The Italian Project - (Read Saga) - Continues...
So after that memorable and enjoyable occasion on the track at Lakeside for the first time in Alonzo, a significant amount of time and exasperation has followed. The joys of owning an Italian car I keep getting told.
Doing a little Googling can be a dangerous thing, so with the intention of improving the handling of Alonzo a Wiechers front strutbar was ordered and installed in March. Simple procedure and we will have to wait and see if any difference is noticed in the next track day. The only issue was the strutbar stopped the lid of the brake/clutch fluid reservoir being removed, so a couple of washers to push it out a bit remedied the situation and lid was now easily removed and closed. A lovely bright red colour so obviously must make an impressive amount of improvement. Maybe a rear strut brace is on the list next?
It was couple of months after the track day, and just before the next one at Lakeside ( I had missed the event at Queensland Raceway in March ) that I started hearing an odd 'knocking' or 'ticking' noise coming from the engine area. I remember hearing that same noise when driving back over the Gateway bridge from the first mechanics but it lasted 10-20 seconds max and then went away. At first it seemed to come and go but on the Saturday before Happy Laps ( back at Lakeside again) I had taken it for a drive and the noise became quite pronounced. With the bonnet up and the engine running it seemed to be coming from the timing belt area, and given that had supposedly been replaced, this was a bit of a concern to say the least. So therefore Renoir got a run at Lakeside , enjoyment was still had, but a call to Barry was required.
On the Monday 3rd April, got in touch with Barry and he popped round to have a look and immediately said "balance belt", don't drive it !! Needs to be towed, I'll let you know when I can fit you in" and that was that, in a very matter of fact manner. With work commitments and timing with Barry not working, it wasn't until Monday 1st May that a call was made to RACQ for a tow to Barry's to survey and rectify the damage. It was as expected, the balance belt, which had not been put on correctly. This was replaced along with a good 2nd hand accessory belt tensioner. Now as the good Lord said; all was good in the world of Alonzo.
Notes on Invoice ; Last Cambelt Change was not done with Timing Lock Tools as there were "Tippex" marks all over the cambelt pulleys. PS he also saw the front strut bar and said "really???" I don't think Barry is a fan.
Now between the April layoff and May visit from Barry, Alonzo sat in the driveway under the driveway sail which due to some heavy rains, decided to dump the water runoff precisely onto the top of the drivers door. Needless to say on one weekend, when I decided to give Alonzo a clean, upon opening the door a wet stench met my oral sensors and a large puddle was suitably pooled in the drivers and rear passengers footwell. Bugger I think was the exclamation uttered. #%*)*(&%$
I now know what that slight smell was that had been bothering the back of my mind since purchase and this just magnified the realisation this had occurred before. Therefore straight into it with carpets, soundproofing etc removed and excess water cleaned up. The carpets were then given pressure cleaning, shampooing and hung to dry along with anything else wet. Centre console removed and Alonzo was just left to dry. Scuttle drains and door weep holes cleaned all round, couple of blockages found, cleared and hopefully wont happen again. Did the obligatory test with the hose on doors, etc with a positive result, no water ingress. Ahhhh, Alonzo the car that just keeps on giving.
Parked it Sunday in the driveway as usual and jumped in Monday morning to take it for a ride to work and #$%^%# me, the clutch went straight to the floor; nothing. Pumped a few times, checked oil etc and tried again, still nothing. So onto Barry again. Given that the master clutch cylinder had been replaced by the previous mechanic, I was a little hesitant to express that it had been done properly. A visit was arranged for Saturday arvo and Barry turned up, ran an eye over everything and said, ""probably air in the line". Everything else looked OK so the very High Tech 5L garden pressure pump and 2L Sistema jug with hosing appeared from the boot (a lovely 159 wagon). Obstructing parts were removed and hosing attached to bleed valve, primed and presto, after small quantity of fluid a large amount of air started bubbling through. Did this a few times until all the air was removed, topping the fluid along the way and we had a working clutch again. Lets just say, thank god for Barry. Hopefully just the air in the line; (rather than buggered slave unit which is inside the gearbox (stupid Alfa's), but unlikey as no fluid was missing) from the clutch cylinder change, otherwise it will be chasing a small hole in the line somewhere in a stupid inaccessible location. Barry took for test drive and then handed over to me with the tick of approval.
As can be expected Alonzo was given a number of test drives to confirm the clutch and no issues arose; thankfully. Now to look forward to the next happy laps session (again at Lakeside) on the 4th June.
So with trepidation I set off for Lakeside, Sunday morning on a damp, overcast morning and was there at 7am for the provided brekky (bacon, sausages, hash brown and egg) and briefing before our 30 minute session. What fun it was; the Italian stallion performed flawlessly (unlike the driver) and I felt that the front strut bar helped in the cornering. Was a little slippery the first couple of laps till the line dried out, but this only added to the enjoyment. Even got a photo of Alonzo down the straight, doing about 175kmph from my reckoning 😁. A great morning had by one and all, especially me. On the 45 minute drive home with the aircon now on, I noticed a small trickle of water on the passenger side foot well and then a little bit on the drivers side. Now I know where some of that water is coming from !!! A check on google when home revealed what I thought, a stupidly designed air conditioning drain pipe that blocks repeatedly; another brilliant Alfa design. Oh well looks like a job for another day, but lets just say the carpet is not going back till its fixed; looks more like a race car with the carpet out anyway ;-). Till the next installment.
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| Courtesy of @bcphotography |
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