After an aerospace quality rebuild and numerous runs on the dyno, DeWayne pronounced the engine "good to go" last weekend. Dave and Jim Angel threw themselves into the breach to make the marathon round-trip drive from Santa Fe to Scottsdale (950 miles) in 18 hours to pick it up while I continued to putter at The Shed. I had an "Igor, you idiot! You got the wrong brain!" moment of despair when I saw the bright red crate in the bed of Dave's truck was labeled "PORSCHE 4-CAM."
E Pluribus Unum
"Out of Many, One" Just consider for a moment that we blithely use the word "engine" to describe something with hundreds or thousands of parts, all working harmoniously together to make a confined space self-propelled--an "automobile". Ever wonder how many parts are in an engine? Of course not! That's not a question that would occur to anyone in their right mind. Well I asked myself that very question (what does that tell you about me?) and realized I didn't know either, although I've had to account for and shepherd all of them through the restoration process ever since the engine came out of the car in about 1981. Trust me, it's more than you think, even for a relatively small, 4-cylinder, 2-liter motor like The Alfatross'--which just came back in one piece after a 3 1/2 year stint in Scottsdale, AZ at the Samuels Speed Technologies Engine Spa. It left The Shed in boxes and bags of individual parts, but now it is whole again and enlivened. Just listen . . .
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The engine's "face". DeWayne took great pains to use all the
original parts and to maintain the engine's original outward
appearance with the proper paint and finishes on the steel
and aluminum fixtures, proper hoses and hose clamps, wiring, etc.
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Authenticity
Car collectors are very concerned about the connection a car has with its engine. They go to great lengths to ascertain whether a car still has its original engine or an identical--but not original--engine, or some other engine altogether. Sounds simple, but there are lot of potential complications. Cars with race history often go through more than one engine in their lifetime, but no one holds that against them. I am mentioning all this now because I want to firmly establish that The Alfatross has its original engine.
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| The serial number of The Alfatross' engine matches the number Alfa Romeo's records show for chassis AR 1900C 02016. The "1308" refers to the type, a 1975 cc engine installed only in Super Sprint chassis. |
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| The fine finishes on the original Solex carbs, fasteners, intake manifold and fuel pump. |
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| The Exhaust side, headers removed for shipping. |
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| The vertical oil filter canister is a hallmark characteristic of the 1308 SS engine. |
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| The original Bosch starter, broken before I got the car in 1969, relegated ignominiously to a box in the trunk, rescued, rebuilt, and now back where it belongs. |
Slip-Slidin' Away
This is the 100th post to this blog since it began on January 1, 2013. With only another week left, 2015 is slip-slidin' away--in more ways than one! I'm looking out the window as a two-day blizzard rolls across Santa Fe and eastern New Mexico. The Alfatross was scheduled to arrive in Santa Fe at 8 AM this morning, but now--with the 350 mile stretch of Interstate highways between The Shed and where the Alfatross' body sits shivering in a Reliable Carriers transporter somewhere around Amarillo, waiting for a break in the weather--maybe tomorrow?
After an aerospace quality rebuild and numerous runs on the dyno, DeWayne pronounced the engine "good to go" last weekend. Dave and Jim Angel threw themselves into the breach to make the marathon round-trip drive from Santa Fe to Scottsdale (950 miles) in 18 hours to pick it up while I continued to putter at The Shed. I had an "Igor, you idiot! You got the wrong brain!" moment of despair when I saw the bright red crate in the bed of Dave's truck was labeled "PORSCHE 4-CAM." 
