'63 Giulia Spider Normale Restoration (Euro)

[alfa soon]

Looks like I should have stuck around. I guess I'll see it when I bring the guts from my Sprint 1300 by Glenn's shop this week. Keep me posted on when you plan on towing your car up to drop it in... I'll come by and try and keep out of the way.

giulietta sprints

[pathung]

Will do, Matt, but it may be at least 3 weeks before I make it to Glenn's again - got lots happening on the calendar.

[pathung]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathung Thanks, guys. I'll be buying from McMaster Carr. - all 50 of them; it never hurts to have spares!

[alfabits]

Patrick,when did you start the Registers (Vintage Alfa Registers)?

George

[alfabits]

Patrick, don't know if you solved your seat rail, location, direction question (I have been out of the country) but here are a couple of shots of the bottom rail placement. I can provide close-up shots of the side of seat stop tab and bolt if needed.

George

[pathung]

Hi George,

I started the GTV's register on Google Docs, and it worked so well that I'm now in the process of copying the Giulietta Spider's register there as well. Next would the Sprint register. The original registers on the BB will remain, and be updated and added to in parallel, so no worries there. The spreadsheet format seems more legible to "researchers", and can be sorted in every which way, which is a certain plus.

I think that I've solved my seat-rail orientation problem, but I won't truly know till I pop the driver's seat in there - with the flat-head screws arriving later in the week, I should know by the weekend. Thanks for your photos (my Giulia actually has slightly different rails); the high standard of your restoration still astounds me to no end.

[pathung]

A few things to update, and I'm glad to inform that we're heading down the final stretch on this project.

Over two Saturdays, we successfully completed the entire powertrain. We first attached the Nippon Denso alternator to the engine, with the help of some custom-made aluminum spacers, spooled for weight savings! You'll see a few photos of this below. The alternator looked so modern that it seemed slightly out of place - an idea was tossed around a few weeks ago to hide it inside a stock-looking generator body to tone things down a bit - but that's a project for another day.

We next proceeded to re-check the valve clearances, but not before determining what kind of cams we had. After taking measurements of lift (thanks to Gordon who explained how lift is measured) and attempting to decipher the engravings on the camshafts, we tentatively agreed that we have a 1750 exhaust cam matched to a 2000 intake cam; fine by me; we'll see if these bad boys help me crack 60 mph is less than 5 seconds. Gapping came next; the exhaust side was close enough to specs, but the intake was all over the map; we ended up re-shimming 3 out of 4 valves, but that was fairly painless. That's about it to the engine; we temporarily covered it up with an old cam cover as we wouldn't want to scratch up our nicely polished cover from GTD!

Finally, we brought out the cleaned-up transmission (it had apparently been rebuilt by the P.O. as synchros seemed new) and easily bolted it to the engine, on a work-table. Both starter and mechanical fuel pump have also been attached to the engine, so there's really nothing more left to do to the powertrain. The carbs will be installed once the engine's back in the car.

Glenn will be busy for the next few weeks, so it's unlikely that we can have a running car by New Year's, but definitely by next Spring. In the meanwhile, I'll be working on little trim/body-related items at home, trying to finish as much as I can before the car goes to Berkeley for its engine and glass work. I finally found a good rear license plate bracket, and will be cleaning it up and installing it (and plate) onto the rear bumper. The car's already registered and been insured for the road.

[pathung]

Photos of the completed engine and transmission.

[Subtle]

Someone in England builds an alternator that looks like the Lucas 28-amp generator.

Couple of years ago it was pricey at 450 sterling.

Your alternator install looks good.

[Alfajay]

Well, yes the Japanese alternator does look modern in a Giulietta, but then so does the spin-on oil filter, the dry cell battery, the NGK spark plugs, the synthetic oil, yadda yadda. While the guys with their generators and points-style regulators are stuck by the side of the road, you'll be cruising. Don't worry about it!

While the British do make alternators hidden inside Lucas generator bodies, 1) your car probably came with a Bosch, and not a Lucas, and 2) if your goal is reliability, I'd worry about the lack of cooling that results from stuffing an alternator into a generator (sort of like a turducken).

[pathung]

My next question for you folks who restored your Spiders - what kind of sound insulation did you use? Dynamat seems to be a popular choice, but there are different grades. Anything else there that I should consider?

[Subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathung My next question for you folks who restored your Spiders - what kind of sound insulation did you use? Dynamat seems to be a popular choice, but there are different grades. Anything else there that I should consider?

[101/105guy]

Looking good !!
Is your fan belt the right size ? Seems too wide for the v in your pullies.

[pathung]

Randy, your comment about the belt size has been noted. I must admit that I don't remember if the belt sank in more after we installed the spacer and secured the alternator on the black bracket, but you'll see that the photos show a belt that hadn't been stretched and alternator secured. I'll double-check next time I see the car.

I forgot to mention in last week's post that I've successfully installed the driver's seat. The seat tracks fit the seat bottom rails well, and naturally, the seat-track screws that I ordered from McMaster Carr worked perfectly. Very cozy seat, I must say, and a great feeling of anticipation as I sat there for a few seconds holding the steering wheel and peering over the dash at the hood, sans windshield.

I also ordered and received a set of lap belts from Retrobelts.com, in black; I had the feeling that none of their reds was going to match the darker red that I have for my seats. The original belts were bolted to the bottom of the floor, but it seems a safer bet to instead attach the anchors to the sides (rocker and center tunnel); what have others done in this regard? I'll try to remember to post photos of the one installed seat in the car tomorrow.

I'll probably be tackling the weather-stripping around the door openings this weekend, and ordering the thermal/sound-insulation material for the interior; it'll likely be the HushMat variety, as recommended by Subtle; it seems quite easy to install. My rubber floormats just arrived from ClassicAlfa in the U.K., and they look spot-on; I'll trial-fit the trunk mat first.

Lastly, my WARN "winch" also arrived, along with a hitch mount. This is a godsend as none of my Alfas run, and need to be pushed onto trailers if I were to move them anywhere. With the winch attached to my F-250's rear hitch, I simply lash up the cable/strap to the Alfa, push a button, and relax! Yipee.

[GTD]

Patrick
After lashing up the cable/strap - before pushing a button - don't forget to put the ALFA in Neutral.