More power to the boxer

[colcol]

Over the last few years i have noticed that when i don't drive the 33 for a few days, it requires a fair bit of cranking over and the starter motor cranks slowly....and the battery leads smoke, this means they are getting too hot and its melting the insulation, so the resistance is high in the leads, due to being 30 years old.
Previously i have noticed that the battery terminals get hot, so i put some new battery terminals and this stopped them getting hot, where the original terminals were crimped onto the original cable, the wires were very dirty, which accounted for the bad connection and the battery terminal getting hot.
With the insulation smoking and wearing away, i decided to get some new battery leads before they short out, so i did the rounds of the usual suspects, went to an auto electrician and he said that the battery leads were so thin, they looked like something of a ride on lawnmower, but he had nothing on the shelf, as i needed 2 leads 4 foot long or 48 inches long, the evils of the metric system haven't penetrated the car battery lead world yet, so we are stuck with the 1950's measuring system.
I tried Repco, Supercheap, Rare Spares, Auto one, Moparts and the place i found 2 48 inch battery leads was Autobahn!, which surprised me, but the most likely need heavy duty battery leads to power all those "fully sick mate", doofdoof music systems they put in Mitsubishi Lancers.
So with the 2, 4 foot leads at $35 each, i installed them, i needed a 8mm lug terminal for the positive connector on the starter motor, this came with a 3/8 inch, [9,5mm], so it worked out ok, the earth terminal that i relocated to the starter motor bolt  needed filling out to 10mm, as it was 3/8 inch, [9,5mm], don't try and drill it out, because it will grab and turn your drill into a helicopter.
The new battery leads were about twice the thickness of the old ones, with rubber insulation instead of thin plastic, i ran them across the centre of the bulkhead under the air conditioner evaporator, and put some extra plastic convulted tubing where it sat near any metal of sharp objects, with cable ties to keep the plastic tubing on.
The old earth wire was utilised, as a well needed extra earth wire, so it now ran from the earth bracket on the starter motor to the bulkhead on the right hand side, and the end that used to be the battery terminal was chopped off and a new 8 mm lug was purchased from Autobahn and it was crimped on by me using vice grips!, and this was connected onto the left hand side bulkhead.
This was a job i had been putting off for a long time, but i didn't think it would be this easy to get suitable battery leads, go and check yours now on your 33, Sud or Sprint to make sure the insulation hasn't melted or buy a fire extiguisher!, Colin.

[Alfapride]

Great advice for any older car Colin! Thinking if doing the same on my gtv nothing with new leads and more ground straps!

[Ray Pignataro]

Thanks Colin I have long tried to get more power for the sud now I know how

[colcol]

It is TO not FOR, cannot beleive there are not more 33's Suds and Sprints with burnt out engine bays, very concerning cranking your motor over as the leads smoke, Colin.

[peter dunkley]

Isnt it amazing how peoples experience of 33's Suds etc varies, present No 1 car is 85 Quattro 390,000k original engine, never ever had any similar issues re starting nor in my history of fwd Alfas. Although all joy to the mighty Quattro it starts instantly everytime, cept when battery died, of course. Even more unusual is the is a huge file of receipts in the glovebox. None of which mention any engine rebuild. Could this be a longevity record for a boxer 1.5??? Think it feels especially connected to me because of pasta diet.

[Thevak]

Does the boxer in a 33  1.7IE have a rev limiter?

[Andrew Bose]

Yes Thevak the 1.7ie came out with a rev limiter and my one old one cut in at about 6500 rpm, if you try in first you will feel it as it is a hard limiter and feels like some turned off your spark but in a higher gear it just feels like it drops two cylinders. Obviously I did not find this out on a public road as being a responsible Alfa driver I would never be entering a freeway at an illegal speed.

Andrew

[colcol]

Try cranking your 85 Quatro and go and check if the battery leads are hot, if they are cool, then you have no problem, as they age they get resistance in them.
Have a look at the rotor arm, you will see a spring to hold a metal rod against a terminal and when centrifugal forces throw the metal rod away from the terminal primary voltage is interupted, they all vary due to age, design and manufacturer, just connect a tacho to the car and rev it and see when it starts to misfire, i think that the 1,500 cuts out at 5,800 R.P.M., but the power band drops off before that, for a 1,700 the rev cutout would be lower.
Bring your car along to the Bennica Motors Dyno Day in a few weeks and see where your car makes power and importantly, where it drops off, Colin.

[Thevak]

Yes Thevak the 1.7ie came out with a rev limiter and my one old one cut in at about 6500 rpm, if you try in first you will feel it as it is a hard limiter and feels like some turned off your spark but in a higher gear it just feels like it drops two cylinders. Obviously I did not find this out on a public road as being a responsible Alfa driver I would never be entering a freeway at an illegal speed.

Thanks for the info. Had a ball at Broadford in my first track work in the 33. Such a free revving motor and here I thought it was fuel starvation and needing a petrol pump upgrade. There are so many mod cons on this car and Dyno Day is a must to learn when it cuts out? Is this adjustable?

[colcol]

On the rotor arm there is a spring that stops the metal rod moving away from the terminal at low revs, due to centrfugal force, the weaker or older the spring, the lower the rev limit, the stronger or newer the spring, the higher the rev limit, might be best to get a new one to suit your car and engine, rather than one that merely fits, Colin.