1985 Alfa Romeo GTV6 (my first Alfa)

These are the plugs that came out of the engine. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see evidence of burning oil. I did see evidence of oil leaking from the valve cover though. Maybe that was what I was smelling?

Not sure what the situation is there as far as availability of metric socket sizes, but here it's nearly impossible to find the right size, but there is a sae sized socket that's close enough to work that is easily found. I think the actual proper size is 41 or 42 mm, but I can't remember for sure.

Hungary Bill wrote: maybe I should invest in a fire suppression system? I really liked the "AFFF" system advertised in the Pegasus catalog...

Just to be sure, you aren't driving an old Italian car without at least two fire extinguishers in the car, are you?

Kenny: Had I known, I probably wouldn't have driven at all! Below is a pretty good example of the fuel lines from the rails to the injectors.

Today I went to the only hardware store in town looking for a 41mm socket, but they didn't have any for sale individually and the only kit I found was a 12pc 1" drive that was almost $200

I'll probably try to e-bay that one, see if I can find one that ships internationally.

On the bright side I DID find a 50mm hole saw. So I can start working on the exhaust gaskets (from manifold to the downpipes)

Good times.

Who makes those spark plugs? Anyone have experience with them?

The combustion chambers look relatively clean, I'm impressed.

Cool project!

The plugs I pulled were "Golden Lodge 2HL" spark plugs. Honestly, I thought they just made pancake syrup... They remind me a lot of the plugs my RX-7 used to have. The replacements I bought are NGK's though.

If my 80s and 90s Alfa lore is still correct, you bought the wrong plugs then .

Golden Lodge were the ones to use at least in the four bangers back when I had a bunch of them.

Hungary Bill wrote: One thing I noticed though was that there was no bearing between the cam and the journals... I didn't know if that was normal or not on Alfa's.

Not that I have much to add to this thread- but yes, that is normal on Alfas.

BoxheadTim wrote: If my 80s and 90s Alfa lore is still correct, you bought the wrong plugs then . Golden Lodge were the ones to use at least in the four bangers back when I had a bunch of them.

This. Even for 6cyl.

I don't think they're manufactured anymore... I'm not sure if it's the brand in general, or just the 2HL. Linkey

I could just clean up the set I have with a wire brush, they really don't look that bad.

Alfadriver: Thanks. I know it's a weird question. Since this is my first time, and I don't know the previous owner(s) it's been a bit hard to tell what's what. For instance, I didn't even notice that the valve spring bases had been left out of one of the heads until I tore into the head that hadn't been molested yet.

Good times!

In reply to Hungary Bill:

it's not a wierd question. Another question that people think may be wierd- "is that clicking noise bad"- which most Alfa people will reply "what click' to find out that they are worried about the cam sounds and the solid lifters. It's a REAL concern if you are not used to it.

Good think you have a spare head- while the aluminum they use is really really good, it's not so great you don't need a base for the springs.

alfadriver wrote: In reply to Hungary Bill: the cam sounds and the solid lifters. It's a REAL concern if you are not used to it.

I was told that the valvetrain was a "little loud" but I still wasn't quite prepared

My "Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible" arrived today! (amazon)

I have no idea if it was any good or not, but it looks like it previously belonged to the "Omaha Public Library". woo-hoo!

My blinker lenses, lug studs, and lug nuts were supposed to arrive today so the kid and I went for a walk to the parts store. Unfortunately the truck hasn't made it's appearance yet, but since we were there we bought about 6-meters of different hoses, various clamps, and a distributor cap (a rotor was on the list as well, but the cheapest they could find was $150). Out the door, we spent $83.92.

Unfortunately, they didn't have a hose with a bend (like the one below):

That brings the budget up to: $3653.77

Ninja edit: the "Alfa Romeo Owner's Bible" was never included. It cost $27 from amazon bringing the budget to $3680.77

When I got to work today I finally sent an e-mail to Andy at Performatek, and almost immediately got a reply. The nitty gritty is:

• No cam should make my engine run the way it was.

• This DBilas cam doesn't seem to be much more than the 164 cam, and should be within the L-Jet's capacity.

• Once running, find a dyno and play with the ignition timing to find the cam's "sweet spot"

• (regarding the steering) Make sure the steering rack is actually mounted to the cross member

• Get rid of the steering damper

• Check Watts linkage bushings

Also, Andy read this whole thread. I'm flattered and very impressed by the customer service (I use the term loosely, as I haven't bought anything from Performatek yet... but I will, and hopefully soon).

I still plan to swap the DBilas cam out for the stock unit to get a good baseline, but maybe I'll keep the DBilas cam around to play with afterwards? (was thinking of selling to help fund the project)

Other than that, I'm still cleaning carbon off the valves and heads.

Good times

In reply to Hungary Bill:

Andy is good- he partially sponsored our GRM car for '02-04- got bushings from him. And he's got a great supply of brakes, as well.

Wonder if he still has the quadrifoglio espresso cups.... ours are really nice.

alfadriver wrote: quadrifoglio espresso cups.... ours are really nice.

That is such an 'Alfisti' accessory .

Digging this thread, Bill! Might be picking up a 116-series of my own next week

Luke wrote:

alfadriver wrote: quadrifoglio espresso cups.... ours are really nice.

That is such an 'Alfisti' accessory . Digging this thread, Bill! Might be picking up a 116-series of my own next week

Awesome! If she follows you home be sure to send pictures our way!

Luke wrote:

alfadriver wrote: quadrifoglio espresso cups.... ours are really nice.

That is such an 'Alfisti' accessory .

Yup.

What was really stunning- we were having coffee in a restaurant in San Juan, and noticied that the brand logo on it was the same logo as the Alfa badge- a cross/Snake.

An Alfa Espresso machine? Alas, no- it was made in the same area- which is the source of the badge as well.

Then again, when we visited the Alfa museum, we saw all sorts of Alfa Romeo badged appliances. Script and all.

Well, I've shared another couple of e-mails with Andy and he brought up some very good points about the "unknown condition" of the spare set of heads I've been tinkering with. Andy suggests that most of the oil consumption involved usually comes from the stem guides being "out of spec" and recommends replacing them.

I'm having trouble finding any Alfa stem guides in the area, but there is a chance that the guy I plan on going through for my head work may be able to get his hands on a set. Also recommended was a 3-angle valve job, and of course to have the heads planed true.

So! On Monday I'll see if we're a "go" for the stem guides and, if so, I'll be sending the heads off! It's a little more than a small hit to my budget, but really there's no sense in doing all the work only to find out the heads were warped, or that the valve stem guides are out of spec.

Andy also recommended rebuilding the brake calipers, but the only "Caliper Rebuild Parts Kit" I can find in the area is "Lucas kit". I don't know if their brake seals are as smoke prone as their electronic products are but I'm planning on ordering two kits (one for each front caliper) some time next week.

Unfortunately, the added cost of the head work is going to mean I wont be able to go shopping for the Quadrifoglio espresso cups you guys had me dreaming about but maybe I can pester "Santa" enough to bring me a set

Good times!

I'm still waiting on word from the "Head Guy". Apparently he's the best in town, and worth the wait, but I'm beginning to think he might be on vacation...

Anyhoo, my OCD has the best of me and I've decided that since I have the engine half apart, I might as well pull the rest of it to paint match the engine bay.

(and) Since I'm going to pull the engine and paint the engine bay, I might as well have the rest of the car painted as well (you see where this is going).

All this probably going to have to wait until I find the cash (probably "tax return" material) but to fill the time I still have plenty to take apart and clean:

Also, I decided to play with the valve covers and intake (this is what I do on my lunch break at work). Here's the obligatory "before and after" photo

Good times!

Delicious!

Well, I finally got the lug studs and lug nuts in from the parts store (hey, only a couple weeks wait) so the good news is my Alfa is able to stand on her own four tires

Funny thing about these lug studs. It looks like the parts guy ordered some normal studs (for Vehicle X) and ground them down into the "D-shape" that would fit my Alfa:

(sorry about the image quality, it looked better on the camera)

Not much of a victory though, having the car on all fours, as I still haven't replaced the aft fuel lines, the exhaust I want to clean up is still hanging, I haven't had a chance to give the bushings a gander, and if I'm going to pull this engine to paint the engine bay I'm going to have to get under the car to disconnect the drive shaft.

Unfortunately I had to pull the jack stands to replace the rear brakes on the wife's car, and a buddy needs to borrow them this week (give or take). So all that may be back on the "wait list".

I got the mini-clamps in from "Ultimate Garage" and I have to say that rarely I've seen such great customer service! Before I placed my order I sent Steve an e-mail asking his opinion on the clamp size for my application (I may have mentioned that with shipping issues to Hungary and my budget it was important to me that I didn't spend a lot of effort "guessing and checking" with my wallet). Long story short(er) Steve recommended (and I ordered) #15 clamps for the fuel lines. To my surprise the package arrived at my door step with the next size up, and the next size down included (Steve labeled the bag "Samples"). I thought that was absolutely awesome!

On to the fuel rails:

If you have a toddler in the house, this is how you can work on your car while babysitting. You'll need a loaf of Banana bread though...

Here's the setup:

Finished cutting:

The mess:

Clean-up crew:

and VICTORY!

Good times

(the last post was getting long. With the subject change, I figured I'd start a new post)

I found a 41mm socket and adapter in town from a small hardware store where the cashier spoke perfect english! With that 41mm socket I was able to rotate the engine to TDC and finally check the cam timing (see below):

Passenger side:

Driver's side:

and the crank pulley (this is where the light bulb went off)

If you look close you can see that there are two marks close together on the crank pulley, according to "The Alfa Owner's Bible" the cams should have been timed to the mark just prior to this one. Andy at Performatek said that "the more he thinks about my running issues, the more he likes an mistimed cam as the culprit".

Good guy, that Andy.

I also took a peek under that Zender hood scoop and found:

Good times

I am enjoying your Alfa thread. Keep up the good work!

I have a spare hood in my garage... shipping might be a bit inconvenient though.