Grassroots Motorsports

Updates

• Okay, I did it!.. July 28

  After the festival surrounding its arrival, I grabbed the crank pulley and tried to rotate …

• Locked up. July 29

  Motor seems to be frozen. I’m gonna apply a little Southern action to this thing. …

• Still locked..or is it? I can't get to it! July 30

  Perhaps I’m just impatient. Still can’t turn the engine. But, I’ve been trying to do …

• Time to get serious... July 31

  Okay…went out there tonight, hung the droplights (the garage is unlighted), and thought I’d just …

• Close, but no cigar... Aug. 12

  Got the radiator, timing belt cover, t-stat housing out of the way. Picked up the …

• Top Dead Center, like I've never had it before. Aug. 26

  This may be the strangest thing I’ve ever done to an engine. After having the …

• Progress? Sept. 17

  Okay, I rebuilt the strange hydraulic pump attached to the timing belt tensioner, got the …

Comments

Luke:

Looks even better than I expected. Good buying! Black is a great colour for it, the interior isn't too bad, and that Veloce wheel is a cool period feature. Good luck, lol.
Jul 28, 2009 7:05 a.m.

maroon92:

If you need any help with it, I am in Atlanta now. I don't know much about Alfas, but I can turn a wrench, and I am willing to learn.
Jul 28, 2009 8:08 a.m.

DukeOfUndersteer:

very very cool, and im ultra jealous…
Jul 28, 2009 8:50 a.m.

friedgreencorrado:

Thanks guys. Ordered a timing belt and water pump today, IAP says he has no rebuild kits for the hydraulic tensioner (backordered) and no studs for converting to the mechanical one. Welcome to Alfa Land, I suppose.
Jul 28, 2009 11:10 a.m.

therex:

So awesome. I want one but they scare me! Good luck!
Jul 28, 2009 8:26 p.m.

dbgrubbs:

Try trailalfa for the tensioner rebuild kit. He shipped it to me very fast and also had the cheapest price I could find. http://www.trailalfa.com/ Don
Jul 29, 2009 5 p.m.

friedgreencorrado:

therex, I'm not exactly overflowing with confidence, either. (grin) It's been 20 years or so since I had a project this big. But I'm sure going to make the attempt! This kinda stuff is what separates us from the poseurs & rich guys, right? (Big Berkeleying Grin!) dbgrubbs, thanks again! I didn't see an online catalog over at trailalfa, but they had an easy “contact us” link. I just posted up a short description of the project, mentioned I'd heard of them over here, and asked if they still had the kits. BTW, Alfa guys: I ordered the timing belt & water pump from IAP a couple of days ago..and they arrived today! The pump's a Salari, and looks great. The belt has an off-brand name on it (“CRP” or something), but the rubber feels good, and there's none of the delamination I've seen on some of the Cheap Chinese S (E36 BMW) stuff I've seen out there for my VWs.
Jul 31, 2009 12:12 a.m.

bluefool:

I have a 1986 GTV6 I am in the middle of doing this as well, though it was because the pump started leaking at a track event. Taking out the radiator is what I did and is wise. I can't imagine doing it with the radiator still in. A couple tips. 1) Don't use the front jack points to hold the car up. The sheet metal is weak there and will buckle the floor, popping the bung in the floor out and allowing water in. I had to fix that earlier this summer. It was icky. 2) Get a socket to turn the engine over by the crank. 1-5/8” or 41mm, at least on mine.
Aug 7, 2009 11:15 p.m.

friedgreencorrado:

Thanks, bluefool! I've actually got the socket, etc. I got the thing to turn, but I think it's off time, since it made about a half turn and stopped. http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/ping… I haven't updated here yet, but I will once I find a solution.
Aug 8, 2009 12:13 a.m.