My Alfa Romeo 33 rebuild - FIRST TIMER

[Brit01]

Having to take a break fromm driving and working on my car for a while.
Was at the clinic at the weekend being probed, prodded and x-rayed!

Suffering from hypertension and gastritis (to what extent I don't know yet - still got pending blood test/endoscopy!).

Got some nice goodies for the Alfa waiting to be used. New nylon bushings for the gearstick linkages.
Locking tool for the flywheel so I can remove and torque up the crank pulley etc.
Still got to sort out the wicked flat spot on the carbs also.

Once I get some strength and the blood pressure pills start to kick in then I'll be in the garage again. For now it's cover is collecting dust!
It won't want to start after a couple of weeks I imagine. Carbs tend to dry out enough to make it cough when starting.
Not safe to drive either with my rather lightheaded feeling!

Regards

Chris

[TomLouwrier]

hi Chris,

Sorry to hear that. Hope you get well soon!

regards
Tom

[WhizzMan]

Won't some relaxing tinkering on the car help you get your blood pressure down? I find working on my cars helps me keep my sanity.

[Brit01]

Thanks Guys,

Yes some tinkering will help me relax but got to get some strength back first as I lost so much weight due to the gastritis.

I lift a small item and feel d.i.z.z.y!! Really frustrating as I'm such an active person.

Chris

[Brit01]

Been in contact with Eurocarb as I was experiencing excessive fuel evaporation from my carbs while standing still in the garage. We had a very hot summer so I concluded it was the 50 degree heat in the garage but now it is cold and the same happens.

I have a steel washer on the outer end of the bango bolt and a fibre washer on the inner side.

Eurocarb asked if the washer was sweating. Yes it was.
They said I need to change the outer steel washer to the copper one as supplied in their kit and also swap the fibre washer for their soft steel one in the kit.
I have them sealed in a pack unused.

I will swap these when I get the chance.

[Brit01]

Feeling a little better now so I managed to work on my car a little.

I changed the fibre washer and non-original washers to copper crush washers either side of the bango on the carb.

Hope this will reduce evaporation. All sealed nicely and no leaks.

[Brit01]

Need some advice here.

After thinking the fuel was evaporating and changing the washers the car started just for a second after 7 days of non-use and then would not start again.

I filled the carbs with fuel and started up straight away and idled really smoothly.

Still getting some delay in 2nd gear when accelerating under light-medium throttle.
Feels smoother after re-balancing the carbs but some lack of power there.

Could this be related to the fuel starvation problem?

Maybe an issue with the mechanical fuel pump?
Swap to an electrical pumping device?

Thanks

Chris

[WhizzMan]

What would be causing your carbs to dry out in just a week?I'd be looking into that before changing pumps and all that. Fuel starvation due to a bad pump should be noticeable when you have a prolonged high load, not at light/medium throttle. That would seem more like an ignition advance (vacuum/flywheel/spring) type of problem to me, or possibly a mixture thing. I forgot, did you measure the output of your acceleration pumps yet? If those are not balanced or set wrong, you could get "unsettled" reactions to the pedal when changing load or gear.

[Brit01]

Hi whizzman,

The ignition is electronic (Bosch). New rotor and cap but I guess it could be the vacuum mechanism.

I haven't measured the output of the pump jets. Just visually looking down the barrels as they squirt.
I will try and get around to doing that this weekend.

Alfa state to pump each one 20 times to measure.

I think I will place a DIY container in each barrel at the same time so I don't get all the fuel washing down into the cylinders.

[Brit01]

I was thinking whizzman.

I had changed one of the pump diaphragms a couple of months back.
The 2 are slightly different in design, the middle metal part is wider on one of them.

This could be affecting the amount/pressure of fuel through the pumps.

I will check the pumps and change the second diaphragm so they are both identical.

[WhizzMan]

I was thinking whizzman.

I had changed one of the pump diaphragms a couple of months back.
The 2 are slightly different in design, the middle metal part is wider on one of them.

This could be affecting the amount/pressure of fuel through the pumps.

I will check the pumps and change the second diaphragm so they are both identical.

I would measure first, before replacing parts if I were you. It is smart of you to think of putting a container in the barrel, I was already convinced you would be taking off the carbs to measure outside the car. If the container doesn't work, you probably will have to take the carbs off. You could probably adjust the arms of the pumps to compensate for differences in pump output. There usually is a way to synchronize these without having to swap parts until you have a matching set.

[Brit01]

You could probably adjust the arms of the pumps to compensate for differences in pump output. There usually is a way to synchronize these without having to swap parts until you have a matching set.

Good to know.
The dellorto manual is a little confusing though.
It says to increase pump output turn adjusting bolt 'down'.

I assume this means to tighten it.

But still confused about the starting issue after a week of non-use. Maybe I've been pumping the jets too much and emptying the carbs on first startup.

I was already convinced you would be taking off the carbs to measure outside the car.

funny probably yes but my health is not good unfortunately. Being treated for chronic gastritis and hypertension right now. This has sucked all the energy out of me. Just enough to take care of my son and nothing left over!

[Brit01]

Had another question in regards to the max height of the fuel lines above the carb height.

You can see the fuel lines connecting the left and right carbs are quite high, well above the level of the carbs and pump.

I know my car was rebuilt and have seen other alfas with lower fuel lines.

Is this something to take into consideration?

thank you

[nabihelosta]

Chris

If I were you, I wouldn't take that fuel plumbing thing into consideration. The whole system is open and constantly pressurized, no air could be trapped into the system, nor the pump has any problem to prime, push or pull the fuel a couple of inches higher.

Regards

Nabih

[Brit01]

We're talking about 6-8 inches here at least. I've yet to see another engine bay with the pipes so high which is a bit strange.
Wouldn't they be better aligned at least no higher than the height of the top of the carb?

What is the pressure loss per inch in height with these small mechanical pumps?

Just a thought while I can't do anything strenuous at the moment.