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What did you do Alfa Spider related today?

517K views 6K replies 427 participants last post by  alfaloco 
#1 · (Edited)
I noticed that the 164 & 168 guys have a very active thread about what they've been up to, and I think us Spider guys and gals need to get with the program- so I'm gonna start and see what happens!

Today was a very good day! It was a beautiful warm, clear day in South Florida, and I'm sorry to tell so many of you in the more "Arctic" or "Nordic" places, but it was PERFECT top-down weather!

My Sofia (my Spider's name- still looking for a permanent occupant for that other seat!) was in prime condition, freshly painted, washed and tuned, and I even put the boot on today (it really does add that last dash of class...) so we took a ride along A1A, right along the Atlantic coast, starting in Fort Lauderdale (it's Spring Break Time- although I'm way too old for that :crying2:) where some of the beach crowd took notice of us with waves and smartphone shots, and then headed north, eventually getting into an impromptu group of 3 red convertible sports cars in a semi-caravan. Sadly, my companion's cars were from a certain manufacturer in bratwurstland, but what can you do? For a while I had a modern Maserati convertible in black as my wingman, but I think he was too cool to notice- probably because he was NOT too old for the Spring Break crowd!

Anyway, got stuck in traffic at the beach, and didn't care. Sofia ran like a champ and never threatened to overheat, and my sunblock did it's job keeping me from turning Alfa Rosso myself. :blushing:

Weather is supposed to be great here all this week (that means evening lows in the 70s, daytime highs just below 80°- that's 21-27C for you metric folks) so you may be hearing more from me soon!

Let's hear from you guys and gals!

I remember many years ago driving in a snowstorm in Syracuse NY with the top down so I could get 3 kegs of beer in my old Fiat Spider for a frat party! Any crazy persons (like me) up there in the tundra enjoying a topless winter blast?

Viva i ragni! :clap:
 
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#4 ·
I think that springs are next on my list. What did you get, and why?

I have poly bushings and Koni Reds all around. I'll be getting a rebuilt steering idler box this week- just enough play in it now that it can't be properly aligned.

I'm lucky with my dash- never had a crack. I've used Zymol Vinyl on all my vinyl and I swear by it. I think the trick is to never use silicone based products. They make everything look shiny, but they pull the moisture out.

Another reason I use Zymol products? They smell so good! :grin2:

Gotta cook up some pasta for tomorrow to check my handling! >:)
 
#5 ·
Kentucky winter temperatures are like a yo-yo, and I had my S4 out 3 weeks ago with the top down. However, it only ventures out when any salt has been washed off the roads. I'm currently messing with the front suspension settings on the '76 in anticipation of the first autocross of the season in about 2 weeks, as well as thinking about a work list for attendance at the AROC convention in Nashville.

... Any crazy persons (like me) up there in the tundra enjoying a topless winter blast?

Viva i ragni! :clap:
 
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#10 ·
Kentucky winter temperatures are like a yo-yo, and I had my S4 out 3 weeks ago with the top down. However, it only ventures out when any salt has been washed off the roads.
I used to deal with the yo-yo temps when I lived in New York. I sometimes worked a shift on Sunday mornings that started at 5am, which meant leaving the house around 4am. One week around this time of year was gorgeous- top down, didn't even need the heater. The very next week, BLIZZARD!. I had trouble getting up a very gentle slope on a back road- I think that section of road took me 20 minutes that day (normally would have been about 20 seconds!) :surprise:

Glad those days are behind me! :smile2:
 
#7 ·
I drove mine on a nice long ride with one of my girls. (by the way, that's the fastest way to get a Ricaro seat with 5-point harness into a spider) :smile2: Another happy customer.

The weekend project was syncing the quad carbs on my Nighthawk, then adjusting idle mixtures. For another BB...
 

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#13 ·
Pot hole wise I'm not too concerned, the springs are enough stiffer than stock that I think it's actually less likely that they'll compress enough to cause a problem. Speed bumps (sleeping policemen as our UK friends would say) are another matter of course.

Here's a quick cell phone pic

 
#14 ·
Pot hole wise I'm not too concerned, the springs are enough stiffer than stock that I think it's actually less likely that they'll compress enough to cause a problem. Speed bumps (sleeping policemen as our UK friends would say) are another matter of course.
Oooooh.... that's low....

This is me now... You can see I'm driving uphill all the time. Don't know if I can go that low though... Decisions, decisions...:confused:
 

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#15 ·
RCmanners...so that's a picture of your S3 with Centerline yellow springs?
 
#20 ·
I drove around in the gorgeous weather of South Florida today. Nice breeze, low humidity, just a few clouds to break up the clear blue skies... ahhhh....heaven...

Ran some errands- including picking up some parts at my local Scion/Toyota dealer.

Turned a few heads there! :grin2:
 
#21 ·
Specifically Spider related, I loaded up a mess of parts accumulated during the time I owned my S3. I'm giving them to our club's resident mechanic so that they'll find their way onto other folk's rides. Starters, alternators, a steering box or two...
I'm also taking my GTV engine and all of the new parts for an assembly session. The fully rebuilt head and transmission are waiting to meet the rest of the stuff!
I've been reducing the flock, but a late model Spider is a strong possibility. They don't handle as well as the more rigid GTV or the transaxle cars, but they're CONVERTIBLES!
 
#27 ·
Had some great Spider days this week. Took mine out of storage on Sat. It can go back in if needed. Was able to fit my Plexiglas wind deflector project in on Tuesday. Wednesday was pushing 80 degrees by mid-afternoon. I did a short top down run in the morning. I took the long way downtown for supper and a meeting to get in a couple of miles at speed on the highway. The wind deflector works well.

Rainy today, but still warm. Weekend should continue to be favorable. So it is a rare snow free March in northern New England. Big difference from the past three years.

John

Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk
 
#28 ·
Glad to hear about the Spider-friendly weather up there this time of year.

I remember many years ago planning to do a Hobiecat (sailboat) race on Lake Winnipesaukee around the beginning of April and having the event almost cancelled because the lake was still frozen the weekend before the race! The ice melted in time and we had the race- but it was a VERY different experience than sailing down here in Miami in April! :surprise:

I envy your roads up there. The twisty roads with elevation changes and the fall foliage are the only things I miss by moving down here.

Glad your wind deflector is working to your liking. I hope the weather continues to be cooperative. Keep it topless! :wink2:
 
#29 ·
I put my battery back in, cleaned up my engine compartment a bit. I also started to refurb my windshield washer system. The weather here in Ridgefield, CT is looking good, but I need a bit of rain to wash the salt off the roads before I go out.
First summer that my son has a license and he's dying to drive the Alfa.

I am due for new tires and am looking for a clean white windshield washer bottle with all the right markings.
 
#30 ·
Found a vacuum hose not connected.

So I was trying to clean the rear plastic window when I started poking around. I noticed a hose in the firewall on the passenger side of my '88 Spider Veloce that wasn't connected. I've only had the car about a month and have been fix a lot of minor electrical issues. I have no idea what this vacuum hose is for. I saw where it connects and I decided to connect it. I don't notice any difference with the car's performance, but I do hear noise where I connected the hose and when I let of the gas I hear a whistling sound from that same location. Can any one help me understand this? Also if anyone has manuals that the can send me electronically I would greatly appreciate that as well. Thanks in advance!

Adam
 
#32 ·
Checked two tachometers from Richard Jemison's Spider race car. One works and I will try to fix the other.
Built an interface for Rich Davisson to enable him to hook up an aftermarket fuel gauge in his car.
Got the tach working properly on my GTV6. It was flopping to zero when the rev's exceeded 5000 rpm due to loading by the Crane CDI. Powered it from the tach output on the crane.
Did a flat out pull from a rolling start to 100 mph in the GTV6. It got there rather quickly.

Retirement is GREAT.
 
#33 ·
After doing a lot of work on recently purchased '67 Duetto, I finally got her on the road and boy I have missed the beautiful note of these cars! Grinning ear to ear.

Bought the car in June and have been doing the following work (slowly) on the car since November:
-Alfaholics SS exhaust - love it and bolted right on
-Pertronix dizzy - great addition, easy to install and car fired right up.
-Recored radiator
-New water pump as car was running hot but this was due to a stuck thermostat
-Installed new Weber rubber mounts and balanced and tuned Webers
-Replaced brake line to MC [bled brakes - many times] and replaced fluid reservoir
-Took out dash, installed dash cover, replaced all lights with LEDs and reinstalled
-Changed lug bolts from LH to RH on drivers side [screwed up the rear wheel bearing so had to replace that)
-Put in tranny and differential oil using Redline oil
-PLX wideband O2 sensor - great little device

Car was smoking quite a bit while tuning and diagnosing issues (PO said car was sitting for some time), but since I have put on a couple hundred miles the smoke is almost all gone.

Unfortunately she will go back into storage until October on Monday as work will take me out of the US. So when I get back, I will tackle the front and rear suspension, new headlights, replace floor boards and think about a paint job.

Plus I have to mention that the guys at Classic Alfa have been great as the majority of parts have been sourced from them as the service is spot-on, prices very good (even with shipping and exchange rate) and shipping quick (order on Thursday arrive on Monday).

Wish the Penguins were not playing right now, otherwise I would still be out in the car!

Chip
Columbus, Indiana
 
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