'63 Giulia Spider Normale Restoration (Euro)

[101/105guy]

It's a 50/50 warranty......
If it breaks, you get to keep both halves!
Same set that I got. Works fine so far.

[Gordon Raymond]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathung LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY? Now what does that mean exactly?

[GTD]

Limited to the Lifetime of the Asian prison laborer who made it.

Buy American! The dealership who hopes to sell Alfas in the near () future is depending on you.

[pathung]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTD [b] Buy American! The dealership who hopes to sell Alfas in the near () future is depending on you.

[lgbalfa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathung I'm very happy to report that the biggest development in the past week has been my getting the gauges back from Palo Alto Speedometer. I'm very pleased with the results, though there were a few matters to tend to: the "dust caps" on the back of the speedo/tach went AWOL, as did the rubber gaskets that cushion the outer chromed rings against the dash. I took them back to PAS, who found the caps, which for some reason became too small to fit after having been plated. They promised to find me a good, working set. I was also given some rubber rings to cushion against the dash; the old ones were apparently glued to the housing when new, and disintegrated after time and having been dislodged. I'm very happy with PAS, and would recommend their service to anyone looking to refurbish/restore their gauges. By the way, it doesn't hurt to haggle a bit for a lower price. They do good work and they know that, so you get to pay for it. I've posted pictures elsewhere, but here they are again for your convenience and completeness of this thread. Shifting gears away from gauges, SeekGTV and I visited a powdercoating facility out in San Carlos as it was recommended by Craig Morningstar (a 750/101 Yahoo Group regular). Craid had gone over the powder palette with the owner, and had apparently found a close powder substitute to the BMW Polaris Silver paint - all that was needed was an actual test. We dropped off SeekGTV's spare wheel to test the recommended powder. The quoted price was reasonable: $65/wheel, including a clear top-coat. We'll know in about two weeks. I also had a local painter come look at the car, and provide an estimate for some panel repair (two rearward floorboards and battery support), a few layers of Bianco paint, and clear-coat. This guy did a great job on a local Alfisti's '61/'62 Giulietta Spider (see attached picture of silver Spider under restoration), which I've become familiar with. The job will include sealing the car immediately after bare-metal stripping with PPG's DP90, which I hear works quite well. In any case, he wasn't able to give me quote right away, but soon, I hope. Poll: would you ask your painter to quote by project or per-hour? I'm inclined to go with per-hour to ensure high work-quality, but I'd like to know your thoughts - thanks! Next up: strip the doors of all trim/window mechanisms, then attemp uninstalling the windshield if there is enough time before the car's trailered to have its engine/tranny pulled out on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

[pathung]

Thanks! PA Speedometer did an outstanding job.

[pathung]

It looks as if non-engine related items are pretty much done, so we began looking at the engine's components in more detail, and began cleaning them. Well, Glenn's shop was busy as a grocery store this past Saturday, so we didn't get a great deal done, but the connecting rods have been nicely cleaned up; once we receive the new pistons, we'll know if the pin bushes need to be replaced. The old pistons are done for, with too much play in the top-most ring groove.

We're still looking for a good crank to work with, and may get one tomorrow from Alfa Parts Exchange (APE).

Additional photos of Peter's (PSB) racy Sprint, and a white Veloce Spider at Glenn's shop for some work.

[Gordon Raymond]

Patrick,
You don't need to bush the small ends if you use some of these.

[pathung]

I AM getting a set of those, but for a different car The Sprint will sport all the juicy parts; I'll be sure to take very good pictures of those.

I did see a set of Carillos at my mechanic's the other day, and we were discussing how the I-beam shape of Alfa's standard rods differed from the H-shaped Carillos, and the mechanical reasoning behind that difference. On my own, I wondered why Alfa didn't re-orient its standard rods to mirror that of the Carillos? The H-shape rods are obviously stronger for the purpose, and don't seem to use more material... perhaps the manufacturing process is more involved for H-shaped rods?

[Gordon Raymond]

The history is long and I won't get it true to the facts here, in a few words, but about every form of connecting rod you might imagine has been tried. I have seen hollow tubular versions in early aircraft engines! The basic I beam shape Carrillo uses came from aluminum rods made for Chrysler AA Fuel engines, in the 392 era. Even then, (late 50's & early 60's) the idea was to reduce moving mass. About mid '60's with the 426, the aluminum rods were lightened by making them the I beam cross section. All automotive manufacturers were still using the more common form. Carrillo (and others) developed these for maximum strength with minimum weight. Rod stretch at high RPM was reduced, and newer forging techniques and materials have moved this style on to the street with Ferrari BMW Porsche and others, particularly, the performance motorcycle industry. The high $ titanium versions are now also used in these street engines as well. Computer technology, and metallurgical engineering have created amazing changes in engine internals in recent years. This was not the street technology of the 80's or earlier.

[pathung]

Glenn and I started re-assemblying the engine today, and got a good bit of work accomplished.

We located a great crank that needed merely some polishing from APE, so the only thing left to do was pop it into the block. Prior to that, I began the day by scotch-brite'ing the cylinder walls and chamfers in the block, so that a cleaned, used sleeve could slide in easily.

Next came installation of the five bearings onto the seats in the block, followed by placement of the crank onto the bearings. Before the caps went on, Glenn placed a blue strip on each of the main bearing journals to measure the gap between crank journals and bearings; having torqued down the caps and taken them back out again, we found that the gaps were within acceptable range. Good to go. We also measured the longitudinal play (technical term, please, Gordon) between the crank and the block, which was also within range.

During the day we also installed both back cover and plate, and finished by installing the rear main seal, in a highly-attractive brown color.

Next week will see us installing the flywheel, pistons, rods, and possibly the head. Re-assemblying the engine is BY FAR the most satisfying part of this restoration, in my opinion. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[pathung]

Installing the crank:

[Gordon Raymond]

Great pictures! It's thrust bearing clearance you measured.
BUT YOU did NOT use the custom liner recess and seat cleaning tool! Scotch brite? I'll bet your hands are all torn up from the studs and rough edges in there!

[pathung]

Gordon,

Is that your so-called cylinder recess cleaning tool pictured? How does it work?

My hands are find, as the block was attached to an engine stand, I was able to rotate it to angles that suited my arm/hand while scrubbing away.

[Gordon Raymond]

It works like... MAGIC! NO scrubbing away! You make a stiff slurry of Borax with a little water, smear it on the tool where you want things cleaned / polished, and slide it in the block. Rotate with a "T" handle, and the slurry will turn grey and then black. Add more when you want. Pull the tool out, rinse with water, hot if you want, and the residue and borax dissolves and rinses away. It leaves no grit in the block. It won't remove any metal using the Borax, only crud and aluminum oxide. This tool was the genius of ME! Prototype built (by accident) by Richard Jemison for $17,500. (I traded him a sprocket 'cause he had a ruined liner to build it from.) This is the greatest thing since sliced bread! (I would have built it myself, but I was too lazy, and RJ figured how to make the pivot without brazing! That was worth the $17,000 right there! We won't talk about the additional $500. (Beer.)