'63 Giulia Spider Normale Restoration (Euro)

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Stuart, that makes me wonder what my 101 Sprint has for a heater valve - will check next time I'm near it.

For those of you who live and breathe Webers, here's a dilemma from a fellow BB'er, to whose PM I responded despite my limited knowledge in Weber tuning:

Problem: Converted a 1750 from Spica to brand-new 40-throat Webers (specific model not given). The engine purrs nicely below 3K, but bogs at 3K, and possibly rough beyond 3K.

My amateurish recommendations:
1) Check for vacuum leak between carbs and head: gaskets, adapters, smooth surfaces, nuts nicely torqued. But is a vacuum leak really plausible? Why bog down at 3K, and not earlier? Sure, the main jets kick in at around that rpm, but wouldn't a leak also affect the engine's idle, as well as the progression from idle to 3K? The engine would run lean the entire way, it seems. Perhaps it was the acceleration pumps not doing their job, but I ignore this possibility due to the carbs' being spankin' new.

2) Take the air filters off to see if that solves the problem - apparently some filters filter too well?

3)Wrong Webers for the engine? 1750s ran 40DCOE32s, according to this website (www.Highwoodalfa.com 105 mech. parts), and we'd assume that Alfa picked the optimal Weber model for its various engines. if the new Webers that this BB'er installed boasts jets that are vastly different from those of the 32, would the engine run differently/worse?

I really shouldn't be giving anyone any advice on Webers, but I just couldn't resist. How about some comments from you Weber masters? And no, photos are NOT required, Gordon! My contribution to keepin' you warm in Obama-land.

[Gordon Raymond]

Without ONE photo, I will now SOLVE this problem. 1750's with Webers are one of my favorite Alfa engines. Wind up like a 1600, with just enough more low end torque. 40 DCOE's are the correct Webers for this engine. Living in your home state, is very wise, Weber tuner by the name of Gronway Perry. Try reaching him on his cell phone, 408-781-3770. Leave a message. Tell Gron I told you to call. Offer to PAY him for his time. (That always gets his attention!) He can tell you exactly, how the 40's should be set up from years of hands on experience. Remind him, I told you he is the best. This one call will take care of the problem with.... no photos! Gordon Raymond

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Gordon, it's not my car, but another BB member's, so I won't be calling Perry, much less pay him!

[Gordon Raymond]

Have the OTHER member call him, just fwd the info. THEN when YOU get into Weber trouble, I wont have to send pictures! YOU can just call Gron. (A good guy!)
Gordon Raymond (Couldn't resist!)

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Somebody snatch his camera away! It's apparently like a drug to this individual.

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Got a good deal done today in Berkeley, tearing down the engine.

We attached the engine to an engine mount that was bolted down on a work bench/table first, then proceeded to disassemble it. First to come off was the sump, which proved easy enough to do. The clutch pressure plate assembly came off next, followed by the flywheel; the pressure plate seemed fine, and clutch discs had enough left on them for re-use - somebody's been in here before, with not many miles since. The front cover/water pump came off next by just undoing a few small bolts. At this point, most everything external to the block is off, so we flipped the engine upside down and started taking the main and rod caps off.

Things didn't look good down here; all main/rod journals were scored, indicating an eventual crankshaft grind; it's been ground before, so we're going down another ten (of a thousandth?); out came the crankshaft. With some pushing the pistons dropped out; the rings were bad, with too much vertical play (first and second ring) in their grooves. This apparently means that I'm getting new pistons/liners/rings. The rods will need to be looked at further to determine their condition. The liners were hammered out; it was a difficult process as the previous rebuilder used gasket cement on the liners - strange and obviously not a good idea. With the innards out, the engine was ready for some scrubbing.

This is where my scrubbing prowess came into play. Glenn gave me some nameless $1.50/gallon eco grease-dissolver, and off I went to the backyard for some one-on-one bonding time with my block. Came out nice! The outer surface cleaned up nicely, but the bore and inner wall area required some poking and brushing to clean up the corroded gunk inside. With a final hosing down with water, the block was clean and the gasket surfaces ready to be smoothed. First with a razor blade to scrape off old gasket cement, and then some Scotch-Brite to sand the surfaces smooth for new gaskets, and the job is done.

The crank will be sent out while the ancillaries checked and cleaned up. A set of new pistons will also be on order, I presume; these will just be regular stuff, as this is intended to be a street car; furthermore, the twin Webers should spice things up enough over the original Solex. Enjoy the photos!

(Gordon, it was 70 degrees today in Berkeley, so there was no snow to tramp through to take these photos. )

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And another five photos of the nicely cleaned-up block:

[Gordon Raymond]

Very nice! While you did that it was -1 degrees here! No evidence of abuse other than the crank grind and wear? Any signs of corrosion to the inside bottom of the water jacket? Many Alfa's that have lived in warmer area's had plain water w/o antifreeze and suffer corrosion, even holes down in there. We need MORE photo's of scored bearings, loose rings and such. I know a person....
Gordon Raymond

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Good question about the water jacket, Gordon. As you can see from the photo below, there's plenty of corrosion down there. I'm not sure what is usually done in this situation, excepting my scraping and scratching at it for a half an hour. I suppose the true restorer would take the block out to get blasted or some such thing.

[Gordon Raymond]

I just wrote a friend about my feelings about using almost any type of media blasting on engine block internals. The exception is soda blasting, essentially baking soda that can be dissolved in water. I always fear some abrasive being trapped somewhere to later grind up something that really should not be ground up! There are a number of cleaners, my friend RJ likes Castrol Super Clean Degreaser (Purple) used many times full strength. I have used Alclean Aluminum Cleaner by Arcair, an aluminum pre welding cleaner that removes most oxides. Even these extremes may not remove all the scale, necessitating soda blasting. Years ago (40) I used hydrafloric (sp) acid. This worked wonderfully, but can KILL the user. I believe the Alclean has a little in it as the smell is easily remembered {Hack, Cough, Snort, Aggh!}
I usually start of easy with Gunk Foamy, and work up to the real nasty stuff gradually, after many hot water washes. A hot block cleans easier than a cold one. Power washing is worth a try, but it cannot really dissolve the crusty mineral/aluminum oxide deposits.
Diluted muriatic acid, as used for swimming pool cleaning gets rid of the the iron oxide (rust). You might try some solvent based paint strippers to dissolve the adhesive down in the liner flange holes the block. The subject of internal block cleaning is one of experimentation based on results with the caution of being sure to do no harm.
From your picture, and lack of stud corrosion, your block looks much better than many, that have pits and craters in the bottom of the water jacket, and pitted studs. It should clean up nicely. Gordon Raymond

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By the time I get to Glenn's shop next Saturday, he would've cleaned it all up. I'll let you know how he did it, Gordon. Your block looks great! I couldn't imagine that a corroded jacket could clean up that well without abrasives.

[Alfajay]

Pathung:

The condition of your engine is pretty typical. Replacing the pistons & liners, installing new rings (and of course, bearings), and regrinding the crank is all pretty common.

I agree with Gordon - the idea of using media on a block makes me cringe. I'm sure that the folks who go to Pebble have some technique for doing it, but then it's a miracle if those cars travel 200 miles in the owner's lifetime, so a little grit in the engine is probably OK. I've always held back on worrying about stains on the outside of the block - unless your car is destined for 100% show use, making the block look like the day it left the foundary just isn't worthwhile - the reality is that a few thousand miles of street use is gonna get it oiled up again, and no one but a concours judge is going to check the cleanliness behind the headers or on top of the gearbox anyhow.

[Gordon Raymond]

Jay,
You will like this. Other than my soda blasting, that cleans up with water, there is a new one I just heard about. Done in a gas recovery cabinet, Dry Ice powder blasting! What a concept! The dry ice chips/powder is used to loosen up the crud, it evaporates to Co2 gas, recovered compressed back to ice and re used! Take your part out of the cabinet, blow the dust off with compressed air and your done! Interesting huh? Google it up.
No, I have never seen it done, and no one available to me has this equipment, but it does sound interesting. Gordon Raymond