1970 Alfa Romeo GT Junior Racer

[James B]

Another hugely enjoyable weekend of racing. Race 1 was a little stop start due to a safety car, then double waved yellows and ended with a red flag but I still got a good overtake in. Race 2 was much better and I resumed my usual battle with Ian in the Sud. I was also very pleased to see the yellow Giulia up to pace and racing with me.

Race 1 – In Car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-1l4ZkK8Ak

Race 1 – Front and Rear Cams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjD5F-gQ8N8

Race 2 – In Car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mItPywYd1w4

Race 2 – Front and Rear Cams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjXQPOWRpBo



A few winter jobs to do on the car now after the season;

The car stopped charging in the last race but I noticed it would charge at high revs so I assume the fan belt is loose.

The box stopped selecting 2nd so I'm going to whip it out and have it checked. I think it has an issue. 5th is also tough to select.

I need to fit the new door check straps and at the same time will do the replacement hinge bolts as many are rounding off.

The replacement bootlid can be fitted the final time along with new securing pins rather than spring clips.

I'll then get the car to the paint shop in Aberdeen for a front end tidy and the bootlid to be painted.

Finally, I'll whip out some more weight from the passenger door.

I'm also booked in to have my mouth sewn up so I can lose 20kgs of pilot ballast. *

• the sewing bit may not be true but I'm going to give the 20kgs a damn good go!

[dinkel]

Some quick Lenham Sprite!

[James B]

Yes it's a quick wee car! He took the class win for the year too iirc. It's reasonably consistent but the the blue Alfasud staged a good fight back over the latter part of the season and took a number of class wins.

[RESTELL]

this is a great thread! you have an awesome little car and its good to see how much you enjoy using it properly, very inspirational.

Sorry to hear about the gearbox issues. to be honest you could hear in the race video the 2nd gear synchro starting to complain. A bit of heal & toe would help this and probably prolong the gearbox life in the future.

anyway thanks for sharing this on the website, very enjoyable read.

[James B]

Thanks RESTELL.
I love the car but appreciate that I probably lack a little of the finesse that may be required to get the best out of it. Still, it's been a fantastic season for me which I have thoroughly enjoyed.

I do need to learn to heel and toe which may be difficult in the car at present as the pedals are quite offset in depth so the angle my foot would need to be at would be very odd indeed to be on both the brake and throttle. Still, i'll see if I can do something to adjust that over the winter and report back as it's certainly a skill I would like to master!

[James B]

Gearbox is edging closer but was somewhat reluctant to get in. Had to remove the nearside engine mount but ran out of time to finish before the Go Motorsport event which is a shame.




It wasn't easy but I got it on last night with the help of Hollowpockets on here (cheers!).

We ended up pulling the nearside engine mount which lowered the rear of the engine sufficiently to mean the angle of approach for the bellhousing to meet the 4 block pins was achievable but the uppermost part of the bellhousing was still catching the top of the transmission tunnel. The solution was to jack the engine from the front of the sump to pull it toward the front of the car which then meant the bell housing missed the trans tunnel and it went on.
Phew!

Engine mount is refitted so just need to refit all the other bits that I removed and it should hopefully all be well!

Then test drive and get fitting the bootlid before I head to painter to have it all painted up and the front end refreshed.

[rare6499]

Such a stunning car! I am extremely jealous indeed.

[James B]

Well it was time that I made some progress with the car ahead of the new season.

First job was the gear stick. Following refitting the gearbox I found there to be a very small amount of lateral movement of the gear stick itself on the shaft on the gearbox. Clearly I hadn't been tough enough with the the tightening of the bolt and a good few turns later it was solid as a rock.

Then I decided to give the new bootlid a test fit. That quickly became full fitting and drilling for catches etc!!!

The lid itself fitted perfectly.

I have chosen to use some push button type catches that I've seen of bike fairings and McLaren use them on their road cars. They fit nice and flush and should be simple enough to use leaving a clean look to the rear of the car.

I had to fit new securing posts for the catches and knocked these up with some of the aluminium sheet I had left over from the fuel tank guard I made.

Pics are self explanatory. The car will go to get the front end tidied and the bootlid and read end repainted too. I think I'll give the boot inner a tidy at the same time and will paint the new supports and the inner black once again.

[dinkel]

Cheers for the update, nice work.

[MPoxon]

Damn you! whenever this thread crops up again I spend hours looking at the Alfa Holics site classifieds.

[James B]

That's the car back from the paint shop. Absolutely delighted with the end result. Going to spend the weekend refitting all of the parts and vinyls I removed.







I got the painters to fill all the unused holes in the front that used to support the bumpers etc. Much cleaner look now.

Almost too good to race!!

[MPoxon]

Really looks the part now. Like you say, first race will be tough as you won't want to damage that lovely new paint.

[James B]

MPoxon said:

Really looks the part now. Like you say, first race will be tough as you won't want to damage that lovely new paint.

That's more of an incentive to be at the front! Haha. Sadly i'm a loooong way from that so I'll just have to be my usual careful self. If you look at some of my videos I often stray off line when I see debris thrown up from cars ahead. It's shameful. Haha

[e21Mark]

Just caught up on your thread and your Alfa is just gorgeous. I love track focussed classics, although my own is a little younger. I just think cars from the early 70's have such style. I have a '72 BMW 2002, that I hope to sprint someday soon.

One question. Can I ask where you got your LED rain light from? I quite like how simple it looks compared to some.

[dinkel]

Did you guys saw the Alfaholics clip featuring Charles Morgan?

[James B]

Mark,

Thanks. There's something about the difficulties of owning a car like this that make it all the more enjoyable.
I've followed your threads on the BM's as I very nearly bought a 2002 Ti in alpina colours instead of this Alfa. Looks (imo) won in the end!!

Dinkel,

Yes, this video; https://youtu.be/-dEd6uQjSvY

Awesome isn't it!!

[e21Mark]

James B said:

Mark,

Thanks. There's something about the difficulties of owning a car like this that make it all the more enjoyable.
I've followed your threads on the BM's as I very nearly bought a 2002 Ti in alpina colours instead of this Alfa. Looks (imo) won in the end!!

I can certainly see why you'd come to that conclusion.

Any detail on that light?

[MPoxon]

James B said:

That's more of an incentive to be at the front! Haha. Sadly i'm a loooong way from that so I'll just have to be my usual careful self. If you look at some of my videos I often stray off line when I see debris thrown up from cars ahead. It's shameful. Haha

LOL yes very true, although you do risk trading paint getting to the front.

I have watched some of your videos, looks good to me and better than I could do. Besides I don't think it really matters how fast you are or what place you finish at the end of the day it is not your day job and you do it for fun so as long as you are having fun that is all that matters.

Looking forward to seeing the Alfa out again this season and to reading your updates.

[James B]

e21Mark said:

James B said:

Mark,

Thanks. There's something about the difficulties of owning a car like this that make it all the more enjoyable.
I've followed your threads on the BM's as I very nearly bought a 2002 Ti in alpina colours instead of this Alfa. Looks (imo) won in the end!!

I can certainly see why you'd come to that conclusion.

Any detail on that light?

Dammit! Sorry I did mean to say. It's one I got from Demon Tweeks. Race line I think is the brand. It wasn't cheap but is high quality and very solid.

[James B]

MPoxon said:

James B said:

That's more of an incentive to be at the front! Haha. Sadly i'm a loooong way from that so I'll just have to be my usual careful self. If you look at some of my videos I often stray off line when I see debris thrown up from cars ahead. It's shameful. Haha

LOL yes very true, although you do risk trading paint getting to the front.

I have watched some of your videos, looks good to me and better than I could do. Besides I don't think it really matters how fast you are or what place you finish at the end of the day it is not your day job and you do it for fun so as long as you are having fun that is all that matters.

Looking forward to seeing the Alfa out again this season and to reading your updates.

Very true it is a greater risk. I'll just have to hope my fellow competitors still give the room for passing that I enjoyed a few times last year.

I have quite a busy season ahead this year. The plan is;

3rd April – Knockhill SMRC race
1st May – Knockhill SMRC race
29th May – Knockhill SMRC race
1st July - Donington trackday
2-3rd July – Donington Masters race (SMRC away event)
16th July – Goodwood Classic Alfa trackday
21st Aug – Kincardine Castle Royal Deeside Speed Festival Hillclimb
2nd Oct – Knockhill SMRC race

So the car is going to have to cover some miles this year. Also very excited to be adding to more circuits to the bedpost!