Reuse one of the gaskets. Apply black Permatex to both sides. Stick it to the plate.

Slip the blanking plate on the bolts.

Fasten the nuts.

Leave it to dry overnight.

Exhaust system on

I ordered a new mid-to-back exhaust system from Alfaholics a few months ago. It was very reasonably priced and came with new mounting hardware.

We painted the entire exhaust system with an off-the-shelf ceramic spray paint. Although the thermal benefits are probably minimal, it helped the system look fresh and should provide some rust protection.

Friendly installation tip. We used stainless hex bolts at the front of the system. This made installation a lot easier, and will help us disassemble the system in the future.

The system looks and sounds good.

Parts order reminder

For the next order:

• Gearbox filler plug x2 (http://classicalfa.com/products.php?product=GB062-OIL-FILLER-PLUG-%252d-GEARBOX-AND-DIFFERENTIAL)
• Interior mirror (http://classicalfa.com/products.php?product=IN187-REAR-VISION-MIRROR-GT-%26-SALOON-1968-ONWARDS)
• Brake calliper dust cap
• Rubber door trim (both sides) (http://classicalfa.com/products.php?product=RB003-GT%7B47%7DGTV-RIGHT-MAIN-DOOR-RUBBER-SEAL and http://classicalfa.com/products.php?product=RB002-GT%7B47%7DGTV-LEFT-MAIN-DOOR-RUBBER-SEAL)
• Canister oil filters x3 (http://classicalfa.com/products.php?product=EN045-OIL-FILTER-%252d-CARTRIDGE-STYLE)
• Another washer bag (http://classicalfa.com/products.php?product=750%252d089-VDO-WASHER-FLUID-BAG-%252d-750%7B47%7D101%7B47%7D102%7B47%7D106-SERIES-CARS)