My brother Matt volunteers at this annual Italian festival, preparing lots of food and working in the fried dough booth.
Check out his blog for lotsa pics from the festa...makes me HUNGRY looking at it!
Mattaio's Piazza
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Some new Alfa Spider pics
I gave the Spider a much needed bath this morning. She looks pretty good in the right light so here are a few snaps as she basks in the Florida sun.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICS
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICS
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Alfa Romeo carpet complete!
Well, it took me almost 10 hours but the new floor pan insulation and carpet is now in the Alfa Spider and it is all put back together, except for the speakers.
Here are some pics....click the pics to enlarge
Here are some pics....click the pics to enlarge
It's carpet day for the Alfa Romeo
With my lawn mowing and trimming done today, I now turn my focus towards installing new floor pan insulation and carpet in the Alfa Romeo Spider.
The carpet pieces arrived Thursday. This is a kit of numerous pieces whereas the carpet I ripped out was one huge piece which I had to cut apart to remove. So we shall see how the new pieces fit.
This morning Fed Ex dropped off my roll of floor pan insulation. This will go over the floor pan and under the carpet to provide a heat, sound and moisture barrier.
Time to get to work...updates later....
The carpet pieces arrived Thursday. This is a kit of numerous pieces whereas the carpet I ripped out was one huge piece which I had to cut apart to remove. So we shall see how the new pieces fit.
This morning Fed Ex dropped off my roll of floor pan insulation. This will go over the floor pan and under the carpet to provide a heat, sound and moisture barrier.
Time to get to work...updates later....
Friday, August 29, 2008
Spider gets a valve adjustment
The Spider went to European Motor Service in Longwood, FL today for a valve adjustment. Paul, one of the mechanics there, did the deed and did it well! He's from Great Britain. Very nice fella.
The engine sounds so much better now. He found one of the exhaust valves to be waaaay out of spec. She runs smoother and feels a bit more spritely now as well.
Here's a little video of the motor running. Compare it to the previous engine sounds HERE. You will hear a very pronounced ticking sound in the older video which was the out of adjustment exhaust valve. Filmed in Woozy-vision.....
The engine sounds so much better now. He found one of the exhaust valves to be waaaay out of spec. She runs smoother and feels a bit more spritely now as well.
Here's a little video of the motor running. Compare it to the previous engine sounds HERE. You will hear a very pronounced ticking sound in the older video which was the out of adjustment exhaust valve. Filmed in Woozy-vision.....
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
New Alfa Romeo floor mats arrive
I received a nice little surprise in the mail....the new floor mats for the Spider arrived. These are actually cut to fit the driver and passenger foot wells so they should look sweet once I get the new carpet installed.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Where the Alfa met the flood
Here are a few pics from my pal Luis at work. These show the parking lot adjacent to mine at work where the Alfa met the flood waters last Thursday night but lived to see another day :)
If you look closely you can see a stranded silver car with water up to its doors.
If you look closely you can see a stranded silver car with water up to its doors.
Monday, August 25, 2008
The GRONK is gone!
Since I bought the Alfa Romeo Spider the right front end has made a lot of squeaking and gronking noises whenever going over even the slightest bump.
I had that diagnosed last week as a worn out lower right ball joint. This morning I took it in to European Motor Service in Longwood, Florida for a replacement of said ball joint. The squeaks and gronks are now gone! Yeehaw!
I had that diagnosed last week as a worn out lower right ball joint. This morning I took it in to European Motor Service in Longwood, Florida for a replacement of said ball joint. The squeaks and gronks are now gone! Yeehaw!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Mark Farner....new music preview!
Mark Farner, he of Grand Funk Railroad fame, has a new tune he's working on and someone put together a rather humorous video for it. Check it out!!
Stumble, stumble....grumble, Grumble!
As my regular readers know the Alfa Spider and I sent swimming the other day, as tropical storm Faye made her way across central Florida. I drove into 12-18 inches of water in a parking lot...not on purpose, I could not see it)
Anyway the Alfa conked out in the Faye-made pond but eventually restarted. It was running fine...until last night.
I headed out to take a little drive and maybe get a bite to eat and just after I left my driveway the Spider started to stumble and sputter and not be able to hold an idle. So I pulled back into the garage and started diagnosing the problem. I checked the coil first....good spark there and dry connection.
Next the distributor, again the connections were good and dry and the cap and rotor looked fine.
I checked two of the plugs and both were getting spark but the electrode and insulator were covered in black soot, unlike the last time I checked and re-gapped them a few weeks ago, when they were of a beautiful whitish/tan color.
Hmmmmm, appears to be a fuel mixture problem. Running WAAAAAY to rich. So I started looking at the air intake. The airbox and attached snorkel are in the left front of the engine bay. I opened the airbox and checked the filter. It was completely wet! There was even a little puddle of water in the airbox. Obviously my previous visit to the pond allowed water to enter the airbox.
So I replaced the filter with a dry one and dried up the water in the airbox and reassembled. I fired up the Alfa and the same symptoms existed. It went stumble stumble and I began to grumble grumble.
Integrated into the air box is something called an air flow meter. This is a device which measures the amount of air intake and sends signal to the fuel injection computer so the proper amount of fuel can be mixed in, helping to create magnifico combustion.
In my previous readings at the www.alfabb.com forums, I recall issues on occasion with this air flow meter not functioning properly. So I removed it from the airbox. The air flow meter has a moving metal flap inside it which constricts airflow as needed. I noticed this flap was not moving well...it was hanging up. I also noticed water inside the air flow meter and some drips of water even coming down from the "sealed" area of the meter where the electronic parts reside!!
Oh no, I knew this was not good. Water had actually infiltrated the electronics :( I went about disassembling the meter, painstakingly removing the "sealed" plastic top to expose the electronics. After what seemed like an eternity I got it off, and sure enough there were drops of water inside. I dried it out as best as I could. While in there I "modified" it to tell the computer to send slightly more fuel across the board. Just a little trick I learned on alfabb.com. Nothing wrong with a wee bit more performance from the ol' Spider :)
Next I turned my attention to the sticking flap inside the airflow meter. I used a lot of carb cleaner spray and about 45 minutes later the gummed up moving parts were gummed no more and the flap opened and closed freely.
So again, reassembly time. Once all back together, I crossed my fingers, said a prayer to Nicola Romeo and fired up the Graduate once again. Presto magico! She idles now perfectly and runs like a dream! Viva Italia, Forza Alfa Romeo!
Anyway the Alfa conked out in the Faye-made pond but eventually restarted. It was running fine...until last night.
I headed out to take a little drive and maybe get a bite to eat and just after I left my driveway the Spider started to stumble and sputter and not be able to hold an idle. So I pulled back into the garage and started diagnosing the problem. I checked the coil first....good spark there and dry connection.
Next the distributor, again the connections were good and dry and the cap and rotor looked fine.
I checked two of the plugs and both were getting spark but the electrode and insulator were covered in black soot, unlike the last time I checked and re-gapped them a few weeks ago, when they were of a beautiful whitish/tan color.
Hmmmmm, appears to be a fuel mixture problem. Running WAAAAAY to rich. So I started looking at the air intake. The airbox and attached snorkel are in the left front of the engine bay. I opened the airbox and checked the filter. It was completely wet! There was even a little puddle of water in the airbox. Obviously my previous visit to the pond allowed water to enter the airbox.
So I replaced the filter with a dry one and dried up the water in the airbox and reassembled. I fired up the Alfa and the same symptoms existed. It went stumble stumble and I began to grumble grumble.
Integrated into the air box is something called an air flow meter. This is a device which measures the amount of air intake and sends signal to the fuel injection computer so the proper amount of fuel can be mixed in, helping to create magnifico combustion.
In my previous readings at the www.alfabb.com forums, I recall issues on occasion with this air flow meter not functioning properly. So I removed it from the airbox. The air flow meter has a moving metal flap inside it which constricts airflow as needed. I noticed this flap was not moving well...it was hanging up. I also noticed water inside the air flow meter and some drips of water even coming down from the "sealed" area of the meter where the electronic parts reside!!
Oh no, I knew this was not good. Water had actually infiltrated the electronics :( I went about disassembling the meter, painstakingly removing the "sealed" plastic top to expose the electronics. After what seemed like an eternity I got it off, and sure enough there were drops of water inside. I dried it out as best as I could. While in there I "modified" it to tell the computer to send slightly more fuel across the board. Just a little trick I learned on alfabb.com. Nothing wrong with a wee bit more performance from the ol' Spider :)
Next I turned my attention to the sticking flap inside the airflow meter. I used a lot of carb cleaner spray and about 45 minutes later the gummed up moving parts were gummed no more and the flap opened and closed freely.
So again, reassembly time. Once all back together, I crossed my fingers, said a prayer to Nicola Romeo and fired up the Graduate once again. Presto magico! She idles now perfectly and runs like a dream! Viva Italia, Forza Alfa Romeo!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Gutting the Spider
Last night and today I spent numerous hours pulling out and discarding the deteriorating, mildewy carpet in the Alfa. This entailed removal of many interior pieces as well.
I then cleaned and prepped the floor pan, mostly the driver's side, to prepare it for chemicals and paint which stop rust. I found that there were 3 sizable areas of rust on the driver's side foot well, two of which had rotted through the floorpan....more areas of water infiltration.
After allowing rust inhibiting chemicals to work overnight, I attacked again this morning with a fairly large amount of vigor. I applied a special black paint which chemically changes the composition of the rust and stops it dead in its tracks.
Additionally I reinstalled the two floor drain grommets and resealed them. After the paint had cured, I addressed the holes in the floor using fiberglass cloth and a goopy fiberglass mixture which is impervious to water.
All of the holes in the floor pan are now taken care of.
So I decided to run some tests with my hose for water infiltration. I let lose the fury of the garden hose on the front cowl vent area and nary a drop made it inside.
Chris 1, Leakage 0
Next I ran the hose along the door seams on both sides of the car. No leaks!
Chris 2, Leakage 0
I then sprayed the vinyl top around where the windows meet it. Just a few drips, which I expected.
We'll call that a draw.
I was about to test the rest of the top all the way around but Mother Nature did that for me as the skies open up with a massive downpour. I deftly maneuvered myself into the Alfa to escape the rain and to my shock and dismay, water was pouring into the car from BEHIND me, over my left shoulder. The floor pan under my seat was quickly filling with water as was the rear deck area behind the seats.
Chris 2, Leakage 1
You see water running off the vinyl top enters a metal drainage channel and then exits from a drain tube connected to this channel (last pic below). The problem is, this tube was blocked somehow!
So I moved the Spider out of the rain and into the garage. I started dis-assembly of the panels around where this drain tube lived. Examining the tube, it looked fine, no cracks, etc. So I removed it and water poured out of it. Aha! A blockage!
I got a wire hanger and fished it into the tube but about halfway down I hit a blockage. I forced the hangar through slowly but surely and out started to come all the bits of blockage. A series of washers, a screw, a rather large, rusted spring, large amounts of sand and mud.
I cleared all the blockage bits and ran the hose through the tube. It was now flowing freely. I reinstalled the drain tube and all the panels and then filled a milk jug with water and poured it into the drain channel. It flowed freely and safely to the outside ground! SUCCESS!
Chris 3, Leakage 1 GAME OVER!
This was undoubtedly the source of the massive amounts of water I kept finding in the Graduate.
Now I need to go about sourcing some new sound/heat insulation material for the floor pan and then new carpet and reassembly can commence!
I then cleaned and prepped the floor pan, mostly the driver's side, to prepare it for chemicals and paint which stop rust. I found that there were 3 sizable areas of rust on the driver's side foot well, two of which had rotted through the floorpan....more areas of water infiltration.
After allowing rust inhibiting chemicals to work overnight, I attacked again this morning with a fairly large amount of vigor. I applied a special black paint which chemically changes the composition of the rust and stops it dead in its tracks.
Additionally I reinstalled the two floor drain grommets and resealed them. After the paint had cured, I addressed the holes in the floor using fiberglass cloth and a goopy fiberglass mixture which is impervious to water.
All of the holes in the floor pan are now taken care of.
So I decided to run some tests with my hose for water infiltration. I let lose the fury of the garden hose on the front cowl vent area and nary a drop made it inside.
Chris 1, Leakage 0
Next I ran the hose along the door seams on both sides of the car. No leaks!
Chris 2, Leakage 0
I then sprayed the vinyl top around where the windows meet it. Just a few drips, which I expected.
We'll call that a draw.
I was about to test the rest of the top all the way around but Mother Nature did that for me as the skies open up with a massive downpour. I deftly maneuvered myself into the Alfa to escape the rain and to my shock and dismay, water was pouring into the car from BEHIND me, over my left shoulder. The floor pan under my seat was quickly filling with water as was the rear deck area behind the seats.
Chris 2, Leakage 1
You see water running off the vinyl top enters a metal drainage channel and then exits from a drain tube connected to this channel (last pic below). The problem is, this tube was blocked somehow!
So I moved the Spider out of the rain and into the garage. I started dis-assembly of the panels around where this drain tube lived. Examining the tube, it looked fine, no cracks, etc. So I removed it and water poured out of it. Aha! A blockage!
I got a wire hanger and fished it into the tube but about halfway down I hit a blockage. I forced the hangar through slowly but surely and out started to come all the bits of blockage. A series of washers, a screw, a rather large, rusted spring, large amounts of sand and mud.
I cleared all the blockage bits and ran the hose through the tube. It was now flowing freely. I reinstalled the drain tube and all the panels and then filled a milk jug with water and poured it into the drain channel. It flowed freely and safely to the outside ground! SUCCESS!
Chris 3, Leakage 1 GAME OVER!
This was undoubtedly the source of the massive amounts of water I kept finding in the Graduate.
Now I need to go about sourcing some new sound/heat insulation material for the floor pan and then new carpet and reassembly can commence!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Lake Victoria near flood level
My neighborhood lake, Lake Victoria, is nearing the point where it might over flow its banks. It's crazy how much it has risen in the last 2-3 days due to Tropical Storm Faye.
Notice in these pics how high the water level is based on the submerged tree trunks and on the picture which shows just the top rail of a four foot wooden fence.
Notice in these pics how high the water level is based on the submerged tree trunks and on the picture which shows just the top rail of a four foot wooden fence.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
*****SUPER CUB*****
Th loooooooong awaited pictures of Super Cub Pilot Bob's Piper Super Cub have arrived!!!
Take a gander or two at this gleaming beauty! Thanks SCPB!!
View all of the Super Cub pictures by clicking HERE!
Take a gander or two at this gleaming beauty! Thanks SCPB!!
View all of the Super Cub pictures by clicking HERE!
Flooded Spider
The torrential, near hurricane conditions today left the Alfa Romeo Spider with an overly moist interior.
One of the things one must deal with when owning a vintage classic exotic Italian convertible sportscar :) is that there are quirks which need to be dealt with.
One of those quirks is the wholesale flooding of the interior of the car.
So now I must go deal with that....
One of the things one must deal with when owning a vintage classic exotic Italian convertible sportscar :) is that there are quirks which need to be dealt with.
One of those quirks is the wholesale flooding of the interior of the car.
So now I must go deal with that....
Tropical Storm Faye arrives with a vengeance
Tropical storm Fate finally arrived in the Deland/Lake Mary area today. I watched from the dry and comfortable confines of my cubicle as the torrential rain flew by rapidly SIDEWAYS!!
The Alfa Spider took a gd beating, with standing water collecting in her footwells. It was nearly enough to make me weep openly.
As I left work for the day, I entered the Alfa and sopped up what I could with the requisite towels I now carry in the Spider and moved in a spirited fashion out of the Fiserv parking lot,
Unfortunately, I did not see well enough through the foggy windshield the POND which had formed in an adjacent parking lot. The Alfa tried to trudge though the water but stalled midway. I tried to restart her but it was not to be.
So I stepped out and water was midway betwixt my ankle and knee.....I put the Spider in neutral and pushed her out of the "pond" and onto higher ground.
By the grace of the sweet heavenly Lord above and Nicola Romeo himself, after a while she fired back up and I made my way to the local watering hole for a celebration of more lucky souls leaving Fiserv.
I sat on my chair at the bar and watched the rain and wind ravage the outside world. What seemed like hours later (and actually was) I departed for home, the Alfa beckoning me. I inserted the key and by the power of Greyskull turned that same key, hoping beyond hope that the mighty Graduate would carry me home.
Sweet heavenly Christ she did fire and I drove her home. She purred like a kitten, greeting tropical storm Faye at the front door and saying "step back sister, it's Spider time!"
The Alfa Spider took a gd beating, with standing water collecting in her footwells. It was nearly enough to make me weep openly.
As I left work for the day, I entered the Alfa and sopped up what I could with the requisite towels I now carry in the Spider and moved in a spirited fashion out of the Fiserv parking lot,
Unfortunately, I did not see well enough through the foggy windshield the POND which had formed in an adjacent parking lot. The Alfa tried to trudge though the water but stalled midway. I tried to restart her but it was not to be.
So I stepped out and water was midway betwixt my ankle and knee.....I put the Spider in neutral and pushed her out of the "pond" and onto higher ground.
By the grace of the sweet heavenly Lord above and Nicola Romeo himself, after a while she fired back up and I made my way to the local watering hole for a celebration of more lucky souls leaving Fiserv.
I sat on my chair at the bar and watched the rain and wind ravage the outside world. What seemed like hours later (and actually was) I departed for home, the Alfa beckoning me. I inserted the key and by the power of Greyskull turned that same key, hoping beyond hope that the mighty Graduate would carry me home.
Sweet heavenly Christ she did fire and I drove her home. She purred like a kitten, greeting tropical storm Faye at the front door and saying "step back sister, it's Spider time!"
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Fresh fluids for the Spider
As I type this strong rain and wind is beating against my windows. The brunt of Tropical Storm Faye has finally reached Deland. Looks like it'll be going on all night.
Tonight I spent a few hours in the garage, the door open and the rains of Tropical Storm Faye pouring down, working on the Alfa Romeo.
I changed the engine oil and filter and changed the gearbox oil as well.
The engine takes 7.5 liters of oil for an oil change... 7.5 liters!!!! Yeowwww! I used Castrol 20w50.
The gearbox oil is kind of a pain in the *ss to change. I had to jack up the right side of the car to gain enough room to crawl under and get at the gearbox drain plug. That damned thing was on as tight as can be but I finally broke it free and gashed my arm in the process. The position of the fill plug is such that I had no room laying there to add the fresh gear oil. So I bought a 6 foot length of clear tubing and ran it down from the engine bay to the fill hole and shoved it in there. Then I proceeded to add the gearbox oil through this tube until I had added the requisite 2 quarts of 80w90 Shell Spirex.
Now she's all happy. Started up and oil pressure looks better than ever...gearbox shifts well ta boot!
Today at lunch I took the Spider to European Motors, a repair shop specializing in...you guessed it...European cars :) I wanted them to give me an idea what kind of suspension work the Graduate needed to get her back in good shape. The only thing they found she needed was a new lower right ball joint. Excellent! I have an appointment to get that replaced Monday morning.
My next job...rear diff oil change and then pull out all the carpet and clean/paint the floor pan with rust preventing chemicals/paint. That'll keep me busy Saturday :)
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