Classic Alfa Forums

Fingers crossed for the weekend wiring.

Incidentally whilst picking up my random engine bits I got chatting to the chap who was selling them (redalfaracer on Ebay) - he's been racing a yellow 916 coupe but he's now retiring after 20 years, and is looking to sell it off soon (300bhp 3.0 v6, independent throttle bodies, adjustable shocks / strut mounts, race prepped, etc) and I instantly thought of your project...

It might make a good companion for yours, or a good racer for rainy days

That was probably Tony Soper.

LooLooSud33Spider wrote:That was probably Tony Soper.

I think you#re right - his first name was Tony, and a quick google for Tony Soper turns up what appears to be a younger looking version of the chap, complete with a yellow 916 gtv

Major milestone this evening . The Thing RUNS !!!

Now that is great news, well done Lou, I had every faith in your abilities

Always nice when it does start though

Indeed the wiring has given us a few headaches and it’s all “Jerry rigged” at the moment so I’ve now got to make a new dash. We’re making a custom loom system for the wipers and lights etc.

When I did the 145 I seriously considered just binning the 145 and coupe dash pods and fitting a 'bike one, there are some reasonably priced ones out there that looks way simpler to get working than trying to get everything talking to each other.

Well we ended up ripping all the std Spider wiring and switch gear out and at the moment just connected what we’ve had to to make it run . We’ve no instrumentation yet other than a capillary oil pressure gauge . So as this is a race car we’re going to design our own fuse box system and I’ll have small switches on the wheel for wipers and lights. We’ve got the code and injector lights working so we can use the. For fault diagnosis in the future .

LooLooSud33Spider wrote:Well we ended up ripping all the std Spider wiring and switch gear out and at the moment just connected what we’ve had to to make it run . We’ve no instrumentation yet other than a capillary oil pressure gauge . So as this is a race car we’re going to design our own fuse box system and I’ll have small switches on the wheel for wipers and lights. We’ve got the code and injector lights working so we can use the. For fault diagnosis in the future .

Sounds good, you probably wouldn't want all the original dash / loom anyway if it's going to be used purely on the track - it'd be wasted weight

As I said it runs despite this !!!

LooLooSud33Spider wrote:As I said it runs despite this !!!

5283B18C-A508-4676-BC09-4491DC038DC5.jpeg

Hmm, floor mounted instrument cluster, it could catch on

Interestingly (or maybe not) I had exactly the same steering wheel on my original roadgoing Legacy twinturbo - they seem to last very well for a racing wheel, even with everyday use.

Latest update on the spider . As mentioned we made it run. A few problems have shown themselves . The main one is the “it’s a good one” Turbo we acquired turns out to be good at one thing . That is pumping oil straight into the exh system the thing smoked Worse than a whore on crack.
So I removed the turbo again and is currently being rebuilt with a few reliability related mods at the TurboCentreUk in Wakefield. So Whilst that’s away I’ve been getting stuck into the electrics. New fuse box system installed and just the essentials for racing of rain light, wipers, stop and tail lights all working. Still got to rewire the fuel and temp gauges then hopefully we’ll be almost done. We’ve ordered some exh parts In order to make a new system. I’m scheduled to collect the Turbo on Wednesday so hopefully have it running again by next weekend. Watch this space .
Lou

Still plenty of dishonest people out there Lou, I bought the Fiat coupe donor car cheap on the basis that it was a non runner due to stopping on him "when a warning light came on and it wouldn't restart"
Should really have taken a battery with me to try it but it was cheap anyway being a complete car so hoped for the best.
It wouldn't restart again obviously due to a destroyed piston and a rod through the water jacket


At least you getting the turbo sorted now will save a headache later...

To be fair Kev I’m not complaining as the Turbo was free and considered to be ok so was worth a try. The project has lead to a good friendship with a Coupe fan in Carlisle. His names Rob and he’s got a Bellisimo 20vt that he’s building to show standard . I can’t thank him and his son Angelo (they’re Italian) enough for all the help he’s given us with the project. And we’ve traded loads of parts for stuff off our donor car. He’s also donated a few parts FOC Aswell.
We’re on the last stretch now with just the last few instruments to work out hopefully we’ll be done by next weekend and then it’s a full but n bolt check change gear oil refit seats and harness and we could be looking a test sometime in June .
Lou

So I Fitted the New turbo and made the exhaust system yesterday. And the smoking has largely disappeared. I think The small amount we did see was probably from all the oil in the front pipe from the knackered unit.
One last push on finishing the dash wiring later today and tomorrow. just a few small finishing jobs then we can look at going testing.
Sounds quite horny now in a weird 5cyl turbo whooshy kinda way.

great progress Lou, the 5 cyl warble is mega isn't it

LooLooSud33Spider wrote:So I Fitted the New turbo and made the exhaust system yesterday. And the smoking has largely disappeared. I think The small amount we did see was probably from all the oil in the front pipe from the knackered unit.
One last push on finishing the dash wiring later today and tomorrow. just a few small finishing jobs then we can look at going testing.
Sounds quite horny now in a weird 5cyl turbo whooshy kinda way.

Brilliant line!

And great work Lou

Thanks for all the words of encouragement. We’ve Had a few good days slicing the Fiat loom into the Alfa clocks . The rev counter does now work but reads approx 500rpm high so the plan is to try to rotate the face through the relevant degrees. Alternatively I’ll re Mark the face every 1000 rpm.

So it never rain but it pours . almost got the spider finished. And it runs superb BUT and it’s a big but. It still smoking rather more than I would like
Even with a nice fresh Turbo. I’ve run it long enough now that all the accumulated oil and gunk in the front pipe should be gone . But as it warms up and you pick the revs up I’m still seeing enough blue smoke to be a concern. So I’m thinking valve guides and seals or possibly rings. As most of you will know with the 5cyl any kind of major overhaul normally means pulling the engine out. However I’m determined to at least have a go at doing it in situ. I may just have to modify a few things . Wish me luck !

Good luck with it loo. Where there's a will.

Thanks Craig I’ll be honest with you this project has been a challenge and we’ve got all the electronics talking to each other now including speedo and rev counter . We’ve come so far and considering the engine was a gift from a Coupe owning friend I can’t really complain. I had the sump off and put new Big ends and main brgs in it as a precaution. But as Rob told me it was a good solid motor with no known issues I didn’t take it any further. That said It had been stood in his workshop for a few years so maybe A few seals may of perished or the rings are worn I have no other info on the engines past use or mileage. So it looks like I’m going to have to go a bit further this time.

Still no regrets just a feeling that I’m getting a bit old for this

My sud smoked like hell when I got it running after 15years. Knew I needed to take the heads of and do the valve stem seals but had other things to do. After running a while it smokes far less. I don't know if the seals have softened off or if that's even possible!

So We’ve spent today warming the spider up to temp several times we still had a noticeable amount of smoke so we added a can of Wynn’s Oil treatment. This is not a flush it’s an additive . (I’ve used it before and still use it as an engine build lubricant).
And I have to say since adding it the oil smoke has almost completely stopped. I’ll spend this week giving the car a full nut and bolt safety check and tie up a few loose ends and continue to warm the car up and as long as it behaves itself well look at booking a track/test day.
We’re Feeling much happier this evening

Great news Lol
Hope the fix becomes permanent for you

Rsfruitbat

Thanks Ade.
The Wynn’s additive is a great product. It’s not a “cure all” and It won’t fix a knackered engine. But it can help with small amounts of oil usage. I’ve used it for years.

Fingers crossed it settles down for you and your track day is a success.

Always used Wynn's - STP on bearing shells back in the day.

So the Spider drove under its own power today . Only up and down the close and our driveway. Sadly whilst the smoking had disappeared under idle and free revving conditions as I put the engine under load it started to puff the blue stuff out again.
So it’s going to have to come out again so I can rebuild it. I’m a bit fed up but I’ll just have to deal with it life sucks at times .

Looks good though.

Sorry for your troubles Loo