Alfarod re-engine update

roguerunner · Post by **roguerunner** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 12:51 am

Looking good & sounds nice & crisp!!

Mopar Mick · Post by **Mopar Mick** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 1:05 am

Well done Brett, sounds quite good.

Keep up the good work and of course pics.

Mick.

Shabby T · Post by **Shabby T** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 6:19 am

Mufflers, "that don't need no stinkin mufflers" Sounds great Brett. So how long now??

Brett.C · Post by **Brett.C** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 7:47 pm

Thanks for the positive comments guys, I need them.
Got the exhaust hooked up today she sounds great, better than a real alfa. Has a nice deep note without the raspy bark that many of them get with sports exhausts.

But!!! Silly me

Alfa don't use unis they have these rubber donuts to connect the tail shaft from the engine to the gearbox (which is out back remember)
Well these things run at engine speed and I installed the engine one to make life easier for when I install the tailshaft.
A friend (alfa nut) came over and I fired her up so he could hear how these engine should sound. I gave her a quick blip of the throttle and BANG! The bloody donut exploded.
It seems that the unattached sections expanded out due to the centrifugal forces and caught on part of the firewall, destroying the donut and the housing it sits in.

It looks like I will now have to pull the engine out to repair/replace the damaged rear extension housing (kinda like a bellhousing)

How long you ask shabby?

rx4ord · Post by **rx4ord** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 9:38 pm

Bugger! Sounded great before that though. Dave

Popey · Post by **Popey** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 10:31 pm

rx4ord wrote:Bugger! Sounded great before that though. Dave

Sorry to hear about the problem, but it sound solid and I can't wait to see it. Well done, very unique.

Pep · Post by **Pep** » Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:08 pm

Sounds sweet...shame about the exploding donut

....but it will give you something to do while you hunt down a tail shaft

Can you get one made if you can't locate one?

Brett.C · Post by **Brett.C** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:10 am

Exploding donut..sounds like something Homer would love to eat.

I've been reading up on the Alfa forum and these things have a habit of going bang, and when they do they can do a lot of damage. They also say to never run an engine with the donut attached and without the tailshaft.
I think I know now know why

It seems that the damage may not be as severe as I first thought. There's a chunk of aluminium missing but it's not a major structural part so I might just clean it up and move on.

I will though need to make a bit more room around the opening to the trans tunnel.

Brett.C · Post by **Brett.C** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:08 pm

Moving on..

This is the little alternator that I was telling you about.

I've had everything on with the engine at idle and she has no problem pumpin' out the juice.

This is an exploded donut

Air filter turned up the other day. It came from ebay, $50. Made in France by JR. The flange pipe is a real stretchy rubber material so I had no trouble making it fit over the alfa throttle body, 75 to 83 mm. And it colour matches just nicely.

And the V6 tailshaft turned up today. Got it from Milano spares in Melbourne. All I have to do is cut the end off and weld it to the old shaft on the left.

V6 and 4 cylinder shafts are completely different, with the V6 having a spline and yoke and the 4 just a direct coupling. Don't know why they are different, no body does but that's just typical of Alfa, they do some strange things sometimes.

Maffra · Post by **Maffra** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:56 pm

That is one sweet exhaust note . . . .

Drewfus · Post by **Drewfus** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 3:02 pm

Doing Great, should be fun....er

whilst I note that space is at a premium......I still think that little huffer would push that thing up a notch, can make it fit....

Cheers,

Drewfus

Brett.C · Post by **Brett.C** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:42 pm

Only suckers fit blowers.

NA all the way.

Brett.C · Post by **Brett.C** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 7:18 pm

A couple of people have pm'ed lately asking if she's on the road yet.
The short answer is no.
The long answer is I'm being dicked around by a wrecker over a dud part.
Unfortunately it's a hard to find item and a vital part of the tailshaft.
They assure me, for the 5th time, that a replacement is coming.

The engine is running ok and I have a basic tune ready for the road.
It's very quiet, too quiet really but should keep the engineer happy.
The old radiator (Austin 1800) seems to be coping well with the recent heat we've been experiencing.

To cope with the extra engine weight (approx 60kg) I've replaced the front springs with 50lb heavier and 1inch longer units. The old springs were too soft and were maxed out on the c/over adjustment even with the 4 banger.
I got these ones custom made by Better Springs here in Sydney. Price was good and service was first rate. I highly recommend them.

Weighed the front and rear using one of the springs. 400lb spring compressed 2.56 inches = 1030lb or 465kg.
Rear worked out at 440kg.
So with a full load of fuel that's roughly a 50/50 ratio.

The heavier springs should allow me to ditch the front sway bar and thus clean up the look of the frontend.

adventurekel · Post by **adventurekel** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:15 pm

The last version of the Lada Niva 4x4 uses a CV joint that is a direct bolt on replacement for that Fiat/Alfa/Lada guibo.

Brett.C · Post by **Brett.C** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:34 am

adventurekel wrote:The last version of the Lada Niva 4x4 uses a CV joint that is a direct bolt on replacement for that Fiat/Alfa/Lada guibo.

Tell me more. I've researched a lot on Alfa's dreaded donuts and seen many alternatives and solutions but never heard of this one.
The do use the Commodore tailshaft CV over here but that's a major job. A bolt on would be better.