Yet another new member

[Ghost]

I've been lurking for a few weeks and finally took the time to register. I purchased a 1978 Spider a couple months back and love it. Its features to date are:

Bad Brakes
runs bad
bad paint job
speedo does not work over 35 mph
warning lights don't work
only one headlight works (and its not burnt out)
backfires on deceleration
loses huge amounts of oil, looks like front seal is out
no gas guage
oil pressure starts high, then runs low (crank plugs?)
falls out of gear in reverse

To top it all off, the last time I drove it, we came VERY close to having to put a fire out. The main wiring harness shorted out and burned the insulation off of itself AND all the wires that it ran along side. With all the oil in the engine compartment, it really was a miracle that the whole car was not lost.

The prior owner recently had some head work done by Wes Ingram and said that "everything worked fine". Only a slight exageration huh? But, don't worry, I bought the car on the cheap and my only hope was to be able to drive it for the summer, which it almost did. Hopefully, we still have at least a good head. I still want to pull the engine and do some fun upgrades like pistons/rings and inspect the crank plugs, etc...

This is my first Alfa and I'm looking forward to starting the process of tearing the car down this winter. It will be a lot of fun. It does need a new paint job, but what is there is at least servicable and there does not appear to be a huge amount of body work to be done as the car is relatively straight outside of a few dings, nor does there appear to be a huge rust problem. There are a couple paint bubble that look like filler issues, but with any luck those areas will be isolated and not indicative of larger issues. My hope is that I get to spend most of my time in the mechanical department and we will worry about cosmetics last.

Finally, to the woman in the (74?) light blue spider with a hardtop here locally in Washington that waved and offered to stop and help on that day in Factoria that the car was smoking like Mt. St. Helens. I just wanted to say "thank you". We got a quick tow and everything was fine.

So, hello everyone. I hope to get this project under way in the next couple months. This should be fun. With any luck, we'll still be ugly, but happily driving around come spring time.

Brett

[GTD]

WELCOME BRETT!

A very nice introduction and a super Alfisti attitude! Glad your ride didn't incinerate.
Best of luck on your Winter projects.

[SeekGTV]

Welcome aboard! Sounds like you and your car will be bonding this winter!

I'm sure the gents on this BB will be very helpful. They have been for me! Good luck!

[Roadtrip]

Welcome to the BB Brett. The chassis problems are probably self-evident. However, there might be some problems hiding. Remove the seats and take up the carpet on the floor and see how much rust you have in there. If it's bad, you'll need to budget for replacement floor pans, about $200 each side plus welding. Note that I didn't say "see if there's any rust" but rather "see how much is there."

On the drivetrain, how is the sychros in the transmission? An exchange tranny is about $850. Popping out of reverse is pretty common on worn trannys, but I wouldn't pull it just for that. On the engine, before you condemn the rings, I would do a wet and dry compression test to see what you've got. If you're getting 140-160 psi and a good first couple pumps, and aren't showing oil burning, then money might be better spent fixing something that needs fixing. On the oil pressure, how does it start out, and what does it deteriorate to when the engine is hot (both at idle and say 2500 rpm)? If the front seal is the only problem with leaks, that can be replaced in-situ.

The backfiring is probably because the Fuel Cutoff Solenoid is not working either because of bad wiring or a bad microswitch on the injection pump. A new microswitch is about $60, but the pump has to come off the engine to replace it. Not too hard, but can be a PIA if some fasteners are corroded.

You should also check your injection pump for signs of fuel leaking into the oil sump. Check the thread in "Carbs and Fuel Injection" for the thread on "Pre-purchanse inspection of a SPICA injected Alfa." That will tell you how to do a quick check to see if the FI pump is severely worn.

As for the electrical issues, but best advice I can give you is to just go through the entire chassis wire bundle by wire bundle, connection by connection and CLEAN everything with electrical cleaner spray. Wire brush all connectors shiny and make sure the connectors grip tight. For the cockpit, the best thing to do is just pull the dash board. It's only held on by five fasteners and it will give you super-easy access to clean and tighten everything very quickly and easily. Pulling the dash will take about 30 minutes, but will save you hours of time and back pain trying to work underneath it. You can fix that Speedo at the same time. If you need pictures of how the dash comes off. We have a bunch in previous post, or many of us have them on our computers already. Being new to Alfas, don't try and reinvent the wheel . . . . read the shop manual, and if you have any questions or need clarification, don't hesitate to ask. Somebody here will have the answer and a great tip on how to do it the easiest/bestest way, and probably with pictures to boot.

Post us a picture of the ugly duckling, soon to be a swan.

[Alfapaulic]

Welcome Brett, you will be spending some time with your alfa. Be patient and you will be rewarded...

Paul