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102 engine questions

11K views 69 replies 11 participants last post by  dabraham 
#1 ·
I am almost ready for some reassembly of my engine and I would like to know who makes the best gasket set. I looked at OKP, Cassic and so on. Does anyone have any experience from OKP - I think theres looks better - the classis one looks like it has a split cork gasket for the oil pan. Not sure I trust the other sources.

Also, Did Alfa paint the aluminum parts like the cylinder head silver? I am having to scrap silver paint from almost every alumininum part. What a PITA.

Doug
 
#2 · (Edited)
I cannot comment on gaskets. Period documentation (the pages below are from the Owners Manual and the Engine Shop Manual on the CarDisc CD) seems to indicate that the head and valve covers were black crinkle finish -- but I'm sure there are people who know more than I do about 102 engines.
 

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#3 ·
Doug,

At this point, all of the 102 complete gasket kits on the market are coming from the same manufacturer. I don't recall the name, but the gaskets are OK, if not wonderful. Several of them are different than the original, and some won't fit all that well. The price is better than it used to be, though.

The exception to this might be from AFRA. Of course, they are woeful at marketing, but I bought a complete gasket kit of theirs several years ago, and all of the gaskets contained were first rate. The kit came in a big cardboard box, and it appeared that they had taken time to find and assemble OEM gaskets for everything. It cost more than the ones from OKP, etc, but if I need another full gasket set, that's who I'd talk to first.

There is another company, Dichtungen Schwarz, that makes head gaskets. Very, very high quality. Fairly expensive. PITA to do business with. Probably the best head gasket I've ever bought for a 102.

Lastly, there have been a few guys on the BB that have undertaken to have one or the other difficult gaskets made. Specifically, the copper exhaust triangle and head-to-pipe gaskets (all of these are different from the later all-aluminum engines). Another fellow had the rear bell housing plate to crankcase gaskets made. The ones from OKP et al are just a thin paper unit that's not shaped right. The original is a fairly thick gasket shaped sort of like a squished "H". You might be able to find them by searching the BB, and see if they have any left.

Good luck
 
#4 ·
Oh - the engines that I've been around that I felt were original, had a black-painted block, wrinkle black head and cam covers, and funny pan color that I think was sort of a greenish-blue. A very odd color, as I recall. The front and year aluminum plates were generally left natural, if memory serves.

I believe the "Alfa Romeo" script on the cam covers was original painted over with the same black wrinkle, but most of us cannot resist the temptation to wipe that part clean, leaving a shiny script standing out from the black wrinkle.

I've left the head on my 2300 natural aluminum, and the block painted silver, with powder-coated black wrinkle for the cam covers (shiny lettering). Given the uniqueness of this engine, I'm happy this way. The two 2000 engines I'm working on have black powder coated blocks, and natural end-plates. I've not painted the heads, leaving them natural aluminum. Black wrinkle cam covers. I find that too much black in the engine bay sort of depresses me.
 
#7 ·
I need some help on these brackets I am missing. I do have something for the carbs, but it is nothing like what the manual shows - that, and it is kind of a hack the way it was made as well. My oil gauge line was just regular hose - it looks like the real hose maybe similar to that expensive coiled hose at 150 USD/ft.

Pictures and a few measurements could help me a lot.

Doug
 

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#8 ·
The two upper brackets are for the heat shield. Do you still have the shield. Few cars still have those.

I don't have any spares of these brackets. Sorry.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Yes, the cylinder head and the cam covers should be in black wrinkle paint. The spray can variety of this from a NAPA or other auto parts store will work fine. Krylon is OK.

Be sure to:
1. Make sure all previous paint is stripped and there's no oil on the surfaces.
2. Heat the parts a little so that they are well warmed, but not hot. Do this by leaving them out in the sun on a hot day or by warming them in your kitchen oven. If the parts are cold, or even room temperature, the paint will not wrinkle enough as it dries.
3. Use two good coats just thick enough that they don't run.

I've done this three times with great results. I took a fine flat file to the raised Alfa script on the covers to expose the aluminum.

If you are missing the heat shield, I have one and might be willing to sell/trade it.
 
#11 ·
Don, I dont have the shield. but I plan to make one if I can see what the brackets are supossed to look like.

Thanks Stu - I dont think the cylinder head is supossed to be painted. just the cam covers and the air manifold.

Serge, I want to know what the hose looks like. Is it the tubing with a wire surround like the fuel tubing and what color should it be?

Doug
 
#12 ·
#15 ·
Thanks Don, I am trying to get just the bracket I need from the guy on Ebay - if not I will just make it with the two shield brackets. All I needed was a decent picture and now I have that.

On the oil pressure tubing - is the link Serge provided the right stuff?

Doug
 
#17 ·
Yes I looked in that post Franco. Was that the correct mounting for the smaller shield where the exhaust manifolds are mostly visible?

I did start drawing up some brackets for the shield. From the looks of the pictures I have seen - it looks like M6 hardware is used for fastening the cover to the brackets. Could you measure the three hole to hole centerline distances on your shield and the hole diameters? I would use paper first over the part to trace the holes then measure the paper flat.

Doug
 
#18 ·
I remember when I first came to this forum, Don asked if I was drinking man for buying a 102 - I dont drink, but maybe I should.

From that start a year ago or so, Don had asked to see my car - so I will now start to show some pics of that. Here is the engine bay as I saw it when I bought the car, and here it is the cylinder head now.

The Alfa Romeo did not look good in red as I had hoped on the covers so I went with the standard there. I think red will still look good for the head lettering - I hope.

All of the parts are the original ones which came with the car except for the seals, gaskets and the like.

I had the parts either nickle plated or zinc plated. TDF a local company here did a great job and they didnt loose any of my parts.

Doug
 

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#19 ·
Very nice. Perhaps you can save your drinking for a future bottle of champagne.
 
#23 ·
Thanks PS70! Newco has a lot of unique pieces and parts. Fortunately I did not see any prices or I'd probably have been shocked. I have heard of folks using Rit dye to dye clear tubing green or yellow. Newco even has a 'CAVIS' stamp kit with either white or black ink to label the plastic hoses. I'd say the F-car guys take 'AR' to an entirely new level of retentiveness.

I saw that Newco has the spiral wire wrapped fuel and oil pressure (to gauge) lines in two colors; yellow or brown and assorted fittings. I just assumed that my fuel and oil lines had turned brown with age. Now I believe that they must have been brown originally.

Regarding the block, head and valve cover paint; I believe that most were originally black crinkle paint. However, I have seen several heads and valve covers that appear as natural unpainted aluminum.
Sorry Richard, 25 years ago I stripped the black paint from the head on 1844...now I feel better. At the time it just seemed like too much black in the engine compartment.
Mark
 
#24 ·
Hi Don,

Original head and valve cover paint were originally black crinkle paint.

FYI

fuel lines in color brown were used < '58 color yellow were used > 58

and oil pressure (to gauge) lines were used < '61 '

>' 61 2000 and 2600 used black rubber oil pressure lines

rgds Franco
 

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#25 ·
I see you are using what appears to be a de-siamesed intake manifold for the Weber installation. The OKP copy of the FNM/Conrero (sic) deletes the hot water circulation through the manifold, which is required only when using the convoluted intake routing of the original manifold. Cooler inlet air = better power, and with the straight inlet runners, the heated manifold is not necessary.
 
#28 · (Edited)
IRONBLOCK, "Sorry Richard, 25 years ago I stripped the paint from the head of #01844 ..." (post #23 )

I'll concede those concours points. You've been A Pretty Good Previous Owner. The pallets of parts, the parts book and the lira in the door pocket have earned you credits.

Richard
#01844
Ha, thanks Richard. When Ed P. called me 'out of the blue' about buying 01844; he caught me by surprise. I suggested he come take a look & make me an offer if he was interested and he did. Had I known that within 15 minutes of selling the car to Ed, I'd be buying another Two Liter # 00310; one that I looked at 7 years earlier -the parts cache would probably still be here in Georgia:crying2:. The story & photos of 00310 are in the March 2009 "Classic Motorsports Magazine". On the cover with Jay Leno and his Honda 600, is the Alfa. Look close as it is about the size of a postage stamp. Somehow I must have missed the lira in the door panel.

The Alfa world is really small. Along with the blue car #00310 from Bill, came correspondence with Bob Countess, the previous owner of 01844! Both guys had kept letters from the other and copies of what they sent each other. It was really confusing at first.

Mark
 
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