Roxanne - budget milano/75 track car

[smestas]

Great thread Jes!!

Keep up the good work. I'm sure you are inspiring many people on how to make a good track car on a limited budget. Especially with how low some of these Milanos have been selling for.

Where did you purchase that battery box by the way? Online or at a local shop?

[AR4me]

It is a Moroso box - sealed and vented - this box is somewhat pricy, but again, safety reasons caused me to err on the safe side as the rear firewall on the milano is not completely sealed. I pretty much buy everything on-line - from Alfa vendors and the on-line race outfits.
Jes

[PSk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AR4me We got some engine degreaser and he brought the pressure washer - sure helped. See below. Happy now Pete?

[AR4me]

So, today I spent some time with a can of mineral spirits and a pile of rags. It cleaned up the remaining black stuff on the floor boards well. The mineral spirits worked well, but it still took some time - it was hot again today...

See the results below. I think this is as good as it will get for now.

Jes

[AR4me]

I then went on to remove excess wiring (from ammenities no longer there) - gotta get all that stuff out. Remember, only got 155 HP. Armed with a pick I went to work. The ideas was to remove wires end-to-end cleanly, removing the pin out of whatever multi-connector the wire terminates in. Getting the connectors out from up under the dash on the left side was a bit of a pain. I still figured it was easier than pulling the dash out (again).

A couple of pics below.

In the wiring department I need to remove the wires that used serve the center console but are no longer serving any purpose. I plan to run the wires on the two sides of the car in some wire sleeve to keep things neat - stay tuned.
Jes

[AR4me]

Some more progress: I try to get in a couple of hours on the car every evening. The latest work has focussed on getting the wires inside the cabin organized in sleeves as well as securing other lines, e.g. fuel, that run inside the cabin. I took out the wires servicing the center console. Also I relocated the front window switches from the overhead console to where the front center vent used to be. I still have to make a panel for them to mount in, but wiring is all done and they are functional. I decided to keep the front power windows for now as opening windows is only remaining option for ventilation (which may come in handy for some sorting on the street and limited commuting).

Find pics below.

I hope to order the Autopower roll cage tomorrow.

Jes

[AR4me]

And some more...

[AR4me]

Ok, so I chickened out today and replaced the t-belt tensioner. My original intention was to keep running the old one (with the new belt) as I didn't find anything wrong with it. However, I since discovered that it most likely is VERY old. So... a new one went on. Also, I replaced a leaky oil pressure switch (for the warning light). It had started leaking oil through the housing. A bit tight at the back of the engine, but the old came out and a new one went in.

I also ordered the Autopower roll cage for Roxanne today. I went with the 1.5" sizing since the car should come in under 2700 lbs, anything above that requires 1.75" according to the rules of AROSC. According to Don it is 3000 lbs for SCCA... I also ordered the window net and seat back support.

Now to a few questions:
1. Does the milano overflow bottle setup require a catch tank as specified in the AROSC rules for Race group? I don't think so, but I want to make sure I am not missing something.
2. Does the oil breather setup of the milano require a catch tank? Again, I don't think so as the oil vapors are passed to the intake, and re-circulated.

Jes

[Fortis 621]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AR4me ... I also ordered the window net and seat back support.

[La Voce]

Great thread AR4me, even for those of us who may never race our Milano, these pictures as you strip out the interior are neat. It's nice to see what's behind all of the panels and under the insulation, very educational and really could help with troubleshooting a problem someday.

[AR4me]

Yeah, it is kind of fun to take apart, and even to simplify the car, so that you have less that can go wrong at the track.

So, with the new timing belt and tensioner as a last step (after re-checking cam alignment) I was going to adjust the ignition timing and idle. Well, I knew that it didn't idle super smooth and would wobble a bit, but with a little gas that is all gone and it is super smooth - so, not an issue in practice. But, it just so happens that it appeared to be cyl 1 that misses from time to time at idle. This is a problem since this is the plug-wire that triggers the timing light. Oh well, since plugs, cap, and rotor are probably of super high mileage I didn't hesitate to order new. So today I put on new Golden Lodge spark plugs, cap, rotor, and even a new set of stock ignition wires - no fancy stuff. Now it idles super smooth, and I adjusted ignition timing to 2 degrees at idle, and idle itself to 950 - all stock. Would I gain any peak power by advancing the idle a bit???

Anyway, I took some pics of the old spark plugs: Cyl 1, 2, 3 in first pic, and cyl 4, 5, 6 in second pic. I also took pics of the old rotor, the old cap, and then finally a picture of the engine bay. It really is quite spacious without battery (now in trunk), without PS, and without AC.

Jes

[75evo]

You should gain some bhp over what it had before. I mean it should be at stock level now. I found out that non-stock dissy cap are WORTHLESS, so good thing you got, what looks to be, an OE cap.

I would set static ignition timing to 3.0 spec (7* ).

BTW, have you upgraded the pads yet? Pads and braided lines should also help a lot. Putting in Verde front sway bar should also improve handling.

[AR4me]

Ok, I will try the 7 degrees 3.0 spec for (static) ignition timing - thanks!

Yeah, I had Porterfield's at both ends at BW as the car came with worn out rear pads. Also, as a safety precaution I replaced brake lines back then as well, and opted for steele braided as it wasn't that much of a difference. I think that most milanos I have purchased over the years have had the rubber front brake lines fail within a year or so. They swell during humidity and you get funcky braking - would be real dicy on the track.

Since I have my old stock verde front sway (now has RS) I was going to put that on back in May, but it turned out the stock platinum was same size - measured it - go figure, and I'm pretty sure the Platinum hasn't been changed...

BTW, got to lower both front and rear as all the weight shedding has raised it quite a bit. I'm thinking of 1" rear and 1/2" front. Also, I would like to get the Bilstein's re-valved to stiffen them up. Or, if anyone has a set of affordable adjustable yellow konis I might be interested...

Jes

[gday]

Hey Jes, When I lowered my GTV6 I found that the rear springs sat in an aluminum collar that raised the rear by about 3/4" (to meet US bumper height requirements I imagine). If the Milano has the same thing, getting rid of it would be a realy easy way to lower the rear. Do you already have lowering springs installed?