My New Shitbox

redalfaracing · April 14, 2011, 10:48:24 PM

Sheldon, i actually think i have an instrument cluster lying aroung that will fit your shitbox. I wrecked a guiliett and all i have left is the instruments. thought it was too good to throw out ("someone will need that one day" i said) you are very welcome to have it. I am almost certain i will have a working starter you can have too. Come around with a list. i have a lot of stuff and you are a good cause. Give you some gravel driving lessons too if you want.

Sheldon McIntosh · April 14, 2011, 10:53:11 PM

That's fantastic Greg, I'll be in touch soon. Looking forward to the gravel-driving lessons too.

Thanks heaps.

MD · April 15, 2011, 06:59:48 AM

I am certain the starter motors in terms of fit and function are the same. The only different one for these series blocks is the twin spark one and even that will fit with a correct ring gear. About the only possible change may be the power of a 2 litre starter motor being higher than one for 1600 or 1750 engines but I doubt that very much.

Hats off to Greg for coming to your rescue.

AikenDrum105 · April 15, 2011, 10:13:33 AM

Hi Sheldon - I have a pair of starters in Richmond that might suit your 1.8 - worst case you can swap the solenoids around (both are Bosch from memory) If you need them - sing out.

Cheers,

Scott Murray
0412 708 138

Sheldon McIntosh · April 15, 2011, 01:22:15 PM

Thanks Scott, will do.

MD, okay thanks for that. Someone mentioned to me the other day that the 1800 starters were slightly different. I wouldn't have a clue....

We just got a sizeable donation today (thank you to the people responsible), and we're now just $179.25 short of reaching our minimum total of $4000. We also have another sponsor confirmed, worth $1000, so we should comfortably exceed $5000 by the time the rally starts. I'm ecstatic about that, and would like to take the chance again to thank everyone who has donated so far - as you know, your money is going to an excellent cause. http://www.everydayhero.com.au/scuderia_shitbox

Sheldon McIntosh · April 15, 2011, 02:29:15 PM

Quick update, we just now went over the $4000 mark, so we're officially in the rally now. Fantastic!!

And the fuel float is floating in petrol, but I need to solder it again because even though it was watertight, it has a tiny leak when submerged in petrol. There are many things I don't understand in life, and that is one of them. Just waiting for it to dry now before I attack with the soldering iron again.

MD · April 15, 2011, 02:57:51 PM

Use flux core solder.

Heat the material with the iron or flame and let the MATERIAL melt the solder onto itself. Let cool.

Never melt solder and let it fall on the material. This is called 'cold soldering' and is the wrong procedure.

Read this twice and make sure it sinks in.

AikenDrum105 · April 15, 2011, 03:03:50 PM

Sheldon,

I might be parading my ignorance here - but I think the difference in Specific Gravity between water and petrol might contribute to the float sitting at different heights in each fluid - just in case you solder it to death and it still sits lower in petrol than water ..... An empty brass float shouldn't weigh that much so might not make a difference - anyway - throwin that out there.... My cornflake packet doctorate in dodgy home brew is responsible for this knowledge - so take it with a bunch of salt

Cheers,

Sheldon McIntosh · April 15, 2011, 03:22:23 PM

Thanks guys, but just to clear up any further confusion, the float is plastic. When it blew up in the saucepan (missus not happy) it blew a big hole in it. I managed to find a plastic plug which fit in perfectly, and then with the soldering iron I just melted the plastic around the edges to seal it up. But I obviously missed a tiny pin-prick of a hole. I was worried the extra weight of the plug would affect it's bouyancy but it doesn't seem to have.

MD, I've had plenty of soldering practise, but thanks anyway. I refuse to throw away good hi-fi or AV equipment which stops working after a few years, when it can be fixed with a couple of $3 capacitors and an afternoons soldering. And so I taught myself how to solder.

Scott, yep thanks for that. I was aware that there was a difference between the petrol and the water, just wasn't sure what. When I first tried the float it would float in water but not in petrol. When I finished sealing it up a couple of hours ago I checked that it was watertight, in water, and it was. So I then checked that it would float in petrol, and it did, but there were bubbles coming out from a tiny hole. I can't get my head around that, as I thought the petrol was 'thicker' (for want of a better word), but off to try and fix it now. Wish me luck.

Hmmm, unless the new plastic plug is of a type that degrades in petrol. Hmmm.

AikenDrum105 · April 15, 2011, 03:45:55 PM

Quote from: Sheldon McIntosh on April 15, 2011, 03:22:23 PM
I thought the petrol was 'thicker'

I thought the same actually - but as it's friday afternoon.... I was there ... the Internet was there.... Spec grav of water is 1000. Unfermented Beer wort for a std brew is about 1040 - 1050, and the brewing hydrometer sinks as the spec grav drops...

Petrol is 600 .... Obviously much more room between the molecules for those pesky parallel universes to sneak through...

Sheldon McIntosh · April 15, 2011, 04:12:24 PM

Nice one Scott, thanks for that, and that would definitely explain why it was watertight but not petroltight. Very interesting. Mmmm, home brew. Just recently finished off my latest one which was a copy of Duvel, beautiful. But dangerous.

Ah well, the float is now petroltight, and it floats in petrol. It's bloody ugly, it used to be perfectly round, but it works. Will probably get docked a few points if I ever enter the car in a Concours, but never mind. Now to put it back in. If the gauge still doesn't read full I'm setting fire to the car.

Sheldon McIntosh · April 15, 2011, 06:00:16 PM

Anyone want a burnt-out Giulietta shell?

Went and filled it up to overflowing, and it now reads.....7/8!! An improvement from 3/4, but not enough. The float is obviously working well, because going round corners moves the gauge up to full. Guess I'll be checking the breather next. *sigh* For reference attached is a picture of the tank. When the sender would be registering a full tank, the float would be right up the very top of that section to the left of the picture. Just to clarify, I'm a bit obsessed about this issue because on the rally there will be many sections where petrol stations are few and far between, and there will also be 120 cars behind us waiting to fill up. So I'm sure that extra 5 litres could make all the difference. And yes, I'll be taking a 20l jerrycan as well. To put my mind at ease, are there any Giulietta owners out there who can confirm that the gauge will actually go to full in optimum circumstances?

And to top it all off, I went to move the 33 so I could get Mario out, and it's decided that it's time for the clutch to die. When we topped the $4000 mark a few hours ago I was so happy; now, not so much. I've decided that the definition of 'manic depressive' is 'an Alfa Romeo owner'. (Apologies to any sufferers of manic-depression for making light of your condition)

What was that you said beer? You want me to drink you? Well okay....

redalfaracing · April 15, 2011, 06:23:14 PM

Does it really matter what the guage reads? My theory when in the outback, Fill the tank to the top at every petrol station you go past. We used to make our motorcycle tanks a little larger by filling up with water, blocking all the holes and heating them up. As the water heats it expands. The trick is to stop before they rupture. We got another 1.5 litres into an 11 litre husqvana tank. Made all the difference in an enduro. Just a thought???

MD · April 15, 2011, 06:30:01 PM

Hello Sheldon.

Er there is plastic welding and then there is soldering but let's not go there..Congrats you got it fixed.

Guage calibration.

I think that is your problem. Bit of experimentation is called for. The float simply moves a potentiometer across a resistance range. This in turn reflects a voltage value and it displays it as fuel quantity.

If you can manipulate the tank guage out of the tank to represent high and low levels of fuel and watch where the guage reads, you may be able to bend, or otherwise position the float to give full guage swing on full tank.

Anotherwords, simulate the happenings in the tank on the outside to see how the guage behaves and then recalibrtate it.

Be extremely careful with petrol fume and any sparks, naturally. We want to see you in the rally and not a rally around you from a bunch of medics

Sheldon McIntosh · April 15, 2011, 06:33:19 PM

It's a good point Greg. And actually, no, it doesn't matter what the gauge reads. BUT, I had to establish whether the gauge was faulty, or if it just wasn't filling the tank to the top. Now that I've established that everything is in working order, I can be almost certain that it isn't filling the tank all the way, which is a slight problem. To be honest, the way it is will probably suffice, because we're missing out on maybe 5 litres by not filling it all the way. But, I needed to know, because as it was - reading 3/4 tank - would equate to about 36 litres, which just would not be enough. As it is now, we can be almost certain that it's getting around 45 litres, which should be just adequate.

And if we also had no trip meter, well, that would be a major problem.....

I'll leave the car with you while you expand the tank for me. I'll be about 5km away having a coffee. Call me when you're done....