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86 Spider - Restoration - Father and Son Project
Hi AlfaBB members,
My first post, of what will likely be many.
My son and I are mechanically restoring his black Alfa Romeo, Spider Veloce. He's 15 (yes, you read that right), learning a lot and anxious to get it to running condition and looking beautiful.
We sent an email to Italy (thanks to some great information from here on AlfaBB) and determined that our pride and joy, although not yet running, was manufactured in November of 1985 and sold in may of 1986 (in the USA).
Viviana (as we refer to her) is black (Nero Pastello to be exact), has AC, black carpet and a grey leather interior with red piping.
The car has 51k miles and the body is in very good condition with almost no rust (just a small spot in the rear wheel well). Mechanically the car may have had a fuel problem that caused the PO to store it for three years.
Needless to say we are carefully trying to get to the car back to running condition:
Completely emptied and restored the fuel tank
Applied new sealant that the tank sits on
Rebuilt the sending unit
Cleaned all of the electrical contacts
Replaced fuel hoses in trunk and under the car
Installed new fuel filter
Installed new internal tank and external fuel pump
Changed the oil
Replaced the spark plugs (pitted in black)
Used a bit of Marvel Mystery Oil
After all of this we attempted to wake Viviana from her three year slumber. It sounded like she was going to, but no. We thought it was either the starter or fuel injectors. The fuel pump was working fine - we could hear it.
We decided we would replace all of the injectors (Cold Start too) and install a new starter, just in case.
So we took out the fuel rail and injectors. The little gaskets on the end of the fuel injectors fell apart upon being touched. They clearly needed to be changed and had been there for quite some time.
Incidentally, when we changed the external fuel pump and filter, we found a kinked fuel hose to the pump that was nearly flat and appeared to be fraying. We thought that was what likely stopped this car from running several years ago. Oh, the fuel filter was on backwards too. Go figure.
Anyway, we also removed the plenum (those bolts were a nightmare). Thanks again to the great posts here, by the way.
Finally, we removed the intake manifold, and to the point of this post in the first place. Thanks for your patience! Promise, not all my posts will be this verbose.
This first post is a hello, sincere thanks to all who have posted before (RIP TIFOSI), and context to help with my question:
Can someone take a look at the pics attached and provide an analysis of what you see? Can we infer anything about the car's history and potential problems from them? The little coolant you see in one of the pics is what washed back into the manifold as we attempted to take the manifold out. That gasket was old and very stuck.
Lastly, we plan on cleaning both halves of the intake manifold (shown in pictures) and will be using Gasket Remover from Permatex. Any comments on cleaning and prepping before reassembling is appreciated.
Incidentally, I will post a pic of the car in the response to our question.
If you're curious and still reading -
We will replace the intake manifold gasket
Replace the starter
Replace the engine mounts while we're at it
Pull out the radiator, have it checked
Replace the fan and switch, and hoses.
Then we will try to start Viviana again. And keep you all informed about our progress too!
Thanks again.
Hi AlfaBB members,
My first post, of what will likely be many.
My son and I are mechanically restoring his black Alfa Romeo, Spider Veloce. He's 15 (yes, you read that right), learning a lot and anxious to get it to running condition and looking beautiful.
We sent an email to Italy (thanks to some great information from here on AlfaBB) and determined that our pride and joy, although not yet running, was manufactured in November of 1985 and sold in may of 1986 (in the USA).
Viviana (as we refer to her) is black (Nero Pastello to be exact), has AC, black carpet and a grey leather interior with red piping.
The car has 51k miles and the body is in very good condition with almost no rust (just a small spot in the rear wheel well). Mechanically the car may have had a fuel problem that caused the PO to store it for three years.
Needless to say we are carefully trying to get to the car back to running condition:
Completely emptied and restored the fuel tank
Applied new sealant that the tank sits on
Rebuilt the sending unit
Cleaned all of the electrical contacts
Replaced fuel hoses in trunk and under the car
Installed new fuel filter
Installed new internal tank and external fuel pump
Changed the oil
Replaced the spark plugs (pitted in black)
Used a bit of Marvel Mystery Oil
After all of this we attempted to wake Viviana from her three year slumber. It sounded like she was going to, but no. We thought it was either the starter or fuel injectors. The fuel pump was working fine - we could hear it.
We decided we would replace all of the injectors (Cold Start too) and install a new starter, just in case.
So we took out the fuel rail and injectors. The little gaskets on the end of the fuel injectors fell apart upon being touched. They clearly needed to be changed and had been there for quite some time.
Incidentally, when we changed the external fuel pump and filter, we found a kinked fuel hose to the pump that was nearly flat and appeared to be fraying. We thought that was what likely stopped this car from running several years ago. Oh, the fuel filter was on backwards too. Go figure.
Anyway, we also removed the plenum (those bolts were a nightmare). Thanks again to the great posts here, by the way.
Finally, we removed the intake manifold, and to the point of this post in the first place. Thanks for your patience! Promise, not all my posts will be this verbose.
This first post is a hello, sincere thanks to all who have posted before (RIP TIFOSI), and context to help with my question:
Can someone take a look at the pics attached and provide an analysis of what you see? Can we infer anything about the car's history and potential problems from them? The little coolant you see in one of the pics is what washed back into the manifold as we attempted to take the manifold out. That gasket was old and very stuck.
Lastly, we plan on cleaning both halves of the intake manifold (shown in pictures) and will be using Gasket Remover from Permatex. Any comments on cleaning and prepping before reassembling is appreciated.
Incidentally, I will post a pic of the car in the response to our question.
If you're curious and still reading -
We will replace the intake manifold gasket
Replace the starter
Replace the engine mounts while we're at it
Pull out the radiator, have it checked
Replace the fan and switch, and hoses.
Then we will try to start Viviana again. And keep you all informed about our progress too!
Thanks again.
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