Author: hamilton.mm

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Sprint surprises: Cam timing

Update 1/23/12:  In the spirit of taking one for the team -you kind reader being ‘the team’, and the ‘taking one’ is me in the form of admitting to not fully considering this subject before I wrote about it, I am writing this update.  It will be open ended and hopefully draw further discussion…

The result I was hoping for has finally happened: those with more knowledge/experience than me (Tom, Rick -thanks) have chimed in in the comments section -(though Tom, I think ‘inexperienced’ is a better word than ‘sloppy’).  The question of the cam timing had been bothering me since I wrote the first draft of this post -I even made a table to try and figure out what I was missing, but now it seems to be approaching the obvious.  For those that are spectators, or as inexperienced as me, this is what I have been thinking and why I have been thinking it.

Background on the subject:

This is the valve timing chart from the factory printed Giulietta Technical Specifications book.  Note that this timing is always based on crank position.  There are many versions of this chart for the many models over the years.

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The sincerest form of flattery

I wasn’t expecting this when Alex in Virginia sent me a link.  I look at kit cars occasionally on eBay to check out the latest in Porsche Laser 917’s and the like, but not often enough to catch all the weirdness that passes through -including this: an Alfa Giulietta Spider treatment kit on a Miata!  I’ve seen lots of Porsche 356 kits, Austin Healey 3000 kits and others, but never Giulietta kit -not that this looks a whole lot like a Giulietta, but you get my meaning.

The quality of the finish isn’t too bad for this sort of thing, and being a Miata, it probably performs admirably.  Knock-offs look like something from the SpyHunter video game.  Center grill looks like a genuine Alfa part.

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Glas 1700 GT: Charge!

The day is getting close when I will have the Glas 1700 GT in a position where I can work on it, the whole thing -probably early next week.  The plan was to have the parts I dragged home and those taken from the parts car ready to bolt on when it turned up.  The plan is coming along -but I’m behind schedule -in part due to my getting sidetracked doing more than necessary to fix things up as evidenced by the generator below, and in part due to how long it takes to get parts from Germany.  I did get the charging system together though!

This is a Bosch 6 volt generator.  I had 3 to choose from to clean up and this one was the cleanest, had best bearings and the best brushes.  I suppose I’ll restore the other 2 at some point and have them ready for service -it may be a Bosch, but it is a generator after all, and in my experience they are tempermental.

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Market 372: SS 00216 in Italy

Update later the same day:  This car was also Market 208, before I had the vin #.  Asking price has increased a bit since April of 2010.

Giulietta Sprint Speciale 10120*00216, 00120*0????.  Maurizo sent me an email to notify me that this car is on Autoscout.  Car looks to be a nice mix of preserved and restored, with a highly detailed engine compartment.  Asking price is 65,000 Euro’s or about $83,800.

With this background, it almost looks like it’s in prison.  All the usual praise applies here, the trim, fit etc all look right.  Rear end suspension is lower than usual.

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Market 370: ‘Completely concours’ Sprint 158658

Giulietta Sprint 10102 158658.  This car is available now from Hexagon out of London England for 49,950 Pounds, about $76,700 at the time of writing.  It is described as completely concours, having received an ‘astonishing’ nut and bolt restoration.  It looks very very good in the pictures but as with most cars being held to this kind of standard, it has some loose ends.

Paint looks phenomenal, as does the trim.  No rocker trim?  Front wheel is a Borrani, the rest are Fergat’s.  Hood and door fit is amazing.  Tires are a little ‘modern’ for a Giulietta -but that’s a matter of taste.

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Box with very cool contents arrives at Giuliettas.com HQ

Update 1/16/12: You can contact Rene at rkemmer @ knoware.nl if you are interested in a set.

1/13/12: I keep this site up for free for the most part.  Some days I spend 20 minutes, some 2 hours, but I just do what they day dictates, because I enjoy it and have this vision of what this site would be if I kept it up for 20 years.  Every once in a while I get a gift because of the site.  Laurence gave me a VERY nice steering wheel for my Sprint -transforming how the feel of the car was transmitted through my hands, Bob gave me some very nice used all red tail light lenses, Joe a set of headlight rings and an air box and there are others.  Today, all unexpected, Rene sent me this:

It’s actually kind of funny, I thought the orange post office ‘come get your package’ notice was for a box (or two) of Glas GT parts I was expecting from Germany, or my rebuilt Solex from George, or even possibly more baby stuff.  I was not expecting this.

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Market 357: Sprint Veloce Confortevole 06469

Update 1/15/12: This car has been loosely assembled, had new pictures taken and relisted on eBay.  Seller says to call them (Daniel, 203 778 2601), that they expect to have a strong offer for it and sell it before auctions end.  I hope it finished at auction so we get a sense of what a car like this is really worth.

Looks like a car now.  I know it needs as much work as one all apart to restore this, but I would make it run and drive with the minimum effort first, enjoy it on the road for a few years then do a gradual nut and bolt.  Too bad I don’t have a billionaire benefactor in my readership.  A wonderful book about the restoration of it could be produced.

I am assuming this is all just finger tightly assembled, but at least you can see it’s all there. -except the hood latch.  Would the hood have been stamped with the body number?

Laurence’s SVC has this color scheme interior, in original condition.  This would look amazing if just carefully put together with what you see.  Horn ring is busted.

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Pushing product 6 -new highs and lows

It’s been a while.  PP5 was posted on 10/31/09!  I’ve been saving pictures -mostly forwarded by readers, and just came a across a bunch, so why not.  The usual disclaimers apply -not my stuff, not my girl, just captured moments of young women’s lives.  I apologize if this sullies your view of the operation here, but I do need a break from pictures of just cars once in a while.

This is actually how the dream where you buy an 80’s Spider Graduate with too modern wheels plays out.  The lighting is dim even though it’s day time, a hot CG chick with two necklaces on is holding her skirt and if you removed her glasses she wouldn’t have any eyes.  Nicely taken.

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Market 243: Small headlight Sprint 01682 in Australia

Update 1/14/12:  This car has turned up in Australia with an asking price of $32,500 or about $33,400 US.  I also got a tip that it was available in Southern California, but apparently, it’s an old link.  The seller from 8/2010 confirmed it’s in Australia.

You don’t see this angle often unless you or your neighbor has a Sprint and you have a second story balcony overlooking the parking area.  I want a first series Sprint project.  Maybe after the 750D project that’s after the Glas GT project.

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Glas 1700 GT: One part at a time

A car restoration can be looked at from a lot of perspectives -some with blind trust through a pen writing checks, some like a soccer coach all passionate on the sidelines cajoling the players, but for me it’s all a hands on, do it yourself deal involving my time, hands and some percentage of my processing power at any given time with the intended consequence of improving things and learning. That and the occasional trip to the powder-coaters.

Some days I am enthusiastic because I genuinely enjoy the challenge of taking a neglected mechanism, unable to fulfill it’s intended function and cosmetically challenged, and making it work and look good.  Other days I keep my enthusiasm up by imagining driving the finished product and saying without much conviction ‘it just a bunch of nuts and bolts holding a few special brackets in between together’.  I wrote a post about this ‘nuts and bolts’ approach when I was working on the Sprint Speciale, early in the life of this blog.  That post was concerned with process and finish, this one is more a study of psychology psychosis or whatever -from a pscientific perspective

Intake parts here, the duplex fuel pump again, a good portion of the remote float bowl, one of the chokes, booth accelerator pump covers and a hose clamp.  In this orientation and state, they are little more than intricately beautiful mechanical objects sitting near each other on a tray.  Put them together with the rest of their coterie in a particular way and they precisely pump and meter fuel.

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