[BLaRoche]

Hello all, we recently acquired this 1988 Graduate, which has been parked since 2012 or so and has just over 77,000 miles on it. Going to take a little bit of time to get back on the road, but hopefully not too long! As of right now we are waiting on the in-tank fuel pump, we removed all the old fuel in the tank and discovered that the in-tank pump was inoperable. Aside from that we are going to be replacing the top, and perhaps at some point the seats, as the original vinyl has a few tears. The clutch pivot shaft is broken at the weld, so a new one of those has been ordered and we will most likely be replacing the clutch MC, slave cylinder, or both. Going to also change motor mounts as the passenger side mount is pretty collapsed. The car has the original Clarion 6390 radio, but unfortunately the code is lost and Alfa Parts in Berkeley said to call back Monday and they might be able to help. In the midst of waiting for parts I’ve been trying to clean it up as best I can, seems to be cleaning up nicely! Anyway, here are a few pictures of the car, I’ve already gotten lots of info here on the forum, so thanks for the assistance!

-Bazil

 

[ghnl]

Welcome to the BB. Your Spider looks like a good project. Cleaning it up & catching up on deferred maintenance will bring it back to glory. Thanks for the photos (we like photos).

Click on the link in my signature to a page of DIY diagnostic info about the L-jetronic system in our cars. Cleaning & securing as many electrical connections (especially grounds) will help make those systems reliable. (you may need to click the down arrow to see the signature block)

 

[BLaRoche]

Welcome to the BB. Your Spider looks like a good project. Cleaning it up & catching up on deferred maintenance will bring it back to glory. Thanks for the photos (we like photos).

Click on the link in my signature to a page of DIY diagnostic info about the L-jetronic system in our cars. Cleaning & securing as many electrical connections (especially grounds) will help make those systems reliable. (you may need to click the down arrow to see the signature block)

Thank you! I actually read through your write up weeks before we got the car, and I am sure it will be of great help when we try to get the car running soon!

 

[pantera928]

I think that you will find that it is worthwhile removing the tank and having it cleaned and sealed by a radiator shop. You will probably find a lot of corrosion and contamination due to ethanol and time. You do not want to damage your new pump and tank sending unit.
I would also replace the pump under the car, the fuel filter there and the rubber lines at the pump, tank and fuel rail.
I have brought 3 of these S3 spiders back to life recently and had to do all of that on all of them. One sat 17 years, one 12 years and one 15 years.
After that, belts, hoses and sensors as needed.
Eric's diagnostic guide for L-Jetronic is great if you run into any issues there.
Welcome aboard and best of luck
There is a lot of help available here on AlfaBB

 

[lgbalfa]

Should be a fun project car!

 

[bianchi2]

were are you located?

 

[BLaRoche]

I think that you will find that it is worthwhile removing the tank and having it cleaned and sealed by a radiator shop. You will probably find a lot of corrosion and contamination due to ethanol and time. You do not want to damage your new pump and tank sending unit.
I would also replace the pump under the car, the fuel filter there and the rubber lines at the pump, tank and fuel rail.
I have brought 3 of these S3 spiders back to life recently and had to do all of that on all of them. One sat 17 years, one 12 years and one 15 years.
After that, belts, hoses and sensors as needed.
Eric's diagnostic guide for L-Jetronic is great if you run into any issues there.
Welcome aboard and best of luck
There is a lot of help available here on AlfaBB

Thanks for the tip on the fuel tank, we were considering having that done and will probably pull the tank this weekend. We’ve got a new filter and will be buying new fuel line this weekend as well!

 

[BLaRoche]

were are you located?

I am in Riverside CA!

 

[pantera928]

Thanks for the tip on the fuel tank, we were considering having that done and will probably pull the tank this weekend. We’ve got a new filter and will be buying new fuel line this weekend as well!

The tank come out through the trunk. Biggest pain is getting the filler neck hose off which you might want to replace while in there. There are 3 bolts that hold the metal filler neck to the car body inside the trunk.
I usually try to empty the tank and I also place a floor jack under the tank with a board on it to push the tank up in order to loosen the seal to the body.

 

[BLaRoche]

After having the Spider home for a week now I wanted to post a quick update. We followed Eric’s L-Jet troubleshooting guide and have now got the car running! We were having issues with the injectors not spraying fuel, and after cleaning grounds/computer wiring connectors the car starts right up. Next on the to-do list is motor mounts! Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

[bianchi2]

install a starter relay, install .2 head light relays, one for low light and one for high beams another good thing to do,most folks here overlook, install a fuel relay, a fuel pump take lots of amps to run well, this one is harder to do, but it will make your wipers work better, install 2 relays one for slow, and one for high speed....this winter take out the seats and rug, and clean, clean, clean.. remove rear shelf also, do not re use the phillips screws, replace them with button head allen bolts,, and use anti sceize on the threads, remove the spare tire, clean the well from all the rust that you will find.. then seal it with por15, once you got it to shiney metal.. and little weak acid will clean it well, then after you seal it.. get 4 2 inchs wide by 4 inches long, and 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick rubber and at 90 degrees to each other glue them to the spare tire well floor, this wll keep the spare tire off the floor, and allow air to move around it, stopping any rust that might start

 

[bianchi2]

also any cracks that you find in the asphalt,, remove the loose stuff,, then go about 5-10 mms around the cracks and clean the rust, that well be there, out,, use that por15 that you have to seal it after cleaned it,, then just get some clear silcone and fill the area up , flush all of this could be a family project..keep them close

 

[BLaRoche]

Figured I would give everyone an update on our Alfa project. Over the weekend we replaced motor mounts, replaced the soft hydraulic line leading into the slave cylinder, new fuel filler neck hose, oil and filter change, and removed the old convertible top. We’ve been driving the car around our neighborhood and it seems to run/drive/brake just fine. I think the next thing on our list is to take it in for a smog check next weekend. Any tips on ensuring the car will pass the first time around? It’s got just over 77,000 miles on it, doesn’t seem to be running rich or anything like that, just don’t want to have to deal with running back and forth between a smog shop! Of course we will make sure it’s got a full tank of premium, air the tires up quite a bit, and take it for a nice long drive to warm everything up. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Bazil

 

[ghnl]

With a properly functioning O2 sensor & working catalytic converter, I suspect it'll have no difficulty passing a smog test. Fully warmed up and fresh oil in the sump are also advised.

The only other thing I can think of would be to clean out the Oil Vapor Separator - a black can shaped item on the right inner fender. Remove it from the inner fender, spray some carb cleaner or brake cleaner into it, shake it, rinse & repeat until no more gunk comes out. Add about 20ml of engine oil into the small dia hose that runs from the bottom of the OVS back to the sump - this acts a one-way valve for the return line.

 

[BLaRoche]

Thank you for the tips! I was wondering if there was a way/need to clean the OVS, so thank you for the input!

 

[pantera928]

If the Oil Vapor Separator is bad, there is someone on this list that is making replacements out of brass. They are like IKEA. Some assembly required but the quality looks good.

 

[BLaRoche]

Another update for everyone, car is now smogged, registered, and back on the road! Passed the smog check with flying colors! We also installed a new top thanks to the great write ups on here. Next on the list is replacing the fuel sender, fan shroud, and fan (along with radiator rubber bushings).

 

[pantera928]

Looking good. Since this was your first time for an Alfa top, how long did it take to install it?

 

[BLaRoche]

Thanks! Spent an afternoon removing the old top, took about 3 hours to install the new top with one person helping with the installation.

 

[pantera928]

Very nice especially for a first time! Best of luck with that great looking spider