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

[Beatle]

Gday shiny_man

the paint anything special or just Black enamel ?

alphie, if you are in a 'hurry' automotive acrylic dries much faster than the regular enamel paints.  It's not as glossy as it's meant to be cut back but for rough cast undercarriage parts it works fine (of course, it's also available in flat and satin).  In fact I think it works better than enamel as you get thinner coats so it's less prone to chipping, but it is considerably more expensive

[ARQ164 Shane]

ta

[shiny_car]

Steady progress this month. Though I've been a little side tracked with a new upgrade which I should be able to reveal in full next month - teaser pics at the end though .

Some of the work has been mundane - including scrubbing the grime from the wheel arch and underneath the chassis - but glad to have those jobs out of the way now!

Found a NOS (new old stock) coolant expansion tank on ebay, so bought it. From all reports, aftermarket ones tend not to be as strong, and can spring leaks under high pressure. Interestingly, the colour of the plastic is slightly yellow compared with the stark white aftermarket one; I'll keep the latter as spare, and still have the original dirty one somewhere too.







Left/passenger side torsion bar cleaned up. As described in the workshop manual, it is depicted by a 'yellow mark' and 'S' stamped into the rear end (the right side bar also has the red mark, but I am unsure what this represents).







Wheel arch area cleaned. Any edges and sections with exposed raw metal were painted with zinc primer and left for a couple weeks to cure. Then finished with black body deadener, and satin black enamal in the suspension mounting pockets.







The area along the chassis rail was cleaned and painted with zinc primer. Later, painted with Alfa Rosso red.





Left chassis underside scrubbed clean, so too the chassis brace. Then painted with body deadener.







New bushes for the LCA and support arm. When fitted to the support arms - nuts torqued to spec - the inner collars are firmly gripped. The outer sleeves are press fitted and gripped by the LCA. Even though the bushes are too tight to move by hand, the inner collars rotate within the sleeves once fully assembled.









Pressing a new balljoint into the LCA. This time, I first removed the protective rubber boot; this allowed me to use a smaller cylinder from the fitting-kit; I used the larger size on the other LCA, which was a fraction too large and didn't sit securely on the balljoint flange. No issues this time, and balljoint pressed as far as possible (leaving the small gap referred to previously). Rubber boot refitted after the job was done.







LCA masked, then lockring and nut sprayed with primer then gloss black paint. Completed LCA ready for fitment.









Tie rod (steering arm) cleaned; chipped paint and surface corrosion removed with sandpaper and wire brush. Then masked, primed, and finished with gloss black paint.





Leaving all resprayed pieces for a couple weeks to dry, then reassemble the suspension later this month.

Finally, a couple teaser pics of the front brake upgrade I am undertaking. Calipers are secondhand radial-mount 159/Brera Brembo 4-pot, and discs are new Tarox 2-piece 330x26mm. I am waiting on centre hats from Italy. Pads will be Ferodo DS2500.





See you next month.

[Al Campbell]

Droool.

[shiny_car]

Another month, and lots of photos! Performed a couple non-suspension tasks to begin with.

I bought a replica A.2.0363 tool, which is the cambelt detensioner locking pin. It holds the detensioner arm in the 'detensioned' (loose) position, required for tightening the detensioner against the new cambelt. Previously, I used an Allen key of the approximate diameter; however, note that the tool is 'stepped', with a narrower tip (to fit into a retaining hole) and thicker shaft (to hold the spring-loaded pulley arm). Basically, anything else can't do the job properly, and I was advised that a less-than-perfect job can risk having the belt too loose.



To re-adjust the detensioner, the cambelt cover and AC compressor belt were removed. Then loosened the detensioner nuts and slotted the tool in position; held the detensioner as tightly as possible against the belt, tightened the nuts, and removed the tool.



Then an alarm. Not so much to have an 'alarm', but to have remote central locking and remove boot release. The siren and bonnet-open switch are fitted in the engine bay. For security reasons, I won't show the full details of installation!



Back to the passenger side suspension. The LCA was bolted to the chassis with new M12x130mm 8.8 high tensile bolts + nuts. The original shims were fitted between the spacers and chassis. The torsion bar was also slotted through the rear crossmember, ready for refitment.





A hydraulic jack supported the end of the LCA at the required height. To match the rideheight of the driver side, the punch-mark on the LCA needed to be 595mm from the pre-determined point above.



With trial-and-error, the torsion bar was refitted in the best orientation to achieve the desired height - ok, I was 1mm out again!







M8 rivnuts fitted to chassis, to fit the sump guard.



Prior to fitting the LCA, I added silicone hose around the PS fluid pipe for protection. I simply sliced along the full length of hose creating 'split tubing' to fit around the pipe. Also additional heatshield matting.



Now a photo after the LCA was fitted, with the M12 bolts/nuts. And a complete view under the front of the car; the central transmission tunnel is yet to be cleaned/painted.





Superflex polyurethane bush fitted to the UCA, then secured to the chassis with a new bolt. New upper balljoint bolted in position.







Caster rod parts cleaned, primed, then sprayed gloss black.



Caster rod assembled, and new balljoint bolted to chassis pocket. Far end bolted to the UCA and new split pin fitted through this bolt.







New tie rod end/balljoint fitted.



I haven't fitted the passenger side steering knuckle/upright yet because of new brakes! I need a custom bracket made to fit the new calipers, and will take the knuckle and caliper to a workshop to make them for both sides of the car.

The new front brakes will admittedly be overkill for a street car, and arguably even for a track car. The factory brakes are a minor weak link on the V6 75, so I contemplated many upgrade options. In the end, I decided on 159/Brera Brembo calipers and 330mm diameter discs. I will also require a bigger-bore master cylinder. My GT and 159 both have 330mm discs and 4-pot Brembo's, so why not?!

The calipers are secondhand, from Italy. I have started refurbishing, and will respray red. These calipers are a monoblock (1-piece) design.



I started by polishing the pad retaining pins and spring clips. Half expected to purchase new parts, but the originals cleaned to as-new, which was a pleasant surprise. Also polished the visible 'hex' surfaces of the bleed screws.





Much time was spent cleaning the calipers. Previously, not much care had been taken with this particular pair; plenty of 'dents' from hammering in/out the pad retaining pins. And the amount of corrosion on the inside surfaces where the discs flicked off grime was quite bad. You can tell which caliper has been cleaned! My Dremel tool with 'carbon steel brush' attachment was most useful to remove corrosion.



The brake pad support surfaces were fairly pitted; would be interesting to know if this is due to the European climate (eg: salted roads in Northern Italy), because I doubt the calipers on our 159SW Ti are the same.



Compared with the calipers on my GT (2-piece calipers, with 330x32mm discs), the pad support surfaces on the 159 calipers are part of the monoblock alloy. The GT calipers have separate bolt-on steel guides; if they wear, they can be replaced.



Another difference, GT calipers have two different size pistons: the upper pair are 38mm diameter, the lower pair 42mm. The 159 pistons are all 42mm diameter.

I used Quiksteel epoxy to fill the pitting on each support surface. Sanded smooth with 800 grade wet&dry sandpaper.



Top and lower pad support surfaces smoothed.





Here are the disc brake 'discs'. They are part of a 2-piece (non-floating) disc, make by Tarox, Italy. This spec is machined from billet steel, and are 330x26mm (GT spec: 32mm wide; 159/Brera spec: 28mm wide), with 'F2000' curved grooves. Tarox offer a number of different groove patterns and/or drilling; I have the F2000 on my GT and I like the look.

When purchased, the vendor and I did not realise the part number - KMRD0038 - was for the discs only, so I had to order the centre hats separately after taking the first delivery. Hence, my initial photos are of the discs only. They are inscribed with '23-13' which I determined to be the week of manufacture (23rd week of 2013), so they were freshly made for my order. This model disc is part of their catalogue, designed specifically for the Alfa 75. An option is a complete Tarox kit, including 6-pot Tarox calipers + mounting bracket, but I prefered genuine Alfa/Brembo calipers.

I bought these from Ricambi Tuning, Italy, and their service remains excellent (my third large purchase in as many years). Emails answered promptly, and Alessio's English is excellent. Shipping time (once despatched) within 5 days via SDA couriers.









Images of disc, disc + Ferodo DS2500 pad, disc (+pad) + caliper.







A fortnight later, the Tarox centre hats arrived. Made from billet aluminium (presumably T6-7075), anodized. Manufacture date '47-12', so off-the shelf. Bolts + lock nuts came with both the disc and hats, so a spare set! The hats emulate the original discs for perfect fit; this includes bolt holes to secure the hubs, bevelled edge around the centre hole to accommodate the hub radius edge, and lip for the wheel stud heads.





Wheel studs were re-used (not include with centre hats). They are a 'clipped head' design (the flat edge can abut the lip to prevent rotation), and the shanks are 'round' (as opposed to splined). Using the press, the studs were removed without difficulty.







After a clean, the stud heads were primed then sprayed satin black.



I lightly greased the shanks then pressed the studs into the new hats.





More test fitting! The 2-piece discs temporarily bolted together, and to the hub.





Confirmed the discs fit inside the 15" wheels, without calipers of course. At least I know I can roll the car around with the discs fitted and without the calipers.



Now a test with the wheels destined for the car: 18x8" ET35 OZ Racing Superleggera.



In comparison, the disc almost looks lost inside the bigger wheel.







Importantly, my concerns about the spokes clearing the new calipers were allayed. There is a large amount of clearance, easily a finger breadth!





Disassembled again. I was mindful of surface rust affecting the exposed non-contact disc surfaces; have seen (and have) cars with this imperfection. So, masked the discs, and sprayed the inner ring and outer edge with clear caliper paint.



And check this out! I brought the cold steel discs into the house to oven bake @ 90 degrees celcius and cure the paint (as per instructions). The relatively humid environment meant water condensed on the top of the disc, resulting in surface rust! The inner ring and outer edge were spared; I thought that was a pretty impressive demonstration. 





Tarox M6 high tensile 8.8 bolts and lock nuts. The nuts are 'compressed', deformed to a slight oval, to achieve the locking function. I did have Loctite 'Blue' 243 (recommended by Brembo for their discs) but decided against using it.



Centre hats bolted to the discs. All torqued to 90 lb.in in a cross pattern order.







There you have it. The new discs look superb, and of equal build quality. The photo of the disc and caliper behind the OZ wheel is one of my favourites, so I'm very excited about how it will turn out eventually.

As you expect, there's pros and cons to such an upgrade; the braking performance should be much, much improved (larger pad surface area, braking force from bigger radius, better disc cooling properties). But the weight goes up...and a lot.

I roughly weighed everything for comparison.
*OE disc (incl studs): 6.0kg each
*OE caliper (incl existing pads + retaining pins/spring clip): 2.8kg each

*Tarox disc (disc + centre hat + bolts + studs): 8.4kg each
*159 Brembo caliper (incl retaining pins/spring clip) + Ferodo pads: 4.0kg

Hence, they contribute an extra 3.6kg of unsprung weight. 18" wheels/tyres will add more. Some people will not approve! 

By next month I should have the driver side disc and hub fitted, and one caliper resprayed. Then I'll take the other steering knuckle/disc and caliper to have mounting brackets made. See you then!

[ARQ164 Shane]

geez mate are you just teasing us,
Mind you i hope you have racing harness to make sure you dont go through the windscreen lol.
(just letting you know that Autobarn has "saas 4-point 2"harness " for $99.00 to the 18 aug, just an idea lol)

cheers guys hope you have a great day.

[Al Campbell]

And as an aside  your photos are top quality too . 

[Craig_m67]

Would love to see the calliper brackets when ready... If they bolt onto 2.0L 105 uprights (given we can use 75 callipers?) you may get more orders.

As an aside, will they need to be 'engineered' in Aust. for road use?

[shiny_car]

Thanks guys!

I'll be sure to post photos of the brackets once they're fabricated. May be a couple months yet.

The car will need 'engineering' once it's completed. Brakes, suspension, and boot-mounted battery will need inspecting. Maybe other stuff.

[jazig.k]

might be a bit of a long shot... reckon you could make a tech drawing of the front hub? the part that the studs pass through? need bearing measurements mic'd though.

i don't know if you've seen my custom made rear hubs... multi stud 114.3 and 98 pcd's... i need to make some fronts too now, to go along with a brake upgrade...

[Beatle]

Thanks guys!

I'll be sure to post photos of the brackets once they're fabricated. May be a couple months yet.

The car will need 'engineering' once it's completed. Brakes, suspension, and boot-mounted battery will need inspecting. Maybe other stuff.

Engineering?  Maybe for the brakes, but I've never heard of anyone needing an engineering cert for moving the battery?    And what have you done to the supension that makes you think it requires inspection?

[shiny_car]

might be a bit of a long shot... reckon you could make a tech drawing of the front hub?

Hmm, I don't think I could reliably micrometer everything. The front hub is relatively complex, with different sized inner and outer bearings, plus a rear seal, and front recess for the hub cover/cap.

Engineering?  Maybe for the brakes, but I've never heard of anyone needing an engineering cert for moving the battery?    And what have you done to the supension that makes you think it requires inspection?

I don't have good experience with what would be required. So I'm unsure if relocating the battery to the boot is an issue or not. If a certificate isn't required for that, no probs.

I will eventually fit the RS Racing suspension kit, which includes front coilovers (which are fitted in addition to the torsion bars). If engineering isn't required, again, I have no probs with that!  My preferred ride height would likely be too low mind you; I have a suspicion it won't have a full 100mm clearance throughout, particularly with the sump guard fitted. Might be ok without it, we shall see.

Hmm, if being pedantic, how about wheel diameter and width, and steering wheel size...list could go on. 

[ANG156]

Dont worry about engineering certificates if your car is still registered as your progress with your mods. Might be an issue if you need to get it back on the road but then I knew someone who registered a falcon 500 with all sorts of mods and the guy at vicroads just signed off on it. The more you tell them the worse it will be...take a drive down to vicroads broadmeadows and a chick in a mini skirt with heels who doesnt know the difference between a nut or bolt will only look for the engine number and thats it.

[shiny_car]

  I like that advice! I made a point of having roadworthy and registration when I first bought the car, knowing it could be a major headache obtaining registration after I had finished! So yes, the car is registered, paid annually, on time. 

[Beatle]

There are lots of mods you can do yourself, all quite legally.  But for heavily modified brakes I'd go for an Eng Cert.   If you bump someone in a carpark and the insurance assessor sees the nice big new brakes, it might make things awkward.

If you knock a cyclist off his bike and kill him and the police/insurer/coroner sees the sees the nice big new brakes, it might make things expensive, forever...............

And another thing to consider; if you are intending to mod to the extent that it will require engineering, talk to your engineer before you turn a spanner.   Much better to do it knowing what the engineer requires and what the engineer will approve.