Twin Spark Cup 156 Project

[Craig_m67]

Get a TIG, easier, neater for small stuff

(opinion of fella with no vocational or professional experience, just dickn' around in the shed)

[johnl]

So the sheetmetal holes were repaired using 9mm thick plates welded over them? IMO 9mm is way too thick, the patches ought to be near the same thickness as the sheet being repaired.

Bunnings $199 MIG welder? Is it 'gasless'? The weld quality looks like it is. I've tried using gasless MIG, and couldn't produce a nice weld with it no matter how hard I tried. I'd pay the extra for a real one, with gas...

Regards,
John.

[johnl]

I understand making do with the less than ideal that is already at hand, or can justify the cost of, I do it all the time...

But I suspect that eventually you'll get fed up with the poor weld quality of 'gasless MIG', and get something a lot better and more versatile. My old arc welder makes smoother welds than shown in those photos, even with quite thin metal (which is why I don't own a MIG, i.e. nearly always I can weld it well enough with the trusty arc welder...). 

IMO the term 'gasless' can't really be used to describe a 'MIG' welder. Inherently the 'G' in 'MIG' stands for 'gas', ergo it can't be a MIG welder if a gas isn't used in the process. Yes, it could be argued that the core of the "gasless MIG" wire vapourises and forms an O2 excluding  'gaseous' shield surrounding the weld puddle, but pretty much the same thing happens when the coating of a welding 'stick' vapourises (as used in arc welding). Nobody is suggesting that an arc welder is a MIG...

I do think 9mm plate is way overkill for what you were trying to avoid. To weld the thin metal sheeting over and onto thick metal to avoid blasting holes, 3mm plate would be more than thick enough. I can't see that the thick plate will cause a problem in this particular case, but in theory it creates a stress riser around the weld, which in some applications might become a problem. It's just me being anal about good practice...

Regards,
John.

[warsch]

Why weld at all when some reinforced duct tape would've done the job alright too?

[Colin Edwards]

Impressive - Looks set to go. 
All sorted for Philip Island this Sunday?

[warsch]

Well done! The car looking good, apart from the gap between the guard and the bumper which bugs me.

Is it your first time on a track ever or just in the Alfa?

[Colin Edwards]

Car looked pretty good from up in Race Control - difficult to miss!. 
How did you go?

[Colin Edwards]

Unfortunately shoulder strap anchor points are way too forward and way too low.  Angle of strap MUST be no more than 45⁰ to the horizontal.  Ideally should be horizontal +/- 5⁰
Look up Schedule I in the CAMS Manual.

[warsch]

I've got this dorian timer bracket for about $10 at the only event I participated that uses dorian timers. Our both circuit use a different one, and third circuit yet another one.

As for the rear harness straps - I opted for a 3 mm steel plate that I used to reinforce the thin rear wall metal.

[alanm]

It was great to see your car at PI – I love your enthusism!
Hopefully it's contagious and we see more Alfas at our events in the new year.
Regarding the discussion about the harness mounting points, Colin's is advice is good.
The Motorsport Australia rules are very specific about this for good reason – spinal damage is a risk with the anchors in their current position.
At present your car would fail inspection by a scrutineer for this reason.
This is of course a mute point if you install a cage before your next event!
Cheers,
Al.

[warsch]

The bilsteins on that race car have not too much in common with B6/B8/B12.

Proper race units would have spring rates much higher and valving to match. The dampers would be 3-way adjustable, or at the very least 2-way.

I'm not too familiar with Bilstein competition products, but I did inquire into KW.

So KW and their daughter brand ST. Here's the pricing for 156:

ST suspension lowered kit - 800 AUD (35/25 Nm/mm spring rates)
KW var1 - 1300 AUD
KW var2 - 1800 AUD (80/40 Nm/mm)
KW var3 - 2000 AUD (80/40 Nm/mm)
KW competition 2 way - 4000 AUD (any spring rate, recommended is 120/160 Nm/mm for circuit applications)
KW competition 3 way - 10000 AUD (any spring rate, recommended is 120/160 Nm/mm for circuit applications)

Prices may not be up to date, but you get the idea.

And from my experience, +20% is not good enough for track work.

So for 156 I went from 3.5/2.5 kg to 12/5 kg, which is similar to TS cup control suspension rates. I also think even this may not be good enough if you run slicks, but I'm yet to try that.

[Craig_m67]

I've never mounted one of these (or used one)...... but don't they have to be facing a specific way?
(lengthwise, direction of travel, <400mm above road surface)



http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1168.0;attach=2956

[warsch]

The grille holding the timer usually barely holds itself, so doesn't look at all sturdy to me. And like already mentioned, Dorians are directional.

As for 3.5 stock engine - yeah, that's quite a beast, and the intake is quite fancy there too. Though there are 3.7-3.8 Busso's being built around the world so at least the displacement aspect of that engine is well covered.

Brake line photo is a bit blurry, but it's all assembled correctly as far as I can tell.

[jayarr]

I've never mounted one of these (or used one)...... but don't they have to be facing a specific way?
(lengthwise, direction of travel, <400mm above road surface)



http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1168.0;attach=2956

Probably right. I had it in a plastic bag duct tapped and closed by the door on the bottom sill during the track days and it worked on a couple of different cars. I saw some people had it mounted vertically and it worked. I guess horintal is the way to go maybe half way or top of the grill.

Reckon the cable tie (as seen in the photo) will interfere with holding the Dorian. I've pop rivetted the same type of holder under the car in a recessed area which is not prone to damage if riding over a kerb. Added additional holes either side to crisscross cable ties for extra security.

[warsch]

It's not too hard to fit AGI roll cage, any decent workshop should be able to.

I was planning to order AGI cage as well, but three months wait, oh dear. I though it would be about 6 weeks. Well, there goes my beginning of the season. At least I still can and will do sprints and super sprints.

You can find heaps of weld in options from smaller vendors, prices are about the same for the same spec cage usually.

Any shop can do alignment, but you would have to tell them what to set. So front camber can't be set with standard arms, it depends on ground clearance. The lower the more camber. It would be something like -2..-2.5 degrees, so maybe start with -1..-1.5 degree camber at the back with 0 front toe and a bit of rear toe in.

Aircon out is an easy DIY. Just need a shorter belt. The rest is quite easy to unbolt and remove.