Project car - 1989 75 3.0 V6 [Updated 12 November 2021]

[shiny_car]

The picture is old, but ronbee's question is new. So you're bang up to date! 

[V AR 164]

Omg,
I just spent 4 hours straight reading this whole thread, my eyes hurt lol.

Richard amazing job, your attention to detail is incredible and the pictures are fantastic!

Can't help but asking, when will the car be done?! Can't wait to see it all come together! 😃

Andrew.

[shiny_car]

Thanks Andrew!

Unfortunately, no time soon. I don't think it will be this year. It will even be lucky to be finished in time for Spettacolo 2016. But 2017 is probably more realistic!

Mind you, I am happy to take my time, because you know how it is: once it's finished...I'll either become bored or need another project! And another project will mean more money! 

I appreciate that you looked right through and enjoyed it.

[V AR 164]

Haha no worries,

I love how in the beginning it was supposed to be done by the 2012 Spettacolo, then it was due to be done in 2015, now 2017 hahaha. (Suppose a good excuse to spend money and time in the garage 😃)

Good luck!

[ARQ164 Shane]

Hi shiny car,
Did you do anything with the evo wheel flares ?
I'm put a  3lt in my car but know sure what ecu to use ?
at this time it has the 2.5 ecu .

cheers mate

[jazig.k]

If you search the alfabb you'll find a thread where someone was asking about the Ecuador differences between 2.5 and 3lt. The 3lt does run on the 2.5 ecu but I won't comment about how well or anything. Find the thread and have a read.

[Evan Bottcher]

..where someone was asking about the Ecuador differences between 2.5 and 3lt...

Damn you autocorrect! 

[jazig.k]

Hahaha! Yep, early morning iPhone browsing before work.

[ARQ164 Shane]

thank guys,
I will look for that thread on alfabb, All I need to know is the loom plug the same on the 3lt ecu as the 2.5lt ?

cheers 

[jazig.k]

Yep both plugs are the same. I used a 2.5 ecu for my megasquirt adaptor harness, so can answer that with first hand info.

[ARQ164 Shane]

your bloody awesome jazig.k
thank
So both the looms are wire the same
I'm a happy boy

cheers mate

[Alfapride]

Any update Shiny? This has to be one of the best 75 threads around!

[ARQ164 Shane]

Hi Shiny,
I got tired of always scraping the exhaust on the bloody ground so I have taken
steps to correct that ?

[shiny_car]

lol That's one way of fixing it! 

I'm getting close to restarting this project; beginning to become impatient, itching to get back into it, and ordering more and more parts. Hopefully I'll have more time...

[shiny_car]

I'm baaaaack!!   

Over the past month, I've been squeezing in a little 'car time' around family, house, work, and leisure.

It's been nearly 18 months since my last update, and I've only started slowly. And I now realise working in little steps with little expectation, rather than do nothing at all, can be the way forward!

So what's left to do? Heaps, some of which are new plans hatched in the last year:

*pull engine: replace leaking 'rear main seal' and fit new 'front main seal' whilst I'm there; take off heads and arrange some minor porting from a specialist; replace stock pistons/sleeves with new higher-compression versions suited to the Potenziata motor (never done anything like this before, so could be interesting!)
*research and plan for aftermarket fuel injection; only worth it if I also upgrade cams (again) to aftermarket high performance street cams from Alfar7 (alfaBB member, Richard Jemison, RJR Racing)
*strip, clean, refit transaxle and rear suspension and upgrade rear brakes to ventilated discs
*suspension upgrade: when I can afford it, full kit from RS Racing including coilovers, ARBs
*fit front brakes; have wheels refurbished and buy tyres
*interior electrical upgrades: add voltage gauge, engine oil temp gauge, wideband AFR meter
*fit stereo
*have seats/door trims retrimmed
*refit interior; arrange tinted windows; arrange inspection/regas of aircon + upgrade condenser
*exterior: complete modifications/refurbishment of body kit; acquire Evoluzione-style bumpers; arrange professional respray; cut and polish

Nothing to it really! Errr, expect maybe another few years of time and $$$.  :lol:

Firstly, this is the new home for the car. A nice big garage, with workshop space at the back. It's still amazing how you fill such a space with so much stuff, and still be wanting!



The first step was giving the car a wash! Not being drivable, it had to be hand-washed in situ, and not power-washed outside, but it wasn't really dirty, just quite dusty.

Pre-wash:



Post-wash:





Where to start?! I could have started at any number of stages, but for something new, I thought I'd work on the boot. This means I can fit the battery into its new location, and ultimately have electrics back sooner rather than later, which will help ensure everything electrical is working as expected.

At once I encountered an issue: the springs didn't hold the boot lid open properly! Hence, a box at-hand proved helpful. Mind you, once I change to the carbon fibre lid, the existing springs should be fine without increasing tension.



Having a look around, seeing what needs cleaning and attention. Second issue, which I discovered a little while back but paid no attention at the time: I think my fuel capacity is down! I don't think the tank is meant to be this shape:



So another job will be to drain the tank, and replace it.

Various hoses and attachments in the boot, some to comply with emissions, which scavenge the fuel vapour from the engine back to the fuel tank...I think! Remember, there is a fuel vapour canister behind the front bumper, and hoses from there come to the boot.



Peeling back the trim on the left-side of the boot, hid an aftermarket electric telescopic antenna. Functionally ok, but it didn't feature the original cool 'Alfa Romeo' trim piece. To be replaced.





To remove the boot lid, first the wiring for the number plate lights needed pulling-back. It threaded through the lid and hollow hinge arm.





The boot lid simply unbolted from the hinges, and the hinges unbolted from inside. I haven't decided whether to paint them black.







Removed the rear light clusters. The ground wire is notoriously poor, and over time, people have had the wire overheat and show signs of burning/melting along the light cluster 'circuit'; and having the brake lights dim/pulse when the indicators flash on/off is pretty normal! The wire is relatively thing and long, terminating in the common ground point at the rear door sills; hence, the wire is about a metre long. Not surprisingly, this will be upgraded with a thicker and shorter wire.

With the lights, boot rubber, and number plate trim all removed, years of grime were revealed.







After the internal trims were removed, the boot wasn't too bad for its age! Plenty of cleaning was still required.





On either side were small box cavities, and I wondered why there was dirt inside. On the outside, pieces of self-adhesive foam covered openings but the seals were poor; there was also a missing grommet for another hole on the right side. Over the years, water spraying from the tyres made its way inside. The foam was removed, and the cavities washed out. I will fit proper grommets.









After some work, the boot scrubbed up alright. Some areas had paint/undercoat rubbed off exposing bare metal, and scant surface rust. These need sanding back and painting.



One modification I had planned on, was fitting a boot solenoid. But alas, a previous owner had already fitted one! Strangely, it was no longer wired-up, but I will integrate with two features:
1. remote release using the aftermarket alarm key fob
2. change the standard boot badge to a funky press-button switch version from the 159 Sportwagon (series II/III); pressing the badge will unlock the boot, and it will be wired-up to only function when the alarm is disabled 

I bench tested the solenoid, and it still works fine (it's hardly rocket science: just an electrical coil creating a magnetic field when current passes through it). The issue with its fitment was the crude attachment: holes drilled into the panel for two self-tapping screws; I will improve on that! But first, removed for cleaning.









That's it for now. Whilst not a great deal of progress, it's a start, and I'll continue chipping away.

See you next month.