Clutch trouble

[vette]

I presume the pace maker job is just a scan, battery check and possibly software update. David

pd, I think you should have a few more implants anyway. I mean who wants to be an old standard issue, run of the mill Carbon Based Unit anyway. With all the new electronics and Wizardry you could be well on your way to being bionic.

may your test results remain negative ... and your Alfa attitude remain positive! /QUOTE ]

Here, Here, I second that. Good Luck. Dave.

 

[pdplot]

Thanks to all. The pacemaker I have is supposed to be safe when exposed to MRI or electrical current. Some of the earlier ones were not and had to be re-programmed. They use some kind of electrical stuff to zap the area. That PM is the best thing that I decided to do. It improved my quality of life 100%.

 

[Bayless]

Best of luck to you on both.

 

[Bob McElwee]

Best of luck on both procedures.

 

[John Turney]

Best of luck on both.

 

[pdplot]

Had the PM checked out today at MSK in NYC. Everything ok for next week. Took train and subway in - first time in years. Lunch in Grand Central Oyster Bar. Alfa still not done yet. Just as well - it's been raining every other day.

 

[pdplot]

Car is done. Shop had to machine the flywheel and discovered the rear main seal was weeping oil and was replaced. I was right about the thermostat - it was stuck open. I told him to check the flex hydraulic clutch line and it was soft and was replaced. He says the clutch and gearbox are now perfect. I hope so. If it ever stops raining, I'll pick it up and pay $$$. Haven't seen the bill yet.

 

[pdplot]

$2,146.61 later, car runs perfectly. He said the pilot bearing and shaft were dry and had a fine coating of rust. Flywheel had a few rough spots so he machined it as long as the clutch was out and replaced the leaking seal. He glued on the passenger side vent window opener, something I had been unable to do. Put in a new clutch master cylinder and flex hose - original style hose, not stainless (he said the quality was bad, sometimes right out of the box.)Car runs at 175 degrees now with new thermostat installed. Clutch takeup is much smoother now and catches nearer the bottom. Drove back on Merritt Parkway at 70 mph to beat the rain. Jon Wood of Round Hill Garage in Greenwich did the work. Very professional. Bill included $125 for flatbedding the car to Greenwich. So far, so good.

 

[NutmegCT]

Paul - congrats on the victory. Those cars look and sound great on the road.

(But as an Alfa friend of mine says when he works on his son's Alfa every few weeks, an Alfa is 100% reliable as long as it never leaves the garage.)

 

[pdplot]

Ha Ha! Too true. Not a good car for DIYers. But parts are available and not outrageous and the engines are pretty bulletproof - or so I'm told.

 

[DrEntropy]

Having owned three mid-60's GT's and two Spiders, there's not much that's too difficult to fix on 'em. I've put hundreds of thousands of miles on them. Wiring is no more a mystery than any Lucas system. If there are electrical issues it's likely the wiring has been compromised by someone who didn't care much for "ferrin cars". No matter the car's origin, crimp fasteners and/or twisting wires together and taping them are pi**-poor ways of connecting things. Solder and heat shrink are the only way to fix wiring connections. The bodges I've come across in my fifty years of dealing with these cars, both personally and professionally on wiring looms, would fill volumes.

Want a challenge? Sort out the loom on a Porsche 928 or an old Rolls Shadow after some jackleg git has been into it! :smirk:

 

[pdplot]

You don't want to look under the dash of my TR6. But all the connections are tight and I've not had an electrical problem in over 20 years due to wiring. Where it might have to come apart, I used bullet connectors and taped all hot wires. The Alfa wiring is a little more complex and setting the valve lash is tricky as it uses shims, but the good news is there are no pushrods or rockers and it doesn't have to be done too often. The battery is in the trunk and I keep it quick-disconnected as it tends to go flat after a couple of weeks without action. This car is now 27 years old and rust-free. The tires are Chinese crap but the tread is still good and a set of Michelins or Pirellis are somewhere down the road. Unlike earlier models, this thing has power steering, power windows (with 4 buttons!) and (inoperative) a/c. I think the compressor is shot - a $1500 item. Tech and I agreed to leave it and the hidden heater box alone.

 

[DrEntropy]

I've a full set of both Alfa 105 series and Lotus shims here, willing to exchange if there's a need. But a measurement in both metric and SAE would help make sure the right one is sent. I've no metric micrometers anymore.... :blue:

 

[Deleted member 8987]

I've a full set of both Alfa 105 series and Lotus shims here, willing to exchange if there's a need. But a measurement in both metric and SAE would help make sure the right one is sent. I've no metric micrometers anymore.... :blue:

I have NEVER had a metric micrometer or dial caliper. My rebellion against Jimmy Carter's metric mandate.

On tyres....when I got my Jag, had PRC tyres that had excellent tread....but they were so weather checked on the sidewalls you could see the air in the tyres through the cracks. 70MPH on the Interstate was scary.

 

[vette]

pd, you gotta get out there and drive it. there's no better time like the present. go to lime rock or to Watkins Glen. this weekend is the IMSA 6 hours of the Glen. I'll be there. those cars just came back from LeMans. Unfortunately the Corvette didn't win it this year but they are still in the running for the Manufacturers Championship. Just today, the second beautiful sunny and warm day in a row we just couldn't resist. Skipped out on church and left the house in the Healey about 9 am. Drove the Healey for 5 hours straight all thur central Pa. and up into the northern tier along Rt 6 to Wellsboro then south thru the Pine Creek Valley gorge , stopped for lunch at an Inn eating on the deck overlooking the Pine Creek. Just beautiful time. Get that Alpha out there. Enjoy. Dave.

 

[pdplot]

Took it up to Scotts Corners just over the NY line for outdoor breakfast Saturday. Ran fine; top down, wife happy in right seat. Left the battery hooked up but will check in a few days for loss as it has a voltmeter or what was called on my 1940 Ford sedan a "battery condition indicator".

 

[Deleted member 8987]

Probably wisht you still had the 40. My Dad had a Tudor 40....grew up in the backseat lookin' out the winders.
Tried for decades to find a Tudor I could afford.....never did....stuck with a 50 Tudor.

 

[pdplot]

Also had a '34 Ford convertible - my first car - in 1949-50, the 1940, (briefly) a 1951 and for 3 years, a 1952 with dual mufflers and a floating Pontiac grille, traded even up for a 1951 MG TD from a Ford dealer in Philly. My first sports car, leading me down the garden path. The 1940s are out of reach now, especially the convertibles.