Butchering a Bertone
Discussion
CedricN said:
Wow, nice that you got it on the ring. Driving old school cars there really bring forth a new dimension of the track when you feel everything on the track, all bumps etc and no driver aids at all to save you 
Quite; but honestly, driving a unique one-off is quite scary, especially at a circuit such as this with so many variables. I was constantly looking in mirrors, damp conditions, oil spills, differing driver skill levels... The car alone is a real handful without all these external factors. Still lots of fun and a few interesting pics:
Edited by CarreraLightweightRacing on Tuesday 27th October 12:29
After the NBR session above, I decided to give the front axle a good DVI as numerous components had been tested for the first time. Lucky I did really as although all the new parts were fine, I found out there had been light contact between the upper control arm/wishbone and the shock mount. The picture below refers. This was basically caused by a recent geo that had been carried by a local garage (a minor oversight as it was quite complicated and took 2 days):
I also noted during the previous geo set-up that I needed to address the steering system: there was only around 10mm of thread attaching the tie rods. So by welding on these nuts, an extra 11.7mm extra safety margin created:
Following this little lot I tried out a bit of 'string theory' for the first time (not tested the car yet as only finished 1 hour ago):
Then something I've been planning to try out for a while now, ditching the front ARB. The main reason was for wheel clearance at full lock but as the chassis is very stiff and the suspension setup very track focused, so I feel I may get away with this (I've done the same with the 996). Also 4.45kg saved
so now down to 874kg
Whilst this latest bout of garage antics was underway, requiring moving cars in and out the garage I took this picture. The 996 is considered relatively petite by todays standards but this really does show just how much modern cars have grown, the Alfa looks like a little toy car by comparison:
I also noted during the previous geo set-up that I needed to address the steering system: there was only around 10mm of thread attaching the tie rods. So by welding on these nuts, an extra 11.7mm extra safety margin created:
Following this little lot I tried out a bit of 'string theory' for the first time (not tested the car yet as only finished 1 hour ago):
Then something I've been planning to try out for a while now, ditching the front ARB. The main reason was for wheel clearance at full lock but as the chassis is very stiff and the suspension setup very track focused, so I feel I may get away with this (I've done the same with the 996). Also 4.45kg saved
so now down to 874kgWhilst this latest bout of garage antics was underway, requiring moving cars in and out the garage I took this picture. The 996 is considered relatively petite by todays standards but this really does show just how much modern cars have grown, the Alfa looks like a little toy car by comparison:
Great read, engineering at it best, stunning images
The fuses look like slow blow, similar to all other thermal type resettable fuses, the problem with them is that they don't respond to a short circuit fast enough, this causes cables and components to overheat before the slow blow fuse trips
The fuses look like slow blow, similar to all other thermal type resettable fuses, the problem with them is that they don't respond to a short circuit fast enough, this causes cables and components to overheat before the slow blow fuse trips
Penelope Stopit said:
Great read, engineering at it best, stunning images
The fuses look like slow blow, similar to all other thermal type resettable fuses, the problem with them is that they don't respond to a short circuit fast enough, this causes cables and components to overheat before the slow blow fuse trips
Hi Penelope, glad you like the car. Just to clarify, these are not fuses. They are Aircraft circuit breakers. They are the safest and most reliable way to protect electrical circuits, hence them being fitted to aircraft The fuses look like slow blow, similar to all other thermal type resettable fuses, the problem with them is that they don't respond to a short circuit fast enough, this causes cables and components to overheat before the slow blow fuse trips
CarreraLightweightRacing said:
Hi Penelope, glad you like the car. Just to clarify, these are not fuses. They are Aircraft circuit breakers. They are the safest and most reliable way to protect electrical circuits, hence them being fitted to aircraft
And surprisingly redolent of the items fitted by Prodrive in their WRC cars Rich 
Slippydiff said:
CarreraLightweightRacing said:
Hi Penelope, glad you like the car. Just to clarify, these are not fuses. They are Aircraft circuit breakers. They are the safest and most reliable way to protect electrical circuits, hence them being fitted to aircraft
And surprisingly redolent of the items fitted by Prodrive in their WRC cars Rich Edited by CarreraLightweightRacing on Tuesday 3rd November 18:52
CarreraLightweightRacing said:
Hi Penelope, glad you like the car. Just to clarify, these are not fuses. They are Aircraft circuit breakers. They are the safest and most reliable way to protect electrical circuits, hence them being fitted to aircraft
Yes, circuit breakers not fusesThis isn't about knocking your car or work
Methods used for protecting electrical circuits is very interesting
Couldn't help but notice that what appeared to be thermal breakers were used rather than blade fuses, simply felt that you might benefit from my observation. I have nothing to gain, you do though
Thermal circuit breakers aren't the safest and most reliable way to protect your vehicles circuits, mentioning aircraft circuits doesn't alter anything
Thermal circuit breakers are slow blow and can be the ideal solution for protecting motor circuits that tend to momentarily draw a higher current at start-up than when up to operating speed
They look like Klixon circuit breakers, are they?
You may be interested in the below information that shows the big differences between Klixon 7274 circuit breakers (many other breakers are slower blow) and standard ATO blade fuses
Using 10 Amp specification for breaker and blade fuses @ twice the normal current being drawn (20 Amps through 10 Amp protection)
The blade fuse will blow in 0.5 of a second (Manufacturer Littlefuse states .15 sec., Min.; 5 sec., Max.)
The Klixon circuit breaker will trip in 2 to 20 seconds
As can be seen, there is a massive difference between blade and circuit breaker
Blade ATO fuse 0.15 secs min/5 secs max
Klixon circuit breaker 2 secs min/20 secs max
There's more and it matters much - Voltage Drop across protection
Blade ATO 10 Amp fuses have a volt-drop of 0.109 volts @ 10 Amps
Klixon 10 Amp breakers have a volt-drop of 0.28 volts @ 10 Amps
Hoping that you enjoy reading through the above information and possibly benefit from it
Your car is beautiful
Many thanks for your input above Penelope
I've been asked a few times now about the difficulty in getting such a car TUV approved in Germany and been told by almost everyone it will not be possible. Well that is true in many respects and I've been all over the country trying to find a TUV Inspection facility that will take it on, including looking at Motorsport approval with limited road allowance to get between stages. Well it looks like I am 90% there now with a full road legal normal road car approval. Just 8 final items to resolve. I won't go into too much detail but I put a short video together today where some of the issues are mentioned. If anyone else is finding it tricky getting through the TUV approval system in Germany, I'd be more than happy to help out. I've now been through this process with various extreme custom cars (Lotus Elise, 200SX, RX7, GT3RS, CLR996 and now the Alfa) so have a full working knowledge of what is permitted and what solutions are available if you face difficulties:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLPx82mwqLA&lc...
ETA: One of the main benefits of getting TUV approval in Germany is that this standard is accepted in many other countries (Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway and probably many others). The strange thing is this is not reciprocal; nothing is accepted in Germany.
I've been asked a few times now about the difficulty in getting such a car TUV approved in Germany and been told by almost everyone it will not be possible. Well that is true in many respects and I've been all over the country trying to find a TUV Inspection facility that will take it on, including looking at Motorsport approval with limited road allowance to get between stages. Well it looks like I am 90% there now with a full road legal normal road car approval. Just 8 final items to resolve. I won't go into too much detail but I put a short video together today where some of the issues are mentioned. If anyone else is finding it tricky getting through the TUV approval system in Germany, I'd be more than happy to help out. I've now been through this process with various extreme custom cars (Lotus Elise, 200SX, RX7, GT3RS, CLR996 and now the Alfa) so have a full working knowledge of what is permitted and what solutions are available if you face difficulties:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLPx82mwqLA&lc...
ETA: One of the main benefits of getting TUV approval in Germany is that this standard is accepted in many other countries (Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway and probably many others). The strange thing is this is not reciprocal; nothing is accepted in Germany.
Edited by CarreraLightweightRacing on Sunday 29th November 08:13
Alonso92 said:
All that hard work and it’s going up on collectingcars 
It's not by choice I can assure you; when you are diagnosed with the same condition as this poor guy, your priorities change a little:https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
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