New trumpets and air filter

A couple of small jobs done this weekend. New trumpets and a proper air filter. 

Weekend drive

I had the Alfa out this weekend. It is running gloriously in the cool fall air, and there is now over 230 miles on the clock since the rebuild. It gets better and better with each drive. I'd love to see that hit 300 before the car goes into storage for the winter...

Update

A great fall shot, taken by my friend Martyn Harvey.

Rear suspension diagram

Longish drive

I took the Alfa on it's first drive in a month. After 60+ miles, I've moved past the point of "listening for problems" to "noticing what is great." There's a lot to like.

The engine is loosening up, it's pulling harder and revving easier now. The temperature and oil pressure are perfect. It sounds great and turns a lot of heads.

After servicing the gearbox and differential, the two major mechanical items that were not rebuilt, I was concerned a hidden gremlin would be lurking. They both feel good - the modern synthetic oils are working their magic - the drivetrain gets smoother with each drive.

The Koni Sport dampers and Alfaholics lowering springs are fantastic. The naysayers are crazy - the handling is much improved - there is no bump-steer and the ride is "sporty." And the new stance looks good:

I'm looking forward to hitting the 500 and 1,000 mile marks!

123 Ignition distributor installation

Installing the 123 Ignition distributor should have been a straight-forward task, but the Bosch unit threw us a curveball. When I was removing the later, the oil seal fell off and onto the drive gear. Since it is dark, and filled with a minute amount of oil, the o-ring completely disappeared.

That pesky little piece of rubber prevented us from installing the new distributor - and caused about an hour and half of head scratching. Eventually we found the problem and everything was a bit more straight-forward.

Once we went through the installation procedure, including programming the unit from my iPhone, the engine ran better immediately.

Alfaholics recommended curve:

The next day I ran all the wires inside some automotive wiring tube and made everything neat and tidy.

Front suspension torque settings

Lowering kit installation part 2

With the rear suspension finished, we moved to the front of the car. Our first task was to remove the sway bar.

Next, we used the Alfaholics 'Spring Tool' and a hydraulic jack to drop the spring assembly. It takes about 20 minutes per side.

When the front spring pans drop, be prepared for a shower of rust and dirt.

The aluminum pan spacers were completely corroded and beat up. Fortunately, the lowering kit does not use them.

Everything else, the pans and seats, was in good shape. So we cleaned, sanded and painted these parts.

The rubber donuts looked brand new after washing.

Again, the [old] front dampers were seized.

The Koni Sport dampers went in easy. I used one twist on the front, and the factory settings (full soft) for the rear.

Installing the lowered springs takes some time. We used the installation tool and a hydraulic jack to lift the assembly.

New 29mm sway bar installed.

Sump guard back on.

Lowering kit installation part 1

Over the past two weekends, we installed the Alfaholics lowering kit.

We started with the rears, which involves dropping the rear seat to access the damper 'hats.'

Old Bilstein shocks out. One side was completely seized while the other was very stiff.

We used spring compressors on the passenger side. This proved to be a waste of time. Putting a hydraulic jack under the rear pan works fine and is much faster.

The new spring is much shorter and lighter.

New Koni Sport damper & lowered spring in. The axel straps had to be shortened about a 3/4 of an inch.

We also removed the rear sway bar. The rear arm bushes looked excellent, but the T-bar bushes will need replacing - another project!

More upgrades

I've been making a list of "things to do" while driving the car.

The handling of the car seems a little "off." When you are driving around, the shocks seem to stick in certain positions and the stance of the car is always changing.

I've also found that the timing can be erratic. You will hear backfires through the carbs as you accelerate from red lights, etc.

In both cases, the suspension and the ignition, I suspect the original parts are worn out. So I ordered an Alfaholics suspension kit and an electronic distributor (123 Ignition) last week.

My plan is to start the upgrades this coming weekend.

Rear diff oil changed & more miles

Some more small tasks done.

Yesterday, I changed the rear differential oil - which looked / smelled old, but not completely foul. The new Redline 75W90NS made a small difference when I took the car out for a test run. Another job done.

I also spent about an hour cleaning the interior & conditioning the leather. It takes a lot of elbow grease to remove the years of dirt and dust!

The car, and most noticeably the engine, is starting to loosen up as I put more miles on it. When leaving from a standing start, there is an occasional 'klunk' coming from the rear end. So it looks like I'm going to need to track down a worn bushing...

More miles

I tweaked the timing a little and put another 40 miles on the car --- running beautifully.

Rear bumper update

You may recall from an earlier post, the original bumper was mangled in the accident. I found a used bumper, in 'ok' condition, but it had several large dents and red paint overspray.

A few months ago, Barry took the bumper mid-section to a local panel beater. The fellow made a profile jig and worked his magic - and the section looks brand-new.

We spent several hours cleaning and polishing the remaining pieces. The 'C' clamps needed straightening. Finally, we riveted everything together.

More miles on the car

I drove the Alfa about 30 miles today.

The engine feels good. It starts easily, has good oil pressure and runs at a steady 180 degrees. No leaks! It does feel "tight," so I'm varying the driving speed and revs.

Some pics from today:

A Little Humour

1st Spring Drive

After dusting off the cob-webs, I gave the Alfa a short run. The car felt great, but there is a list of little issues I'd like to address. The clutch pedal does not feel right; and I'd love to find a short-shifter kit for the car.

I also fixed the clogged idle jet on cylinder number 3. A sewing needle helped me clear the old gas varnish out; and the engine ran much smoother afterwards.

Winter update

The Canadian winter has blocked the Alfa project. It's too cold to work in the garage, so my work has been limited to Internet research.

One of the problems I'm trying to solve is the messy canister oil filters. They are difficult to change, and every one I've tried (so far) has leaked oil. The best option seems to be switching to a standard spin-on filter.

The first solution, and probably the best, is to find a new casting that changes the mounting & mating surface. These have been designed and sold by individuals on the AlfaBB, but I could not track one down!

Alfaholics offers a remote oil filter kit that looks interesting. But there is no obvious place for mounting it and I'm not crazy about running the lines, etc.

The final option is to use an adapter from Flexolite (https://www.flexolite.co.uk/cat.asp?cID=4&page=OIL_FILTER_ADAPTORS). This is a machined piece that fits the oil canister flange and allows you to use a spin-on filter. 

The Flexolite Alfa Romeo kit is relatively cheap, so I ordered one...