Digest Submission

[AlfaNeely <AlfaNeely@aol.com>]

File is attached, hopefully, it will be readable!








          To: alfa-digest@digest.net
          From: Russ Neely <alfaneely@aol.com>
          Subject: Flywheels, Fans and the F___ Word

          Sorry if  my  first submission  to  the Digest  was garbage.    I
          created my  document  in  Word  Perfect  and  just  attached  the
          resulting  file.    Thanks  to  Bernie  Bennett  for  setting  me
          straight.

          I  just rewired my attic with a  direct phone line and got hooked
          to  Alfa Digest.  I  spent last night  procrastinating by reading
          the last 30 issues.

          I  do not  believe that  it is  necessary to  use the  F___ word,
          unless a wrench slips and  opens your knuckles.  That is  why you
          should  never wrap your  hand around a  wrench.   Push the wrench
          with the flat of your palm to avoid having to swear.

          Chopped  flywheels  are  legal  and recommended  in  SCCA  street
          prepared  classes Solo II.  Chopped flywheels are fun, but really
          tweaky to drive on the street.   Wrap it up and dump it  at every
          stop light seems to work best.  My old Alfetta sedan with webers,
          750 Veloce  cams (yes  they fit  in a 2000,  but don't  have much
          lift) and a chopped  flywheel was fun  to drive, but  a bit of  a
          pain when I  had to drive  it everyday.  A  friend and I  cut the
          flywheel on his  lathe.  We cut diagonally from  the ring gear to
          the  center hub, leaving rounded part of the center hub untouched
          for strength.  Removing material from the outside of the flywheel
          has more effect than removing material from the center.  The term
          from Physics class  is "Polar Moment of  Inertia."  That  is also
          why  a mid  engine car will  turn in  easily, but  will also snap
          spin.

          Former  Alfa  Club   president  David  Simmons  of  Tulsa  has  a
          transmission rebuilt technique requiring  only new front and rear
          seals.   He  moves the  fifth gear  synchronizer to  second gear.
          That is easy, the hard part is moving the "dog gear" as it has to
          be knocked off  fifth gear with a  punch or drift.   The dog gear
          from second  removes easily in a press.  My 82 spider shifts into
          second very smoothly even without double  clutching as the result
          of David's help.

          The easy way  to downshift into low  gear at speed is  to lock up
          all  four wheels momentarily and jam  the shifter into low.  That
          all sounds brutal  and it is, but is the only technique I know of
          to get into low  in a hurry.   I only do that  when autocrossing.
          But why did I have to replace the driveshaft donuts in my Alfetta
          7 or 8 times before reaching 100,000 miles?

          Someone stated on  the digest  that Alfa "never"  made metal  fan
          blades.   I happen to have a couple of 4 blade aluminum Giulietta
          fans in  my storage  shed.  The  pulley and  fan are cast  as one
          piece.







          I  was  showing  someone the  engine  in my  82  spider,  when he
          commented that the fan was missing.   I had installed a brand new
          white plastic fan and all that was left was the hub.  I never did
          find more than a  couple of fan pieces and no  damage was done to
          the radiator or new fan shroud.  The thinner fan was designed for
          a 1600  (I think).   Rex at  the late lamented  Maduko Motori  in
          Tulsa sold it to me claiming it had less  mass at the ends of the
          fan  blade (less polar moment  of inertia?   No, less centrifugal
          force) and would  not blow up as  easily as the  stock fan.   The
          motor mounts were not to blame as they were new  as was all other
          rubber  under the  hood.   Might  this  have happened  the day  I
          decided to see if the Bosch spider had a rev limiter?


          Russ Neely
          Oklahoma City
          4 Spiders (91, 87, 84, & 82)
          2 Milanos both 87 Gold
          2 Alfetta Sedans (one purchased new in 75)
          2 Giulia Spiders (need to restore them)
          1 GM tow vehicle (it loves to trailer Alfas to my house)
          and a few more Alfas for parts.