Stopping With Confidence: Another Great Tech Session
the on-line newsletter of the delaware valley alfa romeo owners' club
Stopping With Confidence: Another Great Tech SessionBob Brady
Another great tech session was held at the cordial confines of Nick Falcone Enterprises. The large crowd was once again awed by the mechanical prowess and warm hospitality of our hosts, Vince Tutti and Ruth Wolf. As we munched on donuts, sipped coffee, and swapped Alfa stories Vince raised the patient, Jack Stoll's Guiletta Spider, into the air revealing the side of her normally reserved for the asphalt. In addition to seeing Alfa Heaven's restoration handiwork, we were afforded a perfect view of the system that makes this Alfa stop so assuredly. Those large, beautiful Alfin drum brakes hung un-sprung as the ins and outs of proper hydraulic system maintenance and adjustment were reviewed. Jacks spider was then treated to an annual brake fluid bleeding. We were all surprised by how dirty the fluid had become in just one year of sunny day only driving. It was an important reminder that while some of our cars are pampered and rarely used, the fluids need periodic care lest they become contaminated with moisture and dirt. While much attention is paid to engine fluids, those responsible for bringing our treasures to sure stops are too often neglected. We were also reminded that unlike most disc brake systems, drum brakes require some periodic adjustment for them to work properly. Finally, a quick perusal of the parking brake assembly demonstrated that that device also must be used, lubricated, and adjusted for it to perform as intended. When was the last time you had your parking brake attended to? Not all the action was high flying antics, however. Vince took us through the proper rebuilding procedure for master cylinders.
Vince bleeds the brakes on Jack Stoll's Guiletta; Note that clean
underside! Rumor has it that Jack actually drives this car from time
to time :)
The crowd of Alfas and Alfisti gather around Bob Daniele's Spider at
Falcones. Note the 2600 spider and Montreal
Using a donor master cylinder, not Jack's, we were shown proper disassembly of this critical component. First, the old seals and piston were removed. Next, the entire assembly was carefully cleaned so that no stray dirt or grit could compromise its function. Then, in a step too often forgotten, Vince honed the bore ensuring that any surface corrosion or scoring was removed and that the bore was straight and true. Honing the bore is critical to achieve long-lasting function of the rebuilt master cylinder. If not done, new rubber components can become damaged leading to premature failure. Finally, after cleaning the bore once-again, the new internals were carefully installed. We all saw how such a simple operation could ruin new components if one nick was put into a seal or o-ring. Vince, of course, did it flawlessly, yielding a good-as-new master cylinder.
Vince shows everyone the working bits of a master cylinder on its
way to a new life.
A close-up shot of Vince honing the bore of a master cylinder.
This operation is critical for proper function and longevity of a
rebuild.
After the action in the shop, we took some time to ogle over each others cars which shone in the spring sun. A diverse cross-section of Alfa's model line was represented with Dan Scolaro's 2600 Spider, Sunny Waters' Montreal, Jack Stoll's Guiletta Spider, Charlie Crothers' Guilia Spider, Alex Valdes' and Bob Daniele's 115 Spiders, Joe Fillip's 164 and my little red GTV, just to name a few from memory. A few of us even checked out the Guilia Spider "restoration special" that sits in Falcone's parking lot. It's just aching for some loving care and would be a perfect candidate for an ambitious vintage race car project. With newly acquired knowledge and respect for braking systems, the Alfisti said their "Ciaos" and "Grazies" and headed off in all directions for spirited drives in the beautiful spring fauna.
Sunny Waters' beautiful and rare Montreal. In the back: Joe
Fillips' 164, Dan Scolaro's 2600 and Bob Daniele's spider.
Thank you, Vince and Ruth for another excellent and informative tech session; we had a wonderful time. Thanks also to Alex Valdes for bringing his digital camera and documenting the event for us all.
Editor's NotesBob Brady
La Voce? What happened to the June La Voce??!! More than one of you has asked me about the status of La Voce these past months. Well, unfortunately as more turmoil broiled the Brady household, La Voce became a victim of ever-diminishing free time and resources. As I write this, I hope that I won't be writing a similar column in the months to come. While I can't be sure, it looks like calmer waters are ahead.
In the last few months another job change has increased my commute time and distance. On the positive side, I now really enjoy my job and in the coming months should be able to find some spare time to attend to my editorial duties.
The commute from Yardley to Newark, DE has given me the chance to bond with my trusty Milano as I now spend nearly three hours a day in it. I'm constantly reminded at what a competent vehicle it is. I'm also reminded that it is pushing 12 years and 141,000 miles (a figure that increases at a rate of 1,000+ per week). Thankfully, I'm comforted by the fact that my foray into timing belt replacement appears to have been successful (no bent valves yet). Also, I sleep better knowing that Dan Scolaro has a nearly identical parts car at my disposal, should any hard to find part fail. So far, so good.
April's La Voce I have to apologize for April's La Voce. The printing quality was truly unacceptable. This edition should be much improved as I now have a better printer at my disposal. Hopefully, Staples will be able to make better reproductions as well. I suppose when you read this, you'll know how successful I was.
New La Voce Headquarters You'll notice that my contact information as well as the La Voce submittal information has changed. This too is a result of the job change. The address listed is temporary. I've become every parent's nightmare as I've moved myself, family, pets and garage full of GTV spares into my parent's house for a few weeks. After months of searching for an appropriate home in the area around Media, we gave up and looked further south. Within a day of looking, we found a house that we can all be happy with, just outside of Kennett Square. While it's not exactly as close to Philadelphia as I had hoped, it is closer to work and comes with a little tractor housed in a spacious detached garage. Needless to say, I've spent many a sleepless night contemplating what Alfas will fill those spaces first. I think I need a convertible. Marie thinks she needs another husband. At any rate, by August, the headquarters of La Voce should become stable once again. In the mean time, use the contact information listed.
DVAROC Events While my life has been a mess, the DVAROC has managed to tick off a number of diverse events. In April, we went on a tour through Chester county to the Manatawny Creek winery. In May, we held the annual Tech Session at Falcones. In June, we toured scenic Bucks County on our way to the Burn Foundation Concours d'Elegance. While we don't have any local events planned for July, the AROC convention will be held in Oregon. In August, the calendar will pick up again with the annual New Hope auto show. Events for the fall are in the planning stages, but will at least include a picnic. If you've got any events you'd like to see held or better yet, have events you'd like to plan, let either Dave or myself know.
Staying in Touch I've tried to keep everyone informed as best as I could, but have a feeling that I've missed letting many of you know of upcoming events. If you have email access, it's much easier for me to keep you informed. Send your email address to me at: mpbrady@bellatlantic.net or bbrady@rodel.com. Or, if you're wondering if anything is coming up, pick up the phone and talk to Dave or myself. My phone number during the day is: 302-366-0500 x2814. Leave a message if I'm not there.
If I don't get a chance to see how my new roll bar works at Watkins Glen in July, I hope to see you at New Hope. Have a great Summer - bob.
Winding Woads Wead to Wovwey WineryBob Bwady
The DVAROC kicked-off spring with trip through Chester county that ended at the Manatawny Creek Winery. Starting at Valley Forge National Park, the intrepid bunch meandered through some of Pennsylvania's most picturesque scenery and entertaining roads. After working up a healthy appetite from some brisk driving, the group descended upon the lovely Manatawny Creek winery. The farm, nestled between the rolling hills of Douglassville and the creek from which it is named, is the childhood home of former chemical engineer turned vintner, Darvin Levengood. Darvin gave an interesting and thorough tour of the expanding facility which included a primer on the art of winemaking. After the tour, the cellars were opened for sampling which included: honey, blueberry, Chardonay, and Cabernet Franc (which won the Governor's Cup in 1999). A great time was had by all. Perhaps this can become another DVAROC tradition.
On The Road....Bob Brady
Since increasing my daily commute to ~170 miles a day, I've become much more familiar with my Milano. I've also become more appreciative of its smooth highway manners and prowess on the off-ramps. I continue to marvel at just how well-balanced this vehicle is. Particularly now that it runs on sticky Yokohoma AVS-i tires, driving on the edge has become much more enjoyable. Although most of my drive to and from work is on annoyingly straight interstate highways, I've managed keep my interest by working on some rudimentary driving skills.
The Shift All of us Alfa owners are familiar with the less than idiot-proof gearboxes our cars were given. The Milano, unlike the GTV also suffers from a less than precise shift linkage. Fortunately, my Milano has the later "iso-static" linkage which makes it somewhat tolerable. Earlier transaxle Alfa shift linkages I'm told, were much worse.
While up shifts are a non-issue in most Alfas, I find that the Milano shifts best when I give it a touch of throttle before engaging the next higher gear. While this is completely counter-intuitive, it works well and has become second nature to me as I drive it.
Downshifting an Alfa can be much more involved. While synchronizers were invented to make downshifting (and up shifting) a non-event, the Porsche type synchronizers employed by Alfa are not very robust. Porsche, in fact, opted for another synchronizer design some years back due to similar complaints. But no matter, if Sterling Moss can operate a non-synchro gearbox with grace and precision, so can I. The trick, is the proverbial "double de-clutch downshift."
While growing up driving my parents rear-engined, German car with the sloping rear (yes, the VW beetle) I taught myself how to match engine rpms during a downshift. The purpose of matching engine speed to the lower gear being selected was to keep the car's composure. If you didn't match engine speed, you would wear the clutch, cause the car to pitch to the rear, or if done violently, could cause the rear wheels to lock up. While the latter sounded cool to a sixteen year old, it isn't very cool when driving at the limit. What I didn't teach myself however, was to match transmission speeds before engaging that lower gear. After all, that's why synchronizers were invented.
For years, I went about my merry, ignorant ways, mastering downshifts so that they were smooth as silk, until I finally got on the track. It was my first experience at Lime Rock that convinced me that I needed to learn how to properly downshift. While my previous method was fine for most cars, my little GTVs synchronizers just weren't up to the task. So, in the months following that event, I changed my driving habits to get used to double-declutch downshifting.
The procedure is simple, if not a bit awkward at first. The drill is: engage the clutch, put the gear shift into neutral, disengage the clutch, blip the throttle, engage the clutch, select the lower gear, then disengage the clutch. Simple, huh? Actually, after you get used to it, it is. And, driving on the road is a great place to make it second nature. So, as I hit those on and off ramps, slow down for those toll booths and stop for that traffic (ackkk!) I make sure to practice my proper downshifts. Of course, if you were quick when you read my downshifting procedure, you would have noticed that I missed out the part about heel-toe braking.
Typically, when you want to downshift, you also want to slow down. While driving nonchalantly, you have plenty of time to take your foot off the brake to blip the throttle and then put it back. When you're trying to eek out everything from you and your car, you don't have the time. Worse, taking your foot off the brake and putting it back will upset the balance of the car. So what to do? Make one foot do the work of two.
The whole point of heel-toeing is to keep your car braking while matching the engines revs to the next lower gear. On cars with excellent pedal layouts, it is easy to use the ball of your foot to brake while blipping the throttle with the same foot's heel. Not so on our Alfas. While the Milano is marginally better than the GTV, both have throttles which sit too high to easily heel-toe. Fortunately, heel-ankleing works just as well. So, while braking with the ball of your foot, use the side, or ankle to blip the throttle. It works like a charm. And, after you do it fifty or so times a day, it will become second nature. Your transmission will thank you and your car will keep more composed in turns.
Taking Set If you read any motor sports publications, you will likely hear the term "Take Set." So what does that mean? Basically, it's the opposite of being "upset." When your car is yawing or bouncing, its suspension is upset. It is in motion along with center of gravity of the car. Because of that, it is harder to control and worse, the tires are not operating at the point of maximum grip. On the track, that makes you slower. On the road, it can make your car uncontrollable if your tires go beyond their ability to grip. When your car "takes set," the suspension becomes loaded and stable. Your tires then transition smoothly to their point of maximum grip and you can control drift with the throttle.
Driving the Milano provides me with daily lessons on how important it is to drive smoothly and let it "take set." There are a couple of ramps which I traverse daily that help demonstrate this point. When I'm driving the Milano like the GTV, sawing on the wheel around the turn, the car feels upset. The tires squeal and I find myself having to take the turns slower. More recently, I've become more conscious of my technique through the turns and have forced myself to position the steering wheel and hold it there. After doing this, a few times, I found that my tires squealed less, the car felt more stable, and my speeds through the ramps were much higher. So now I pick a point in the turn, turn the wheel and aim for it and keep the wheel in position. Corrections should be done smoothly or with the throttle. The Milano's great balance makes the latter easy. Just give it a little gas to drift out, let off a little to tuck in.
As with shifting, my three hours of daily driving practice has made me a more precise and smooth driver. Who said commuting was a waste of time?
Alfas Wanted for Reading Ferrari ShowSunny Waters
I recently had the great fortune to follow in my Montreal, my friend, who owns a Ferrari 512 BBI boxer to north of Reading to meet with the organizer of the Reading Ferrari Show. Even with the rain this year there were over 100 cars and several significant (read $2.5 to $5 million) older race cars. To hear them fire up a 1955 12 cylinder Monza factory race car that ran in every significant race, in full race trim, literally gave me chills. Anyway, Pietro, my friend and I had a long easy lunch fueled by several bottles of Italian red wine. A great way to waste an afternoon. During our conversations, Pietro mentioned that a few years back he had invited the Bizzarrini club to bring several cars and display them as an invited Marque. He asked if we would be interested in bringing some cars next year as the 2001 invited marque.
Pietro was very clear that he wanted 10 +/- cars, only one per model in presentable condition. Obviously I offered my Montreal. I would think that between our club and any neighboring clubs we could field 10 to 15 good cars without repeating a model. The date is set, Sunday, May 20, 2001. They field the cars between 10 a.m. & noon. I will be the contact for the undertaking. We could meet for breakfast and the caravan out. (Contact Sunny at: AHWaters@aol.com. Alternatively, I can pass on the information to him. Contact Bob Brady at: 302-366-0500 x2814. This sounds like a great opportunity to participate in a relaxing, enjoyable event.)
In the garage....Bob Brady
Always Looking for Another When Alfisti hear the phrase "Always Looking for Another" most get visions of new Alfa toys. Normally, I'm the same, but these past few months have been anything but normal. My new job included a relocation. So, the "Another" in A.L.F.A. meant another house, not car. While I loved the area where we lived, I was less enamored with the house. Sure, it was fine inside, but I really longed for more garage or even a basement workshop. So, for me, moving was an chance to gain some shop space.
As we started looking for new homes, it was obvious that Marie and I had different priorities. She'd immediately look at the size of the kitchen, dining room, family room, etc. I, was always eyeing up the garage and basement, and opening up electrical boxes in search of spare breaker space . While Marie was searching for a guest room, I was contemplating how I could use the I-beams in the garage for a hoist or how I could add more bays on to "inadequate" garages.
Just when we were about to settle on a house that would have required me to divest most of my GTV spares collection, we decided to buy another. Finally, it looks like I'll have more garage space than I know what to do with. Wait, strike that. I know exactly what to do with that space. Now it's time to start thinking normally again. "Always Looking for Another" does conjour up visions of more Alfas.
You Can Never Have Too Many Spares One of the unfortunate aspects of our move was that we'd be homeless for a month before we could settle on our new house. So, that meant temporary housing and putting our stuff into storage. Even though our previous house didn't have a basement, I managed to store quite a few Alfa bits among the garage, garage attic, and sheds. Most of my parts collection was loosely piled in various spots. The movers weren't going to look kindly on having to store greasy bellhousings and spare body parts among our furniture. So, as moving day approached, I was charged with emptying the parts cache and either packing it, moving it somewhere, or getting rid of it.
I seriously debated crating the spare engine and putting it into storage, but I figured that my parents had extra space in their barely one car garage. And, since we'd be moving in with them for a month, taking up a little garage space wouldn't be much more of an imposition. Right?
Well, the engine turned into an engine, windshield, rear window, two differentials, gas tank, hood, two doors, trunk lid, spare front fascia..... You get the picture. But, I reasoned that you never know when you're going to need some spare sheet metal. Those spare rear suspension arms might come in handy. Those three extra pedal assemblies and three spare steering boxes are really important. What if I buy another GTV with a bad rear differential. Better keep that too. With similar rationalizations, I managed to fill up my parents garage fast. Then, there was the rest of the stuff. Out came the lumber, nails and circular saw. It was a good thing I kept all that crating lumber from when we moved my wife's grandmother's furniture. I knew it would come in handy. Three full nights of work later, most of the heavy stuff was in crates. If I really tried, I could manage to budge one end of them. "If the movers can pick up that marble top, they can move these crates," I told my wife. "Those guys do this for a living. They're much bigger than me." She rolled her eyes, as usual. After another couple of nights, and fifty or so boxes later, the attic was emptied and occupying the space where my GTV had once been. Of course, there was still the matter of what was left of that parts GTV's body and those extra sets of wheels and tires in the shed. It was time to get creative.
I finally let reason take over for a minute or two. Those rear fenders and floor boards from the GTV really weren't in very good condition. "Okay," I convinced myself, " I can part with those." Out came the air chisel. In a few minutes, a pile of trash can sized sheet metal was all that was left of the car I thought I stripped bare three years ago. I'm amazed the ceiling in the garage didn't collapse. I was down to wheels and tires. It was time to get creative.
I had been borrowing my brother's Jeep pickup truck to move stuff to my parents. It was fitting. That same 20ish year old truck towed the parts GTV to my house three years earlier. Now it was moving the corpse again. They don't make trucks like that anymore. I started rationalizing again and called my brother. He bought it! Since the truck only gets used occasionally, he agreed to let me pack it and keep it at his house. So, now the wheels and tires had a home, along with the engine hoist, engine stand, spare calipers, seats, dash board....
"If You Can Read This, Roll Me Over" I've seen that sticker on a number of race cars. It's mounted upside down so it reads properly only when the car is flipped. While no one wants to be upside down on a race track, it is a reality. After all, that's why they make you have roll cages. Now that the GTV is seeing more and more track time, it makes sense to consider safety. While a full cage is best, it is also a committment that essentially makes the car a track-only vehicle. I decided to compromise and just go with a roll bar.
In a previous La Voce, John Jeffries described the AutoPower roll bar he installed. I've seen it. It is very nice. It is also a bit expensive. In addition, I wanted a roll bar that would be as tight as possible against the car's body to save interior space and give as much protection. So, I decided to build my own.
After several attempts at measuring out the interior space and drawing up plans for a roll bar, I decided that the most fool-proof way to go about this endeavor was to make a template. Using some large cardboard boxes, I cut a template of the interior of the car, right where I wanted the main hoop to be. Then, on the template, I drew in a diagonal brace as well as a horizontal harness bar. The rear diagonals would be fabricated separately. I also specified the size and the type of tubing to be used, consulting SCCA rules.
Bud Olsen Speed Supplies in south New Jersey bent the main hoop for me and supplied the rest of the tubing. Their workmanship is excellent and their pricing very inexpensive. They cater to the dirt track crowd and really know how to make safe cages. They did a great job with the tubes.
Instead of making mounting plates which would take hours, I bought them from A&A Manufacturing of Michigan. They have a great website full of nifty brackets and other do-dads you need to fabricate a Winston Cup car, or Alfa time-trialer. They are inexpensive and have excellent service.
After I had the tubes home, I set them up in the car. The rear diagonals took some work as they had to be hand fit. After everything was in place, I tacked it together and finish welded it outside of the car. The hardest part was getting it out of the car after it was tacked. Getting it back in was slightly easier. It's now installed, but not complete. I still need to finish a couple of backing plates for it, but that will have to wait until I move into the new house. My dad's vise just isn't beefy enough . Of course, the rear seat is essentially unusable now, even for the kiddies. It's just taken one more step down that slippery slope from street car to race car.
Tackling the Timing Belt When I bought my Milano, I knew the timing belt replacement would be part of the price of ownership. But, I figured it was years away. Well, three years and 30,000 miles later, it was time for a change.
My Milano, like many V6 Alfas has a mechanical de-tensioner installed. Replacing the timing belt with the mechanical detensioner requires that you do it between 59 and 90 degrees Farenheit, or something like that. Originally, many V6s came with an oil-fed detensioner which was prone to leakage. If not kept in check, oil could find its way past it and on to the belt, leading to premature failure and bent valves. The fix was to remove the oil-fed unit and replace it with a mechanical one.
On V6 Alfas, the detensioner is critical for a number of reasons. First, the engine is aluminum which grows a lot when warm. Because of growth, the sprockets on which the timing belt rolls move away from each other effectively increasing the distance between them. Without a way to control tension on the belt, it could be subject to excessive tension and break. When cold, it could be subject to too little tension and slip. Neither scenario is pretty.
Remains of piston from Dan Scolaro's Milano Verde parts car.
Hydraulic tensioner failure led to cams being 90
degrees out. Note crack in top of piston face. It extends
all the way down the skirt.
Second, because of the way the timing belt is routed, the cam sprockets don't engage the timing belt much. Unlike inline four and six cylinder engines whose cam pulleys engage the timing belt by 90 or more degrees, the V6 sprockets only see about 60 degrees of belt. The less engagement, the more likely it is for the belt to slip. Had Alfa designed the V6 with the detensioner in the V of the engine, we probably wouldn't be talking about this subject.
Both the oil fed and mechanical detensioners adjust tension with temperature. The oil fed unit relies on the fact that cold oil generates more pressure. The mechanical unit uses a bimetallic spring which grows with heat.
Knowing how critical the timing belt tension was to the life of my V6, I dove into the project with much apprehension.
I had debated to my wife about just taking the car in to get it done, but that alone is not simple. Dropping it off and picking it up again, I naively reasoned, would take up nearly as much time as doing it myself. Besides, I had the official procedures as well as a brand new timing belt sitting in my garage. How hard could it be?
Actually, the problems started from the beginning. It seems as though the A/C belt is fitted extra tight. So tight, in fact, that the compressor must be unbolted to remove it. Fortunately, a quick call to recent timing belt change veteran Dan Scolaro helped me resolve that one. Removing the rest of the belts, coolant hoses and timing belt cover was simple.
The next task was to remove the old belt and install the new one: a simple task. Actually, it was except my detensioner never seemed to operate as described. It never seemed to put proper tension on the belt. Another conference with Dan ended with me dialing Algar for a replacement. After picking up the new detensioner, it was obvious that my old one was toast. While I was out, I picked up some new accessory belts. Getting the A/C belt off was the worst part, so it made sense to change all of them while I was in there.
Installing the new belt and detensioner was actually pretty simple. The hardest part was adjusting the tension as you need to view a pointer which is outside of your field of vision. I used a mirror, but the angle of view makes setting the pointer just so somewhat difficult. So, satisfied with the setting, I put the rest of the belts back on, making sure to keep the water pump belt as loose as possible since Milanos have a history of early water pump failures. The first few miles of driving was anxious as I listened for signs of the belt slipping or breaking. It's been a few thousand miles since then and all seems to be well. That said, you can be sure to read the next "In the Garage..." column about replacing bent valves.