Saturday Afternoon Sprints

[hammer]

Queenslanders,

I realise many of you will be heading off to Speed on Tweed on Saturday, September 11, but for those who are not, don't forget that Saturday Afternoon Sprints are on at QR. I'm going to take Julie out for a blast and my significantly more talented younger brother Chris is going to make his return to the track after a 2 year hiatus. Chris is going to have his first drive in the Guilietta and I fully expect the little bastard to beat my PB!

Come and join us if you are not Tweeding. The more Alfas the merrier.

Cheers,

Brent

[MD]

Brent,

Always a pleasure to see the Joolie run. Love that car.

Looking forward to join the guys next season. Waiting to get my suspension components over the next month or so followed by all the other mechanicals so by the good grace of God and the aid of a toothbrush, we will be peddling along with you next year.

Meantime a bit of sabbotage to stymie your brother's progress is called for. Just back off the ignition advance when he goes for a call to nature. I wont tell..

[hammer]

Good advice Mike. Chris has been handicapping himself over the past 12 months - he's put on about 20kg!

Good to hear your project is coming along.

I am installing a new electric water pump tomorrow and putting the radiator back in. Had it pressure tested and all is good. The crew at Davies Craig said don't try to pull the old water pump apart to see what the problem is, just toss it out and plug in a newie. Probably good advice, as I wouldn't have a damned clue what to look for inside the old one anyway.

Looking forward to being back on the sprint track. I actually haven't driven the sprint layout at QR for nearly two years.

Cheers,

Brent

[MD]

Brent,

The electric water pump is a good idea and should do a good job. If for whatever reason, it stops working due to a blown fues, a short or motor seizure, you wont have any coolant circulation much like a broken fan belt except that with a broken fan belt, the dash lights come on to warn you of a problem. Be sure it gets wired up with a warning light that comes on if it is no longer functioning rarther than wait for the overheat light to come on.

The other thing regarding the water pump. Basically the pump pulley rotates a shaft that has an impeller inside the housing. The impeller is spun around and causes your coolant to circulate. If it is no longer spinning because there is nothing driving it, it will act as a flow restrictor but to what extent I cannot say. Nevertheless, it would be a good move to simply remove the old pump, press out the shaft with the impeller and seal up the shaft hole by either welding it up or use a chem weld epoxy like Davcon. Refit the old housing as before. That would give you unimpeded flow in the housing via your new electric pump.

If you want a hand with that, just give me call.

[hammer]

Mike,

Thanks for the advice and I will use it in the future for sure. What I should have explained about the Guilietta is that Jim had already fitted an electric water pump some years ago and it is that one that has now failed. Just replacing it, so it should be easy.

Cheers,

Brent

[jimnielsen]

Brent, the pump in the Giulietta is one of the earlier ones, the new ones have better bearings. Was it a complete failure? I am interested as I am using one (of the newer ones with ceramic bearings) and don't need ti to fail!

jim.

[hammer]

Jim,

I'm pretty sure it is the motor that is gone, as the impeller still seems to spin ok when you twirl it by hand. The Davies Craig people said they don't have a lot of reports of failures but tend to get more in race cars than road cars due to infrequent use and the fact that some cars will sit for several months over christmas etc.

How's the 155? I see you're getting closer to the magic 1.34 at Winton.

Cheers,

Brent

[jimnielsen]

Yes, the 155 is going well, but its three more seconds to 1:34.  I did a 1:37 the other day on tyres that were totally ruined, the track was cold and the boost controller was a problem..I think that on a day where there was some sun on the track (but the air was still cool), with new tyres and the boost better sorted 1:34 is possible. My best time in (your) Giulietta was 1:34.61 as far as I can tell. I am going to remove all of the car wiring at the end of this year and install an Autronic SM4 so that I can have better control over the boost (more trips to Beninca's..) The current wiring setup is insanely complex, the removal of all that 'stuff' will make it easier to fit the roll cage that I feel the need for every-time I approach turn 1 at Phillip Island..! Best of luck at QR..

jim..