New Project Alfa. Yew.

[lenus]

So.. I've obtained a sprint and I had a spare 1.7ie engine laying around, and some spare 40's on a cactus 1.7ti engine.

So now we have the bastard child...

But I need some parts that I can't seem to obtain..

Does anybody have a spare set of flutes and airbox ???

[alfasprinter]

nice sprint, hope you lower it to a better high though. sprint veloces come with a comical ride height factory. i have a set of horns and airbox but its in new zealand.

[jol]

Me too but in Sweden

[lenus]

I agree! The ride height is comical, but even next to my sud, which is pretty low, the roofline still manages to be lower??

I've never had much to do with sprints before this one because I thought they were ugly, but after spending some time with it, I see why people like them. It really is just a better quality car then any alfasud.

[BigSud]

Ugly? A Sprint?

I've always regarded them as one of the most perfectly proportioned cars ever made - try to find a bad angle on one! Even Guigiaro agrees, it's one of his favourites.

[lenus]

Haha, I just never liked the back or the front - the side profile though is just perfect.

[alfasprinter]

the roofline is a good 15cm lower than a sud. from the jacking points to the roof

[GTVnut]

Yes the sprint is definitely made better, its really a classic 80's coupe, to me the sud looks a tad more modern though, more rounded at the front and more 90's 'hot hatch style', I'm thinking Daewoo Cielo and Holden Astra. After lowering my sprint, the handling was awesome, much better than my sud.... you say potato, I say potatoe? I can't make up my mind which one I like better............!

[GTVnut]

Lenus have you got any insights and tips for dropping engines and re-installing? Seems you have done a few already. What are your tried and true methods and what is the best way to remove those hex head bolts from the brake hubs at the front? Cheers.

[81Sprint]

I've found the best way is to get a 6mm allen key impact socket, attatch it to a very long extension (or connect 2 toghter looks stupid but it works)
Remve the wheel.
Undo them with an impact wrench.

[900 series]

nice work on getting a sprint! we have many parts for the sprint that we were given..i'll ask dad when he's home tonight.

Generally i have noticed that our sprints roofline is a heap lower than all the other small alfas we own, just by sitting in them its really easy to tell.

To un-do those 6mm allens we crack them with a bar and the use an air rachet to get them out. if you dont own an air rachet i would recomend buying 3/4" socket 6mm allen from tool shop.

[lenus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTVnut Lenus have you got any insights and tips for dropping engines and re-installing? Seems you have done a few already. What are your tried and true methods and what is the best way to remove those hex head bolts from the brake hubs at the front? Cheers.

[GTVnut]

Cool, thats just the advice I needed. Do you remove the handbrake cable and let it hang? What about the gearstick lever?

[lenus]

Normally I undo the cable at the brake caliper, but this time I undid the cable inside the car so I didn't have to reconnect it at the brake calipers..

And the gearstick lever... ?? That stays on the box, but I take all the boots and knob off before dropping the engine.

I've got a neat little trolley that I use to put the engine on, it's really just a fridge trolley, and the other one I have for when the engine is out is the base of a really hardcore filing cabinet.

I generally get enough clearance to clear the gearstick lever so I don't have to remove it.

I take out the cross member first on the jacks, then lower the car down onto what ever trolley I use, so that the engine weight is taken by the trolley, then I undo the engine mounts and jack the body back up so the main mount is clear of the body.

Then I put a bolt through that mount, and hook up the endless chain and crank it up...

IT looks dodgy, but it's far less dodgy then balancing jacks ontop of wood

[900 series]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lenus I think 3/4" is a bit of overkill.