[RSFruitbat]

Hi Kev. Can you just confirm that you received a reply to your pm from me this morning on the e-mail address I gave you.

rsfruitbat

 

[Ricer]

Morning Kev, thought I'd pop over and visit you in your home forum and check out the Sud.
201 posts later and I'm inspired - what a project you've committed to. It will without-doubt be a stunning and exciting car.
One small gripe - you once said to me "I'm alright with the spanners" and convinced me to try a repair on my turbo. Evidently - you're not alright - you're more like a full blown mechanic!
I'm feeling a lot like a 'fair weather' Alfa ownwer now, there are some serious fans who own these older (proper) Alfa's. Maybe I should chop in the 156 and buy a classic! I did part restore a Stag once but after 3 recon engines I gave up . . . . .

Good luck mate, and thanks for finding the time to give me your invaluable advice on my motor.

 

[Guest]

talk about grind to a halt after fitting the heads and then attempting to re-shim the valves clearances back in order after the valve seats were altered together with the head reface i hit a problem, despite getting hold of the the thinnest shim available there was still a problem with 5 valves, in particular one valve couldn't even get a gap still so a solution had to be found. the options were to fit completely new heads (last resort, but possible) get the shims machined down to size (not easy as you would have to get the EXACT size calculated and machined with just one chance of getting it right :tut: ) but that also brought potential problems with the cam lobe getting close/hitting? the side of the buckets as it came round. the last option was to get the valves themselves shortened. that was the only choice really as far as i could see. so after calculating each valve clearance in turn and working out what was needed it was off with the heads again and 5 valves taken in to get the valve stem top machined down in varying amounts between 0.3mm to 1mm new head gasket set and reassembly with fingers crossed that i had done my sums right result is the heads are back on and there to stay :thumbs: all 8 valves are set just right after being very fussy and putting the exact right shim in each one after measuring all the choices to hand.

the ability to have multiple shims to choose from is 100% down to the fantastic help of a well known guy on this section, thanks a bunch to ade, it would have been a nightmare without your generosity cheques in the post as they say
no stopping me now as everything is to hand to start seriously building the engine back up getting everything set up and sealed. then the work on the rest of the car can start :lol:
i have loosley laid on the cam covers which are still in the aluminium effect paint, i haven't yet decided on a colour scheme for them, may well just paint the alfa romeo script and the lines in the same red paint as the block. guys at work suggested splitting it into 3 sections and doing red white & green to match the italian flag but i think that would look too fussy any other ideas? don't mind trying something, it's easy enough to repaint them if something looks awful :thumbs:

thanks also to ricer for popping over from the 156 section, we may have another convert try before you buy i think is the phrase for the older alfa's. as most on this section will agree the cars are great fun, but is does highlight how far cars have moved on in the last 20 odd years. if you are used to a few creature comforts then they can become a bit of a shock

 

[Greek]

I would say that either one color or paint red the letters and the stripes. Dont you 3 sections , it will not look good. If you want to do something like that do it on the airfilter although i would recommend of painting it also red as your engine with silver letters to much the engine.

 

[Guest]

yes, i am in favour of just sticking with the red and silver (and black) . could look too much otherwise :tut:

 

[Alfasixnut]

Coming along very nicely Kev :thumbs: Your problems with shims reminded me of my old straight six 2600 Alfa engine - which had slightly larger stem dia valves than the 4 cylinder (Common) alfa engines. After the cams had been reground I ended up having to put a big stainless steel disc inside each Bucket cam follower and use bits of feeler gauge inside the normal valve shims! Unconventional but it worked well and the engine revved to 7 grand - with open headers for drag racing the sound was awesome!

 

[Guest]

Coming along very nicely Kev :thumbs: Your problems with shims reminded me of my old straight six 2600 Alfa engine - which had slightly larger stem dia valves than the 4 cylinder (Common) alfa engines. After the cams had been reground I ended up having to put a big stainless steel disc inside each Bucket cam follower and use bits of feeler gauge inside the normal valve shims! Unconventional but it worked well and the engine revved to 7 grand - with open headers for drag racing the sound was awesome!

:lol: nice bit of 'using what is to hand' :thumbs:

 

[Guest]

Top job on the engine painting Kev:thumbs:

It looks great!!

 

[Guest]

cheers mark, going down to the shed tonight and plan to get plenty more done front cover, water pump and cam belts on tonight i hope might be a bit late posting the pics but hope to have something to show for a nights work :lol:

 

[Guest]

cheers mark, going down to the shed tonight and plan to get plenty more done front cover, water pump and cam belts on tonight i hope might be a bit late posting the pics but hope to have something to show for a nights work :lol:

Good luck with that mate:thumbs:

Looking at the pics on here makes me want to paint the Sprints engine but all in due course

 

[Guest]

well, had a few hours down the shed tonight, quite happy with my nights work first job was to fit the water pump. amazing how the smallest layer of rust inside the housing in the block prevents the pump fitting in smoothly. after around 15mins of filing and cleaning the pump finally fitted in smoothly

next job the front casing cover. was a bit fiddley getting the crankshaft oil seal into the casing then onto the block but all was ok in the end, fitted with the freshly painted cam belt housings :thumbs:

then on with the new timing belt tensioners and cam belts. everything timed up nicely :thumbs:

whilst turning it over by hand it popped out the pieces of rag stuffed into the spark plug holes so it is at least making some compression :lol: sounded quite nice huffing and puffing as i turned it over laid the cam covers on just to see the final results of my nights work

quite pleased with myself really, looking forward to the weekend to get a bit more done then the welding can start :lol:

 

[Alfasixnut]

Well Done Kev!
The pictures are a real help and tribute to your work:thumbs:

 

[GTVDAD]

That looks great Kev

 

[Guest]

had a quick look tonight in the daylight and noticed a small issue that i missed last night, the bolt heads on the water pump are slightly fouling the cam belt :tut: good job i had a look at that i will either use bolts with a thinner head and maybe use a thinner washer, should be able to make a decent enough amount of clearance :thumbs: not too concerned, just pleased i spotted it anyone else noticed their belts running close to the water pump bolts? or noticed if they have unusally thin heads

 

[Guest]

see what i mean

the belt is barely touching it but it would just rub against it. think loosing the washer should give enough clearance, i just don't like fitting bolts without washers :tut: . think i will grind down the heads on a couple of new bolts and fit them with thinner washers, that should work :thumbs:

 

[GTVDAD]

That is very close, rather play it save and grind them down a bit

 

[Guest]

yes, on second viewing those washers look pretty thick, like the ones for exhaust manifolds. i'm sure with some more normal washers and a mm or 2 ground from the bolt heads it should be fine job for tomorrow afternoon

 

[Guest]

for those still following i have sorted out the problem with the bolts that hold on the water pump having too big heads

plenty of clearance there now :thumbs:
tomorrow the oil pump is going back on then the sump can be fitted hopefully permanently

 

[Alfasixnut]

That's much better Kev - well spotted and sorted - And Very good close up pics :thumbs:

 

[James&Nick]

Hi Kev,
Still making good progress - thick paint, gasket sealant, thick washer all add up I suspect.OE or pattern pump ? Good one to spot before the cover in place though. Think might have to go and double check ours now !
Keep up the good work & updates.
KR James