1970 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300 TI
Discussion
Great progress. The straightened grill was definitely worth the effort.
MTW said:
I have spent the last few days sporadically tuning the carbs, the strange thing is the car seemed to behave differently each time I started it up. Very odd. But hopefully they are sorted now. Seemed to behave well this l afternoon, so I moved on to the last few bits to sort out before it can go out for the road test.
What was changing between start ups? MTW said:
Thanks mate, happy to have it almost “finished”
What have you got left to do for it it be "finished"? And how long do you think that'll last until you start tinkering again? I don't think I've ever managed to finish a car nfcf said:
Great progress. The straightened grill was definitely worth the effort.
Cheers mate, I think the difference in starting was down to a few things, when I fired it up the second time I had fixed the backplate for the trumpets on, so I think that changed the balance slightly, then the 3rd time i started it it was running on 3 for a few mins, which I think is down to a fuel pressure or fuel float issue, flooding the cylinder slightly. I think that’s what happening anyhow. MTW said:
I have spent the last few days sporadically tuning the carbs, the strange thing is the car seemed to behave differently each time I started it up. Very odd. But hopefully they are sorted now. Seemed to behave well this l afternoon, so I moved on to the last few bits to sort out before it can go out for the road test.
What was changing between start ups? MTW said:
Thanks mate, happy to have it almost “finished”
What have you got left to do for it it be "finished"? And how long do you think that'll last until you start tinkering again? I don't think I've ever managed to finish a car I’m going to try reducing the fuel pressure to 2psi rather than 3 it’s currently set at. If that isn’t the problem I’ll look into the float level and needle valves etc.
Ah I mean “finished” in the sense of fitting all the bits I have sitting on the shelf for it! I still have all the suspension arms, steering arms, bushes and track rod ends etc etc. I think I will do all that in the summer when I can pull the car out of the garage and do it on the drive, the garage is a bit tight!
JJJ. said:
From memory 3-3.5psi is generally the norm for your cabs. Float height as you mentioned might be a good call.
Yes that’s what I’ve read, but I did call a local classic Alfa specialist to ask for advice and they said 3 is too high. When I first had the car started with the faulty FPR the carbs were leaking. But when I fitted the new FPR with its out of the box setting at about 2.8psi I’m pretty sure the leak stopped. I turned it up to around 3.2psi and the leak started again. So I might try 2.5psi and see if that stops it, if not I will open them up and check the float height.It’s such a shame because car is running and driving great aside from that.
I managed to take the car out again today. I lowered the fuel pressure to a touch over 2psi, and it seems to have solved the fuel leaks. The car is running great, feels and sounds lovely, although when I pulled the car into the driveway after the test drive one of the front calipers seized! It never ends!
I managed to get the car out for its first proper drive at the weekend for Southside Hustle.
The car made the 2 hour round trip without a hitch thankfully! And the sticking caliper seemed to work itself out. I’m very happy with how the car drives, it sounds incredible now and definitely feels like a few more horses have been released. It’s much keener to rev all the way up up to 6200 now, and the throttle pedal feels much better with all the new linkages etc.
So for now the plan is do a few little odd bits here and there, it needs a new boot seal and a few other bits like that. But the main thing is just to get it out on any dry day and get some miles on it. These cars don’t like sitting around, so I want to get it back moving again for a little while before I get cracking with the rest of the suspension jobs.
The car made the 2 hour round trip without a hitch thankfully! And the sticking caliper seemed to work itself out. I’m very happy with how the car drives, it sounds incredible now and definitely feels like a few more horses have been released. It’s much keener to rev all the way up up to 6200 now, and the throttle pedal feels much better with all the new linkages etc.
So for now the plan is do a few little odd bits here and there, it needs a new boot seal and a few other bits like that. But the main thing is just to get it out on any dry day and get some miles on it. These cars don’t like sitting around, so I want to get it back moving again for a little while before I get cracking with the rest of the suspension jobs.
A few nice shots from the Giulas first ‘proper’ run out since fitting the twin carbs. I’m glad to report the car is running fantastically, fingers crossed all the foibles and fuel leaks seem to be sorted.
The car definitely feels more powerful and much keener to rev, it’s becoming a really fun little road car, the noise is intoxicating. It’s really nice to be able to drive the car absolutely flat out on its doorhandles and barely trouble 60mph, it’s a lot of fun!
The car definitely feels more powerful and much keener to rev, it’s becoming a really fun little road car, the noise is intoxicating. It’s really nice to be able to drive the car absolutely flat out on its doorhandles and barely trouble 60mph, it’s a lot of fun!
Very pretty car! My old man bought one of these in '79ish for £250. It was in a back street garage and pretty ropey. I remember it had an amazing sounding exhaust and seemed to go pretty well. I spotted a fuel leak in the boot just after he'd bought it, which my Grandad took great pleasure in criticising. It looks so much better in white. Nice purchase!
rtg0616 said:
Very pretty car! My old man bought one of these in '79ish for £250. It was in a back street garage and pretty ropey. I remember it had an amazing sounding exhaust and seemed to go pretty well. I spotted a fuel leak in the boot just after he'd bought it, which my Grandad took great pleasure in criticising. It looks so much better in white. Nice purchase!
Ah cheers! Ah yes they can wear through the fuel pipe that passes through the boot to under the car.
Not much to report at the moment with the Giulia, I found myself stuck in a terrifying childcare no man’s land over the last month or so, with my wife going back to work from maternity leave in early feb but the baby not going to nursery until this week! I’ve had my hands full! But still I did manage to make a new purchase.
Everyone’s favourite! The Momo Prototipo.
As much as I love the original period optional extra “hellebore” steering wheel, it just went practical. The car is really a drivers car, and the hellebore just isn’t great when trying to push on. Zero leg room means heel and toe is impossible, plus is massive, so feels a bit bus like when travelling at speed.
With my first child free day today I decided to get it fitted. I also needed to investigate the small matter of smoke coming from the steering column intermittently whilst driving! Which isn’t a pleasant thing to see whilst driving an old Alfa, as you can imagine!
First thing was to remove the old wheel, I had to buy a specific steering wheel puller, this thing was wedged on tight!
With the wheel off I soon found the culprit of the smoke coming through the column, the indicator return spring has broken and was shorting against the steering column. This of the Alfa Romeo ‘quirks’ I have discovered is the indicator circuit is running full 12 volts all the way through it. No relay or fuse! So when the spring was shorting on the column the smoke was the grease on the steering column frying!
Fitted a new spring and positioned it correctly around the steering column, so hopefully that’s all sorted.
Next up was fitting the new steering boss and a new horn wire.
Then fitted the steering spacer and horn push.
And all done!
Really pleased with how it looks, I think it’s really the only other viable option aside from the original wheel, very happy! Plus it feels great to drive with, lots more room for the knees too!
Everyone’s favourite! The Momo Prototipo.
As much as I love the original period optional extra “hellebore” steering wheel, it just went practical. The car is really a drivers car, and the hellebore just isn’t great when trying to push on. Zero leg room means heel and toe is impossible, plus is massive, so feels a bit bus like when travelling at speed.
With my first child free day today I decided to get it fitted. I also needed to investigate the small matter of smoke coming from the steering column intermittently whilst driving! Which isn’t a pleasant thing to see whilst driving an old Alfa, as you can imagine!
First thing was to remove the old wheel, I had to buy a specific steering wheel puller, this thing was wedged on tight!
With the wheel off I soon found the culprit of the smoke coming through the column, the indicator return spring has broken and was shorting against the steering column. This of the Alfa Romeo ‘quirks’ I have discovered is the indicator circuit is running full 12 volts all the way through it. No relay or fuse! So when the spring was shorting on the column the smoke was the grease on the steering column frying!
Fitted a new spring and positioned it correctly around the steering column, so hopefully that’s all sorted.
Next up was fitting the new steering boss and a new horn wire.
Then fitted the steering spacer and horn push.
And all done!
Really pleased with how it looks, I think it’s really the only other viable option aside from the original wheel, very happy! Plus it feels great to drive with, lots more room for the knees too!
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