Indexing The Alfatross (Post # 150)

Indexing 150 posts is harder than I thought.  It entails a lot of decision making, cross-referencing, and deciding what terms and themes will be most helpful to readers. What's the purpose of an index anyway? To find things fast(er)! The fast part is just as important as the finding thing. So, what kind of things? Well, things like Borrani wire wheels. That's simple enough, but what about the term "engine"? That's too broad to be useful, because it includes so many other things. It needs to be subdivided into its constituent subsystems like exhaust, carburetors, water pump, distributor, and even fasteners. I decided to go for more individual terms in alphabetical order rather than lumping categories together under fewer entries.

The blog includes a lot of other topics that are more difficult to capture in a word or two, like musings over all the different meanings restoration and originality can have, and what Carchaeologists can learn from Henry Jones. I decided to include a number of accounts of events The Alfatross participated in such as the Arizona Concours, and Santa Fe Concorso, as well as some others that I attended without her (she wasn't interested) such as the Big Bend Open Road Race, Radnor Hunt, and Keels and Wheels. I also list the names (last name first) of all the people I can remember who worked on, found parts for, or gave advice to The Alfatross as well as some company names, but most of these appear in association with the actual individuals I dealt with.  

As often as possible I tried to compare The Alfatross with other examples of 1900C SSZs for the purpose of determining details of "originality".  Fourteen of these are listed under their chassis numbers.

A shortcut to locate the post you are looking for is to first check the "Post # Sequence by Year" below and use the Blog Archive in the column to the right to call it up. 

I would be amazed if I got everything right. Like I said, it was a lot harder than I thought. Comments with suggestions, corrections additions or omissions will be gratefully appreciated.

THE ALFATROSS BLOG INDEX BY POST NUMBER

Posts 1-150, from Jan 01, 2013—May 05, 2020

Post # Sequence by Year

2013:01-46

2014:47-72

2015:73-100

2016:101-123

2017:124-135

2018:136-146

2019:147

2020:148

ADAMS, CORK, 05, 12, 79, 111

ALFA 1900C SSZs, 21, 31, 32, 40, 41, 54, 63, 65, 73, 110, 112

ALFATROSS, 10, 13, 77, 80, 82, 97, 107

                EARLY HISTORY, 01, 02, 06, 07, 16, 47, 141, 145

                PREVIOUS OWNERS, 04, 09, 14, 15

                NAME ORIGIN, 03
                CONVERSATIONS WITH, 77, 117

ALLEN, DANIEL, 105, 114, 120, 124, 129, 130, 134, 147

AR1900C *01747*, 81

AR1900C *01844*, 70, 21, 112

AR1900C *01845*, 31, 63, 79, 81, 125, 112

AR1900C *01847*, 79

AR1900C *01915*, 39, 40, 54, 70, 79, 125,

AR1900C *01931*, 21, 36, 65, 81, 112

AR1900C *01947*, 70, 73, 112, 122, 125, 135

AR1900C *01954*, 36, 70, 79, 125

AR1900C *01997*, 79

AR1900C *02016*, 13, 77, 92, 100

AR1900C *02056*, 61, 63, 65, 73, 81, 122, 125

AR1900C *10003*, 79

AR1900C *10279*, 70   

AR1900C *10593 *, 70, 73

ARIZONA CONCOURS, 101, 102, 103, 105

BABCOCK, SCOTT, 81

BALLANTINE, RICHARD, 79, 105

BIG BEND OPEN ROAD RACE, 108

BERGESEN, BERGE, 32, 72, 79

BODY WORK, 35, 44, 51, 58, 65, 66, 67, 85, 88, 94, 95

BORRANI WHEELS, 05, 17, 29, 38, 48, 79, 111, 12

BOSISIO, MATTEO, 12, 17, 29, 65, 79, 111

BRAKES, 140, 139, 138, 130, 129, 34

DRUMS AND SHOES, 34, 111, 129, 130

FRONT SCOOPS, 34

MASTER CYLINDER, 137, 142, 143

LINES, 34, 109

RESERVOIRS, 34, 36, 140

WHEEL CYLINDERS, 34

BRICKLEMYER, BO, 46, 79

BRINKER, MARK, 79, 128

BUMPERS, 38, 41

CAR TABLE, 62

CARCHAEOLOGY, 23, 45, 98

CARRELL, DAVE, 18, 79, 95, 101, 103, 105, 131

CARRELL, TONI, 18, 79, 101, 103, 105

COOLING SYSTEM, 22, 106

COSTANTINI BRANCADORO, GIUSEPPE, 02, 82, 97

COSTANTINI BRANCADORO, ALESSANDRO, 04

CRAWFORD, BRUCE, 05, 33, 79

CREATIVE WORKSHOP, 32, 39

DIFFERENTIAL, 16, 147

DIPSTICK, 124

DRIVING LIGHTS, 70

DUBOIS, DAVID, 24, 79

DUNBAR, DERRICK, 72, 76, 79, 87, 99, 109

ENGINE, 13, 47, 93, 101, 103

ORIGINAL STATE, 36, 53, 87

UNDER RESTORATION, 25, 37, 42, 47, 72, 74, 78, 86, 91

FINAL APPEARANCE, 100

CARBURETORS, 09, 68, 100         

EXHAUST, 136, 144

FASTENERS, 104

FELIX, CHRIS, 136

FOGG, GEORGE, 79

FUEL, 24, 146

GALAFASSI, PAOLO, 136, 137, 144

GAUGES AND SENSORS, 120, 121, 148

GAUTIER, SCOTT, 79

GOMPELS, JOOST, 34, 61, 79, 111, 134

HAYES, JOE, 47, 54, 79

HEADLIGHTS, 71, 101

HEAT SHIELD, 135, 136

HENDERSON, WILL, 04, 46, 47, 92, 97

HYDROVANE COMPRESSOR, 26

INSTRUMENTS, 75, 121

INTERIOR, UPHOLSTERY, 20, 40, 47, 55, 67, 72, 76, 99

INTERIOR, DASHBOARD, 50, 75, 81, 90

ITALIAN LICENSE PLATES, 07, 97

JAEGER CHRONOMETER, 10

JOSEFSSON, HANS, 28, 79, 109

KEELS AND WHEELS CONCOURS, 128

KELLER, ARTURO, 61, 63, 73, 79

KEYS, 82

KRAMER, JEFF, 18, 79, 83, 89, 101, 103, 110

LEERDAM, ED, 29, 33, 39, 47, 79

LEWIS, SONNY, 97

LICENSE PLATE LIGHT, 04, 113

LINTON, TOM, 43, 44, 79

LOPRESTO, CORRADO, 31, 63, 79, 125

LORTON, ROGER, 25, 42, 53, 74, 78, 79, 86, 91

MARANGHI, GIUSEPPE, 122, 124, 134

MARINOS, TIM, 102, 105, 109, 125, 144, 147

MARSHALL, PETER, 72, 79, 127, 132, 134, 142, 143

MICHELS, CARL JOSEPH, 04, 97

MIRRORS, 81

MOLDING AND CASTING, 49, 52

MONROE, BO, 34, 79

MONTEREY AUCTION, 63

MORGAN, TERRY, 101, 103

NARDI WHEEL, 33, 39

PERFOMETER, 10, 83, 90

SAMUELS, DEWAYNE, 25, 42, 53, 59, 64, 68, 72, 74, 78, 79, 86, 93, 102, 109, 124,

SANTA FE CONCORSO, 43, 64, 94, 114, 116, 117, 126

STRICKFADEN, GERRY, 101, 103

OIL PAN, 68, 134, 147

PAINT, 66, 88, 94

PARTIFACTS, 29

PLANNING, 05, 23, 38, 103

RADNOR HUNT, 54

RECORDING, 98

REINWALD, MARK, 43, 79

RIDE HEIGHT, 127, 132

ROBISON, JEFF, 89, 101, 122, 131

RONDELLAS, 136

ROTISSERIE, 08, 11, 17, 18, 44

ROUTE 66 FUN RUN, 84

SCHNITTGER, BOB, 79

SHED, 02, 17, 67, 119

SIMPSON, DAN, 79

SMITH, DAVID, 125, 131, 132, 135, 144, 146

SODA BLASTING, 05, 19, 26, 30, 42

SUPPORTERS, SPECIALISTS, 79

SUSPENSION, 52, 87, 89, 96, 132, 133

STANDARD MACHINE, 25, 39, 47, 53

STEERING, 33, 89             

TIRES, 56

TRAFFICATOR, 59, 123

TRAILER, 44

TRANSMISSION, 69, 96, 147

TRUNK, 125

TURNER, PAUL, 04, 14, 46, 47, 48, 87, 97

VENTURA, LUIGI, 92, 136, 137, 144

VINTAGE AUTOCRAFT, 44, 66, 88

VW TRANSPORTER, 01, 44, 56, 62, 145, 146

WENIG, JASON, 29, 32, 39, 57, 79, 131

WHEELS, 12, 111, 128

WILLIAMS, HAROLD, 52, 62, 79, 127

WINDOWS, 27

WIPERS , 75

WIRING HARNESS, 28, 32, 50, 72

YNZ YESTERDAY’S PARTS, 28, 72, 79, 109

ZAGATO, ANDREA, 17, 92, 102

 

Let There Be Air! (Post # 149)

The Alfatross' ventilation system is somewhat abbreviated in comparison to this diagram from the 1900 Owner's Manual. It has no auxiliary heater or defogger funnel on the driver's side.  The  handle that controls airflow
 on the passenger's side is no. 12.

By modern standards, ventilation of the interior of a limited production 1950s Italian sports car like The Alfatross was often subservient to design and performance concerns. I am not implying that The Alfatross was deficient in that respect in comparison to other vehicles of the period, but only that it seems awfully basic in this day and age when few--if any--manufacturers still make cars that don't include air conditioning and electric windows as standard equipment.

The fresh air and heater box on the driver's side under the dash.

Air vent with butterfly valve on the passenger's side behind glove box

Defogger vents on top of the dashboard as seen through the windscreen.

The Alfatross's concessions to creature comforts included fresh air vents below the dash on the driver's and passenger's sides as well as large roll-down Plexiglas windows (albeit without vent wings) and hinged quarter windows. Small louvers in the top of the dashboard on the driver's and passenger's sides combat fog forming on the inside of the windshield with warm air from the heater beneath the dash. A 32 mm diameter stretchable air duct hose connects a pipe on the back of the heater housing on the driver's side to the defogger vent on the passenger's side. Under the dash on the driver's side a little door in the back of the heater box can be opened to admit fresh air.  On the passenger's side ventilation is supplied through an 80 mm hose controlled by a simple butterfly valve behind the glove box. The bakelite handle on the valve had broken off long ago. Restoring it turned into a major ordeal (the subject of a future post). 

The underside of the dashboard provides a stark contrast to the simple,
elegant facade that greets the driver and passenger. The de-fogging hose
weaves through it all.

Taking up where I left off in the last post, after refining the fit and finish work on the firewall carpeting and insulation pads, I turned my attention to making all the repairs to the ventilation system and other details under the dash: repairing  the butterfly valve, running the defogger hose from the heater to the louvers on the passenger's side of the dashboard, getting the Tudor windshield washer to work, repairing a leak in one of the washer squirters, and re-routing the odometer cable to keep it from interfering with the windshield wiper crank arm.  Turns out, 5 "little jobs" equals 1 Big Job and a lot of practice mastering contortionist moves.

Working under The Alfatross' dashboard is not one of my favorite ways to pass the time. The interior is divided into two coffin-sized spaces on either side of the transmission and drive shaft tunnel protruding high into the cabin. The experience is strongly reminiscent of spending time in an MRI machine--but less comfortable. I figured out some tricks that helped, but there is no way to make the experience pleasant. When you are working alone, one trick is to take every tool you think you might possibly need when you wriggle in--nothing's worse than having to crawl out 15 seconds after crawling in because it turns out you needed an 11 mm open end wrench instead of a 10.

Next post will tackle the multi-step process of "re-manufacturing" the butterfly valve.

Now Where Was I? (Post # 148)

OK, so I took a 477 day break from blogging.  That doesn't mean work on The Alfatross stopped, just that other aspects of life got in the way. I have all the usual excuses: the Day Job, a trip to Italy the Alfatross' native land, repair work on some of her stable mates, and even shoulder surgery. But work continued on The Alfatross albeit at a reduced pace. The recent COVID pandemic has had virtually no negative effect on this and might even be accelerating progress by reducing other distractions.  
 

What you have to do to replace the odometer cable on my old 4Runner!

Excuses, Excuses 

Cinque Terre, Monterosso al Mare.

477 days ago I was looking at my 5-page list of tasks that remained to be done to finish The Alfatross and make her road worthy.  Some of them were relatively small, like various tweaks under the dash such as installing the corrugated hose running from the heater to the de-mister vent on the passenger's side.  Others were more involved like stopping the leaks from the oil pan and transmission.  Still others had to do with refinements in authenticity like fabricating and installing replicas of the heat shield over the exhaust system, the protective cover under the master cylinder, and the polished trim strips over the wheel arches either side of the back seat.  These are among the underestimated and overlooked reasons why car restorations take so long and cost so much.

I am starting to wonder if this kind of a restoration is ever really finished.  I thought I thoroughly researched the original mechanicals and esthetics of the known Alfa 1900C SSs bodied by Zagato in 1954-5, but during the restoration new information kept cropping up, necessitating additions and corrections. Shakedown runs revealed minor problems with the wiring harness, accuracy of instrument readings, interior trim details, and a tendency for the interior door on the passenger's side to mysteriously lock itself. Even after every detail is perfect there is always entropy to contend with.

81 indexed terms so far and counting . . . .

But where to start?  From the beginning on January 1, 2013 I printed copies of each post and collected them in 3-ring binders.  I know, totally Old School.  But I'm glad I did because I could leaf through all 147 of them to catch up on where I left off.  It was immediately apparent that I needed to number them sequentially and create an index so I could refer myself and readers of The Alfatross to specific terms and topics already covered. Of course you can always use the blog archive from the list in the right hand column, or even search for specific words with the search function, but with 147 posts that can be tedious! The Index is still under construction but I plan to publish it as Post #150 in a week or so.

If you're going to be spending a lot of time in there, make it comfortable!

Around the end of last year I looked at my "to-do" list and decided to tackle all the relatively minor jobs under the dash and elsewhere in the interior, which meant that all the seats had to come out along with the carpeting and insulation on the firewall and the entire transmission hump. I had been putting this off not because it meant spending a lot of time in twisted yoga positions under the dash, but because it felt so discouraging to undo so many things that had already been done in order to do the new things and put it all back together again. And of course there is always the strong possibility that during that process something will get smudged, scratched, dented, frayed, punctured or otherwise damaged, adding to the workload later. But you have to start somewhere!

Getting ready to install the de-mister hose behind the dashboard.

Coming Attractions

The next several posts will be about wrapping up repairs in the interior including, but not limited to:

• molding and casting the fresh air vent handle on the passenger's side
• running the vent hose from the heater to the de-mister on the passenger's side
• getting the Tudor windshield washer to work
• restoring the Jaeger chronometer
• rebuilding and testing the benzine gauge sender
• testing the acua and olio gauges and senders
• modifying the firewall insulation pads
• modifying the carpeting
• reproducing the polished aluminum trim strips over the rear wheel arches 

Erosion control at The Shed: BEFORE

No car is an island

Distractions abound in this world of ours. But even with constant distractions things do get completed--eventually. Some distractions are even necessary. Last summer some of The Alfatross' friends (one of whom is a civil engineer) came together to take on a series of erosion control efforts at an arroyo that has to be crossed to link The Shed to the world of roads. Maybe the next time I drive across it with The Alfatross I will think of it not as a distraction, but another one of the "little jobs" contributing to the completion of the overall project.

AFTER

   

Shifting Concerns (Post # 147)

The five-speed transmission in The Alfatross is part of the SS package, along with the 1975 cc engine, Solex 40 P II carbs, 8:1 compression ratio, low-restriction exhaust system, 4:55 differential and other performance enhancements. In 1955, if you were intent on racing your 1900C SSZ, this was the transmission to have!

The Alfatross'  5-speed transmission has the desirable floor shift lever configuration rather than the more common column shift.  The oil leaks are emanating from the seals between the
black steel central body of the transmission and the aluminum housings at either end.

Specifications for the 1900C SS transmission and differential (highlighted).  Alfa Romeo
Owner's Manual.

1900C SS 5- speed gear ratios (highlighted).  Alfa Romeo Owner's Manual.

Back in 1969/70 when I was still driving The Alfatross, it had shifting problems.  Sometimes, it was as if the clutch was not disengaging fully. Other times it was fine. I learned to make shifts very carefully.  But when we were restoring the chassis we discovered what was probably the source of that problem, something that absolved the transmission itself from any blame. A bracket anchoring the clutch release linkage was separating from its attachment to the chassis and probably flexing, rendering disengagement of the clutch unpredictable.  Tim Marinos re-welded the bracket during the paint and body work.  


Tim's welding seems to have done the job.  The dragging clutch problem no longer exists, but there is another problem that likely will be more difficult to resolve: oil leaks! Before mating the trans to the engine I cleaned it up and took it to the local Alfa "go to" guy with the request that he look it over for obvious problems--like oil leaks. He replaced the seals around the front and rear drive shafts, but not the ones between the the steel central body and the aluminum cases at either end.  Now it looks as though these two seals are the problem.

The transmission sits high in an Alfa 1900 chassis, intruding far into the cabin, more beside the driver than below the floor pan.

View of the fill port (top) and drain port. 
The distance between the face of the fill
port and the inside of the trans cowling is
less than 1.5 in (3.8 cm). No way to get a
14 mm Allen key into it without removing
the cowling!

The fill port plug bears the scars of previous owners' 
frustrated attempts to use pliers to remove it instead of a
proper 14 mm hex wrench.

Like everything else about The Alfatross, there are no small problems. In the hope that a commercial sealing fluid could fix or at least diminish the problem I ordered a bottle of Blue Devil made specifically for transmissions--what did I have to lose?. 

The directions said to add one ounce per quart of fluid. That's when I realized I did not know how much oil the transmission contained. I could not find any reference to that in the literature available, but in any case the only totally reliable way to determine the volume would be to fill the case to the bottom of the fill port then drain the trans and measure the amount. 

The trans cowling comes off easily.  Just remove the front
seats, all of the insulation and carpeting in the front half
of the cabin, cover everything with moving blankets, tape
off all painted or metal surfaces, then remove the
accelerator linkage and seal, along with 10 bolts and 2
sheet metal screws and you're done . . . until you have to
replace it all again! 

That's when I remembered that the only way to access the fill port is to remove the transmission cowling, and the only way to remove the cowling is to take out the seats and most of the carpeting in the front half of the interior!

While doing all this I couldn't help but wonder what other owners have done in the past to circumvent the need to strip the interior just to change the oil or check the level in the transmission. The problem of insufficient clearance between the fill port and the cowling is compounded by the use of a 14 mm plug requiring a hex key. Whether in an "L" configuration, socket form, or using the hex wrench that comes with the factory tool kit, there is not enough clearance to mate the wrench to the plug.
  

Topping off the trans oil, followed by
draining it completely to measure the
volume.

Considering what my options might be I came up with three possibilities: (1) Do nothing and let the next owner figure it out. (2) Cut a hole in the side of the cowling to permit access to the fill port so you don't have to tear the interior out just to check the oil level, and (3) Switch the fill and drain plugs so that the 14 mm hex plug is in the drain port and the bolt-head plug is in the fill port, readily accessible with a common open end wrench.  

Option (2) was a non-starter for a number of reasons.  I admit that the easiest option (1) had a certain appeal, but option (3) seemed to be the best, even though it would still make checking the oil level somewhat cumbersome and require a pressure-operated oiler.

A 1900 Alfa 5-speed trans holds 2,200 mL of oil. 

I still needed to determine the volume of oil in the transmission case so I could add the right amount of transmission sealer. I topped it off, drained it completely and decanted the oil into graduated glass beakers, obtaining a total volume of 2,200 mL (2.32 qt) +/-5%.  At 2 oz per qt, that translates to 2.32 oz (69 mL) of transmission sealer. 

Transmissions take a beating, particularly those in sports cars. A bad driver can destroy one in seconds. Gears get rounded off when a shift is missed under power or if the linkage is bad. Synchros wear out.  Transmissions leak, run out of oil, and seize up. I have no way of knowing what The Alfatross' transmission was subjected to before I got it.  After I get it out on the open road I may find more problems, but that will have to wait until the snow melts . . . . 

Not the best time of the year for road testing in New Mexico!